Virgin Islands 32462 218852541 2008-06-12T13:17:44Z 193.60.133.203 [[WP:UNDO|Undid]] revision 213491008 by [[Special:Contributions/12.35.151.82|12.35.151.82]] ([[User talk:12.35.151.82|talk]]) {{Two other uses|the Virgin Islands archipelago|the British Virgin Islands|British Virgin Islands|the U.S. Virgin Islands|United States Virgin Islands}} {| class="infobox" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align="right" |-valign="top" |[[Image:Flag of the British Virgin Islands.svg|thumb|center|150px|[[British Virgin Islands]]]] |[[Image:Flag of the United States Virgin Islands.svg|thumb|center|130px|[[United States Virgin Islands]]]] |- |colspan=2|[[Image:Virgin Islands-map-CIA.jpg|thumb|300px|center|Map of the Virgin Islands]] |} The '''Virgin Islands''' is an [[archipelago]] in the [[Leeward Islands]] in the [[Caribbean Sea]]. The islands are divided into two parts, one of which is administered by the [[British Virgin Islands|United Kingdom]] and the other by the [[United States Virgin Islands|United States]]. [[Christopher Columbus]] named the islands ''Santa Ursula y las Once Mil Vírgenes'' (shortened to ''Las Vírgenes''), after [[Saint Ursula]] and her 11,000 virgins. They were inhabited by [[Arawak]], [[Carib]] and Cermic Indians, all of whom died out during the colonial period from disease, harsh labor conditions, and murder. The islands were later populated by Africans who were enslaved on sugar plantations, and on at least one [[tobacco plant|tobacco]] [[plantation]]. The [[sugar plantations]] are now gone, but the descendants of the slaves are still there, sharing a common Afro-Caribbean heritage with the rest of the English-speaking Caribbean. On ''both'' the British and the U.S. Virgin Islands, vehicles are driven on the left-hand side of the road, yet most cars on the islands have their steering wheels on the left side (as is the norm for drive-on-the-right localities). Also on both the British and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the [[United States dollar]] is the official currency. The islands in [[Vieques]] and [[Culebra]] to the east of [[Puerto Rico]] (and territorially part of it), are locally called the [[Spanish Virgin Islands]]. ==See also== *[[Culture of the Virgin Islands]] *[[Music of the Virgin Islands]] *[[Virgin Islands Creole]] ==External links== *[http://www.nps.gov/viis/ Virgin Islands National Park] * [http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/ufdc/?h=uvi&n=dloc University of the Virgin Islands materials] in the [http://www.dloc.com Digital Library of the Caribbean] [[Category:Geography of the British Virgin Islands]] [[Category:Geography of the United States Virgin Islands]] {{BVI-geo-stub}} {{USVI-geo-stub}} [[ar:الجزر العذراء]] [[ca:Illes Verges]] [[cs:Panenské ostrovy]] [[da:Jomfruøerne]] [[de:Jungferninseln]] [[et:Neitsisaared]] [[el:Παρθένοι Νήσοι]] [[es:Islas Vírgenes]] [[eo:Virgulininsuloj]] [[eu:Birjina uharteak]] [[fr:Îles Vierges]] [[ko:버진 제도]] [[hr:Djevičanski otoci]] [[is:Jómfrúaeyjar]] [[it:Isole Vergini]] [[he:איי הבתולה]] [[sw:Visiwa vya Virgin]] [[lt:Mergelių salos]] [[nl:Maagdeneilanden]] [[ja:ヴァージン諸島]] [[no:Jomfruøyene]] [[nn:Jomfruøyane]] [[pl:Wyspy Dziewicze]] [[pt:Ilhas Virgens]] [[ru:Виргинские острова]] [[sk:Panenské ostrovy]] [[sr:Девичанска острва]] [[fi:Neitsytsaaret]] [[sv:Jungfruöarna]] [[ta:கன்னித் தீவுகள்]] [[tr:Virgin Adaları]] [[uk:Віргінські острови]]