British Virgin Islands 
 

to 1874   1874 - 1956  Leeward Islands   1956 - 15 Nov 1960   15 Nov 1960 - 25 Jan 1999 Adopted 25 Jan 1999 Map of British Virgin Islands  Hear National Anthem "God Save the King" ("God Save the Queen" 1837-1901, 1952-2022)  Hear Local Anthem "Oh Beautiful Virgin Islands" Adopted 3 Sep 2012 Constitution Order (19 Jun 2007) ----------------------------------- Former Constitution Order (1 Jun 1977- 2007) Capital: Road Town (Spanish Town 1680-1741) Currencies: US Dollar (USD) (since 1959); British Virgin Islands Dollar (VGD) (from 30 Jun 1973) National Holiday: 2nd Sat in Jun. (1948) Birthday of King Charles III -------------------------------------- Local Holiday: 1 Jul (1956) Virgin Islands Day (named Territory Day 1978-2020 and Colony Day 1956-1978) Population: 39,369 (2023) GDP: $500 million (2017) Exports: $353 million (2017) Imports: $829 million (2017) Ethnic groups: African/black 76.3%, Latino 5.5%, white 5.4%,  mixed 5.3%, Indian 2.1%, East Indian 1.6%, other 3%, unspecified 0.8% (2010) Total Police Force: 253 (2018) Defense is the Responsibility of the U.K. Merchant marine: 20 ships (2022) Religions: Protestant 70.2% (Methodist 17.6%, Church of God  10.4%, Anglican 9.5%, Seventh Day Adventist 9.0%, Pentecostal 8.2%, Baptist 7.4%, New Testament Church of God 6.9%, other Protestant 1.2%), Roman Catholic 8.9%, Jehovah's Witness 2.5%, Hindu 1.9%, other 6.2%, none 7.9%, unspecified 2.4% (2010) International Organizations/Treaties: ACS (associate), Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate), UNESCO (associate), UPU, WMO British Virgin Islands Chronology 14 Nov 1493                Discovered by Columbus and claimed for Spain,                              island chain named Las Islas Once Mil Virgenes. c.1615 - Sep 1625          Dutch settle on Tortola. Sep 1625                   Spanish destroy Dutch colony on Tortola.  2 Jul 1627                Anegada (Enegada) granted to James, Earl of Carlisle                              by King Charles I of England (as part of Carlisle                              Province, also called Carliola); no settlement. 1628                       Santa Ana (Tortola) claimed for England (but                              not settled until 1645-46, and after 1672).  5 Feb 1646                Spanish destroy English colony on Tortola. 1648 - 1672                Dutch colony on Tortola Island (Nieu ter Tholen                             [Thurtoloe])(on Anegada and Virgin Gorda to 1680). 1665                       English occupation of Tortola under John Wentworth. Jun 1672                   English colony; part of Antigua. Jun 1672 - 16 Oct 1816     Part of Leeward Islands colony (see Antigua). 1680                       English settle Anegada and Virgin Gorda. 14 Apr 1685                Tortola is sacked by Spanish pirates. 1685 - 1690                Tortola mostly abandoned, except for Jonathan Turner                              and his wife. 1713                       British crown colony (Virgin Islands). 30 Nov 1773                British Virgin Islands administratively united                              (Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda, Jost Van Dyke,                              Peter, Norman, Guana, Ginger and Salt Islands). 1816 - 1832                Part of Antigua-Barbuda-Montserrat colony                               (see under Antigua). 19 Dec 1832 - 13 May 1872  Part St. Christopher, Nevis, Anguilla, and the                               British Virgin Islands colony (see St. Kitts). 13 May 1872 -  1 Jan 1960  Part of Leeward Islands (see Antigua).  1 Jan 1960                Separate colony (Virgin Islands). 18 Apr 1967                Autonomous

Dutch Governors of Tortola
c.1615 - Sep 1625          Joost van Dyke                     (d. af.1631)
1648 - 1663                ....
1663 - 1672                Willem Hunthum                     (d. bf.1678)
                             (patron/owner)
16.. - 1672                Peter Balderick
English Governor of Tortola
1645 -  5 Feb 1646         .... [unknown]                     (d. 1646)
English Deputy governors of Tortola
1672                       William Burt
1672 - 1683                ....
1683? - 1685               Thomas Bisse, Sr.
1685 - 1690                Vacant
1690 - 1707                ....
English Deputy governors of Virgin Gorda (Spanish Town)
(separate post continues to 1772)
1697 - 1707                ....
11 Sep 1707 - af.1711      John Walton
af.1711 - 1771             ....
c.1716                     Thomas Hornby
.... - c.1717/20           Jan Markoe, Sr.                    (d. c.1720)
c.1717/20                  Peter Markoe
c.1727                     Francis Crequi
c.1733/37 - c.1745         Philip Markoe                      (b. c.1695 - d. 1754)
c.1756/62                  Samuel Pickman                     (b. 1711/12 - d. 1772)
Deputy governors of the Virgin Islands (Tortola)
11 Sep 1707 - af.1711      John Walton
c.1716                     Hall
1727 - 1729                Francis Phips                      (b. c.1683 - d. c.1740)
                             (Lieutenant governor of Anguilla and Virgin Islands)
c.1733                     John Pikron
1734 - 17..                Pazea
173. - 1737                Stephen Sills                      (d. 1737)
1737 - 1741                ....
