United States Virgin Islands

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Overview[]

The United States Virgin Islands or US Virgin Islands\USVI are part of the Virgin Islands, an Archipelago in the Caribbean Sea split between the United Kingdom and the United States. The US islands are an unincorporated and organized Territory of the USA.

Location[]

The Virgin Islands (Spanish: Islas Vírgenes) are a tropical island archipelago in the Caribbean Sea near Puerto Rico.

History[]

The islands were sold to the United States by Denmark for $25,000,000 in the 1917 Treaty of the Danish West Indies.

The U.S. Virgin Islands had developed enough by the mid 1930s that were organized under the 1936 Organic Act and the organized under the 1954 Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands and have since held 5 constitutional conventions.

In 1970, Virgin Islanders elected their first governor, Melvin H. Evans, and from 1976 the islands began work on creating their own constitution.

In September 2017, Category 5 Hurricane Irma caused catastrophic damage, particularly to St. John and St. Thomas. Just two weeks later, Category 5 Hurricane Maria ravaged all three islands. Sustained winds at the Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge on St. Croix reached 99 to 104 mph (159 to 167 km/h) and gusted to 137 mph (220 km/h).

Stats[]

The U.S. Virgin Islands consists of the main islands of Saint Croix, Saint John, and Saint Thomas, and 50 other surrounding minor islands and cays.

The total land area of the territory is 133.73 square miles (346.36 km²).

The territory's capital is Charlotte Amalie on the island of St. Thomas.

Motto: "United in Pride and Hope".

Anthem: "Virgin Islands March".

Population in 2020: 87,146.

The governor was Pedro Pierluisi (PNP/D)

Economics[]

Agriculture and fishing were the mainstays of the economy for many years.

In 1966, Hess Oil began construction on an oil refinery. Until February 2012, the Hovensa plant located on St. Croix was one of the world's largest petroleum refineries, refining 494,000 bbl/d (78,500 m³/d), and contributed about 20% of the territory's GDP. The refinery ceased operation in 2012, and the facility stopped exporting petroleum products in 2014. In the final year of full refinery operations, the value of exported petroleum products was $12.7 billion (2011 fiscal year). Since refining ended, the 34-million-barrel tank farm has operated as a crude oil and petrochemical storage facility for third-party customers. The refinery's closure provoked a local economic crisis. Following the acquisition of the 1,500-acre complex by ArcLight Capital Partners, LLC, in 2016, Limetree Bay Ventures, LLC, was formed, and is currently executing a project to refurbish and restart the refinery, with a processing capability of up to 200,000 bbl/d (32,000 m³/d).

Tourism and it's related economic categories took of in the early 1970s and are the primary source of economic activities on the islands.

Both the United States Virgin Islands and British Virgin Islands (AKA- the BVI) use the US$.

Water Island[]

Denmark, however Water Island was excluded, thus the Danish East Asiatic Company, and by proxy the Danish kingdom, continued to own Water Island until several decades later. Water Island was bought by the American government in 1944, and in 1996 it was transferred to the U.S. Virgin Islands.

It was initially administered by the US federal government and did not become a part of the United States Virgin Islands territory until 1996, when 50 acres (20 ha) of land was transferred to the territorial government. The remaining 200 acres (81 ha) of the island were purchased from the United States Department of the Interior in May 2005 for $10, a transaction that marked the official change in jurisdiction.

Self-determination in Puerto Rico and the USVI[]

Success in the USVI[]

A 1993 referendum on status attracted only 31.4% turnout, and so its results (in favor of the status quo) were considered void. No further status referenda have been scheduled since.

The territory is classified by the United Nations as a non-self-governing territory. In 2016, the United Nations' Special Committee on Decolonization recommended to the UN's General Assembly that this larger body should "actively pursue a public awareness campaign aimed at assisting the people of the United States Virgin Islands with their inalienable right to self-determination and in gaining a better understanding of the options for self-determination".

The United States Virgin Islands has been mostly treated with official respect and honor, despite being Black. There have been some cases of racist Whites causing trouble, but over all the USA has been good to them.

Failure in Puerto Rico[]

White Americans have always treated the Hispanic Puerto Ricans and there homeland like shit and so did the state until the early 1990s. The local corruption and squalor was never really dealt with until the early 1950s. To this day, there interests are often ridiculed and ignored.

1947 they started voting for their governor.

1952 they drafted there own constitution and got US Commonwealth Status.

President Roosevelt's Operation Bootstrap caused the economy to grow quickly, especially in the 1950s and 1960s.

On 30 October 1950, Pedro Albizu Campos and other nationalists led a three-day revolt against the United States in various cities and towns of Puerto Rico, in what is known as the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party Revolts of the 1950s. This was one of many was the island violently fought back in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.

1993 (without any formal commitment on the part of the U.S. government to honor the results) Commonwealth status won by a plurality of votes (48.6% versus 46.3% for statehood) and the USA scornfully ignored it.

1998 the "none of the above" option, which was the Popular Democratic Party-sponsored choice, won in 1998 with 50.3% of the votes (versus 46.5% for statehood) and the USA scornfully ignored it.

In the August 2012, Puerto Rico voted on in August, asked voters whether they wanted to maintain the current status under the territorial clause of the U.S. Constitution. 54% voted against the status quo, effectively approving the second question to be voted on in November and the USA scornfully ignored it.

On 6 November 2012 Puerto Rico voted on statehood, independence, or free association. 61.16% voted for statehood, 33.34% for a sovereign free associated state, and 5.49% for independence and the USA scornfully ignored it.

On 30 June 2016, President Obama establishing a colonialist Control Board over the Puerto Rican government powers to effectively overrule decisions by Puerto Rico's legislature, governor, and other public authorities.

The Category 5 Hurricane Irma devastated Puerto Rico on 6 September 2017 and the US government left them to die.

Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in 2019 refused to allow a statehood vote in the Senate and called statehood for Puerto Rico "government overreach."

Puerto Rico held its statehood referendum during the 3 November 2020 general elections and the results showed that 52% of Puerto Rico voters answered yes and it was ignored by the and the started to explore giving it statehood.

Since 1953, the UN has been considering the Political status of Puerto Rico and how to assist it in achieving "independence" or "decolonization". In 1978, the Special Committee determined that a "colonial relationship" existed between the US and Puerto Rico. The UN's Special Committee on Decolonization Called Upon United States to Expedite Puerto Rico's Self-Determination Process" in 2007.

Also see[]

Puerto Rico