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The British Virgin Islands (BVI) is a British overseas territory, located in the Caribbean to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands make up part of the Virgin Islands archipelago, the remaining islands constituting the U.S. Virgin Islands. Technically the name of the Territory is simply the "Virgin Islands", but in practice since 1917 they have been almost universally referred to as the "British Virgin Islands" to distinguish the islands from the American Territory.[1] To add to the regional confusion, the Puerto Rican islands of Culebra, Vieques and surrounding islands began referring to themselves as the "Spanish Virgin Islands" as part of a tourism drive in the early 2000s.
The British Virgin Islands consist of the main islands of Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada and Jost Van Dyke, along with over fifty other smaller islands and cays. Approximately fifteen of the islands are inhabited. The largest island, Tortola, is approximately 20 km (approx. 12 mi) long and 5 km (approx. 3 mi) wide. The islands have a total population of about 22,000, of whom approximately 18,000 live on Tortola. Road Town, the capital, is situated on Tortola.
The Virgin Islands were first settled by the Arawak from South America around 100 BC (though there is some evidence of Amerindian presence on the islands as far back as 1500 BC).[2] The Arawaks inhabited the islands until the fifteenth century when they were displaced by the more aggressive Caribs, a tribe from the Lesser Antilles islands, after whom the Caribbean Sea is named.
The first European sighting of the Virgin Islands was by Christopher Columbus in 1493 on his second voyage to the Americas. Columbus gave them the fanciful name Santa Ursula y las Once Mil VÃrgenes (Saint Ursula and her 11,000 Virgins), shortened to Las VÃrgenes (The Virgins), after the legend of Saint Ursula.
The Spanish Empire claimed the islands by discovery in the early sixteenth century, but never settled them, and subsequent years saw the English, Dutch, French, Spanish and Danish all jostling for control of the region, which became a notorious haunt for pirates. There is no record of any native Amerindian population in the British Virgin Islands during this period, although the native population on nearby St. Croix was decimated.
The Dutch established a permanent settlement on the island of Tortola by 1648. In 1672, the English captured Tortola from the Dutch, and the British annexation of Anegada and Virgin Gorda followed in 1680. Meanwhile, over the period 1672–1733, the Danish gained control of the nearby islands of St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix.
The British islands were considered principally a strategic possession, but were planted when economic conditions were particularly favourable. The British introduced sugar cane which was to become the main crop and source of foreign trade, and slaves were brought from Africa to work on the sugar cane plantations. The islands prospered economically until the middle of the 1800s, when a combination of the abolition of slavery in the Territory, a series of disastrous hurricanes, and the growth in the sugar beet crop in Europe and the United States[3] significantly reduced sugar cane production and led to a period of economic decline.
In 1917, the United States purchased St. John, St. Thomas and St. Croix from Denmark for US$25 million, renaming them the United States Virgin Islands.
The British Virgin Islands were administered variously as part of the British Leeward Islands or with St. Kitts and Nevis, with an Administrator representing the British Government on the Islands. Separate colony status was gained for the Islands in 1960 and the Islands became autonomous in 1967. Since the 1960s, the islands have diversified away from their traditionally agriculture-based economy towards tourism and financial services, becoming one of the wealthiest areas in the Caribbean.
The British Virgin Islands comprise around sixty tropical Caribbean islands, ranging in size from the largest, Tortola 20 km (approx. 12 mi) long and 5 km (approx. 3 mi) wide, to tiny uninhabited islets. They are located in the Virgin Islands archipelago, a few miles east of the U.S. Virgin Islands. The North Atlantic Ocean lies to the north of the islands, and the Caribbean Sea lies to the south. Most of the islands are volcanic in origin and have a hilly, rugged terrain. Anegada is geologically distinct from the rest of the group and is a flat island composed of limestone and coral.
In addition to the four main islands of Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada, and Jost Van Dyke, other islands include:
See also Islands of the British Virgin Islands.
