Preview

The US Virgin Islands: Abolishment Of Slavery

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
973 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The US Virgin Islands: Abolishment Of Slavery
Dillon Gallagher
Wanisha Fahie
Caribbean Culture
7 May 2017
The U.S Virgin Islands
The U.S Virgin Islands are great places where tourist can come and vacation from all over the world. They have beautiful clear water beaches, where the weather is mostly humid. They also have a variety of activities to participate in while visiting the islands. Although the USVI might be a paradise to vacationers, it has had significant history that has contributed to both the Caribbean and the United States. From its discovery in 1493 to the abolishment of slavery, the USVI has been through multiple hardships that has molded it into the Islands they are today.
The U.S Virgin Islands is made up of four main islands that have a multitude of similarities and …show more content…
This is significant because throughout the Caribbean for the next few hundred years, resistance movements were very influential in the abolishment of slavery to both the USVI and the rest of the Caribbean. The tribe’s success to run Columbus off the island showed that they were dangerous and did have a fighting chance against the Spaniards. The caribs slowly started to diminish after this conflict, possibly because of famine and disease that the Europeans brought with them or orders from the spanish crown to kill the natives. For years, the USVI was not heavily populated and when the Spanish rule started to weaken, other colonizers from England and France started to take interest in the USVI. They took interest because everyone was looking to expand their territory at the time. When sugar cane became popular, other countries wanted in on the profit considering there was a big industrial revolution about to take place in Europe allowing for the possible expansion of power. Power seemed to be the purpose of everything. The exhaustion of resources in England France and Spain was the trigger for the colonization of the Caribbean . It was easy for the Danish to take over St Thomas because of how weak Spanish rule was becoming. Why were they becoming weak 1671 is the year the Dutch established the first colony on St Thomas. The Dutch built a fort named Fort Christian, that is still standing today according to our participants in an interview we conducted. The fort was in the town of Charlotte Amalie ( named after the queen) which later became the safest port in the Caribbean and is the capital of the USVI today. The fort was so safe because of its geography, the high mountains of St Thomas blocked inclement weather, that could destroy ships and cargo. This ideal location made St Thomas’s port very popular among sailors and pirates
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Slavery In Colonial Virginia
    • 1109 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Slavery In Colonial Virginia

    “He that will not work shall not eat.” (Captain John Smith). Virginia was the beginning of colonization in America. In 1578, after colonists in England were driven to find new land, Sir Humphrey Gilbert received a charter to establish a new British Colony. On May 13th, 1607, the Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery ships arrived at what soon became the Jamestown peninsula. This discovery led to a series of important events that made the United States. After the Virginia Company of London was chartered to collect profit from the sales of silver and gold, they knew that a colony was needed. With one hundred forty four colonists on board, the first settlers left England on December 20th, 1606, with one goal…

    • 1109 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    The Introduction of Slavery in the American Colonies
    • 1071 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Introduction of Slavery in the American Colonies

    4. McElrath, Jessica, Timeline of Slavery in America-African American History, About.com. Retrieved 6 December 2006.…

    • 1071 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Dominican Republic Facts
    • 444 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Dominican Republic Facts

    * Christopher COLUMBUS explored and claimed the island on his first voyage in 1492; it became a springboard for Spanish conquest of the Caribbean and the American mainland.…

    • 444 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Slavery in the southern american colonies
    • 322 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Slavery in the southern american colonies

    dxgluizdkvgJSLDGuigasjf,sdgkjsagksdjgdfhjhjhlkshzjhksjhfgiuhahHawthorne, Nathaniel, The Scarlet Letter: The student will keep a dialectical journal (see below) on the novel AND write informal responses to the following prompts: 1. Read the following passage (paragraph 3, “I might be, … martyrdom.”) from The Scarlet Letter, Chapter 5, “Hester at Her Needle.” Then write a short essay showing how Hawthorne depicts Hester’s inner turmoil.…

    • 322 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    History: Slavery and American Freedom
    • 1104 Words
    • 5 Pages