Lieutenant governors
1741 - Jun 1742            John Pickering                     (b. 1704 - d. 1768)
Jun 1742 - 1751            John Hunt                          (d. 1751)
1750 - 1751                James Purcell                      (b. c.1716 - d. 1759)
1751 - 1771                John Purcell                       (d. 1771)
1771 - 1774                John Fahie                         (d. 1785)
1775 - 1782                John Nugent                        (b. 17.. - d. 1814)
Presidents 
1782 - 1811                ....
c.1785                     Henry Martin
c.1787                     William Turnbull                   (b. 1750 - d. 1818)
c.1794                     George Leonard                     (d. 1799)
.... - 1811                Thomas Thomason (Thomson, Thompson)
1811 -  8 Aug 1821         Richard Hetherington               (b. 1737 - d. 1821)
1821 - 1830                Richard Hetherington (II)          (b. 1785 - d. 1839)
1830 - 1837                John Middelton Donovan
1837 - Apr 1838            William Rogers Isaacs              (b. c.1785 - d. 1838?)
1838 - 1839                R.M. Thomas (acting)
Feb 1839 - 1847            Edward Hay Drummond Hay            (b. 1815 - d. 1884)
1847 - 11 May 1851         Sir John Atholl MacGregor          (b. 1810 - d. 1851)
1851 - 1852                Richard Henry Dyett (1st time)     (b. 1830 - d. 1884)
                             (acting)
1852 - 28 Feb 1854         John Cornell Chads                 (b. 1793? - d. 1854)
16 Mar 1854 - Jan 1857     Cornelius Hendericksen Kortright   (b. 1817 - d. 1897)
1857                       Robert Grimes Pedder (acting)
1857 - 1858                Thomas Price (1st time)(acting)    (b. 1817 - d. 1864)
1858 - 1859                Isidore Peter Lynch Dyett (acting) (b. 1812 - d. 1864)
1859 - 1861                Thomas Price (2nd time)            (s.a.)
Oct 1861 - 1865            James Robert Longden               (b. 1827 - d. 1891)
1865 - 12 Jun 1869         Sir Arthur Carlos Henry Rumbold    (b. 1820 - d. 1869)
Oct 1869 - 1872            Alexander Wilson Moir              (b. 1825 - d. 1897)
Jun 1873 - 26 Jan 1879     Richard Mahoney Hickson            (b. 1825 - d. 1879)
Apr 1879 - Jan 1881        John Kemys Spencer-Churchill       (b. 1835 - d. 1913)
1882 - 26 Jul 1884         Richard Henry Dyett (2nd time)     (s.a.)
1884 - 1887                Fredrick Augustus Pickering        (b. 1835 - d. 1926)
Feb 1887 - 1894            Edward John Cameron                (b. 1858 - d. 1947)
Commissioners
1894 - 12 Feb 1896         Alexander Robert Mackay            (b. 1855 - d. 1896)
1896 - 1903                Nathaniel George Cookman           (b. 1869 - d. 1907)
1903 - 1910                Robert Stephen Earl
1910 - 15 Dec 1916         Thomas Leslie Hardtman Jarvis      (b. 1868 - d. 1916)
 7 Dec 1914 -  7 May 1917  Thomas Lisle Evelyn Clarke         (b. 1885 - d. 1964)
                             (acting [for Jarvis to 15 Dec 1916])
                             (1st time)
 5 Jul 1917 - 31 Oct 1918  Thomas Lisle Evelyn Clarke         (s.a.)
                             (2nd time) (acting)
11 Jul 1919 - 1922         Herbert Walter Peebles             (b. 1877 - d. 1955)
 8 Apr 1922 - 1922         Frank Cecil Clarkson (1st time)    (b. 1882 - d. 19..)
                             (acting)
Dec 1922 - 1923            Reginald Hargrove (acting)
1923  - 1926               Otho Lewis Hancock                 (b. 1893 - d. 1942)
Aug 1926 - Nov 1926        Thomas Edwin Percival Baynes       (b. 1885 - d. 1952)
                             (acting)
Nov 1926 - 1934            Frank Cecil Clarkson (2nd time)    (s.a.)
24 Apr 1934 - 1946         Donald Percy Wailling              (b. 1898 - d. 1965)
1943 - 1945                W.S.G. Barnes (acting for Wailling)
27 Feb 1946 - 1953         John Augustus Cockburn Cruikshank  (b. 1909 - d. 1957)
1953 - 1954                Edward Arthur Evelyn (1st time)    (b. 1904 - d. 1974)
                             (acting)
25 Feb 1954 - Mar 1956     Henry Anthony Camillo Howard       (b. 1913 - d. 1977)
Mar 1956 - 30 Jun 1956     Edward Arthur Evelyn (2nd time)    (s.a.)