The British Virgin Islands enjoy a tropical climate, moderated by trade winds. Temperatures vary little throughout the year. In the capital, Road Town, typical daily maxima are around 32 °C (90 °F) in the summer and 29 °C (84 °F) in the winter. Typical daily minima are around 24 °C (75 °F) in the summer and 21 °C (70 °F) in the winter. Rainfall averages about 1150 mm (45 in) per year, higher in the hills and lower on the coast. Rainfall can be quite variable, but the wettest months on average are September to November and the driest months on average are February and March. Hurricanes occasionally hit the islands, with the hurricane season running from June to November.
Executive authority in British Virgin Islands is invested in The Queen and is exercised on her behalf by the Governor of the British Virgin Islands. The Governor is appointed by the Queen on the advice of the British Government. Defence and Foreign Affairs remain the responsibility of the United Kingdom.
A new constitution was adopted in 2007 (the Virgin Islands Constitution Order, 2007[4]) and came into force when the Legislative Council was dissolved for the 2007 general election. The Head of Government under the new constitution is the Premier (prior to the new constitution the office was referred to as Chief Minister), who is elected in a general election along with the other members of the ruling government as well as the members of the opposition. An Executive Council is nominated by the Premier and appointed by the Governor. There is a unicameral Legislative Council made up of 13 seats.
The current Governor is David Pearey (since 2006). The current Premier is Ralph T. O'Neal (since 22 August 2007).
The British Virgin Islands enjoys one of the more prosperous economies of the Caribbean region, with a per capita GDP of around $38,500 (2004 est.)[5]
In the British Virgin Islands it has long been fashionable to talk about the "twin pillars" of the Territory's economy – tourism and financial services. Politically, tourism is the more important of the two, as it employs a greater number of people within the Territory, and a larger proportion of the businesses in the tourist industry are locally owned, as are a number of the highly tourism-dependent sole traders (e.g. taxi drivers and street vendors). Economically, however, financial services are by far the more important. Nearly 50% of the Government's revenue comes directly from licence fees for offshore companies, and considerable further sums are raised directly or indirectly from payroll taxes relating to salaries paid within the trust industry sector (which tend to be higher on average than those paid in the tourism sector).
Tourism accounts for 45% of national income. The islands are a popular destination for U.S. citizens, with around 350,000 tourists visiting annually (1997 figures). Tourists frequent the numerous white sand beaches, visit The Baths on Virgin Gorda, snorkel the coral reefs near Anegada, or experience the well-known bars of Jost Van Dyke. The BVI are known as one of the world's greatest sailing destinations, and charter sailboats are a very popular way to visit less accessible islands. A substantial number of the tourists who visit the BVI are cruise ship passengers, although they produce far lower revenue per head than charter boat tourists and hotel based tourists. They are nonetheless important to the substantial (and politically important) taxi driving community.
Substantial revenues are also generated by the registration of offshore companies. As of 2004, over 550,000 companies were so registered. In 2000 KPMG reported in its survey of offshore jurisdictions for the United Kingdom government that over 41% of the world's offshore companies were formed in the British Virgin Islands. Since 2001, financial services in the British Virgin Islands have been regulated by the independent Financial Services Commission.
Agriculture and industry account for only a small proportion of the islands' GDP. Agricultural produce includes fruit, vegetables, sugar cane, livestock and poultry, and industries include rum distillation, construction and boatbuilding.
Since 1959, the official currency of the British Virgin Islands has been the US dollar, also used by the United States Virgin Islands.
The British Virgin Islands are a major target for drug traffickers, who use the area as a gateway to the United States. According to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, drug trafficking is "potentially the most serious threat to stability in the BVI".[6]
The population of the Islands is around 21,730 in 2003. The majority of the population (83%) are Afro-Caribbean, descended from the slaves brought to the islands by the British. Other large ethnic groups include those of British and other European origin.
