Columbus discovered the Virgin Islands in 1493 on his second voyage to the New World. He anchored off Salt River Bay in St Croix for fresh water and then was driven by unfavourable winds to Virgin Gorda. Seeing the numerous islands, he named them 'the Virgins' in honour of St Ursula and the 11000 virgins who, threatened by the marauding Huns in 4th century Cologne, sacrificed their lives rather than submit to a fate worse than death. Virgin Gorda may have got its name (fat virgin) because Columbus, viewing it from seaward, thought that it resembled a reclining woman with a protruding belly!
Nothing has influenced the history of the Virgin Islands more profoundly than their geography and physical makeup. Situated at the high point of the curving archipelago that swings from Trinidad to Florida, they swing through all the Americas. With their steady trade winds and numerous sheltered harbours, it is not surprising that they rapidly became a centre of sea routes to every point of the compass.
Having been described as 'the place on the way to everywhere', the Virgin Islands for a long time have been desirable for both trading and military advantage. In the days when the Spaniards reigned supreme, carrying Mexican and Peruvian bullion to Spain until this century when the United States bought the islands from Denmark in order to forestall any unfriendly foreign power getting too close for comfort.
Piracy flourished and continued for several hundred years and as the power of the Spanish waned and other countries began to seriously colonise, the struggling settlers were happy to trade their agricultural produce and materials for Spanish gold. Eventually the bullion treasures dried up and the process of colonisation for commercial profit emerged. The Danes formally took possession of St Thomas and St John; the English ousted the Dutch and took Tortola and Virgin Gorda in 1672 and the French settled in St Croix but later sold it to the Danish West India Company.
The Spaniards continued occasional raids from Puerto Rico and Hispaniola through the late 1600s and piracy flared again in the early 1700s. Considerable cleaning up and law enforcement took place and this saw the commencement of serious plantations who needed to trade in order to profit. The early plantation owners brought slaves from Africa and the number of slaves increased and the colonies thrived. For the slaves, life was extremely hard and as their numbers increased the severity of the punishments for not observing the restrictions increased. Conflict over the slave trade also increased, especially as it had been outlawed in in England in 1772. With pressures mounting on the islands from hurricanes, droughts, the American Revolution and Napoleonic Wars, the sizeable majority of slaves began to rebel. The rebellions coincided with the introduction of the sugar beet in Europe, which dealt a severe blow to the trade based on West Indian cane. By the mid 1800s the slaves were free and the white population deserted the islands.
The freed slaves lived in relative peace for over 100 years, living quietly off the land and sea. Government was minimal and the islands struggled economically. There were earthquakes, shipwrecks and piracy to contend with, plus the occasional riot and rebellion about the hardships. The islands moved into the 20th century without much change. Agricultural enterprise failed to thrive and the parent governments of each colony found that they had to accept financial responsibility for the liabilities of the islands. Over the first half of the 20th century, there was gradual social reform and progress toward self government. This process in turn started to speed up the tourist trade to what it is today, the mainstay of the economy.
Having settled in, Trilogy's two new crew were looking to have a good time! We took a taxi to a special spot only a few miles away called The Baths. It is a vast mounding of huge granite boulders that form a natural maze, within which there are small emerald pools constantly flushed by every surge of waves. It is possible to move in and around the boulders to enjoy unforgettable plunges within the natural chambers. It is a national park and it is possible to do a 20 minute clamber to Devil's Bay. It is not hard to let your imagination take you to piracy and secret caves! The experience was inspirational as the rock formations had a beauty like we'd never encountered before! Afterwards we relaxed at a nearby sandy beach watching the relentless power of the waves before we climbed the stairs to the park entry and enjoyed a cocktail, while overlooking the spectacular coastline.
Dinner was also memorable as we decided to dine at The Treehouse restaurant. It wasn't a dinky di treehouse but we climbed up a series of elevated walkways until we were above the banyan tree canopy and entered an octagonal timber room, with its own adjacent kitchen. We were the only guests in the space and the food and service were amazing. The guys both chose steak with vegetables, while the girls all had various homemade pasta dishes. With wines to perfectly complement the food, we have very fond memories of our time in The Treehouse.