British Virgin Islands History

Caribbean British Virgin Islands

The British Virgin Islands were first settled by the Dutch in 1648 and taken over in 1666 by a group of English planters. In 1774 constitutional government was granted. The islands became a largely self-governing dependent territory of the United Kingdom in 1967. The British Virgin Islands number seventy, of which sixteen are inhabited. The largest are Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada and Jost Van Dyke.