The 1999 census reports:
* includes British, Portuguese, Spanish, and Syrian/Lebanese.
The islands are predominantly Protestant Christian (86%). The largest individual Christian denominations are Methodist (33%), Anglican (17%), and Catholic (10%).
There are 113 kilometres (70 mi) of roads. The main airport (Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport, also known as Beef Island Airport) is located on Beef Island, which lies off the eastern tip of Tortola. Virgin Gorda and Anegada have their own smaller airports. The main harbour is in Road Town. There are also ferries that operate within the British Virgin Islands and to the neighbouring United States Virgin Islands. As in the UK, cars in the British Virgin Islands drive on the left side of the road.
The British Virgin Islands operates several government schools as well as private schools. There is also a community college, Hamilton Lavity Stoutt Community College, that is located on the eastern end of Tortola. This college was named after the late Honourable Lavity Stoutt (Chief Minister).[7]
The traditional music of the British Virgin Islands is called fungi after the local cornmeal dish with the same name, often made with okra. The special sound of fungi is due to a unique local fusion between African and European music. It functions as a medium of local history and folklore and is therefore a cherished cultural form of expression that is part of the curriculum in BVI schools. The fungi bands, also called "scratch bands", use instruments ranging from calabash, washboard, bongos and ukulele, to more traditional western instruments like keyboard, banjo, guitar, bass, triangle and saxophone. Apart from being a form of festive dance music, fungi often contains humorous social commentaries, as well as BVI oral history.[8]
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* now a Commonwealth Realm · now a member of the Commonwealth of Nations
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1708–1757 Minorca
since 1713 Gibraltar
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19th century
1800–1964 Malta
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20th century
since 1960 Akrotiri and Dhekelia
17th century
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1629–1691 Massachusetts Bay Colony
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1637–1662 New Haven Colony
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18th century
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19th century
1818–1846 Columbia District / Oregon Country1
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1853–1863 Colony of the Queen Charlotte Islands
1858–1866 British Columbia
1859–1870 North-Western Territory
1862–1863 Stikine Territory
1866–1871 Vancouver Island
and British Columbia
1867–1931 *Dominion of Canada2
20th century
1907–1949 Dominion of Newfoundland3
1Occupied jointly with the United States
2In 1931, Canada and other British dominions obtained self-government through the Statute of Westminster. see Canada's name.
3Gave up self-rule in 1934, but remained a de jure Dominion until it joined Canada in 1949.
17th century
1605–1979 *Saint Lucia
1623–1883 Saint Kitts (*Saint Kitts & Nevis)
1624–1966 *Barbados
1625–1650 Saint Croix
1627–1979 *St. Vincent and the Grenadines
1628–1883 Nevis (*Saint Kitts & Nevis)
1629–1641 St. Andrew and Providence Islands4
since 1632 Montserrat
1632–1860 Antigua (*Antigua & Barbuda)
1643–1860 Bay Islands
since 1650 Anguilla
1651–1667 Willoughbyland (Suriname)
1655–1850 Mosquito Coast (protectorate)
1655–1962 *Jamaica
since 1666 British Virgin Islands
since 1670 Cayman Islands
1670–1973 *Bahamas
1670–1688 St. Andrew and Providence Islands4
1671–1816 Leeward Islands
18th century
1762–1974 *Grenada
1763–1978 Dominica
