St. Croix has shown resilience in the face of colonialism.

The history of St. Croix can be represented by resiliency in the face of colonialism. The island was first inhabited by indigenous peoples including the Arawaks and the Tainos before being claimed by the Spanish in the early 1500s. It was later occupied by the Dutch, and then the Danish, who established the first permanent European settlement on the island in 1653.1 The Danish colonized the island to act as an economic hub for the nation, becoming the ‘Garden of the Indies’ where enslaved islanders enriched their colonizers through the production of sugar cane.

In 1917, the Danish West Indies were sold to the United States, the islands latest colonizer, and St. Croix became a part of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Today, St. Croix remains a popular tourist destination and is home to a diverse population, with roots in the Caribbean and Africa, who in the face of colonialism have remained a vibrant and resilient people.2

Enslaved people on St. Croix endure 355 years of the sugar cane and slave trade from six different colonizers.5

St. Croix was inhabited by the Arawak Indian tribe as early as 800 AD, followed by the Taino people and eventually the Carib people about a century before Columbus arrived.3

November 14, 1493

The Carib people fought against the Spanish upon their arrival at Salt River Bay. This represents the first violent altercation between the Old World and the New. War continued between the Caribs and Spaniards for nearly a century.4

General Buddhoe led a slave rebellion and demanded that Governor-General Scholten of Denmark emancipate enslaved people on St. Croix. Despite the emancipation, former slaves would continue to be subjected to forced labor due to laws that were created to limit their freedom.6

St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas were purchased by the United States of America from the Danish government for military reasons. The U.S. represents the last and current power asserting imperial rule.8

Fireburn revolt ends the slave-like conditions that persisted after emancipation. Over 879 acres of sugar cane were burned, and many laborers were killed. The revolt was led by four women known as the “Queens” of the revolt- Queen Mary, Agnes, Mathilda, and Susanna- who were later sentenced and jailed in Denmark.7

The government of St. Croix is organized as a territorial government within the federal system of the United States. St. Croix, St. Thomas, St. John, and Water Island make up the US Virgin Islands, a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea that were acquired by the US from Denmark in 1917.

St. Croix’s government is composed of three branches: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. The executive branch is led by the Governor of the Virgin Islands –currently Governor Albert Bryan Jr, who was elected by popular vote in 2018. The Governor is responsible for implementing the laws of the territory and for overseeing the various agencies and departments that make up the executive branch.9

The legislative branch of the government of St. Croix is the Virgin Islands Legislature, which consists of a 15-member Senate and a 31-member House of Representatives. The members of the Legislature are elected by the people of St. Croix to serve fouryear terms. The Legislature has the power to pass laws and to approve the budget for the territory.10

The island’s judicial branch is as states. composed of the Virgin Islands Superior Court, the Virgin Islands Court of Appeals, and the Virgin Islands Supreme Court. The Superior Court is the trial court of the territory and has jurisdiction over a variety of civil and criminal cases. The Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court are the territory’s intermediate and highest courts, respectively, and have the power to review decisions made by the lower courts.11

In addition to the territorial government, St. Croix is also subject to the laws and regulations of the federal government of the United States. The US Constitution applies to the territory, and the people of St. Croix are represented in Congress by a delegate to the House of Representatives – Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett - who has a voice in congressional debates but does not have the right to vote on the final passage of legislation.

The people of St. Croix, along with the people of the other US territories (such as Puerto Rico and Guam), are not represented in the US Senate and do not have the right to vote in presidential elections. As a territory of the United States, St. Croix does not