Settlement of the BVI (British Virgin Islands)

    

  Paradise Found

     Long before their discovery, the beautiful tropical islands we know as the British Virgin Islands, were first home to native Indian tribes. One of the oldest tribes to live on the islands was The Arawak or Taino people, peaceful farmers who grew corn, tobacco, and cassava. Conflicting research suggests these people settled in the area somewhere between 100 BC and 200 AD. They appeared to be quite an intelligent and thriving society, they reportedly had large settlements, log and thatch homes, jewelry, religion, games, and a form of hierarchy government.

Taino Village

    They were also very effective farmers and industrious at making materials, such as baskets, pottery, and tools. Numerous artifacts have been found from Indian settlements all over the islands but particularly on the largest island, Tortola. They lived on these islands up until the 15th century when the Carib people (whom the Caribbean was named for) forced them to flee to the neighboring islands. Where they would later encounter Christopher Columbus and face slavery, starvation, disease, and near extinction. The Taino are still known to exist today in the West Indies and South America, though they are small in numbers.

    When Christopher Columbus first stumbled upon the islands, he named them, Saint Ursula and her 11,000 Virgins, after the legend of Saint Ursula. He also personally named what he thought was the largest island, Virgin Gorda (the Fat Virgin). However, the Spanish never settled the islands and merely claimed discovery. The islands were visited many times through the years by explorers and passed by ships hauling slaves to Hispaniola. In 1585, Captain Francis Drake in the Judith, reportedly anchored in the North Sound harbor before launching an attack on Santa Domingo. In 1598, it was used again by the Earl of Cumberland, to stage an attack on Puerto Rico. Some say that in 1607, John Smith may have sailed right past the islands on his way to found the new colony in Virginia. As the islands increased in popularity as a trade route and good ship harbors, it was only a matter of time before someone started a settlement.

Modern day Road Town and Road Harbor

    The first official settlement was coordinated by Dutch privateer Jost van Dyk, in 1615 he established a colony in Soper's Hole on the west end of Tortola. He and his men used it mainly for pirating, but he would farm tobacco and cotton in his free time, as well as participate in illegal trade with Puerto Rico. The Dutch West India Company began to see the islands as a perfect halfway trade point between North and South America Dutch colonies. Before long they built stone warehouses for trade storage and erected cannons to protect it that later would be build up into Fort Charlette. In 1640, Tortola was attacked by Spain and again in 1646 and 1647. The Spanish attacked every Fort, massacred every Dutch, and completely wiped out the population of Road Town. Fortunately, they did not bother to attack the small communities in Baugher's Bay or neighboring Island, Virgin Gorda. 

View of Road Harbor from Fort Charlotte

    With Tortola devastated, and the islands not making any money for them, the Dutch East India Company was suffering. So they decided to sell the islands to private persons and create large slave pens to accommodate the growing slave trade in the Caribbean. The Dutch were becoming regularly harassed by British pirates and some of them left. Fianlly in 1672, the British seized control of the Islands during the Third Angle-Dutch War. They had taken control of Tortola on July 13, 1672 and by 1674, the war was declared officially over. The Dutch were allowed to retain their rights to their land for a time, but eventually the British took all the land anyway.

Slave ship sailing the Atlantic

    The economy was booming with the slave trade and populations grew rapidly, by 1756 there was about 6,121 slaves within the territory. With their numbers swelling, revolts became common and increased in ferocity as some slaves earned their freedom but not others. By 1807, the slave trade was ended, but the current slaves were kept working until slavery was finally abolished in August of 1834. Although this act freed some 5,700 slaves, many were still forced into unpaid "apprenticeships" for the next 4-6 years. The economy shifted as former slave owners adjusted to their losses, and now if they wanted laborers they had to pay a small wage.

    In 1901, the islands were put under the charge of an appointed commissioner and executive council, as chosen by the Governor of the Leeward Islands. The islands were not prospering economically and were in fact suffering from large numbers of immigrants and little to no support from Britain. In 1949, a fisherman from Anegada, Theodolph H Faulkner, stood in the market for several straight nights and blasted the governments poor system aloud. It wasn't long before a movement started and he and 1,500 islanders marched on the Commissioner's Office with a petition to form their own laws and policies. By 1950, they had achieved control over their Legislative council and wasted no time making dramatic improvements to their islands. Over the next 12 years they added many new roadways linking towns, a bridge to Beef Island, an airport, and increased hotels and tourist attractions. Now their economy thrives mainly on tourism and it's easy to understand why. Its crystal blue waters, beautiful beaches, plentiful fishing, and marvelous sights is certain to draw a crowd to this thriving sea community!

    

Web Sources:

“British Virgin Islands.” The Virtual Caribbean Library, ggccaribbean.wpengine.com/listing/british-virgin-islands/.

“Government and Society.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/place/British-Virgin-Islands/Government-and-society#ref847.

O'Neal, Eugenia. Slavery and the Settlement of the BVI, Blogger, 12 Sept. 2019, caribbeanpast.blogspot.com/2019/09/slavery-and-settlement-of-bvi.html.

“Our Economy: Government of the Virgin Islands.” Our Economy | Government of the Virgin Islands, bvi.gov.vg/content/our-economy.

“Our History: Government of the Virgin Islands.” Our History | Government of the Virgin Islands, www.bvi.gov.vg/content/our-history.

Study.com, study.com/academy/lesson/arawak-tribe-history-language-symbols.html#:~:text=The%20Arawak%20were%20a%20peaceful,often%20forced%20them%20to%20relocate.

Picture Sources:

“Taino.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/topic/Taino.

“Road Town.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/place/Road-Town.

“Fort Charlotte, Tortola.” Military Wiki, military.wikia.org/wiki/Fort_Charlotte,_Tortola.

Hooper, AoxoA. “The Middle Passage: Atlantic Slave Trade.” AoxoA, 25 Feb. 2016, aoxoa.co/the-middle-passage-atlantic-slave-trade/.

Top 3 Island Picks for Project: 1. Tortola 2. Virgin Gorda 3. Anegada