U.S. Virgin Islands USVI

The islands of St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John were a Danish colony, built on sugar plantations worked by enslaved Africans until emancipation in 1848. Seeking to prevent Germany from acquiring a naval base in the Caribbean during World War I, the United States bought the islands from Denmark for $25 million in gold under a treaty signed in 1916, and they were transferred on March 31, 1917, celebrated as Transfer Day. Residents became U.S. citizens in 1927.

The Virgin Islands are an organized, unincorporated territory governed under the Revised Organic Act of 1954. Residents have elected their governor since 1970 and a nonvoting delegate to the House since 1972, and a single-chamber legislature of 15 senators makes local law. Residents cannot vote for President in general elections. Efforts to adopt a local constitution have repeatedly stalled, and a constitution drafted in 2009 was returned by Congress for revisions. The territory administers its own income tax system that mirrors the federal tax code.

Tourism is the largest industry, along with government employment and, at times, oil refining on St. Croix, where the Hovensa refinery, once among the world's largest, closed in 2012. Hurricanes Irma and Maria struck within two weeks in September 2017, causing severe damage and a long, federally funded recovery. The territory has faced fiscal stress, including large unfunded pension liabilities. About 60 percent of St. John is protected as Virgin Islands National Park. Debates continue over self-government, voting rights in federal elections, and federal support for recovery.