History of the British Virgin Islands

History of the British Virgin Islands

The Territorial Flag is a defaced blue ensign with the Union Jack in the upper hoist corner, which is centered at the fly end with the badge bearing the Virgin Islands Coat of Arms. It was official adopted on 15 November 1960.

The British 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.]  The Arawaks inhabited the islands until the 15th 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 Vírgenes (Saint Ursula and her 11,000 Virgins), shortened to Las Vírgenes (The Virgins), after the legend of Saint Ursula.

The Dutch established a permanent settlement on the island of Tortola by 1648. In 1672, the English captured Tortola from the Dutch, and the English annexation of Anegada and Virgin Gorda followed in 1680. Meanwhile, over the period 1672–1733, the Danish gained control of the nearby islands of Saint Thomas, Saint John and Saint 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 nineteenth century, 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 significantly reduced sugar cane production and led to a period of economic decline.

DID YOU KNOW??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. The island gained separate colony status in 1960 and 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.

About the B.V.I.

Territorial Dish
Fish and Fungi has been chosen as the Territorial Dish. Their forefathers were fishermen and sailors and made their livelihood off the sea. Without question fish, whether fish and fungi with mayonnaise sauce, or fish and fungi with butter sauce, was a staple in every home. 



Territorial Music
The music which has traveled with the people from Africa through slavery and emancipation and evolved through to today – Fungi Music, has been chosen as the official music of the Virgin Islands. “Fungi” is the local name of folk music. The word means a “cook up” of combination of. According to local history, fungi music has its roots in African Heritage. and they brought with them the “Bamboula drum” and their dances.

Fungi music evolved in the Virgin Islands during slavery, and was later passed on from generation to generation.