Virgin Islands, British
The Virgin Islands
(Virgin Islands) was thus named by Columbus in 1493 as a tribute
to Santa Ursula and its 11,000 virgins. When Columbus arrived,
the islands were populated by cariber and Arawak people, but by
the middle of the 16th century the Europeans had succeeded in
exterminating them all.
From 1872, the archipelago was incorporated into the British
administration of the Caribbean islands, administered on the
basis of federal principles. The federation was dissolved in
1956, but until 1960 the governor remained responsible for the
administration of the British Virgin Islands. This year, the
administration transitioned to an administrator appointed by the
British Crown. Unlike the other British Isles, the Virgin
Islands did not form part of the West Indies (1958-62), but
instead wanted to make close links with the other part of the
archipelago controlled by the United States (see Virgin Islands,
The British became owners of the eastern part of the
archipelago in the 18th century, and with African slave labor
they built up a production of sugar cane, the dye indigo and
cotton. By the middle of the 18th century, the slave population
was already 7,000 people - 6 times more than the British
settlers. It was not until the 1830's that slavery was
In the 20th century, the colony was ruled on the basis of a
variety of constitutions. In 1967, the country gained its first
government, after the first elections in the country's history.
In 1977, the Constitution was amended to expand self-government
and implement changes to the electoral system. Responsibility
for defense, internal security and foreign policy remained in
the hands of the governor. He was appointed by the British
In the 1979 parliamentary elections, the independent
candidates won 5 of the 9 seats. The Virgin Islands Party (VIP)
won the remaining 4.5 years later the Independents won only one
seat, but through an alliance with United Party (UP) managed to
get the Prime Minister post.
Tourism contributes 45% of national income, while fishing is
the traditional profession. With the elimination of taxes, the
islands became an ideal place for banking. Sand and gravel are
the two most important export items, while examining the
islands' subsidence for copper deposits.
In August 1986, the British government dissolved the
parliament and held new elections a few days after the
opposition presented a vote of no confidence in Chief Minister
Cyril Romney. In the September elections, VIP won 5 of the 9
seats, UP 2 and the independent 2nd VIP's leader, Levity Stoutt
was appointed new Chief Minister.
In March 1988, Prime Minister Omar Hodge was accused of
corruption and resigned. He was replaced by former UP leader
Ralph O'Neal, who joined VIP. However, Omar Hodge maintained his
innocence. In March 1989, he created a new party, the
Independent Popular Movement (IPM), and in 1990, Hodge won a
case in the courts for defamation.
In the November elections, VIP increased its number of seats
to 6, while IPM gained 1 and the independent 2. Stoutt retained
the post of prime minister and O'Neal was elected prime
Due. drug trafficking and following recommendations from the
UK government, a law was passed to monitor foreign banking
companies. They needed to be licensed to operate, and had to
accept periodic inspections. The authorities believed that the
banks were largely involved in money laundering.
In October 1991, Peter Alfred Penfold was appointed governor.
As a result of the rapidly rising tourism on the coasts, the
environment was exposed to increasing pressure. This was
especially true of the coral reefs.
In the February 1995 election, VIP regained its 6 seats, IPM
gained 3, while Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM), like UP,
gained 2. Following H. Lavity Stoutt's death, Ralph O'Neal took
over the post of prime minister on May 15, 1995, and the month
after David Mackilligin was appointed new governor.
In 1995, only 3% of the population was affected by
unemployment, economic growth was 4% and per capita income was $
10,200. In July 1997, the government adopted a three-year
development plan, which included: included an extension of the
port and the building of 2 tourist centers.
In 1998, the British Crown appointed Frank Savage as
governor. In the May 1999 election, VIP received 38% of the vote
and 8 seats. The National Democratic Party got 36.9% and 5
seats, while the remaining 4% went to CCM, which got 1 seat. The
independent candidates obtained a total of 13.4% of the vote,
but due to the distribution of votes no one was elected.
The government implemented road works and other
infrastructure projects in the outer islands, and in its
December 2001 submission of the 2002 budget, O'Neal emphasized
the importance of infrastructure for tourism development at
Virgin Gorda, Anegada and Jost Van Dyke.
In May 2004, a new office was created to combat money
laundering. Chief Minister Orlando Smith declared that the
Financial Investigation Agency should step up efforts to ensure
honesty and transparency in financial matters.
In July 2007, Prime Minister Smith postponed elections on
August 20. Acc. At the end of his term, Smith had fulfilled 90%
of his government base. The election became a landslide victory
for the Virgin Islands Party, whose leader Ralph T. O'Neal was
deployed as prime minister.
Orlando Smith's National Democratic Party won the November
2011 parliamentary elections with 52.5% of the vote and Smith
became new prime minister.
Crime is far lower in the British Virgin Islands than in the
North American. At the same time, the North American narcotics
DEA has been pushing for many years to pursue alleged smugglers
through British waters. Although agreements have been
established, there are still major problems with the delivery of
captured smugglers to the United States.
Until the start of the global economic crisis in 2008, BVI
had a surplus on the state's finances, but the state has since
accumulated an increasing deficit. Public debt rose to DKK 113
million in 2012. US $, equivalent to 10.3% of GDP. However, it
was still far below European level. Despite attempts by the UK
and BVI to deny it, BVI still plays a key role as a tax haven.
BVI was badly hit by Hurricane Irma in September 2017. It
cost about 10 people's lives and went hard over Tortola. The
British colonial power was very slow to send disaster relief to
the islands and to start reconstruction. Instead, the colonial
power sent its Secretary of State Boris Johnson, who, however,
had neither building materials nor the ability to operate a
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