St. Croix, Virgin Islands: an Island with a Rich and Interesting History, Part III

Alexander Hamilton began his career on St Croix in a shipping firm owned by a New Yorker.  The wealth and social status achieved by the prominent families on the island appealed to colonial families in Philadelphia, NY and Charleston.  During the American Revolution, the products of the islands and close family connections produced natural support for America, and the neutrality and free port status of the Danish Virgins were important financial assets to the colonies.  

In the early 1800's, our economic picture began to dim, as the newly invented processing of the beet sugar crop began to cut into the market for cane sugar.  In 1848, the slaves of St Croix marched in Frederiksted and demanded emancipation.  Governor General Peter von Scholten made a proclamation from the walls of fort Frederik that freed all the slaves on July 3, 1848 (way ahead of the continental US!), but his actions were considered illegal by the Danish government.  In 1848 labor was regulated by a colonial labor law that was deemed oppressive; thirty years later, it culminated in a violent riot that led to the burning and destruction of homes and plantations - which we refer to as "de Fire Burn."  

Emancipation did not solve the island's underlying economic problems, and our population fell significantly.  Then, in 1871, the US attempted to buy the islands, but were not successful until 1917, when the islands were purchased for $25 million from Denmark.  The free port status of our islands was retained in the sale treaty and are still in effect today.  

The islands were first administered by the US Navy, with the Dept. of the Interior assuming jurisdiction in 1931.  The Organic Act provided local government in 1936, and a revision to that act in 1954 provided a three-branch territorial government.  Our first elected governor was Melvin Evans, in 1970, and our only "highway" here on the island was named in his honor.

St. Croix is a fascinating and exciting place to live.  Visit my web site for Things to Do in St. Croix, contact me for a free copy of my extensive Relocation Package, or general real estate information.