If you're a history buff, you'll soak up a wealth of atmosphere at every turn on St. Croix, where there is so much to see and learn. When you kayak the Salt River, you can imagine Christopher Columbus approaching the coast of St. Croix more than five centuries ago. Strolling through the Christiansted Historic District, you learn how the Danish bought the island as an agricultural colony and built its towns. At Fort Frederik, you feel chills on the spot where an unexpected proclamation ended slavery forever on these islands. At our museums or on a hike, you can see all that is left of plantation days and learn how sugar changed the course of world history.

It all started on November 14, 1493. To the surprise of Christopher Columbus, aggressive Carib Indians fired arrows his landing party, with fatalities on both sides. Columbus declared that the spot was to be called the "Cape of the Arrows" and named the island Santa Cruz, or Holy Cross, later changed by the French to Saint Croix.

After Columbus, other Europeans came and went, skirmishing over ownership of the land—the English, French, Dutch, Knights of Malta, English, and Danish settlers. The French left but their name for the island stayed. As agriculture developed, European settlers brought thousands of enslaved Africans to work in the sugar cane fields—most of today's residents are descended from them.

Plantation Ruins

In 1733, Denmark bought St. Croix from France to be a plantation colony. Danish surveyors began laying out some 400 estates on the island. Each estate had about 150 acres and was given a colorful name by its new owner—for example, Peter's Rest, Jealousy, All for the Better, Judith's Fancy, or Whim—names we still use for our neighborhoods.

During the 18th century, prosperous St. Croix grew into a major, international center of commerce based on its exports of sugar and cotton and imports from Europe and North America, with more than 200 plantations. That's when Alexander Hamilton grew from a boy working for a merchant's company to the man who became America's first Secretary of the Treasury.

In 1848, a rebellion by the enslaved African workers forced the Danish Governor-General to proclaim Emancipation. A second uprising in 1878 that destroyed much of Frederiksted, the "Fireburn," initiated by former slaves struggling to survive as contract workers, led to gradual improvements in working conditions.

In 1917, the United States of America bought this slice of the West Indies from Denmark for $25 million in gold and made it a U.S. Territory. The last crop of sugar was taken off the island in 1966, and today the economy is based on tourism and industry. In all, seven flags have flown over our island named by Christopher Columbus.