Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands

This article is about the island of St. Croix in the Virgin Islands. For other uses of the name, see Saint Croix (disambiguation).
Saint Croix
Nickname: Twin City

Saint Croix from space, January 1992
Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Geography
Location Caribbean Sea
Coordinates 17°44′23″N 64°44′20″W / 17.73972°N 64.73889°W / 17.73972; -64.73889Coordinates: 17°44′23″N 64°44′20″W / 17.73972°N 64.73889°W / 17.73972; -64.73889
Archipelago Virgin Islands, Leeward Islands
Area 82.88 sq mi (214.7 km2)
Length 22 mi (35 km)
Width 7 mi (11 km)
Highest elevation 1,165 ft (355.1 m)
Highest point Mount Eagle
Administration
United States
Territory Virgin Islands
District District Of Saint Croix
Demographics
Demonym Crucian
Population 50,601 (as of 2010)
Density 610 /sq mi (236 /km2)
Ethnic groups Afro-Caribbean, Puerto Rican, Caucasian

Saint Croix (/ˌsnt ˈkrɔɪ/; Spanish: Santa Cruz; Dutch: Sint-Kruis; French: Sainte-Croix; Danish and Norwegian: Sankt Croix, Taino: Ay Ay) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincorporated territory of the United States.

With its 215 km2, St. Croix is the largest of the islands in the territory, being 22 by 7 miles (45 by 11 km). However, the territory's capital, Charlotte Amalie, is located on Saint Thomas. As of the 2010 United States Census, St. Croix's population was 50,600,[1] its highest point is Mount Eagle, at 355 metres (1,165 ft). St Croix's nickname is "Twin City", for its two towns on opposite ends of the island, Frederiksted on the western end and Christiansted on the east.

History

The island was inhabited by various indigenous groups during prehistory. Christopher Columbus landed forces on the island on November 14, 1493, and was attacked by the Kalinago, who lived at Salt River on the north shore. Control of the island was traded among various powers, including Spain, the Netherlands, the Knights of Malta, and Great Britain before it became a possession of France from 1650 until 1733. On June 13, 1733, France sold the island group to Denmark-Norway and the Danish West India Company.[2] For nearly 200 years, St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John were known as the Danish West Indies; around the mid to late 18th century, "at the peak of the plantation economy, the enslaved population of St. Croix numbered between 18,000 and 20,000, the white population ranging between 1,500 and 2,000".[3]

The first British invasion and occupation of the Danish West Indies occurred at the end of March 1801 when a British fleet arrived at St Thomas. Denmark-Norway accepted the Articles of Capitulation the British proposed and the British occupied the islands without a shot being fired. The British occupation lasted until April 1802, when the British returned the islands to Denmark-Norway.

The second British invasion of the Danish West Indies took place in December 1807 when a British fleet captured St Thomas on 22 December and St. Croix on 25 December. Denmark-Norway did not resist and the invasion was bloodless. This British occupation of the Danish West Indies lasted until 20 November 1815, when Britain returned the islands to Denmark.

These invasions were due to Denmark's alliance with France during the Napoleonic Wars. On the conclusion of a peace with France, the islands would be returned to Denmark.

In 1916, Denmark sold St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John to the United States, formalizing the transfer in the Treaty of the Danish West Indies, in exchange for a sum of US$25 million in gold. In a national referendum on the issue, 64.2% of Danish voters approved the sale. An unofficial referendum held in the islands resulted in 99.83% vote in favor of the purchase. Formal transfer of the islands to the US took place on April 1, 1917.

The island's inhabitants were granted United States citizenship in 1927. Industrialization of the island and its move away from an agrarian society took place in the 1960s. The 2012 shutdown of the Hovensa refinery resulted in the loss of many jobs. Agriculture has seen a slow resurgence, due to an increase in demand for local produce and agricultural products.

