Information AboutSt Croix |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT SAINT CROIX, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS | |
| islands of the united states virgin islands | |
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Saint Croix (English pronunciation: ''saint croy'') 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 . It is the largest of the U.S. Virgin Islands, being 28 by 7 miles (45 by 11 km). However, the territory's capital, Charlotte Amalie , is located on Saint Thomas . HISTORY Saint Croix has flown seven different flags. It has been colonized by Spain , Great Britain , the Netherlands , France , the Knights Of Malta , Denmark , and the United States. Arawak s and Carib s inhabited Saint Croix prior to European Colonization . Christopher Columbus visited there on November 14 , 1493 at the Salt River. Columbus called the island ''Santa Cruz'' ("Holy Cross"). His initial visit led to a battle in which one Spaniard and one Carib were killed. This heralded warfare between the Spaniards and Caribs which lasted for over a century, until the Spanish abandoned the island. In the seventeenth century, Dutch and English settlers, who soon came in conflict with one another, settled the island. Eventually the Dutch abandoned their settlement. Next, the English settlement was destroyed by the Spanish, who retook the island in 1650 . However, they in turn were immediately ousted by the French . The island was owned by the Knights Of Malta after being bequeathed by Phillippe De Longvilliers De Poincy , governor of the French Colony of St. Kitts in 1660 . However, they sold it to the French West India Company five years later. Under Governor Dubois, the colony became profitable with over 90 plantations established, growing such crops as Tobacco , Cotton , Sugar Cane , and Indigo . After Dubois's death, the colony declined and Europeans abandoned the island until 1733 when it was sold to the Danish West India And Guinea Company . This company placed no national restrictions on colonists and soon attracted Spanish Sephardic Jew s, Huguenot s, and English settlers, the last of which came to dominate the island. Sugar became the major crop. Eventually, however, the development of the Sugar Beet in Europe undermined the economy of the colony. Slavery was abolished in 1848 , but in 1862 , St. Croix received a shipload of East Indians that were indentured on the island for five years. There was a revolt by former slaves in 1878 when much of Frederiksted , one of the island's two towns, was burnt. St. Croix suffered major devastation on September 17–18, 1989 when Hurricane Hugo struck it. The island then suffered a fair amount of damage during Hurricane Marilyn in September 1995 . Hurricanes Georges and Lenny also struck the island in 1998 and 1999 , but damage was minimal in comparison. There are still many buildings, especially on the outskirts of Christiansted, that still lie in ruins as a result of hurricanes. Although the U.S. Virgin Islands remain under the U.S. flag, the islands are an Unincorporated Territory with a non-voting delegate to the United States House Of Representatives . Residents are U.S. citizens, but have no vote in national elections and generally do not pay taxes to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service , though taxes are paid, using U.S. law, to the Virgin Islands Bureau of Internal Revenue. SUB-DISTRICTS Saint Croix is divided into the following sub-districts: #Anna's Hope Village # Christiansted #East End # Frederiksted #Northcentral #Northwest #Sion Farm #Southcentral #Southwest GEOGRAPHY Danish map of the island]] There are two towns on the island; and English is the most common language. Spanish is spoken by the large Puerto Rican and smaller Dominican (Dominican Republic) populations, and a French Creole is spoken by the large St. Lucia n and Dominica n (Dominica) populations. A native English-based dialect known on the island as Crucian, but formally known as Virgin Islands Creole , is also spoken by the majority of the population in informal situations. Fort Christiansvaern 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 Saint Croix and the surrounding reefs. This is a popular destination for snorkelers, and it is the only underwater national park in the United States. There are several scuba diving companies operating from Christiansted. Off the north coast of the island, there are many good destinations for diving, featuring scenic coral reefs, clear water, and abundant tropical fish. Prominent among these are Cane and Divi bays along with Long reef which encompasses a large portion of the northern side of the island. The reef also serves as a natural barrier against sharks and jellyfish. However around other portions of the island, notably Frederiksted, hammerhead and tiger sharks can be seen. Shark attacks on the island are very rare. St. Croix lies at : the easternmost point in the United States is considered to be plant, however most residential homes and businesses have a built-in Cistern used to collect rainwater. |
| "http://factfindercensusgov/servlet/DTTable_bm=y&-show_geoid=Y&-tree_id=405&-_caller=geoselect&-context=dt&-errMsg=&-all_geo_types=N&-mt_name=DEC_2000_IAVI_P001&-redoLog=true&-transpose=N&-search_map_config=b=50l=ent=4001zf=00ms=sel_00decdw=09528487917191559dh=06838460131961157dt=govcensusaffdomainmapEnglishMapExtentif=gifcx=-6748042614595042cy=18385966173167105zl=6pz=6bo=318:317:316:314:313:323:319bl=362:393:358:357:356:355:354ft=350:349:335:389:388:332:331fl=381:403:204:380:369:379:368g=04000US72&-PANEL_ID=p_dt_geo_map&-_lang=en&-geo_id=05000US78010&-geo_id=05000US78020&-geo_id=05000US78030&-CONTEXT=dt&-format=&-search_results=ALL&-ds_name=DEC_2000_IAVI" class="copylinks" target="_blank">Districts of the United States Virgin Islands, United States Census Bureau |
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