                             (acting)
Administrators
 1 Jul 1956 - Oct 1956     Edward Arthur Evelyn (1st time)    (s.a.)
                             (acting)
Oct 1956 - Nov 1959        Geoffrey Pole Allsebrook           (b. 1918 - d. 2010)
Nov 1959 - 31 Dec 1959     Edward Arthur Evelyn (2nd time)    (s.a.)
                             (acting)
 1 Jan 1960 - Jan 1962     Gerald Jackson Bryan               (b. 1921 - d. 2018)
1962  (1 month)            James Olva Georges (acting)        (b. 1890 - d. 1976)
 3 Sep 1962 - Apr 1967     Martin Samuel Staveley             (b. 1921 - d. 1998)
14 Apr 1967 - Mar 1971     John Sutherland Thomson            (b. 1920 - d. 2008)
19 Mar 1971 -  5 Aug 1971  Derek George Cudmore               (b. 1923 - d. 1981)
Governors
 5 Aug 1971 - 29 Jul 1974  Derek George Cudmore               (s.a.)
29 Jul 1974 - 24 Oct 1978  Walter Wilkinson Wallace           (b. 1923 - d. 2005)
24 Oct 1978 - 23 Nov 1978  Alford Penn (1st time)(acting)     (b. 1920 - d. 2009)
23 Nov 1978 - 1981         James Alfred Davidson              (b. 1922 - d. 2004)
1981 - 26 Jan 1982         Alford Penn (2nd time)(acting)     (s.a.)
26 Jan 1982 - 1986         David Robert Barwick               (b. 1927 - d. 2001)
Nov 1986 - 1991            John Mark Ambrose Herdman          (b. 1932 - d. 2015)
14 Oct 1991 - 21 Jun 1995  Peter Alfred Penfold               (b. 1944 - d. 2023)
21 Jun 1995 - 1998         David Patrick Robert Mackilligin   (b. 1939)
 3 Jul 1998 -  5 Oct 2002  Frank Savage                       (b. 1943)
 5 Oct 2002 - 14 Oct 2002  Elton Georges (acting)             (b. 1943 - d. 2018)
14 Oct 2002 - 10 Apr 2006  Thomas "Tom" Townley Macan         (b. 1946)
10 Apr 2006 - 18 Apr 2006  Dancia Penn (f)(acting)            (b. 1951)
18 Apr 2006 -  5 Aug 2010  David Pearey                       (b. 1948)
 5 Aug 2010 - 20 Aug 2010  Vivian Inez Archibald (f)(1st time)(b. 1945)
                             (acting)
20 Aug 2010 -  1 Aug 2014  William Boyd McCleary              (b. 1949)
 1 Aug 2014 - 15 Aug 2014  Vivian Inez Archibald (f)(2nd time)(s.a.)
                             (acting)
15 Aug 2014 -  8 Aug 2017  John Stewart Duncan                (b. 1958)
 8 Aug 2017 - 12? Aug 2017 Robert Anderson Mathavious (acting)
12? Aug 2017 - 22 Aug 2017 Rosalie Louise Adams (f) (acting)
22 Aug 2017 - 22 Jan 2021  Augustus "Gus" James Ulysses       (b. 1979)
                             Jaspert
22 Jan 2021 - 29 Jan 2021  David DaCosta Archer, Jr.
                             (1st time)(acting)
29 Jan 2021 - 18 Jan 2024  John James Rankin                  (b. 1957)
18 Jan 2024 - 29 Jan 2024  David DaCosta Archer, Jr.
                             (2nd time)(acting)
29 Jan 2024 -              Daniel Pruce                       (b. 1966)

Chief ministers
Apr 1967 - Jun 1971        Hamilton Lavity Stoutt (1st time)  (b. 1929 - d. 1995)  UP  
Jun 1971 - Nov 1979        Willard Wheatley                   (b. 1915 - d. 1997)  UP
Nov 1979 - 15 Nov 1983     Hamilton Lavity Stoutt (2nd time)  (s.a.)               VIP
15 Nov 1983 -  1 Oct 1986  Cyril Brandtford Romney            (b. 1931 - d. 2007)  Ind + UP
 1 Oct 1986 - 14 May 1995  Hamilton Lavity Stoutt (3rd time)  (s.a.)               VIP
15 May 1995 - 17 Jun 2003  Ralph Telford O'Neal               (b. 1933 - d. 2019)  VIP
17 Jun 2003 - 23 Aug 2007  Daniel Orlando Smith               (b. 1944)            NDP
Premiers
23 Aug 2007 -  9 Nov 2011  Ralph Telford O'Neal               (s.a.)               VIP
 9 Nov 2011 - 26 Feb 2019  Daniel Orlando Smith               (s.a.)               NDP
26 Feb 2019 -  5 May 2022  Andrew Alturo Fahie                (b. 1970)            VIP
28 Apr 2022 -              Natalio Dixon Wheatley             (b. 1980)            VIP
                             (acting for Fahie to 5 May 2022)

Party abbreviations: Ind = Independent; NDP = National Democratic Party (reformist, VIP opposition, est.1999); VIP = Virgin Islands Party (traditionalist, split from UP, est.1971);
- Former parties: UP = United Party (democratic, 1966-1990)