Charlotte Amalie ( SHAR-lət ə-MAH-lee(-ə); Danish: [ʃɑˈlʌtʰə ɑˈmɑːljə]), on Saint Thomas, is the capital and largest town of the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is on the island's southern shore at the head of Charlotte Amalie Harbor. The town is known for its historic sites, Danish colonial architecture, harbor, and shopping. In 2020, it had a population of 8,194, making it the most densely populated town in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
It has a deep-water harbor that was once a haven for pirates (including Blackbeard) and is now one of the busiest ports of call for cruise ships in the Caribbean. About 1.5 million cruise ship passengers land there annually, and hundreds of ferries and yachts pass by each week. Protected by Hassel Island, the harbor has docking and fueling facilities, machine shops, and shipyards and was a U.S. submarine base until 1966.
Name
Known for its many beer halls, the town was founded in 1666 as Taphus (Danish for "beer house" or, literally, "tap house"). In 1691 the town was renamed Charlotte Amalie in honor of Danish King Christian V's wife, Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel. Between 1921 and 1936, the town was called St. Thomas by the United States. In 1936 the capital was recognized as Charlotte Amalie.
Official designation
Like the rest of the U.S. Virgin Islands, the town of Charlotte Amalie has no local government and is directly administered by the territorial government. Its boundaries are defined by the Virgin Islands Code, and it is recognized as a town by the U.S. Census Bureau. Charlotte Amalie sits between the CDPs of Charlotte Amalie West and Charlotte Amalie East; together, these three CDPs comprise the subdistrict of Charlotte Amalie (or "the City").
Neighborhoods
Downtown Charlotte Amalie
Downtown Charlotte Amalie is divided into three historical quarters, reflecting its Danish colonial past:
- Kongens Kvarter (English: The King's Quarter): This area contains many historic government buildings, Charlotte Amalie harbor defense structures and landmarks. It is central to administrative activities during the colonial period and today. Government House, the Virgin Islands Capitol Building, Superior Court of the Virgin Islands (in the Alexander A Farrelly Justice Complex) and United States District Court of the Virgin Islands (in the Ron Delugo Federal Building), Emancipation Garden, and Fort Christian are in this quarter.
- Dronningens Kvarter (English: The Queen's Quarter): This quarter features residential areas as well as the downtown commercial shopping district.
- Kronprinsens Kvarter (English: The Crown Prince's Quarter): This area historically housed various community as well as merchant activities like the sale of slaves and produce at the Rothschild Francis Square. It also includes a mix of residential and business spaces.
The transitions between the quarters in downtown Charlotte Amalie are not always clearly marked. The best way to identify them is by following Virgin Islands Route 308. This road, which passes through all three quarters, provides a practical guide to their boundaries.
- In Kongens Kvarter, Route 308 is known as Nørre Gade (English: North Street). It begins at the easternmost side of the quarter, at the intersection with Bjerge Gade (English: Mountain Street) Route 314. Here, the road is a two-lane street.
- As you enter Dronningens Kvarter, the road becomes Dronningens Gade (English: The Queen's Street) and transitions into a one-way street heading west.
- In Kronprinsens Kvarter, Route 308 changes its name to Kronprindsens Gade (English: The Crown Prince's Street) and returns to being a two-lane road.
Finally, as Route 308 exits downtown Charlotte Amalie, it becomes Harwood Highway, marking the end of the historic downtown district at the west end.
Downtown Charlotte Amalie is primarily bordered on the south by Virgin Islands Highway 30, commonly known as Veterans Drive or the Waterfront Highway. The northern boundary is less clearly defined, but a useful rule of thumb is that once the street names transition from Danish to English, you are likely outside of downtown Charlotte Amalie, as downtown Charlotte Amalie is the only area of St. Thomas with street names in Danish.
Frenchtown
Frenchtown is a distinctive neighborhood and fishing community within the Charlotte Amalie town limits, southwest of downtown and just south of Highway 30. Originally settled by French immigrants from Saint-Barthélemy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it has retained a strong French-Caribbean influence evident in its traditions, cuisine, and way of life. Frenchtown is known for its vibrant French heritage, with many families in the area tracing their ancestry to Saint-Barthélemy. The community celebrates French traditions, including culinary and religious practices. Historically, Frenchtown was a fishing village, and fishing remains an important part of its identity. It stands out with its French-named streets, reflecting its rich French-Caribbean heritage.
Landmarks
Charlotte Amalie has many buildings of historical importance and other important landmarks:
History
Early history
Archaeological records indicate that the present-day U.S. Virgin Islands have been home to native people groups, including the Taíno, Arawak, Kalinago/Carib, and the Ciboney people. Several of these lived in present-day Charlotte Amalie in small fishing communities. When Christopher Columbus arrived in 1493, during his second voyage to the Americas, the archipelago was still inhabited by Carib, Arawak, Ciboney, and Taíno peoples. As was the case in most of the Americas, these native populations died relatively quickly from disease when the Europeans settled.
While Columbus claimed the present-day U.S. Virgin Islands for Spain, early Spanish settlers focused more on Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands. As a result, St. Thomas remained unprotected by the Spanish for many years, which left Charlotte Amalie's sheltered coves to be frequented by pirates, like Blackbeard, as well as mariners and other European settlers.
