US+Virgin+Islands+-+Mike

=__US VIRGIN ISLANDS__=

US-G USA Expansion Instructions
On the wiki in the link above ("USA Review" then "Territorial Expansion of the U.S.A."), create a page that shows (a) the dates of expansion, (b) a brief explanation of how and why the U.S. acquired the territory, (c) if the ruling governments of the territories approved of the deals, (d) what the effect was on the inhabitants, and (e) the effects it had on the U.S. (think about economic change, population change, were there any important natural resources that the Americans gained?, Did it affect the balance of free and slave states?, etc.) USE AT LEAST ONE VISUAL (MORE ARE PREFERRED) CITE YOUR SOURCES!!!

__Location:__

__History of Virgin Island:__ Before the islands were discovered by Columbus in 1493 during his 2nd voyage, the islands were inhabited by the natives, Arawak, Ciboney, and Carib, but upon arrival of the Europeans, effect of smallpox eventually lead to decline of population. The islands were named by Columbus after St. Ursula and her virgin followers, hence the name Virgin Island.

Before coming under control of the United States government, US Virgin Island was under two European powers (although who controlled the islands vary between different sites), English & Danish. Although the natives had fought back and tried to retain their land, eventually in the late 15th century, they were colonized to produce sugar canes. And surely enough, sugar plantations were successful in the 18th and early 19th century, however with the abolition of slavery in 1848, the economics kept declining. At many times, the Danish tried to revitalize the island's economy, however, had little or no effect.

__United States Purchase__: Due to the constant decline of economic decline after the abolishment of slavery, Danish government had many times before attempted to sell the islands because of little economic merit. In 1867, a treaty was agreed between the United States and Denmark to purchase Saint Thomas & Saint John, however it was never carried out. //Again// in 1902, the Danish government debated whether it should sell the Virgin Islands or not, however the motion to sell the islands was narrowly defeated.

But in the middle of World War I, as United States became involved in the war, United States feared that German submarines might over take the islands to set up a naval base, therefore approached Denmark again with the inquiry of a purchase. After much consideration, the deal was finalized in January 17, 1917 for the price of $25million.

And although the islands were handed over to the United States March 31, 1917 through treaty and negotiations, it can be quiet misleading. The Danish Crown, despite the fact that this was a treaty, had no options but to sell the islands because if Germany would invade, then taking advantage, the United States would've surely taken over the islands.

__After:__ After 10years of being United States territory, in 1927, citizens of Virgin Islands were finally given citizenship. However, in some ways, the citizens of Virgin Islands are segregated from rest of the United States in the sense that they are not able to vote for presidency but only the presidential primary elections.

Not only that, but also, although Virgin Island elects it's own House of Representative delegate and Senators, their ability is limited in that they can vote in committees but not on floor votes.

__Economy:__ The economy of Virgin Island has been thriving compared with how it was when it was sold by the Danish Crown. Currently, 80% of it's total is dependent on tourism (taking advantage of it's beautiful white beaches and wonderful Carribean weather), however other sectors of economy such as petroleum refining, textiles, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and watch assembly. Cool fact: one of the biggest petroleum refiner is at Saint Crouix. Not surprisingly, Virgin Island produces 17,620 bbl of oil per day, which is incredible considering the small size of the islands. In addition, their per capita is around $14,500, which can be compared to most of the developing nations around the world today (but we have to take into account that Virgin Island is not a country!).With their economic growth around 2%, Virgin Island is continuing to improve under United States government control :)

__Sources:__ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Virgin_Islands#History http://www.worldtravelguide.net/country/295/country_guide/Caribbean/US-Virgin-Islands.html https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/vq.html