    History: Slavery and American Freedom

    American Slavery, American Freedom written by Edmund S. Morgan captures the history of Virginia while keeping focusing on the social and political elements that uplifted the way of slavery. With the focus on Virginia, the book also probes the central paradox of American history: "how a people could have developed the dedication to human liberty and dignity exhibited by the leaders of the American Revolution and at the same time have developed and maintained a system of labor that denied human liberty and dignity every hour of the day (pg.4-5)". The key to the paradox is presented in Virginia, the nation's largest slave state and primary source of the ideology and leadership. Also the source of conditions which made slavery and freedom possible was discovered through the state of Virginia by the political and social history being discovered. According to Morgan's preface, enslavement took more hold on the nation's freedom than one may conclude. "Indeed the freedom of free, the growth of freedom experienced in the American Revolution, depended more than we like to admit on the enslavement of more the 20 percent of us at that time." According to the book, "The rise of liberty and equality in America had been accompanied by the rise of slavery (pg.4)”.…

    • 1104 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Slavery In Virginia
    • 638 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Slavery In Virginia

    There were questions that arose about slavery in Virginia. When it come to race and class, your race basically defined your social class. Although there were poor whites, they still stood above wealthy blacks and there were blacks who did succeed to get out the slave trade. They were able to succeed under white power , for example a black may have had a chance to become a doctor because his owner's mother was dying and the black man just so happened to say something that possibly helped save this woman's life so now he is the family medic. Sometimes you are just in the right place at the right time. Centuries before the voyages of Columbus, Spain had made many laws granted to slaves relating to marriage, the holding of property and access…

    • 638 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Slavery and New Nation
    • 342 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Slavery and New Nation

    The diversity that was revealed was I have learned about how Equiano and Phillis Wheatley were enslaved for portions of their lives and how they were treated like animals. I have also learned the diversity of religion how religion changed and how people celebrated religion. Another thing I learned about diversity within a new nation was a diverse nation. People were treated horribly if they were black and they enslaved and it was just terrible. So basically, I have learned that slavery is never good and it was a horrible mistake people made in the past, I also learned how religion changed and how people didn't believe back then and got punished sometimes for religion. Another thing I learned was how race was a problem back then because black people had no rights to do anything.…

    • 342 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Abolishing Slavery In Colonial America
    • 981 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Abolishing Slavery In Colonial America

    During the Enlightenment, American colonies and established European countries faced the difficulties of shifting economic system, religious system, and a shift in mindset. The monarchs of the European countries used enlightened ideas in order to advance. Colonization was at its peak and the rise of mercantilism and the price revolution broke its breaks. Due to the shifting economic structure, slaves were utilized as an alternative to paid laborers. This however, was not reasonable from the perspective of the enlightened. They viewed it as unreasonable, selfish, and manipulative. The supporters of slavery argued that slaves were a necessity in the shifting economic structure. Supporters also argued that slavery wasn’t as severe as it was…

    • 981 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Abolition of Slavery
    • 1210 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Abolition of Slavery

    Slavery in the United States first started in 1619, when African slaves were transported to Jamestown, a settlement in the colony in Virginia. These slaves were brought to the United States primarily to help with the making of crops, especially tobacco. The practice of slavery remained present throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in other colonies of the United States, which helped build and strengthen the American economy as a whole. In 1793, the cotton gin was invented, which triggered the immense importance of the practice of slavery towards the success of the economy in the southern parts of the United States. On the other hand, the northern parts of the United States experienced a rapid growth and dispersal of abolitionist laws and activities, which displayed a great amount of hatred towards the practice of slavery in the United States. The United States Congress made African slave trade or international slave trade illegal in 1808, but it did not hold back the practice of domestic slavery that was becoming even larger in the United States. The act of trading between the colonies in the United States flourished, and by 1860, the amount of slaves in the United States unfortunately tripled, and reached to four million. The expansion of pro-slavery beliefs in the western parts of the United States in addition to the increase in abolitionists in the northern parts of the United States soon caused a tremendous debate over slavery, which practically tore the United States apart.…

    • 1210 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Slavery in the colonies
    • 608 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Slavery in the colonies

