st thomas and american virgin islands and privateers and pirates and danes

We pulled into the spacious harbor of Charlotte Amalie, largest town (18,000) of this organized, unincorporated territory of the United States early in the morning of Thursday, April 27. The day before we had spent several hours in the old city of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and I began to see how this region of the world could grow on you. St. Thomas is one of the prettiest and most termperate places on earth, with average temperature around 80 degrees and with trade winds constantly and gently blowing. Though only about 40 miles East of Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and its neigbor in the AVI St. John, are volcanic islands, and so have soaring hills which abruptly fall to the sandy beaches and pristine waters of the Caribbean. What strikes you immediately upon disembarking from the boat dock (and the dock is 2,500 feet long, thus allowing three large cruise ships to dock at the same time), are the brilliant colors of the island foliage. Examples of some of their flowers are the Cannonball Tree Flower (Couroupita guianensis), the Shaving Tree flower (pseudobombax ellipticum) and the Mahoe (Hibiscus tiliaceus). Let's see if I can post a photograph of the last here.

These colors were all around me, and I drunk them in like a thirsty man in the desert.

A Word on History

Unlike Puerto Rico, which came into the United States' hands through an imperialistic move in 1898 when all the world's great powers were expanding their influence through acquiring colonies, the US obtained the three islands making up the American Virgin Islands from the Danes in 1917 for $25,000,000. The "Old World" was emptying its Western hemisphere possessions, and we wanted an outpost to protect shipping in the newly-opened Panama Canal. So, the US bought these three islands (St. John's and St. Croix, also) even though the ability to elect their own governor wasn't granted to the citizens until the early 1970s. Today there are only about 52,000 inhabitants on both St. Thomas and St. Croix, with St. John having fewer than 4,000 residents. The first is much smaller even than Washington DC, for it is about 13 miles (long) by 4 miles (wide).

The multicultural romance of St. Thomas is reflected in the history one can limn when walking along the narrow streets of Charlotte Amalie. The Danes offically took over the island in the 1670s, building the Skytsborg, or the stone watchtower which still dominates the landscape from a hill about 400 feet above the Charlotte Amalie harbor. But nearby the Skytsbord, which now is surrounded by a posh hotel, pools and a restaurant, along with historic houses, stands the Reformed Church parsonage (the Danes were not Reformed Protestants), and down the road is one of the oldest synagogues in the Americas. Pirates found the multitude of mini-inlets on Water and Hassle Islands (in the Charlotte Amalie harbor) ideal locations for knocking off prey that would land near the island; hence the island (along with the Bahamas) was known as as a flourishing haven for pirates. Then, the American influence is everywhere present, but a curious British influence persists in the custom of driving on the left side of the road. Most of the population of 52,000 (about 75%) is of African descent, and more than 80% of the GDP of the AVI comes from the tourist trade. One can't help but think, however, that a cash infusion from Congress keeps this place nicely afloat, too.

Two Comments on Religious Life

I will close this essay with two comments on religion--from the sublime.... Everyone who visits the Synagogue on St. Thomas ("Congregation of Blessing and Peace and Deeds of Piety"--don't worry, I could give you the Hebrew, but it is getting late...), which has only missed one sabbath service in the past 173 years, due to the massive destruction of Hurricane Margaret in Sept. 1995, is impressed not simply by the architectural beauty of the sanctuary, but by the sand scattered on the floor. The sand is to commemorate the Sephardic (Spanish Jewish) origins of the congregation. During the late 15th century in Spain, when Jews were forced to convert to Christianity, many would continue to meet for Jewish worship in underground locations. In order to muffle their footfalls, they would cover the floors with sand. Hence, the sand on the floor of the St. Thomas synagogue--a reminder of how confessing one's Jewish faith endangered their forebears' life. Not a bad message for a person of any religious persuasion.

To the.... One of the modern realities of religion, however, is the rediscovery of the so-called "gifts of the spirit." Beginning in a series of revivals in 1906, these spirit-filled revivals gave birth to new denominations (most visibly the Assemblies of God and the Pentecostal denominations) as well as a number of preachers who believed they were called to heal people's infirmities in addition to preaching the Word of the Gospel to them. A spiritual descendant of these earlier healers was no doubt going to be in town in the near future, as was evidenced by a large billboard between Charlotte Amalie and my cruise ship. Here are its precise words: "Virgin Islands Christian Ministries. Internationally known David Hogan"...."Your miracle is Waiting for you!" Then the sign gives examples of these miracles. "The Dead Are Raised. New Body Parts Grow Out." Located at the Bottom of Donkey Hill. To each his own in religion, I say...

I pressed back to the ship, then, filled with images and memories which I bring here to you...

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