Tag Archives: Tortola

12 Jan 2017:
Road Town, Tortola:
An Independent Path

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Tortola is the largest and most populated of the British Virgin Islands, which sounds very impressive,

Except that none of the islands are very large or have all that many people.

Pity, since they are very nice places.

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The islands—in total—have a population of about 28,000. Of that number, about 23,000 live on Tortola, many near the capital city of Road Town, which is where we are scheduled to dock.

The principal islands are Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada, and Jost van Dyke.

Although the Spanish Empire claimed the islands, they never settled them: they found no gold. On nearby Virgin Gorda there is a small deposit of copper, and British entrepreneurs later imported miners and technology from Cornwall.

In subsequent years, English, Dutch, French, Spanish, and Danish powers scuffled over control of the region, but the predominant power for much of the time were pirates including Blackbeard and Captain Kidd.

In the late 16th century, the English, who had successfully displaced the Dutch, established a sugar cane plantation colony on Tortola and the surrounding islands.

Wherever there was sugar cane, there were slaves because the industry was very labor-intensive.

In the late eighteenth century, new settlers arrived: Loyalists from the Thirteen Colonies after the American Revolutionary War who were given land grants by the Crown to encourage development. They brought their African-American slaves with them, outnumbering the British colonists.

English is universally spoken throughout the British Virgin Islands, along with some local dialects and creole.

British Virgin Islanders are classed as British Overseas Territories citizens, and since 2002 have had full British citizenship.

Although the territory is not part of the European Union and not directly subject to EU law, its citizens are deemed to be citizens of the EU as well. Just to make things confusing—or easier, if you prefer—the official currency of BVI is the U.S. dollar.

Text and images copyright 2017 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

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18 February 2016
Road Town, Tortola

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

We’re back in Tortola, the largest and most populated of the British Virgin Islands, which are neither large nor well-populated.

British Virgin Islanders are classed as British Overseas Territories citizens, and since 2002 have had full British citizenship. Although the territory is not part of the European Union and not directly subject to EU law, its citizens are deemed to be citizens of the EU as well.

Just to make things confusing—or easier, if you prefer—the official currency of BVI is the U.S. dollar.

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In previous posts about Tortola, I’ve mentioned that the Spanish–initially the most obvious of suspects, Christopher Columbus–were here first. Then came the Dutch, who named the place after an island in The Netherlands.

In the late 16th century, the English displaced the Dutch and established a sugar cane plantation colony on Tortola and the surrounding islands. Wherever there was sugar cane, there were slaves, because the industry was very labor-intensive.

In the late eighteenth century, new settlers arrived: Loyalists from the Thirteen Colonies after the American Revolutionary War who were given land grants by the Crown to encourage development. They brought their African-American slaves with them, outnumbering the British colonists.

The sugar industry dominated Tortola economic history for more than a century.

We are visiting Tortola three times this season. We came first on February 2, and again on February 11. You can read my posts for those days for more commentary and photos about Tortola.

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

11 February 2016
Road Town, Tortola

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

We’re back in Tortola, the largest and most populated of the British Virgin Islands, which is a very relative term.

There are about 60 islands and rocks in the B.V.I., about 15 of them inhabited, and the total population is about 28,000 with nearly all on Tortola. We have come to the dock near the capital city of Road Town.

As recently as the last ice age of about 15,000 years ago, the sea level was 300 feet lower. No cruise ship was needed: you could walk to Puerto Rico.

Today, the British Virgin Islands stand as peaks of a drowned mountain range.

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The first European sighting of the Virgin Islands was by Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the Americas in 1493. He gave them the fanciful name Santa Ursula y las Once Mil Vírgenes (Saint Ursula and her 11,000 Virgins), after the 5th century legend of the martyr Saint Ursula.

And the particular island we have come to visit was named Santa Ana.

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Dutch colonists who came later renamed it Ter Tholen, after a coastal island that is part of the Netherlands.

When the British took over, the name evolved to Tortola, which happens to mean “Turtle Dove” in Spanish.

We are visiting Tortola three times this season. We came first on February 2, and will be back again on February 18. I’ll be posting more commentary and photos about Tortola on those days, and you can check back for more details.

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

2 February 2016
Road Town, Tortola BVI: A Small Place with Big Plans

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Tortola is the largest and most populated of the British Virgin Islands, which sounds very impressive.

Except that none of the islands are very large or have all that many people. Tis a pity, though, since they are very nice places.

Tortola is the largest of the British Virgin Islands, about 60 islands and rocks about 100 kilometers or 60 miles east of Puerto Rico. About 15 of the islands are inhabited.

Mountainous Tortola, formed by volcanic activity, is about 20 kilometers or 12 miles long, and 5 kilometers or 3 miles wide. Minor earthquakes are common.

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The islands—in total—have a population of about 28,000. Of that number, about 23,000 live on Tortola, many near the capital city of Road Town, which is where we arrived on Silver Wind.

The port has undergone rapid growth in the past few years,  with the installation of a large new dock,  capable of handling some of the biggest ships afloat. In fact, some cruise lines have begun moving away from nearby Saint Martin in favor of Tortola. It’s a matter–in terms of crowds–of a temporary respite, I expect.

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Silver Wind at anchor off Road Town

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A pair of monster ships at the new pier

The other significant islands are Virgin Gorda, Anegada, and Jost van Dyke. And then there are the lesser islands include Norman, Peter, Salt, Cooper, and Beef; some historians (and tourist bureaus) maintain that pirates like Blackbeard, Bluebeard, and Sir Francis Drake visited one or another of them.

Some would have you believe there is buried treasure here, too. For a small fee, they might even sell you a map.

More than thirty years ago, my wife and I visited the outlying islands. On Salt Island we found a tiny settlement, mostly made up of one extended family.

They had no interest in or need of our money or trinkets. But they deeply desired to have some of the glossy color magazines we had with us, with pictures of places that must have seemed like the moon to them. We gladly gave them the magazines; I sometimes wonder what dreams and wants we may have introduced, for better or worse.

We’re going to be visiting Tortola three times this season, coming back again on February 11 and again on February 18. I’ll be posting more commentary and photos about Tortola on those days, and you can check back for more details.

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS