U.S. buys Virgin Islands

Historical Context Note

Lucas Paul Richert (University of Saskatchewan)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 4.1: The Literatures and Cultures of Central America and the Caribbean.

Domains

Political Geography

Dates

Date of occurrence 1916-08-04

Places

Virgin Islands (US) (Location)
Denmark (Involved)
United States (Involved)

On 4 August, the U.S. agreed to buy the Virgin Islands from Denmark. The Virgin Islands had been settled following Columbus’ second voyage in 1493 and subsequently colonised by Spain, Britain, the Netherlands, France and Denmark. The growing of sugar cane was a major purpose of the colonists. The US purchase from Denmark was primarily aimed at preventing seizure of the islands by Germany and their potential use as a submarine base. The deal was ratified on 17 January 1917 and the U.S. took possession on 31 March 1917.

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85 words

Citation: Richert, Lucas Paul. "U.S. buys Virgin Islands". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 November 2008 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=5570, accessed 26 November 2024.]

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U.S. buys Virgin Islands

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Places

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