Geography

A 1754 Danish map of the island

St. Croix lies at 17°45′N 64°45′W / 17.750°N 64.750°W / 17.750; -64.750: the easternmost point in the United States of America (as measured from the center of the continental United States, ignoring the westernmost of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska just west of the 180th meridian) is St. Croix's Point Udall. The island has an area of 214.66 km² (82.88 sq mi). The terrain is rugged, though not extremely so. The highest point on the island, Mount Eagle, is 1,165 feet (355 m) high. Most of the east end is quite hilly and steep, as is the north side from Christiansted west. From the north side hills, a fairly even plain slopes down to the south coast: this was cultivated as the prime sugar land on the island.

Climate

The trade wind blows more or less along the length of the island. The hills of the western part of the island receive a good deal more rain than the east end; annual rainfall is on the whole extremely variable, averaging perhaps forty inches (1,000 mm) a year. The east end of the island is a dry desert range with a substantial amount of cactus, while the west end has lush vegetation and palm trees. The island has multiple ecosystems in a small geographic area. Fairly severe and extended drought has always been a problem, particularly considering the lack of fresh ground water and lack of freshwater streams or rivers on the island. The island has a desalination plant, but most residential homes and businesses have built-in cisterns used to collect rainwater.

Demographics

Inhabitants are called Crucians /ˈkrʒən/[4] (frequently written as "Cruzans.")

There is much debate as to what constitutes a native Crucian. The consensus in Crucian society is that if one is bahn ya ("born here" in Crucian dialect) on St. Croix, they can claim to be Crucian. Because of heavy migration from other islands in the Lesser Antilles and Puerto Rico throughout the 20th century, most native-born Crucians are descended from enslaved Africans whose descendants moved from other Caribbean islands. Those considered the ancestral natives of St. Croix are descendants of African slaves brought to the island by Europeans during the 18th and 19th centuries, and laborers recruited by the Danish after emancipation in 1848. As on other Caribbean islands, many ancestral natives are also descended from European settlers and planters that migrated to the West Indies during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Due to a low number of European females in the colonial West Indies, many Europeans in colonial St. Croix produced offspring with the majority African population, whose mixed-heritage descendants largely bear the surnames of their European ancestors. However, there are also a handful of ancestral families on the island (most of whom are related) of full European ancestry.

Puerto Rican migration was prevalent in the 1930s, 40s and 50s, when many Puerto Ricans relocated to St. Croix for work after the collapse of the sugar industry. In addition, the U.S. Navy purchase of two-thirds of the nearby Puerto Rican island of Vieques during World War II resulted in the displacement of thousands of Puerto Ricans, many of whom relocated to St. Croix because of its similar size and geography. The local holiday, Puerto Rico/U.S. Virgin Islands Friendship Day, has been celebrated since the 1960s on October 10, (the same date as Columbus Day). Puerto Ricans in St. Croix, most of whom have lived here for more than a generation, have kept their culture alive while integrating into the mainstream Crucian culture as well. For example, in informal situations, many Puerto Ricans in St. Croix speak a unique Spanglish-like combination of Puerto Rican Spanish and the local Crucian creole dialect.

Migration from "down-island" (a Virgin Islander colloquial term for Caribbean islands east and south of the U.S. and British Virgin Islands), occurred mainly throughout the 1960s and 70s. In that period, agriculture declined as the major industry on St. Croix, to be replaced by tourism, alumina production, and oil refining. Jobs were plentiful in these industries and down-islanders came to St. Croix by the thousands. Many down-islanders made St. Croix their permanent home, while others eventually returned to their native islands. Most down-islanders came from St. Kitts & Nevis, Antigua, St. Lucia and Dominica, although people from every Anglophone Caribbean island can be found on St. Croix.

Continental Americans, although small in number in comparison to Caribbean immigrants, have also been part of the St. Croix community. Most reside on the East End of St. Croix. Arab Palestinians have been an influential part of the local economy since the 1960s, when they first started to migrate to St. Croix to set up shops, supermarkets and gas stations. In the 21st century, recent waves of migration to St. Croix have included people from the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, the Philippines, and various South American nations.

