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53-742: Salt River Bay is located on the north side of the island of St. Croix, on its central coast. The bay is a large inlet with two major sections, the left fed by the Salt River. The park property encompasses substantially all of the land abutting the bay. This area's blend of sea and land holds some of the largest remaining mangrove forests in the Virgin Islands, as well as coral reefs and a submarine canyon. Salt River Bay's natural history, its vitally important ecosystem of mangroves, estuary, coral reefs, and submarine canyon, has witnessed thousands of years of human endeavor. Every major period of human habitation in

106-440: A maximum of 142,000 gross tons each with drafts up to 29 feet and two mini-cruise vessels with drafts of 18 feet. Anchorage is also available in the outer harbor for larger ships. The platform of the pier is equipped with a fendering system that is designed for submarines. A shopping area is located within walking distance to the pier. Additionally, ground transportation, public restrooms and other services are available. While

159-795: A result. Such wars led to a geopolitical boundary separating the Lesser Antilles , inhabited by the Kalinago, from the Greater Antilles , inhabited by the Taíno . This boundary became known as the " poison arrow curtain". In 1660, France and England signed the Treaty of Saint Charles with Island Caribs. It stipulated that the Kalinago would evacuate all the Lesser Antilles except for Dominica and Saint Vincent , which were recognised as reserves. However,

212-754: A traditional canoe based on the fishing canoes still used in Dominica, Guadeloupe and Martinique . They launched a voyage by canoe to the Orinoco delta to meet up with the local Kalinago tribes, re-establishing cultural connections with the remaining Kalinago communities along the island chain, documented by the BBC in The Quest of the Carib Canoe . Historically, scholars assumed that Island Carib men and women spoke different languages. To explain this phenomenon, scholars proposed that

265-564: Is home to one of two bioluminescent bays or bio bays on the island of St. Croix (a second bio bay can be found at Altona Lagoon). Every year thousands of people flock to see the glowing water of the Bio Bay that's created by a micro-organism , the dinoflagellate Pyrodinium bahamense. The bay is also home to other bioluminescent marine life including Ctenophora or comb-jellies and Odontosyllis phosphorea or Fireworms. Bio Bays are extremely rare with "only seven year-round lagoons known to exist in

318-588: Is honored with the 53rd quarter in the America the Beautiful Quarters in 2020. The bay was the location of a Taino village and batey since the 1300s, until conquered by the Caribs in 1425. The Columbus landing site is located on a point at the western side of the bay. It is here that Columbus sent a longboat to shore on November 14, 1493, to explore the area and acquire fresh water and provisions. A nearby village

371-454: Is not necessarily associated with this species). A study at the Bio Bay located at Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve is being conducted by faculty and students from the University of South Carolina, the University of North Carolina Wilmington and the University of the Virgin Islands. Their research is focused on analyzing quality and nutrient composition of the water,

424-631: Is one of the best known of St. Croix's dive features, along with the Frederiksted Pier . The most popular scuba diving locations are a few hundred yards outside the Salt River Bay. Although most of the boat moorings are 25-45' deep, the actual canyon reaches nearly 500' in depth. Recreational scuba limits are 130' and well into the shadows of the canyon walls. This location is known for its sheer depth, clarity, and wildlife. February and March play host to nursing humpback whales. Year-round are both

477-732: The Carib Territory that was granted to the people by the British government in 1903. The Dominican Kalinago elect their own chief. In July 2003, the Kalinago observed 100 Years of Territory, and in July 2014, Charles Williams was elected Kalinago Chief, succeeding Chief Garnette Joseph. Several hundred Carib descendants live in the U. S. Virgin Islands , St. Kitts & Nevis , Antigua & Barbuda , Guadeloupe , Martinique , Dominica , Saint Lucia , Grenada , Trinidad and St. Vincent . " Black Caribs ,"

530-626: The Mainland Caribs (Kalina) of South America, but they spoke an unrelated language known as Kalinago or Island Carib. They also spoke a pidgin language associated with the Mainland Caribs. At the time of Spanish contact , the Kalinago were one of the dominant groups in the Caribbean (the name of which is derived from "Carib", as the Kalinago were once called). They lived throughout north-eastern South America, Trinidad and Tobago , Barbados ,

