St Thomas

ST. THOMAS, an island in the West Indies, and the most important, commercially, of the Virgin island group purchased by the United States from Denmark in 1917. St. Thomas is also the name of the principal port and harbour of the Virgin islands, situated near the middle of the southern coast of the island.

St. Thomas island lies in

18° 20' N. and 64° 55' W., 4o m. east of Porto Rico, 1,442 m. south, 2o° E. from New York city and 1,020 m. from the Panama Canal. It is 12 m. long, varies in width from 1 m. to 3 m., and has an area of 27.12 sq.m., or 17,357 acres. It is of volcanic origin. The main ridge, peaks of a submerged range, extends east and west the length of the island. Its hills are steep and rocky and sparsely covered with vegetation, the original timber having been cut away for lumber and charcoal. Two summits, Crown mountain and Signal hill, rise above 1,5oo feet. Many of the spurs of the ridge slope down to the shore and form protected bays where the buccaneers of the 17th and 18th centuries found refuge. The climate is salubrious, particularly during the first quarter of the year when the trade winds blow. The mean temperature is 78° F, the thermometer rarely falling below 64° and rarely rising above 91°. The average rainfall is 38.23 in. ; the driest weather is in March and the rainy season in October and November. Drinking water is stored in cisterns owing to the dearth of wells. After the abolition of slavery in 1848 agri culture became decadent. There were in 1925 but 63 plantations under cultivation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estab lished an experiment station in 1928. In 1917 there were 10,191 inhabitants, of whom 76% were congregated in St. Thomas city. Descendants of negro slaves made up of the total. For gen eral government see VIRGIN ISLANDS. An improved code of Amer ican laws was adopted by the colonial council for the municipality of St. Thomas in 1921. Pop. 1930, 9,834.

St. Thomas island was discovered and named by Columbus on his second voyage in 1493. The first colony was planted in 1657 by the Dutch who soon after abandoned it and migrated to New Amsterdam (New York). The Danes arrived and took formal possession in 1666 but their first colony also failed. The Danish West India Company dispatched an expedition under Governor Jorgen Iversen which landed in St. Thomas harbour on May 25,

1672, and effected a permanent settlement. Later Huguenot refugees from St. Kitts were granted asylum. In 1755 the king of Denmark acquired the company's rights and made the harbour a free port. The island was temporarily seized by England in 1801 02, and again held by her in 1807-15, but was restored to and held by Denmark until 1917 when it was acquired by the United States.

The chief value of the island is the harbour of St. Thomas, one of the best in the Antilles. It is perfectly landlocked, with a bottle necked entrance, and has a deserved reputation for refuge. It commands the gateway to the Caribbean through the Virgin pas sage, and is a port of call for passenger steamers from New York and European ports bound for the Panama Canal, Central America, etc., via the lesser Antilles. There are ample coaling facilities, oil reservoirs, ship-yards and machine shops, floating docks and wharves with electric cranes.

The city of St. Thomas, the seat of government for the Virgin islands, lies on three low spurs of the island ridge, dubbed "Fore top, maintop and mizzentop." There is a single level street parallel to the water-front, forming a common base for three cone-shaped clusters of white dwellings on the dull green background of the ridges. On Government hill is the most attractive residence sec tion, the location affording constant enjoyment of the breezes and panorama. Of the total population of 7,747 in 1917, 7,027 were coloured and 72o white. The official and commercial classes com pose a small, exclusive and harmonious caste. English is the pre vailing language, but Danish, Dutch, French and Spanish are also common. Though the city was formally christened Charlotte Amalia (in honour of the consort of Christian V.) by the Danes, it became known in general usage as St. Thomas, which name was officially adopted by the U.S. Geographic Board in 1921.

See U.S. Census Bureau, Census of the Virgin Islands of the United States (1918) ; L. K. Zabriskie, The Virgin Islands (1918) ; T. De Booy and J. Faris, The Virgin Islands (1918), and Reports (annual) of the governors.