Universities I Colleges I Schools I Private Training I English Schools

Education

Education is compulsory for all children between the ages of 51 and 16. Free schooling is provided in elementary and secondary schools. In the late 1980s the islands' 70 public elementary and secondary schools had an annual enrollment of about 29,000 pupils. The College of the Virgin Islands (1962), a public institution on St. Thomas, had an annual enrollment of about 2550 students.
From 1917, when the United States acquired the Virgin Islands, to 1931 the islands were governed by the Department of the Navy. In 1931 jurisdiction was transferred to the Department of the Interior, and a civil governor was appointed by the president. Since 1970 the governor has been popularly elected. The unicameral legislature is elected for two-year terms and is composed of 15 senators, 5 each from St. Croix and St. Thomas, 1 from St. John, and 4 at large. Executive power is vested in an elected governor and lieutenant governor, an attorney general appointed by the governor, and other officials. The government comptroller is appointed by the secretary of the interior, and the judge of the district court is appointed by the president of the United States.

Virgin Islands of the United States, group of 3 islands and about 50 islets, most of which are uninhabited, in the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies, east of Puerto Rico and lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The three islands, with their areas, are Saint Thomas (83 sq km/32 sq mi), Saint John (52 sq km/20 sq mi), and Saint Croix (207 sq km/80 sq mi). The capital is Charlotte Amalie (population, 1990, 12,331), on St. Thomas. Other communities in the group are Christiansted and Frederiksted, both on St. Croix. The total area is 344 sq km (133 sq mi), and the total population (1990) is 101,809.

Land and Resources
The islands are generally hilly to mountainous. Crown Mount (474 m/1556 ft) on St. Thomas is the highest point. The climate is tropical, moderated by prevailing trade winds. The average annual temperature is 26.7° C (80° F). Vegetation is luxuriant and diverse. Mineral resources are lacking, although sand and stone are mined for local construction.

Economy
Tourism is vital to the economy of the Virgin Islands. Some 32 percent of all paid employees are engaged in retail sales or in services provided by recreation, motels, hotels, and restaurants. The number of tourists visiting the islands rose from about 200,000 in 1960 and 1961 to some 1.5 million in 1986; in the same period, spending by tourists grew from $26 million to more than $500 million. Products manufactured in the islands include rum, watches, textiles, and pharmaceuticals. The islands also have petroleum and alumina processing plants. The annual budget in the late 1980s exceeded $303.5 million.
The islands form the easternmost outpost of the United States. The United States Marine Corps maintains an air base on St. Thomas and an airfield on St. Croix.


History
Christopher Columbus visited the Virgin Islands in 1493, on his second voyage to America, and named them for St. Ursula and the other virgin martyrs associated with her. Denmark colonized St. Thomas in 1666. The Danish West Indies Company controlled the group until 1755, when Frederick V, king of Denmark, bought the islands. Throughout the 18th century the islands flourished as a center of slave trade and sugar production. In 1800, during the Napoleonic Wars, Great Britain blockaded St. Thomas and in 1801 occupied the island. In 1802 St. Thomas was returned to Denmark. From 1807 to 1815 the British again occupied the Danish West Indies; in 1815 the islands were once more restored to Denmark. After the abolition of slavery in 1848, the sugarcane plantation economy declined. In 1917, after negotiations that were begun in 1867, the United States bought the Danish West Indies for $25 million. In 1946 William Henry Hastie became the first black governor of the group. The Congress of the United States in 1968 passed a law granting the people of the Virgin Islands the right to elect their own governor. Melvin Evans, appointed in 1969, was the first native-born black governor of the territory and in 1971 became its first elected governor; he served until 1975. In September 1989, Hurricane Hugo caused at least $500 million in damage, and 1000 U.S. troops were sent in to suppress looting and unrest.

Accommodation I Finance I Insurance I Student Travel I Useful Links