583-405: The Taíno . Irving Rouse and others suggest that a smaller group of mainland peoples migrated to the islands without displacing their inhabitants, eventually adopting the local language but retaining their traditions of a South American origin. In the early colonial period, the Kalinago had a reputation as warriors who raided neighboring islands. According to the tales of Spanish conquistadors ,

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636-528: The Windward Islands , Dominica , and possibly the southern Leeward Islands . Historically, it was thought their ancestors were mainland peoples who had conquered the islands from their previous inhabitants, the Igneri . However, linguistic and archaeological evidence contradicts the notion of a mass emigration and conquest; the Kalinago language appears not to have been Cariban , but like that of their neighbors,

689-523: The Antilles. Irving Rouse proposed that a relatively small scale Carib force conquered but did not displace the Igneri, and the invaders eventually took on the Igneri language while still maintaining their identity as Caribs. Other scholars such as Sued Badillo doubt there was an invasion at all, proposing that the Igneri adopted the "Carib" identity over time due to their close economic and political relations with

742-472: The Bahamas and the Lesser Antilles , Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano was killed and allegedly eaten by Carib natives on what is now Guadeloupe , near a place called Karukera (“island of beautiful waters”). Historian William Riviere has described most of the cannibalism as related to war rituals. Chief Kairouane and his men from Grenada jumped off the "Leapers Hill" rather than face slavery under

795-558: The Carib territory, killing a majority of the Yellow Caribs. After the eruption, 130 Yellow Caribs and 59 Black Caribs survived on St. Vincent . Unable to recover from the damage caused by the eruption, 120 of the Yellow Caribs, under Captain Baptiste, emigrated to Trinidad. In 1830, the Carib population numbered less than 100. The population made a remarkable recovery after that, although almost

848-512: The Caribbean", says Dr. Michael Latz of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego, an expert on bioluminescent organisms, "Any place that has a bioluminescent bay should cherish it like a natural wonder, like a treasure". A combination of factors creates the necessary conditions for bioluminescence: red mangrove trees surround the water (the organisms have been related to Mangrove forest although Mangrove

901-508: The Caribbean, the Maipurean -speaking Taínos reportedly relayed stories of the Caribs' war-like nature and cannibalism to him. When he arrived in the Lesser Antilles in 1635, the French missionary Raymond Breton made ethnographic and linguistic notes on the "Caribs", which also informed many of the early stereotypes about the Kalinago. Other missionaries, such as Cesar de Rochefort, would refute

954-455: The Caribs had a common origin with contemporary groups in the Greater and Lesser Antilles. The transition from Igneri to Island Carib culture may have occurred around 1450. Archaeological evidence in support of either model is sparse, with "no confirmed Carib sites [known] prior to the 1990s." However, Cayo-style pottery found in the Lesser Antilles, and dated between 1000 and 1500, is similar to

1007-609: The Caribs, karibna was apparently associated with ritual eating of war enemies. The Caribs reportedly had a tradition of keeping bones of their ancestors in their houses. Missionaries , such as Père Jean Baptiste Labat and Cesar de Rochefort, described the practice as part of a belief that the ancestral spirits would always look after the bones and protect their descendants. The Caribs have been described by their various enemies as vicious and violent raiders. Rochefort stated they did not practice cannibalism. During his third voyage to North America in 1528, after exploring Florida ,

1060-547: The English later ignored the treaty, and pursue a campaign against the Kalinago in succeeding decades. Between the 1660s and 1700, the English waged an intermittent campaign against the Kalinago. By 1763, the British had annexed St Lucia, Tobago, Dominica and St Vincent. On Saint Vincent the Kalinago intermarried with runaway slaves, forming the ‘Black Caribs’ or Garifuna who were expelled to Honduras in 1797. The British colonial use of