since 1799 Turks and Caicos Islands
19th century
1831–1966 British Guiana (Guyana)
1833–1960 Windward Islands
1833–1960 Leeward Islands
1860–1981 *Antigua and Barbuda
1871–1964 British Honduras (*Belize)
1882–1983 *St. Kitts and Nevis
1889–1962 Trinidad and Tobago
20th century
1958–1962 West Indies Federation
4Now the San Andrés y Providencia Department of Colombia
18th century
1792–1961 Sierra Leone
1795–1803 Cape Colony
19th century
1806–1910 Cape Colony
1816–1965 Gambia
1856–1910 Natal
1868–1966 Basutoland (Lesotho)
1874–1957 Gold Coast (Ghana)
1882–1922 Egypt
1884–1966 Bechuanaland (Botswana)
1884–1960 British Somaliland
1887–1897 Zululand
1888–1894 Matabeleland
1890–1980 Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)
1890–1962 Uganda
1890–1963 Zanzibar (Tanzania)
1891–1964 Nyasaland (Malawi)
1891–1907 British Central Africa Protectorate
1893–1968 Swaziland
1895–1920 East Africa Protectorate
1899–1956 Anglo-Egyptian Sudan
20th century
1900–1914 Northern Nigeria
1900–1914 Southern Nigeria
1900–1910 Orange River Colony
1900–1910 Transvaal Colony
1906–1954 Nigeria Colony
1910–1931 South Africa
1911–1964 Northern Rhodesia (Zambia)
1914–1954 Nigeria Protectorate
1915–1931 South West Africa (Namibia)
1919–1960 Cameroons (Cameroon) 5
1920–1963 Kenya
1922–1961 Tanganyika (Tanzania) 5
1954–1960 Nigeria
18th century
1757–1947 Bengal (West Bengal (India) and Bangladesh)
1762–1764 Philippines
1795–1948 Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
1796–1965 Maldives
19th century
1819–1826 British Malaya (Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore)
1826–1946 Straits Settlements
1839–1967 Colony of Aden
1841–1997 Hong Kong
1841–1941 Kingdom of Sarawak (Malaysia)
1858–1947 British India (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, Burma)
1882–1963 British North Borneo (Malaysia)
1885–1946 Unfederated Malay States
1888–1984 Sultanate of Brunei
1888–1946 Sultanate of Sulu
1891–1971 Muscat and Oman protectorate
1892–1971 Trucial States protectorate
1895–1946 Federated Malay States
1898–1930 Weihai Garrison
20th century
1918–1961 Kuwait protectorate
1920–1932 Iraq5
1921–1946 Transjordan5
1923–1948 Palestine5
1946–1948 Malayan Union
1946–1963 Sarawak (Malaysia)
1948–1957 Federation of Malaya (Malaysia)
since 1965 British Indian Ocean Territory
18th century
1788–1901 New South Wales
19th century
1803–1901 Van Diemen's Land/Tasmania
1807–1863 Auckland Islands6
1824–1980 New Hebrides (Vanuatu)
1824–1901 Queensland
1829–1901 Swan River Colony/Western Australia
1836–1901 South Australia
since 1838 Pitcairn Islands
1841–1907 Colony of New Zealand
1851–1901 Victoria
1874–1970 Fiji7
1877–1976 British Western Pacific Territories
1884–1949 Territory of Papua
1888–1965 Cook Islands6
1889–1948 Union Islands (Tokelau)6
1892–1979 Gilbert and Ellice Islands8
1893–1978 British Solomon Islands9
20th century
1900–1970 Tonga (protected state)
1900–1974 Niue6
1901–1942 *Commonwealth of Australia
1907–1953 *Dominion of New Zealand
1919–1949 Territory of New Guinea
1949–1975 Territory of Papua and New Guinea10
6Now part of the *Realm of New Zealand
7Suspended member
8Now Kiribati and *Tuvalu
9Now the *Solomon Islands
10Now *Papua New Guinea
17th century
since 1659 St. Helena
19th century
since 1815 Ascension Island11
since 1816 Tristan da Cunha11
since 1833 Falkland Islands12
20th century
since 1908 British Antarctic Territory13
since 1908 South Georgia and
the South Sandwich Islands12, 13
11Dependencies of St. Helena since 1922 (Ascension Island) and 1938 (Tristan da Cunha)
12Occupied by Argentina during the Falklands War of April–June 1982
13Both claimed in 1908; territories formed in 1962 (British Antarctic Territory) and 1985 (South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands)
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