St Croix, United States Virgin Islands
Spanning 28 miles long and 7 miles wide, St Croix is the largest of the U.S. Virgin Islands. St Thomas comes in second and St John comes in third. The inhabitants of St Croix are called Crucians and they mostly speak English. The two towns on St Croix are Christiansted and Frederiksted. The highest elevation in St Croix, USVI is Mount Eagle at 1,088 feet high. St Croix is roughly 40 miles south of St Thomas, distancing it quite a bit compared to the distance between St Thomas and St John.
St Croix is a tourist hotbed just like St Thomas and St John. The most notable business on St Croix is the Cruzan Rum Distillery (founded 1760), which makes Cruzan Rum as well as South Comfort.
History:
St Croix was first settled in 5000 BC by indigenous populations.
In the 1200s AD, the Tanio and Carib tribes arrived from the north.
Chistopher Columbus was the first known European to visit St Croix, claiming it for Spain when he landed on November 14, 1493 during his second voyage to the "New World". This visit marked the first known violence between Europeans and indigenous peoples in the Americas when one Spaniard and one Carib were killed.
On June 22, 1587, the English established a colony on St Croix.
Between 1625 and 1650 there were both English and Dutch colonies on St Croix.
In 1650, the island was retaken by the Spaniards from the English, and later that year it came under French rule.
In 1651, the Knights of Malta began to rule St Croix.
In 1665, the French resumed rule over St Croix.
From 1695 to 1733, the island was abandoned by Europeans but still claimed by France.
On June 13, 1733, the French sold St Croix to Denmark.
In 1848, slavery was ended in what was then the Danish West Indies.
On December 12, 1916, the United States purchased all 3 islands from Denmark, including St Croix, for $25 million in gold.
From March 31, 1917, until January 30, 1931, the U.S. Virgin Islands, as they were called, were administered by the U.S. Navy.
From 1931 until 1969 the islands were administered by U.S. Department of Interior.
Since 1969, the U.S. Virgin Islands have elected their own Governor.