The British Virgin Islands (BVI),officially the Virgin Islands,is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean,to the east of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands and north-west of Anguilla. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles and part of the West Indies.
The United States Virgin Islands,officially the Virgin Islands of the United States,are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.
The History of the British Virgin Islands is usually,for convenience,broken up into five separate periods:
The governor of the Virgin Islands is the representative of the British monarch in the United Kingdom's overseas territory of the British Virgin Islands. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of the governor is to act as the de facto head of state,and is responsible for appointing the premier and the executive council.
The West Indies Federation,also known as the West Indies,the Federation of the West Indies or the West Indian Federation,was a short-lived political union that existed from 3 January 1958 to 31 May 1962. Various islands in the Caribbean that were part of the British Empire,including Trinidad and Tobago,Barbados,Jamaica,and those on the Leeward and Windward Islands,came together to form the Federation,with its capital in Port of Spain,Trinidad and Tobago. The expressed intention of the Federation was to create a political unit that would become independent from Britain as a single state —possibly similar to Canada,the Federation of Australia,or the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Before that could happen,the Federation collapsed due to internal political conflicts over how it would be governed or function viably. The formation of a West Indian Federation was encouraged by the United Kingdom,but also requested by West Indian nationalists.
Saba is a Caribbean island and the smallest special municipality of the Netherlands. It consists largely of the active volcano Mount Scenery,which at 887 metres (2,910 ft) is the highest point of the entire Kingdom of the Netherlands. The island lies in the northern Leeward Islands portion of the West Indies,southeast of the Virgin Islands. Together with Bonaire and Sint Eustatius it forms the BES islands,also known as the Caribbean Netherlands.
Tortola is the largest and most populated island of the British Virgin Islands,a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. It has a surface area of 55.7 square kilometres with a total population of 23,908,with 9,400 residents in Road Town. Mount Sage is its highest point at 530 metres above sea level.
The United States Virgin Islands,often abbreviated USVI,are a group of islands and cays located in the Lesser Antilles of the Eastern Caribbean,consisting of three main islands and fifty smaller islets and cays. Like many of their Caribbean neighbors,the history of the islands is characterized by native Amerindian settlement,European colonization,and the Atlantic slave trade.
The coat of arms of the British Virgin Islands consists of a green escutcheon (shield) charged with a woman in a white dress and gold-coloured sandals,holding a lit golden oil lamp and surrounded by eleven other golden lamps. Adopted shortly after the islands became a Crown colony,it has been the coat of arms of the British Virgin Islands since 1960. The escutcheon dates from the early 19th century and is featured on the flag of the territory. The woman and the lamps represent Saint Ursula and her companions,the namesake of the islands.
Ruth Dancia Penn,is a British Virgin Islands politician and former Deputy Governor of the British Virgin Islands from 20 September 2004 to 1 April 2007. She also formerly served as the Attorney General of the British Virgin Islands from 1992 to 1999.
John Percy de Jongh Jr. is an American businessman and politician who served as the Governor of the United States Virgin Islands from 2007 to 2015. He has been active in Virgin Islands politics and the business community since returning to St. Thomas after graduating from college in 1981. De Jongh has been involved in community development,commercial banking,served on the boards of business and philanthropic organizations,appointed to government positions and elected to public office.
The Caribbean is a subregion of the Americas that includes the Caribbean Sea and its islands,some of which are surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some of which border both the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean;the nearby coastal areas on the mainland are often also included in the region. The region is southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and the North American mainland,east of Central America,and north of South America.
There are 12 monarchies in the Americas,being either sovereign states or self-governing territories that have a monarch as head of state. Each is a constitutional monarchy,wherein the monarch inherits his or her office according to law,usually keeping it until death or abdication,and is bound by laws and customs in the exercise of their powers. Ten of these monarchies are part of the global personal union known as the Commonwealth realms and share Charles III,who resides primarily in the United Kingdom,as king. The other two are the Monarchy of the Netherlands which is used in states of the Dutch Caribbean,and the Monarchy of Denmark which is used in Greenland. As such,none of the monarchies in the Americas have a permanently residing monarch,though the Commonwealth realms each have a resident governor-general to represent King Charles III and perform most of his constitutional duties in his name;and a high commissioner represents the King of Denmark and the Danish government in Greenland. Additionally,each of Canada's 10 provinces functions as a subnational constituent monarchy,with the constitutional powers vested in the King exercised at the provincial level by a lieutenant governor.
This is a timeline of the territorial evolution of the Caribbean and nearby areas of North,Central,and South America,listing each change to the internal and external borders of the various countries that make up the region.
The 2010 U.S. Virgin Islands gubernatorial election was held on November 2,2010,and won by incumbent Democratic Governor John de Jongh. De Jongh was elected to his first term in 2006 with 57.3% of the vote over Kenneth Mapp.
William Boyd McCleary is a retired member of HM Diplomatic Service originally from Belfast,Northern Ireland.
Religion in the United States Virgin Islands is varied,though most U.S. Virgin Islanders are Christian. The U.S. Virgin Islands has a history of Judaism and Christianity,with Jews first settling the islands in 1655. It is estimated that only 5-6% of the population is non-Christian.
Albert Bryan Jr. is a United States Virgin Islands politician serving since 2019 as the ninth governor of the United States Virgin Islands.
Tregenza A. Roach is a Kittitian-American politician,attorney,and former journalist. Since 2019,Roach has been serving as the 12th Lieutenant Governor of the United States Virgin Islands. Roach previously was a senator at the Legislature of the Virgin Islands from 2013 to 2019.