1113-499: The French invaders, serving as an iconic representation of the Kalinago spirit of resistance. Frederiksted Pier The Frederiksted Pier (officially named: Ann E. Abramson Marine Facility) is the 1,526-foot (0.465 km or 0.29 mile), deep water, cruise ship pier located in Frederiksted, U.S. Virgin Islands . It is located at the west end of Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands and accommodate two Eagle-class vessels , of

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1166-551: The Igneri. As this tradition was widespread in oral testimonies, and internally consistent, it was accepted as historical by Europeans. The second model proposes that the Kalinago developed out of the indigenous peoples of the Antilles. While the Caribs were commonly believed to have migrated from the Orinoco River area in South America to settle in the Caribbean islands about 1200 CE, an analysis of ancient DNA suggests that

1219-525: The Island Caribs may have killed the men and kept the women, allowing the Igneri language to survive among women. This assumption arose from the fact that by at least the early 17th century, Carib men spoke a Cariban-based pidgin language in addition to the usual Arawakan language used by both sexes. This was similar to pidgins used by mainland Caribs when communicating with their Arawak neighbors. Berend J. Hoff and Douglas Taylor hypothesized that it dated to

1272-523: The Kalinago Territory. As of 2008 , a small population of around 3,400 Kalinago survived in the Kalinago Territory in northeast Dominica, of whom some 70 "defined themselves as 'pure'". The Kalinago of Dominica maintained their independence for many years by taking advantage of the island's rugged terrain. The island's east coast includes a 3,700-acre (15 km ) territory formerly known as

1325-559: The Kalinago occasionally allied with the Taínos to repel European invaders. When the Spanish attempted to colonize Puerto Rico, Kalinago from St. Croix arrived to aid the local Taíno. Daguao village, initially slated to be the Europeans' new capital, was destroyed by Taínos from the eastern area of Puerto Rico, with the support of Kalinago from neighboring Vieques . By the middle of the 16th century,

1378-429: The Kalinago were cannibals who regularly ate roasted human flesh, although this is considered by the community to be an offensive myth. There is no hard evidence of Caribs eating human flesh, though one historian points out it might be useful to frighten enemy Arawak . The Kalinago and their descendants continue to live in the Antilles, notably on the island of Dominica . The Garifuna , who share common ancestry with

1431-458: The Kalinago, also live principally in Central America. The exonym Caribe was first recorded by Christopher Columbus . One hypothesis for the origin of Carib is that it means "brave warrior". Its variants, including the English word Carib , were then adopted by other European languages. Early Spanish explorers and administrators used the terms Arawak and Caribs to distinguish

1484-576: The Koriabo complex from which the mainland Carib or Kari'na pottery tradition is descended. Cayo pottery was once thought to have preceded Suazoid pottery (associated with the Igneri) in the Lesser Antilles, but more recent scholarship suggests that Cayo pottery gradually replaced Suazoid pottery in the islands. Cayo-style pottery has been found in the Lesser Antilles from Grenada to Basse-Terre , and, possibly, Saint Kitts . Cayo pottery also shows similarities to

1537-586: The Meillacoid and Chicoid styles of the Greater Antilles, as well as to the South American Koriabo style. Upon his arrival in the Caribbean archipelago in 1492, the Maipurean -speaking Taínos reportedly told Christopher Columbus that Caribs were fierce warriors and cannibals, who made frequent raids on the Taínos, often capturing women. According to Columbus, the Taínos said the Caribs had spent

1590-590: The Spanish with the New World native population, and they named the site Cabo de la Flecha (Cape of the Arrow). The island had been abandoned by the Caribs by 1590 (possibly due either to diseases introduced by contact, Spanish massacres, or other causes), and became Spanish territory. It was taken by the English in 1641, and then the Dutch in 1642. The Dutch built triangular earthworks called Fort Flamand (Flemish Fort) near

1643-474: The Virgin Islands is represented: several South American Indian cultures, the 1493 encounter with Columbus, Spanish extermination of the Caribs , attempts at colonization by a succession of European nations, and enslaved West Africans and their descendants. More than a dozen major archeological investigations since 1880, together with historical research, reveal a remarkable story. On February 24, 1992 Congress created

Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve - Misplaced Pages Continue