St. Croix's history of migration has sometimes caused tensions between immigrants and Crucians whose ancestry on the island dates back for generations. Tensions have subsided to some extent in recent years, mainly due to intermarriage among Crucians and other Caribbean peoples. In the late 1990s, many people supported legislation to define as a "native U.S. Virgin Islander" anyone who could trace their ancestry on the island to 1927, the year in which U.S. Virgin Islanders were granted United States citizenship. This effort by a select group of nationalist senators eventually failed after much public outcry and controversy. It was learned that most native-born U.S. Virgin Islanders would not qualify as "native" under the proposed legislation, as their immigrant ancestors had arrived later than 1927, but thousands of Danish citizens would have qualified.

In 2009, the proposed U.S. Virgin Islands Constitution voted by the Fifth Constitutional Convention established three definitions of U.S. Virgin Islanders: "Ancestral Native Virgin Islander" - those with ancestral ties (and their descendants); "Native Virgin Islander" - those born on the island (and their descendants); and "Virgin Islander" - any United States citizen who has resided in the territory for five years. The proposed constitution was rejected by the United States Congress in 2010 for violating the principle of equal rights for all citizens of the territory, "native" or not, and was sent back to the convention for further consideration.

The total population of the island as per the 2010 U.S. Census is 50,601.[5]

St. Croix is divided into the following subdistricts (with population as per the 2010 U.S. Census):

  1. Anna's Hope Village (pop. 4,041)
  2. Christiansted (pop. 2,626)
  3. East End (pop. 2,453)
  4. Frederiksted (pop. 3,091)
  5. Northcentral (pop. 4,977)
  6. Northwest (pop. 4,863)
  7. Sion Farm (pop. 13,003)
  8. Southcentral (pop. 8,049)
  9. Southwest (pop. 7,498)

Language

English has been the most common language on St. Croix since the 1700s. Danish was once the official language of the island during its days as a Danish colony, but was never widely spoken. Spanish is spoken by Puerto Rican and Dominican (Dominican Republic) immigrants and their St. Croix-born offspring, and various French creoles are spoken by the large St. Lucian and Dominican (Dominica) communities, as well as the smaller Haitian one. A native English-based creole known on the island as Crucian is also spoken by the majority of the population in informal situations.[6] Arabic is common among the large Palestinian community on St. Croix.

Religion

St. John's Anglican Church, Christiansted

Christianity is the predominant religion; the island has been called the "Land of Churches"[7] for the approximately 150 churches that serve its 50,000 residents.

Protestant denominations are the most prevalent, but there is also a significant Roman Catholic presence due to St. Croix's large Hispanic population, as well as Irish influence during the Danish colonial period. Anglican, Methodist, Moravian, Presbyterian, Pentecostal and Seventh-day Adventists are among the Protestant denominations prevalent on the island. There are also followers of the Jehovah's Witness tradition, as well as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS or Mormon).

As in most of the Caribbean, various forms of Rastafari are practiced on the island. Islam is prevalent among the small local Arab population, and there is a small Jewish presence as well.

Economy

HOVENSA oil refinery

St. Croix was once an agricultural powerhouse in the Caribbean, but this period ended with the rapid industrialization of the island's economy in the 1960s. Like many other Caribbean islands today, St. Croix has tourism as one of its main sources of revenue. A number of other industries on the island contribute to the economy.

St. Croix was home to HOVENSA, one of the world's largest oil refineries. HOVENSA is a limited liability company owned and operated by Hess Oil Virgin Islands Corp. (HOVIC), a division of U.S.-based Hess Corporation, and Petroleos de Venezuela, SA (PDVSA), the national oil company of Venezuela. Gas prices on the island were slightly higher than average when compared to gas prices in the continental United States.

