US Virgin Islands

Analyze a Poem written in Virgin Islands Dialect

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The poem “Mistah Please Take Back Yoh Daughter” is from Jose Patrick Gimenez’s book “Virgin Islands Folklore and Other Poems” published in 1933. Gimenez wrote in English, Spanish and West Indian dialect. The language used varied based on the topic of his writing and the intended audience. José Patrick…
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Debating Monuments and Memorials in the USVI

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Memorials and monuments are part of every culture. In the territory they can be found within parks, at important sites, and within the townscape. They are erected to honor important figures, events, concepts, and other subjects. They are a form of public memory. They reflect the particularities of the…
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Prohibition and St. Croix Rum

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In January 1919, the US Congress ratified the 18th Amendment, banning the manufacture, sale and transport of alcoholic beverages. The United States purchased the Danish West Indies, which included St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John, from Denmark just a few years earlier. The economy of the islands, in…
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Treaty of Acquisition between the United States of American and Denmark, 1917

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In 1917 Denmark sold its West Indian colonies with their inhabitants to the United States of America for twenty-five million dollars in gold in accordance with the terms of this Treaty signed by both parties. By that transaction, the United States enhanced its military and economic hegemony within the…
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Analyzing the judgment of Williams, Vessup and Stevens in their application against the electoral boards of St. Thomas

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In December 1935 Edith Williams, Anna Vessup, and Eulalie Stevens filed an application against the Town and Country Electoral Boards of St. Thomas, and their members. They filed their application in the St. Thomas District Court. They wanted to be recognized as qualified voters. Qualifications for voting at the…
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Dat Jumbi Woman Poem

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The poem “Dat Jumbi Woman” is from Jose Patrick Gimenez’s book “Virgin Islands Folklore and Other Poems” published in 1933. José Patrick Gimenez (1893-1953) was born in St. Thomas on March 17, 1893. He was a poet and composer. He wrote in English, Spanish and West Indian dialect. He…
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Campaign Poster for Lorraine Berry

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Lorraine Berry (1949-2010) was born on the island of St. Thomas. She is best known as a 12-term senator and 2-term Senate President of the Legislature of the US Virgin Islands. She was an active member of the local French community on St. Thomas. She was awarded the Ordre…
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Analyzing E. Benjamin Oliver’s ID Card for Insular Travel

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Emanuel Benjamin Oliver was born on May 29, 1876, in Monserrat. He moved to St. Croix around 1897 to teach at Reverend Paul’s School, a private school. On St. Croix he served for many years as a teacher, and later as a principal at the St. Croix Dane School,…
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Analyze a Photograph of David Hamilton Jackson

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David Hamilton Jackson was born on September 28, 1884, on St. Croix, Danish West Indies. He was a teacher, the owner and editor of a newspaper, and a judge. During his life he spoke publicly about wanting better living and working conditions for the Black working-class people in the…
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Young Masqueraders, Christiansted, St. Croix

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An African tradition, street masquerading on holidays has been a popular cultural tradition in St. Thomas and St. Croix since the eighteenth century. Initially confined to adults, children have been practitioners since the early twentieth century as demonstrated by this photograph. The early holiday masquerades influenced what would later…
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