A history of St Thomas of the US Virgin Islands6564276

St Thomas Weddings is a popular stop for cruise ships and yacht charters which are sailing the Virgin Islands as well as the Caribbean. However it wasn't always a well known island. The truth is, Christopher Columbus, that's credited with "discovering" the island on his second voyage on the Marketplace in 1993, didn't think very much from it and quickly sail again on his way to Puerto Rico. Just before that time, St. Thomas was inhabited by the various tribes, including the Ciboney, the Taino (or Arawak), and also the Caribs. From the 1600s, the native population dropped as Europeans brought diseases and Spanish settlers raided hawaii. After Columbus undergone, pirates landed on St. Thomas and small settlements were started, but nothing truly permanent occurred until 1671 when the King Christian V permitted the Danish West India Company to consider having several islands in your neighborhood to create plantations. The Danish government sent convicts to be effective the plantations, but soon began to count on African slaves for labor, since they were superior workers. Lots of people that first came to settle on St. Thomas died either on the trip or after landing. By 1680, the people contained 156 Dutch settlers and 175 African slaves.

Because settlement grew, it became known as a pirate's stopover and the first town, Taphus - meaning beer halls, was built throughout the harbor with what is Charlotte Amalie. The Esmit Brothers were the next and 3rd governors with the Island and helped to permit freebooters to work with St. Thomas like a refuge, as well as openly trading with them. In 1685, the Brandenburger Company signed a treaty using the Danish West India Company in an attempt to begin a slave trade about the island, but disagreements one of the two companies prevented much growth. In the early 1700s, the plantations began to concentrate on a sugar crop, which led to a boom for the island. Additionally, the slave trade began to grow and the island's population changed to 547 non-slaves versus 3042 African slaves. Traders arrived from other islands to buy slaves. In 1754, the Danish Government took over the administration of St. Thomas together with St. John and St. Croix and even though St. Croix grew like a plantation economy, St. Thomas's economy shifted solely to trade. It had not been until 1848 that slavery was abolished inside the Danish West Indies, mostly due to a slave revolt on St. Croix. In the 1840s, steamships increased and St. Thomas found its niche like a coaling station for ships running between South and north America; however, the invention of the steam engine, along with other factors, left the island floundering. Then disaster struck available as hurricanes, fires, or even a tsunami in a period spanning the late 1800s over the early 1900s. Over time of empty and damaged warehouses standing down the shoreline in Charlotte Amalie, a significant rebuild began as well as the stores and boutiques were born. America bought this tropical isle in addition to St. Croix and St. John in 1917 for $25 million as well as the three Virgin Islands of America were established. It wasn't before the 1950s that prosperity returned as tourism on the islands grew. Today, St Thomas Weddings stands as one of the most favored vacation destinations and a starting place for many St Thomas yacht charters through the entire Virgin Islands and a favorite luxury crusie ship port of call.