17th century
The Danish West India Company chartered Charlotte Amalie in 1671 after King Christian V decided to secure them for plantations. As early as in 1672, the Danish government began building Fort Christian on Saint Thomas Harbor in Charlotte Amalie. In 1675, the Danes constructed four pubs near the water's edge on the Fort's western side. The Danish government supplied convicts to work the plantations but soon allowed colonists from neighboring islands to settle there and allowed the importation of slaves from Africa. In 1680, there were more black African slaves than white European settlers. Adjacent Water and Buck Islands served as pasture lands for the town, and Taphus was renamed Charlotte Amalie in 1691 after King Christian V's wife. It was the main port of the Virgin Islands Archipelago and was connected to about 50 plantations by one road, which remains the main highway today.
18th century
In the early 18th century, more than 3,000 white settlers lived in town, and sugar production and slave trading were the economic mainstay. After the Danish government wanted direct administration of the archipelago in 1754, the capital was moved from Charlotte Amalie to Christiansted on the Island of Saint Croix. That partly made Charlotte Amalie's economy transition from slave trading and agriculture to general commerce. The slight did not hamper the town's growth, as merchants profiteered in arms and rum trades to belligerent countries.
In 1764, Charlotte Amalie was declared a free port by King Frederick V, and it became the busiest harbor in the Caribbean. The American Revolution in the 1770s was good news for the town, as it was thriving times for the local businessfolk. The town began to be filled by immigrants from Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean, most of them from other islands of the Lesser Antilles. By 1778, the Danish government had strengthened its military position by building Bluebeard's Castle and Blackbeard's Castle, lookout towers on the crests of the two hills in the town. The town prospered as a free port and U.S., Danish, Sephardic, German, French, British, Italian, and Spanish importing houses operated here. At the end of the 18th century, U.S. founding father and future architect of the U.S. Constitution Alexander Hamilton decided the town was so wealthy that "gold moved through the streets in wheel-barrows". At one point, Charlotte Amalie was the second-largest city in the Danish Realm, smaller only than Copenhagen.
19th century
A growing share of the West Indian trade passed through the port in the beginning of the 1800s, and the rise of steamships made Charlotte Amalie an ideal coaling station for ships sailing between North and South America. In 1804, a major fire struck Charlotte Amalie, destroying more than 1,200 homes and stores. Two more fires came in 1805 and 1806, and the town lost another thousand buildings. Neighboring islands gradually began importing coal directly from producers, and Charlotte Amalie was sidestepped in trade in the early 1800s. The abolition of slavery in 1848 further diminished Charlotte Amalie's commercial role and the town suffered a brutal recession, as did most of the Caribbean following abolition.
During the American Civil War in the early 1860s, the town evolved into a smuggling center for ships running the federal blockade of ports in the Confederacy. As an acknowledgment of the port's smuggling success, the Danish government moved the archipelago's capital back to Charlotte Amalie in 1871. The latter half of the 1800s saw a cholera epidemic that killed thousands. Charlotte Amalie fell into an unsuccessful dormancy until the United States purchased the islands from Denmark in 1917.
20th century
In 1915, concerned about German infiltration in the Lesser Antilles, the United States became interested in buying the U.S. Virgin Islands. The U.S. purchased the Danish West Indies in 1917 for $25 million. Charlotte Amalie was under U.S. Navy rule until 1931. The United States made Charlotte Amalie the main headquarters of the renamed United States Virgin Islands.
When American tourists were barred from Cuba in 1960, some began visiting Charlotte Amalie instead. As an unincorporated U.S. territory, the U.S. Virgin Islands became a haven for U.S. citizens seeking luxury vacations or a second home in the Caribbean. During the mid-20th century, resorts began to be built and direct flights from the U.S. to Charlotte Amalie increased tourism. During the last half of the century, Charlotte Amalie experienced extraordinary economic growth, largely as a consequence of being a U.S. territory with growing U.S. tourism. The tourism has also led to preservation and conversion of historic buildings and homes. Many ancient commercial buildings were made into restaurants and shops. During the 1980s and '90s, many buildings were restored to how they looked 200 years earlier.
The tourism industry has thrived on the island, driving the economy of the U.S. Virgin Islands, but limited flatland space in the mountainous terrain constrains Charlotte Amalie's economic and population growth. The spread of hilltop homes overlooking the Caribbean crystal blue waters began trending in the 1960s as well.
Geography
Mid-island, on the south shore of Saint Thomas, Charlotte Amalie stretches about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) around Saint Thomas Harbor from the Havensight district, where the cruise ships dock in Charlotte Amalie East, to the Crown Bay (Sub Base) area in Charlotte Amalie West. The red walls of Fort Christian and the open space of Emancipation Garden and the Vendor's Market are the center of downtown. Many of the town's historic buildings and businesses stand on the slopes of Government Hill just north of Emancipation Garden. This is "Kongens Quarter". To the west, spanning the area between Waterfront Dr and Dronningens Gade (Main Street), are a score of alleys, each lined with colonial warehouse buildings that have been turned into stores and urban malls. Protected by the peaks of Water Island and Hassel Island, Saint Thomas Harbor makes a deep indentation in the island. The bay affords vistas from lookout points as high as 1,500 feet (460 m), including Drake's Seat.
Charlotte Amalie is built on three low volcanic spurs: Frenchman Hill (Foretop Hill), Berg Hill (Maintop), and Government Hill (Mizzentop). Charlotte Amalie is located at coordinates 18°21' north and 64°57' west.