Like many other Caribbean Islands, the Arawak and Carib Indians played a large role in Tortola Island history. Modern history of Tortola Island began in 1493, when Columbus discovered the British Virgin Islands on his second voyage to the New World. He named the area “Las Once Mil Virgines” after the 11,000 followers of St. Ursula. Aside from Tortola Island, Virgin Gorda was so named by Columbus because he felt the island resembled a reclining woman with a protruding belly when viewed from the sea.

The Spaniards officially laid claim to the territory, including Tortola Island, in 1555…For almost a full century; however, Tortola Island was considered too small and unimportant for Spanish settlement so they remained largely uninhabited during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Pirates terrorized the Caribbean shipping lanes surrounding Tortola Island with the blessing of one European country or another and the Spanish Armada was finally defeated. Many of the small croppings around Tortola Island were named after various pirates, such as Thatch Island, which is named after Edward Thatch (or Teach-also commonly known as Blackbeard).

Tortola Island was claimed by England in 1628 but the Dutch were the first true settlers arriving in Tortola Island in 1648. In 1666, British planters took over control of the islands from the original Dutch settlers and they attained the status of a British Colony and remained part of the Leeward Islands from 1872-1956 when the British Virgin Islands became a separately administered entity. In 1967, a new constitution provided for a ministerial system of government and Tortola Island remains under British control today. Tortola Island is a tropical paradise for all to enjoy!