Virgin Islands, British

Virgin Islands, British
Dependent territory (pop., 2002 est.: 21,272) of the United Kingdom, eastern Caribbean Sea.

Part of the island chain of the Virgin Islands, which are divided between the U.K. and the U.S., it consists of four larger islands (Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda, and Jost Van Dyke) and many smaller uninhabited islands. The chief town and port is Road Town on Tortola. The majority of British Virgin Islanders are black or of mixed ancestry, the descendants of African slaves. English is the chief language and Protestantism is the chief religion. The islands are generally hilly, and many have lagoons with coral reefs and barrier beaches. Tourism is the mainstay of the economy. For the early history, see Virgin Islands of the U.S. The islands were a haunt for pirates, and Tortola was held by Dutch buccaneers until it was taken by English planters in 1666; it was annexed by the British-administered Leeward Islands in 1672. The British sugar plantations declined after slavery was abolished in the 19th century. The islands were part of the Colony of the Leeward Islands from 1872 until 1956, when the British Virgin Islands became a separate colony.

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