On January 18, 2012, the company announced that the HOVENSA refinery would be permanently shut down. This was expected to have a major adverse effect on the economy of St. Croix and the entire U.S. Virgin Islands, as the refinery employed 1,200 residents and 950 contractors.[8]

St. Croix is also home to the Cruzan Rum Distillery,[9] makers of Cruzan Rum, a brand of Beam Global. The Cruzan Rum Distillery was founded in 1760 as Estate Diamond, and for many years used locally grown sugar cane to produce a single "dark" style rum. The distillery now imports sugar cane molasses from other countries in the region, primarily from the Dominican Republic and South America. In recent years, Cruzan Rum, along with Bacardi from Puerto Rico and Gosling's from Bermuda, has contributed to the resurgence of "single barrel," super-premium rum. The quality and smoothness of the Cruzan Estate Rums has won more than 30 Spirit Awards.[10] Cruzan Estate Diamond Rum (aged 5 years in American oak barrels) and Cruzan Single Barrel Estate Rum (aged 12 years in American oak barrels) are just a couple of examples.

Diageo has completed construction of a new distillery on a 26-acre industrial site next to the Hovensa Refinery. The new distillery produces Captain Morgan Rum.[11] Diageo's entrance into the U.S. Virgin Islands rum industry has been controversial. The cash-strapped U.S. Virgin Islands government secured $250 million in bonds for the plant, about which the Puerto Rican government has bitterly complained.

Transportation

Cars drive on the left hand side of the road, but nearly all the automobiles on the island have left side steering columns. This has proven difficult for new residents and visitors from right-hand traffic locales such as the mainland United States, the French and Dutch West Indies, and Puerto Rico.

There is a public bus service called Virgin Islands Transit, also known as VITRAN, operated by the Virgin Islands Department of Public Works.

In addition to taxis and buses, St. Croix has shared taxis, locally known as "taxi buses" (also found on the other U.S. Virgin Islands). Taxi buses are full-sized vans running a route from Frederiksted to Christiansted. Taxi buses are privately owned and operated; they do not follow a regular schedule, and there are no pre-specified stops. People simply wait by the side of the road until a taxi bus approaches, then flag the driver down by waving. Passengers can get out anywhere along the taxi route. Taxi buses are not metered and are required by law to charge a flat rate of $2.50, regardless of where a rider gets on and off. Taxis to specific locations are much more expensive and are typically used by tourists.

The Henry E. Rohlsen International Airport serves St. Croix with regular flights from the U.S. mainland, Puerto Rico, and the Eastern Caribbean. Seaplanes, operated by Seaborne Airlines, also serve the island, taking off and landing in Christiansted Harbor. Ferry service to St. Thomas operates from Gallows Bay, although it has been suspended indefinitely since July 2011. Ferries companies based in St. Thomas often operate St. Croix-to-St. Thomas service for special occasions, such as the St. Croix Agricultural Fair in February, carnival, as well as horse races. Although St. Croix is a U.S. territory, the U.S. Virgin Islands are maintained as a free port in a separate customs zone. Therefore, travelers to and from the continental United States and Puerto Rico must clear U.S. customs but do not need to present a passport, and only need proof of U.S. citizenship or nationality. The immigration status of non-U.S. citizens may be verified during this process.

Education

University of the Virgin Islands campus

The St. Croix School District operates public schools in St. Croix.[12] There also exist multiple private schools, including, but not limited to, St. Croix Montessori, Star Apple Montessori School, The Good Hope Country Day School, AZ Academy, St. Mary's Catholic School, Free Will Baptist, and The Manor School. The only colleges on the island are the University of the Virgin Islands, St. Croix campus and Barry University, which operates a physician assistant training program.

Culture

Festivals

The island's largest festival, termed "Crucian Christmas Carnival," is celebrated on St. Croix throughout late December and early January. Another significant festival is the Agricultural and Food Fair held in mid-February.

Several times a year, there is a nighttime festival in Christiansted called "Jump-Up" and a monthly event called "Sunset Jazz" in Frederiksted, where local jazz musicians play on Frederiksted Beach. Every year on the Saturday before Mardi Gras, there is a local Mardi Croix parade and a dog parade through the North Shore.

The St. Croix Half Ironman Triathlon is held in the first week of May.[13] The Triathlon includes a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride, and a 13.1-mile run. Because the bicycle route includes a ride up an extremely steep hill known as "The Beast", this triathlon is often nicknamed "Beauty and the Beast".

