With an incredibly busy port, thriving tourist trade and amazing shopping opportunities, the visitor should be under no misapprehension that they are coming to a area directly aimed at others like themselves. If they prefer a calmer way of life then possibly the British Virgin Islands would be better.
St. Thomas is the main entrance point to the whole area, so make the most of any time you have there even if it is not your chosen final destination. Those that thrive on French Riviera style partying should have no problem being able to join in. It will be much harder to find that secluded idyll on this island, but that is not too much of an issue as there are others nearby!
During the 17th century, the archipelago was divided into two territorial units, one English and the other Danish. Sugarcane, produced by slave labor, drove the islands' economy during the 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1917, the US purchased the Danish portion, which had been in economic decline since the abolition of slavery in 1848.
