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Sailing through in 1493 on his second trip to the New World, Columbus stopped at Salt River, St. Croix, to skirmish with the Carib Indians. The many islands he saw prompted him to name the archipelago after St. Ursula and the 11,000 Virgins.

In their first attempt to gain freedom, slaves used cane knives to attack the Danish garrison at Coral Bay. They subsequently held the island’s planters hostage for six months, killing many of them. The siege ended with help from French soldiers based in Martinique.

After Great Britain set the stage by outlawing slavery in 1808 and then seized a number of slave-carrying ships in BVI waters, this British colony finally freed its slaves on August 1, 1834. The former slaves continued life as paid laborers.

Rioting slaves marched on Frederiksted, St. Croix, in 1848, forcing Danish Governor Peter Von Scholten to declare from the ramparts of Fort Frederik that “All unfree in the Danish West Indies are from today emancipated.” His decree also included St. Thomas and St. John.

While the region witnesses frequent minor earthquakes, none were as disastrous as the one that hit in November 18, 1867. A huge tsunami emptied the harbor in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, leaving fish lying on the ocean floor. It then surged back, killing many people who had gone out to collect the fish.

Years of poor crops, hurricanes, and other calamities pushed agricultural laborers to the brink, leading to the October 1,1878 Fireburn. Frederiksted and other parts of St. Croix went up in flames on the only day of the year laborers were allowed to sign new work contracts.

After years of negotiations, Denmark sold St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix to the US for $25 million. The Danish flag came down to make way for the Stars and Stripes on March 31, 1917.

Laurance Rockefeller bought up many acres of St. John land and donated them to the federal government in an act of foresight that has helped preserve St. John’s natural environment. The park, and Rockefeller’s posh Caneel Bay Resort (seeCaneel Bay Resort, St. John), opened December 1, 1956.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip visited Tortola on February 23, 1966 and again on October 26, 1977, riding in a motorcade through the island’s streets. The late Princess Margaret visited on March 8, 1972.

Both territories suffered massive devastation when Hurricane Hugo hit on September 17 and 18, 1989 and Marilyn on September 15 and 16, 1995. Other hurricanes in the late 1990s caused further damage, prompting strengthening of the infrastructure against future catastrophes.