St Croix

With a land area of 84sq.mi/221sq.km, St Croix is the largest of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Shaped like a meat cleaver, St Croix lies 40mi/65km south of the other isles and looks significantly different. The north coast of the island is a chain of several hills, with the highest being Mount Eagle, rising 1,165ft/355m.

The south side of the island features a fertile coastal plain not found on the other U.S. Virgin islands, earning St Croix the nickname "Garden of the Antilles". Historically, this plain was one of the best places in the Caribbean to cultivate sugar.

A common cruise ship destination, St Croix offers many interesting attractions. The historical towns of Christiansted and Frederiksted feature excellent examples of Danish colonial architecture. Many ruined and restored plantations dot the coastal plain and are ripe for exploration. Several beaches and coves offer opportunities for hiking, snorkelling, diving and other water-sports. Golfing is another popular activity, and the island offers a large selection of duty-free shopping. About 60,000 people live and work on St Croix.

St Croix has a long and interesting history of human occupation. The Ciboney Indians were the first to inhabit the island as far back as 2000 BC. The subsequent years saw habitation by other Arawak Indian groups, and by the time of the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1493 the Indian community was a mixture of Taíno and Caribs.

The controlling Caribs were fierce warriors, attacking the Spanish who then drove them off the island. An English colony was established In 1587, only to be displaced by the Spanish. By 1625 the English re-established their colony along with a group of Dutch and French settlers who colonized on the west end of the island.

By 1645 a brutal war broke out between the groups and the French and Dutch fled the island. The Spanish returned to wage war on the English, also obliterating French and Dutch ships that attempted to return. Eventually, control of the island returned to the French, but the colony was mostly wiped out by malaria. By 1695 the French had abandoned St Croix and subsequently sold the island to the Danish in 1725.

Years of unrest between the large population of slaves (22,000) and planters followed on St Croix. A slave rebellion on the island caused the emancipation of all slaves in the Danish West Indies, however maltreatment of the black population continued. These conditions along with hurricanes and an earthquake spurred the depopulation of the island.

By the time the United States purchased the Danish islands in 1917 the population had dwindled to 15,000. Prosperity did not return to St Croix until the 1960s when the Hess Oil refinery, the largest in the Caribbean, was built on the south side of the island. The oil company and the increase in tourism account for St Croix's present success.