    In 1607 Jamestown, the first successful English colony, was founded. A mere twelve years later the first African slaves would be introduced to the colony, and throughout the 17th century and early and mid-18th century their usefulness would increase and they would become the saviors of the Southern colonies. The growth of slavery in these colonies was brought on in large part by geographic, economic, and social factors of this time.…

    • 608 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Abolition Of Slavery In The 1800's
    • 1109 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Abolition Of Slavery In The 1800's

    Slavery is act in which a person or persons is sold, traded and forced to work against their will. The slaves are treated as property and not seen or viewed as people with human rights. Slavery was popular in England and the idea followed our settlers over seas and was incorporated into the American life. As time passed, some people began to see the inhumane side of slavery and wanted it to be completely abolished in the United States. Even 100+ years before the Civil War, controversy of slavery was an issue in the young country of America.…

    • 1109 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Us Intervention in the Caribbean in the 19th
    • 713 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Us Intervention in the Caribbean in the 19th

    Historically, the United States has been actively involved in and concerned about the Caribbean. The area has always played a key role in the Western Hemisphere. It was the scene of Columbus’s voyages of discovery and the jumping-off place for most of the Spanish conquistadors. One of the main areas of European settlement in the New World was in and around the Caribbean basin. It became a rich source of sugar, indigo, spices, and other highly valued tropical products. The lifelines of the immense Spanish empire converged on the Caribbean Sea, and the imperial treasures became the glittering objects of the legendary struggle between the British buccaneers and the Spanish. Many of the Caribbean lands, Jamaica for one, were valued more than the colonies along the Atlantic coast of the North American mainland. The Caribbean lands were important objectives in the recurrent European struggles, and many changed hands as the tides of imperial conquest shifted.…

    • 713 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    American Territories
    • 983 Words
    • 4 Pages

    American Territories

    United States Virgin Islands consist of the main islands of Saint Croix, Saint John, and Saint Thomas, along with the much smaller but historically distinct Water Island, and many other surrounding minor islands. The total land area of the territory is 346.4…

    • 983 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Geography and Sociolinguistic Characteristic of the Carribean
    • 4821 Words
    • 20 Pages

    Geography and Sociolinguistic Characteristic of the Carribean

    The location of the Caribbean can be simply defined as the area ranging from certain parts of Florida to the northern coast of South America. As Baptiste (1995) assumes, it should be mentioned that the Caribbean geography is very complicated and the reason of that complexity is the European colonialism, which made barriers and divisions between the islands. The number of effects of the European colonialism was extensive, as for example slavery and infectious diseases but finally left the area split into British, Spanish, French and Dutch totality. At least 7,000 isles, cays, bars and islets can be numbered among that region. There are multiple uses of the word Caribbean. Its principle ones are historical, geographical, philological and the others are social. The Caribbean can also be extended to contain territories with strong cultural and historical connections to slavery, European colonisation and the plantation system. Caribbean Basin proposed by Lewis (2005) is the term which is the most extensively used to denote all the islands and islets of the Caribbean area, and includes:…

    • 4821 Words
    • 20 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    caribbean culture
    • 2012 Words
    • 9 Pages

    caribbean culture

    The history of the Caribbean is rich with adventurous tales, blended cultures, and natural diversity. The impact of colonialism and slavery can still be seen in many of the island cultures today; so much so, in fact, that travellers often note a sense of living with the near-tangible history that permeates the region. Knowing the history of the Caribbean region goes a long way toward understanding its people. Each island has a unique cultural identity shaped by the European colonialists, the African heritage of slaves, and the enduring legacies of the native Indian tribes. This rich history and its lasting influence are set against a backdrop of crystal clear waters and perpetual sunshine. Although not largely written about, Caribbean culture has arguably been preserved more by the authentic voices of “intuitive scholars": artists, farmers, merchants, and traders educationally deprived, perhaps, but quite learned in the cultural heritage of the island nations. They are the region's best oral historians and cultural preservationists. The Caribbean lifestyle is undoubtedly a product of its tropical setting. The music, architecture, attitudes and customs have all, in some way, been shaped by the physical landscape and climate. The cultures of the Caribbean countries are a blend of colonial mainstays and pervasive influences by major ethnic groups of the region such as East Indians and Africans.…

    • 2012 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More