Points of interest

Fort Frederik in Frederiksted

Frederiksted maintains its Victorian era architecture and original seven street by seven street city design and is host to several historic structures. Among them are St. Patrick's Catholic Church built in the 1840s and its primary school, the Customs House, the 19th Century Apothecary, and many other buildings; some which due to hurricanes past have fallen into very scenic ruins. Frederiksted operates at a more relaxed pace than most of the island, and is more lively during Carnival in January and whenever visiting cruise ships are in port.

Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve contains the only known site where members of a Columbus expedition set foot on what is now United States territory. It also preserves upland watersheds, mangrove forests, and estuarine and marine environments that support threatened and endangered species. The site is marked by Fort Salé, a remaining earthworks fortification from the French period of occupation, about 1617. The park also preserves prehistoric and colonial-era archeological sites including the only existent example of a ball court in the Caribbean. This is one of two sites on the island for bioluminescent bays (the other being Altona Lagoon).

Fort Christiansværn built in 1749 and other buildings are maintained by the National Park Service as the Christiansted National Historic Site.

Buck Island Reef National Monument preserves a 176-acre (71 ha) island just north of St. Croix and the surrounding reefs. This is a popular destination for snorkelers. Buck Island maintains a U.S. Coast Guard weather station and is also home to a student monitored lemon shark breeding ground. Green Cay (pronounced green key) is a small island located southwest of Buck Island and also hosts a nearby reef popular among scuba divers and snorkelists—Tamarind Reef.

Scuba diving, snorkeling, and watersports

Scuba Diving in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands
Seahorse at the pier in Frederiksted.

The waters surrounding St. Croix are warm year-round, with temperatures ranging from 25 °C (77 °F)30 °C (86 °F), making it a popular destination for watersports including scuba diving, snorkeling, kayaking, paddleboarding, surfing, kite surfing, parasailing, jet skiing, fishing, and sailing. Two prominent features of the island's underwater topography, Frederiksted Pier and the drop-off into deep water at Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve, are especially attractive to scuba divers.

Frederiksted is known for reef diving and access to wreck diving. The western side of the island has calm waters that allow snorkeling with easy access from the beach. Paddleboarding is popular near Frederiksted for the same reason. The Frederiksted Pier attracts scuba divers and snorkellers, as well as those who simply jump off it repeatedly.[14][15] The shallow water and sandy bottom around the pier are ideal for recreational diving by novice scuba divers in PADI Discover Scuba Diving programs (also called resort diving), for extended shore diving, Night diving, and for underwater photography,[16] especially of its abundant seahorse population.[17][18][19]

A few hundred meters off the northern coast of the island, from Salt River to Cane Bay, the bottom drops suddenly into a deep trench, where coral reefs, abundant tropical fish, and migrant sea turtles may be observed. Kayaking is popular in the Salt River area as well.

The town of Christiansted, a short distance from Buck Island and Green Cay, is a former capital of the Danish West Indies. It lies just east of the northern underwater drop-off and is protected by a reef.

Bioluminescent bays

There are two bioluminescent bays or bio bays on St Croix. The most widely known and visited is located at Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve. A second bio bay can be found at Altona Lagoon. Bio bays are extremely rare with "only seven year-round lagoons known to exist in the Caribbean".[20]

A combination of factors creates the necessary conditions for bioluminescence: red mangrove trees surround the water (the organisms have been related to mangrove forest,[21] although mangrove is not necessarily associated with this species).[22] A study at the bio bay located at Salt River is being conducted as of 2013 by faculty and students from the University of South Carolina, the University of North Carolina-Wilmington and the University of the Virgin Islands. Their research is focused on analyzing quality and nutrient composition of the water, the distribution of a micro-organism, the dinoflagellate Pyrodinium bahamense, which glows whenever the water is disturbed, and the abundance of “cysts,” dormant dinoflagellates embedded in the sea floor.

A concurrent complementary study is being undertaken by the St. Croix Environmental Association in conjunction with Scripps Institution of Oceanography which focuses on counting the photon density of the phenomenon over time and through various conditions of weather and other impacts. Water quality and taxonomic analysis from both studies will be shared and correlated to create one of the most thorough investigations of year-round bioluminescent bays to date.

