History

The beautiful gem of St. John sits in the chain of the American Virgin Islands. Its aquamarine waters, rich emerald vegetation, and citrine sunshine make it one of the Caribbean’s most heavenly locales. But this tranquil island has a storied past that has occasionally belied its beauty. 

Thousands of years ago, as early as 300 AD, the island was settled by the Taino Indians, members of the Arawak tribe. The Taino lived peacefully until the early 1300s when the Caribs overtook them. The warlike Caribs became the dominant people of the Caribbean due in part to their alleged practice of cannibalism.

The Carib controlled the island for two hundred years until Christopher Columbus discovered and named the Virgin Islands. Piracy and slave trade plagued the islands for two hundred more years, bestowing the Caribbean with a legendary reputation that remains today.

The British and Danish fought over St. John in the ensuing years until, in 1718, the Danes established the first European settlement. Plantations soon spread across the island, setting the course for a turbulent and terrible 130 years of slavery and revolt until the abolition of slavery in 1848.

In 1917, the United States purchased St. John from Denmark for $25 million as a naval base to prevent German invasion of the West. In 1956, Laurance Rockafeller purchased most of the island, designating 5,000 acres to create Virgin Islands National Park.