The History of the British Virgin Islands is usually, for convenience, broken up into five separate periods: Pre-Columbian Amerindian settlement, up to an uncertain date Nascent European settlement, from approximately 1612 until 1672 British control, from 1672 until 1834 Emancipation, from 1834 until 1950 The modern state, from 1950 to present day
These time periods are used for convenience only. There appears to be an uncertain period of time from when the last Arawak left what would later be called the British Virgin Islands until the first Europeans started to settle there in the early 17th century, when records of any settlement are unclear. Each of the above periods is marked by a dramatic change from the preceding time period, providing a way to define the history.
Pre-Columbian settlement
The first recorded settlement of the Territory was by Arawak Indians who came from South America, in around 100 BC. Vernon Pickering places the date later, at around 200 AD, and suggests that the Arawak may have been preceded by the Ciboney Indians. They are thought to have settled in nearby St. Thomas as early as 300 BC. There is some evidence of Amerindian presence on the islands. perhaps in seasonal fishing camps, as far back as 1500 BC. There is little academic support for the idea of a permanent settlement on any of the current British Virgin Islands at that time.
The Arawak inhabited the islands until the 15th century, when they were displaced by the more aggressive Caribs, a tribe from the Lesser Antilles islands. The Caribbean Sea is named for these people.
None of the later European visitors to the Virgin Islands reported encountering Amerindians in what would later be the British Virgin Islands. Christopher Columbus did have a hostile encounter with the Carib natives of St. Croix.
Comparatively little is known about the early inhabitants of this territory specifically (as opposed to the Arawak generally). The largest excavations of Arawak pottery have been found around Belmont and Smuggler's Cove on the northwest of Tortola. Many other archeological sites have been found with Arawak artifacts, including at Soper's Hole, Apple Bay, Coxheath, Pockwood Pond, Pleasant Valley, Sage Mountain, Russell Hill (modern day Road Town), Pasea, Purcell, Paraquita Bay, Josiah's Bay, Mount Healthy and Cane Garden Bay. Modern archaeological excavations regularly cause local historians to revise what they thought they knew about these early settlers. Discoveries reported in the local newspapers in 2006 have indicated that early Arawak settlement of the islands may have been more significant than had earlier been thought.
1492: Early European exploration
The first European sighting of the Virgin Islands was by Christopher Columbus in 1493 on his second voyage to the Americas. Columbus gave them the name Santa Ursula y las Once Mil Vírgenes (Saint Ursula and her 11,000 Virgins), shortened to Las Vírgenes (The Virgins), after the legend of Saint Ursula. He is also reported to have personally named Virgin Gorda (the Fat Virgin), which he thought to be the largest island in the group.
The Spanish claimed the islands by original discovery, but never settled the Territory. In 1508, Juan Ponce de León settled Puerto Rico, and reports in Spanish journals suggested that the settlement used the Virgin Islands for fishing, but nothing else. Their references may have been to the present U.S. Virgin Islands, which are closer.
In 1517, Sebastian Cabot and Thomas Spert visited the islands on their return from exploring Brazilian waters. Sir John Hawkins visited the islands three times, firstly in 1542 and then again in 1563 with a cargo of slaves bound for Hispaniola. On his third visit, he was accompanied by a young captain by the name of Francis Drake in the Judith.
Drake returned in 1585, and is reported to have anchored in North Sound on Virgin Gorda prior to his tactically brilliant attack on Santo Domingo. Drake returned for the final time in 1595 on his last voyage, during which he died. The main channel in the British Virgin Islands was named in his honor.
In 1598, George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland, is reported to have used the islands as a staging ground for his later attack on La Fortaleza in Puerto Rico, during conflicts between England and Spain.