The two bio bays on St Croix have very different characteristics. The one at Altona Lagoon is large in size but is very shallow allowing one to see the various marine life swimming and agitating the water, lighting it up. The bio bay at Salt River is smaller in size but is deeper than Altona Lagoon. Because of its depth this bay is also home to a second form of bioluminescence called Ctenophora or comb-jellies, which are not found at Altona Lagoon.

A third bioluminescent organism is also found in Salt River. A species of marine fireworm performs its brilliant green mating ritual within 57 hours after the full moon, females rising to the surface and leaving a luminescent green puddle for the males to race through, fertilizing the eggs.

Protected areas

Famous Crucians, St. Croix-born persons and Saint Croix residents

See also

References

  1. "Population of the United States Virgin Islands by Estate: 2010". Census.gov. U.S. Census Bureau. 2010. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  2. "St. Croix, Virgin Islands: Facts & History". Vinow.com. 1993-11-14.
  3. Kristín Loftsdóttir and Gísli Pálsson, "Black on White: Danish Colonialism, Iceland and the Caribbean", in Scandinavian Colonialism and the Rise of Modernity: Small Time Agents in a Global Arena, ed. by Magdalena Naum and Jonas M. Nordin, Contributions To Global Historical Archaeology Volume, 37 (New York: Springer, 2013), pp. 37--52 (pp. 41--42). DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4614-6202-6_3. http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4614-6202-6_3.
  4. Crucian Dictionary
  5. 2010 Census U.S. Virgin Islands, United States Census Bureau
  6. Virgin Islands Language, vinow.com
  7. https://www.coldwellbankervi.com/page-religion-on-st-croix-72.html
  8. AP (January 18, 2012). "Refinery closing in huge blow to USVI economy" (Press release). Associated Press. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  9. Lynne M. Sullivan (2006). Adventure Guide Virgin Islands (6th ed.). Hunter Publishing. p. 186. ISBN 978-1588435811.
  10. "that's the SPIRIT! " Mixology > Cruzan Rum". Thatsthespirit.com. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
  11. Virgin Islands governor John de Jongh announces landmark initiative with Diageo for Captain Morgan rum distillery on St. Croix, June 24, 2008
  12. St. Croix School District.Virgin Islands Department Of Education. Retrieved March 19, 2008.
  13. The Caribbean Classic Triathlon
  14. http://www.uncommoncaribbean.com/2011/09/02/on-site-st-croix-re-living-the-childhood-joy-of-jumping-off-frederiksted-pier/
  15. http://www.gotostcroix.com/st-croix-blog/jump-frederiksted-pier/
  16. Larry Larsen; M. Timothy O'Keefe (1 June 1991). Fish & Dive the Caribbean: A Candid Destination Guide to the Bahamas, Bermuda, Jamaica, British Virgin Islands, Cancun, Cozumel, Cayman Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands and Others. Larsen's Outdoor Publishing. p. 160. ISBN 978-0-936513-17-1.
  17. Sport Diver. June 2005. p. 84. ISSN 1077-985X.
  18. http://www.scubadiving.com/travel/caribbean-atlantic/us-virgin-islands-top-10-dives
  19. Sport Diver. June 2005. p. 84. ISSN 1077-985X.
  20. "SEA Launching Second Study on Bioluminescence". stcroixsource.com. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  21. Usup G, Azanza RV (1998) Physiology and dynamics of the tropical dinoflagellate Pyrodinium bahamense. In: Anderson DM, Cembella AD, Hallegraeff GM (eds) The physiological ecology of harmful algal blooms. NATO ASI Series, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, p 81–94
  22. Phlips, EJ, Badylak, S, Bledsoe, E & M Cichra. 2006.
  23. "Raja Bell". Basketball-Reference.Com. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
  24. "Tim Duncan". Basketball-Reference.Com. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
  25. "At Home With Walt Frazier". nytimes.com. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
  26. http://www.srh.noaa.gov/sju/?n=1999_lenny

External links

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