1696-453: The bark. The Ceiba pentandra tree is not only functional but spiritual and believed to house spirits that would become angered if disturbed. Canoes have been used throughout the history of the Kalinago and have become a renewed interest within the manufacturing of traditional dugout canoes used for inter-island transportation and fishing. In 1997 Dominica Carib artist Jacob Frederick and Tortola artist Aragorn Dick Read set out to build

1749-420: The common conception of the Caribs as cannibals. Early European accounts describe the taking of human trophies and the ritual cannibalism of war captives among both Arawak and other Amerindian groups such as the Carib and Tupinambá , though the exact accuracy of cannibalistic reports still remains debated without skeletal evidence to support it. Scholars such as Hilary McD. Beckles have instead suggested that

1802-548: The descendants of the mixture of Africans live in St. Vincent whose total population is unknown. Some ethnic Carib communities remain on the American mainland, in countries such as Guyana and Suriname in South America, and Belize in Central America. The size of these communities varies widely. During the beginning of the eighteenth century, the Island Carib population in St. Vincent

1855-547: The distribution of the dinoflagellate Pyrodinium bahamense, and the abundance of "cysts," dormant dinoflagellates embedded in the sea floor. The National Park Service and its partner institutions completed a study of the bioluminescence phenomenon in the Mangrove Lagoon in Spring 2014. Salt River Canyon is a prehistoric river and waterfall having cut two deep walls facing each other across a quarter mile of blue water. The feature

1908-587: The entire tribe died out during the 1902 eruption of La Soufrière . Canoes are a significant aspect of the Kalinago's material culture and economy. They are used for transport from the southern continent and islands of the Caribbean, as well as providing them with the ability to fish more efficiently and to grow their fishing industry. Canoes, constructed from the Burseraceae , Cedrela odorata , Ceiba pentandra , and Hymenaea courbaril trees, serve different purposes depending on their height and thickness of

1961-719: The injury. Formerly the Caribs used an extensive range of medicinal plant and animal products. The Caribs are believed to have practiced polytheism . As the Spanish began to colonise the Caribbean area, they wanted to convert the natives to Catholicism . The Caribs destroyed a church of Franciscans in Aguada, Puerto Rico and killed five of its members, in 1579. Currently, the remaining Kalinago in Dominica practice parts of Catholicism through baptism of children. However, not all practice Christianity . Some Caribs worship their ancestors and believe them to have magical power over their crops. In 1492, when Christopher Columbus arrived in

2014-492: The last two centuries displacing the Taínos by warfare, extermination, and assimilation. The French missionary Raymond Breton arrived in the Lesser Antilles in 1635, and lived in Guadeloupe and Dominica until 1653. He took ethnographic and linguistic notes on the native peoples of these islands, including St. Vincent , which he visited briefly. Breton was responsible for many of the early stereotypes about Kalinago. Later,

2067-450: The nurse shark and reef shark. Occasionally one of the pods of dolphins may come swimming by as well. Sport Diver Magazine has also rated this area as one of the top 5 for water clarity in the Caribbean. Island Caribs The Kalinago , also called Island Caribs or simply Caribs , are an Indigenous people of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean . They may have been related to

2120-459: The old pier are still there with decades of coral growth and sponges. Some of the old pier was used as landfill for the current pier platform, while the vast majority was removed and sunk two miles north in 110 foot deep water at a dive site known as Armageddon. The pier is a popular destination for scuba diving enthusiasts, snorkeling, sport fishermen , swimming competitions, and internationally recognized stand-up paddleboarding competition

2173-438: The origin of the Kalinago. The traditional account, which is almost as old as Columbus, says that the Caribs were a warlike people who were moving up the Lesser Antilles and displacing the original inhabitants. Early missionary texts suggested the original inhabitants of the islands were the Igneri , while the Kalinago were invaders originating in South America (home to the mainland Caribs or Kalina) who conquered and displaced

Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve - Misplaced Pages Continue

2226-737: The park, under cooperative management of the National Park Service and Government of the Virgin Islands of the United States. These agencies jointly manage this park. As an historic area of the National Park Service, the park was administratively listed on the National Register of Historic Places on the same day. The Columbus landing site had already been designated a National Historic Landmark on October 9, 1960. The Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve

2279-410: The peoples of the Caribbean, with Carib reserved for Indigenous groups that they considered hostile and Arawak for groups that they considered friendly. The Kalinago language endonyms are Karifuna (singular) and Kalinago (plural). The name was officially changed from 'Carib' to 'Kalinago' in Dominica in 2015. William F. Keegan and Corinne L. Hofman have outlined two major models for

2332-514: The pier is the gateway to shopping in Frederiksted, taxis and tour buses take visitors to Christiansted for shopping, sightseeing, and on round-the-island tours. Elevation is 10 feet (3 meters) above sea level at the outermost point, with 3 foot (1 meter) high access platforms for entry onto scuba diving boats and sailing charters. The original pier was destroyed in 1989 by Hurricane Hugo and again ravaged in 1995 by Hurricane Marilyn . Remains of

2385-488: The resistance of Taínos and Kalinago alike was largely quashed across the Greater Antilles. The survivors were enslaved to work in agriculture or mining. The Kalinagos were more successful in repelling the Spanish—and later the French and English—in the Lesser Antilles, retaining their independence. The lack of gold in the area and the large numbers of casualties inflicted upon the Spanish contributed to their survival. In

2438-459: The rising mainland Carib polity. Both theories accept that the historical Island Carib language developed from the existing tongue of the islands, and thus it is also known as Igneri. By the early twenty-first century, a combination of bush medicine and modern medicine was used by the Kalinago of Dominica. For example, various fruits and leaves are used to heal common ailments. For a sprain, oils from coconuts, snakes, and bay leaves are used to heal

2491-517: The seventeenth century, the Kalinago regularly attacked the plantations of the English and the French in the Leeward Islands. In the 1630s, planters from the Leewards conducted campaigns against the Kalinago, but with limited success. The Kalinago took advantage of divisions between the Europeans, to provide support to the French and the Dutch during wars in the 1650s, consolidating their independence as

2544-482: The site, which was taken over by the French in 1650, and renamed Fort Salé (Salt Fort or du Sal Fort after the governor). It remains the only known structure to survive from this early colonial period. Gudmund Hatt first discovered the site in 1923. Excavations revealed petroglyphs , human sacrifice remains, zemis , and stone belts. Some of the artifacts are now in the National Museum of Denmark . Salt River

2597-400: The stories of "vicious cannibals" may have comprised an "ideological campaign" against the Kalinago to justify "genocidal military expeditions" by European colonizers. The Island Carib word karibna meant "person", although it became the origin of the English word "cannibal" after Columbus shared stories of flesh-eating Kalinago, apparently heard from their historic Taíno enemies. Among

2650-588: The term Black Carib , particularly in William Young 's Account of the Black Charaibs (1795), has been described in modern historiography as framing the majority of the indigenous St. Vincent population as "mere interlopers from Africa" who lacked claims to land possession in St. Vincent. On Dominica the runaways formed distinct Maroon communities while the Caribs remained distinct. A remnant of these Caribs lives on in

2703-461: The time of the Carib expansion through the islands, and that males maintained it to emphasize their origins on the mainland. Linguistic analysis in the 20th century determined that the main Island Carib language was spoken by both sexes, and was Arawakan , not Cariban . Scholars adopted more nuanced theories to explain the transition from the earlier Igneri to the later Island Carib societies in

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2756-586: Was greater than that in Dominica. Both the Island Caribs (Yellow Caribs) and the Black Caribs ( Garifuna ) fought against the British during the Second Carib War . After the end of the war, the British deported the Garifuna (a population of 4,338) to Roatan Island , while the Island Caribs (whose population consisted of 80 people) were allowed to stay on St. Vincent. The 1812 eruption of La Soufrière destroyed

2809-411: Was occupied by Taíno people who had recently been enslaved by invading Carib forces, and Columbus' men took some of the women and children with them when they set out to return to the ship. While en route, they encountered a canoe apparently occupied by Caribs, and a brief skirmish took place, in which one of the canoe's occupants was slain and the others captured. This was the first recorded fight by

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