Christopher Columbus and his fleet of caravels were the first Europeans to visit the area known now as the Virgin Islands. While sailing north in 1493 along the Lesser Antilles chain, toward the community he’d established in Hispaniola (now Dominican Republic), Columbus sighted an island. The fleet decided to anchor near one of the inlets in hopes of finding fresh water. The island was to be named “Santa Cruz” by Columbus. The French would later keep the holy cross designation and call it St. Croix. In the early 1640s, England and Holland were sparring over St. Croix. The English established a settlement around 1625 in the Salt River area of St. Croix and tried their hand at raising cattle and cotton. The area was later taken over by Spain.
In 1650, the French surprised and defeated the Spanish garrison. The French settlement was at Salt River and a later settlement was at the natural harbor on the north side at present day Christiansted. They called it Bassin. For a period of years, the French crown leased the islands to the Knight of Malta. During that time, the island continued to produce small crops of cotton, indigo, tobacco, sugar and tropical foods. In the late seventeenth century, the French were forced to abandon the island of St. Croix after failed attempts to stem diseases. Then, all but deserted, the island was occasionally visited by pirates, smugglers and occasionally by French war ships to maintain title for the crown. When the French abandoned St. Croix, English woodcutters from Tortola moved in and tried lumbering.
Frustrated by attempts to settle the island, France, despite protests from Spain, sold the island of St. Croix to Denmark in 1733. When the French abandoned the island of St. Croix, Danish settlers from the farms and plantations on St. Thomas and St. John sailed over and gained free access to the land for farming and raising cattle. The Danes would officially construct the towns on St. Croix of Christiansted in 1735 and Frederiksted in 1752. Friederich Moth, governor of the West India Company, designed the town layout for Christiansted and Frederiksted and surveyed the island of St. Croix into 150-acre estates.
Moth attempted to encourage settlers by offering tax benefits and reasonable prices on the land. They came from all over the Caribbean. The islands became a cultural melting pot. Because of the British influence, English became the common language of the islands with Danish being the language of the courts. American efforts to buy the islands began in 1867 but didn’t reach the serious stage until World War 1 when the U.S. became concerned about enemy approaches to the Panama Canal. The concept of a bonifide threat to the U.S. through the Canal brought the diplomats back to the negotiating table. On March 31, 1917, the United States purchased the Virgin Islands for $25 million and the Stars and Stripes replaced the Danish flag. The free port status of the islands was retained in the sale treaty and is still in effect today. That creates opportunities for great duty-free shopping as well!