Overview
St. Croix is the largest US Virgin Island, with 82 sq. miles, and is the easternmost point of the United States. Island terrain goes from dry and rocky to crystal-white beaches and lush tropics, and is most famous for its incredible underwater activities! St. Croix has the United States’ only underwater National Park (Buck Island) and also world famous snorkeling and scuba diving sites. Gambling is a new activity to St. Croix, giving it another surge of tourism, different from its sister islands. For those not interested in the casinos, the island still has plenty of other diversions. Notable eats include the Whisky Lobster at Duggan's and the funky Cheeseburger in Paradise. Guests can ride horses, feed non-alcoholic beer to pigs, shop the duty-free stores, visit a rum factory, sail or golf.
History
St. Croix has flown seven different flags. It has been colonized by Spain, Great Britain, the Netherlands, France, the Knights of Malta, Denmark, and the United States.
Arawaks and Caribs inhabited it prior to European colonization. Christopher Columbus visited here on November 14, 1493 at the Salt River. He called the island Santa Cruz ("Holy Cross").
His initial visit led to a battle in which one Spaniard and one Carib were killed. This began a warfare between the Spaniards and Caribs which lasted for over a century, until the Spanish abandoned the island.
In the seventeenth century, Dutch and English settlers settled the island. Eventually the Dutch abandoned their settlement. Next, the English settlement was destroyed by the Spanish, who retook the island in 1650. However, they in turn were immediately ousted by the French.
Today, the U.S. Virgin Islands remains under the U.S. flag. However, the islands are an unincorporated territory with a non-voting delegate to the United States House of Representatives.
Residents are U.S. citizens, but have no vote in national elections and generally do not pay taxes to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, though taxes are paid, using U.S. law, to the Virgin Islands Bureau of Internal Revenue.
Notable Residents
Tim Duncan, NBA Basketball Player, San Antonio Spurs
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