A Spanish edition of an English chart of the Virgin Islands, centred on St Thomas, with Culebra to the West and Tortola in the East. The lighthouses are marked with colour.

In the 1860s the U.S. government was considering buying the Danish Virgin Islands for $7.5 million, but failed to get popular support. In 1917, justifying the purchase as defence against German attacks in the West Indies, the U.S. bought the Islands for $25 million in gold.