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BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS | The Smaller Islands, British Virgin Islands Travel Guide
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A Brief History of Peter Island
A Brief History of Peter Island
In 1493, Christopher Columbus sailed through this region on his second voyage. He named these untouched islands after St. Ursula’s 11,000 followers who chose death in fourth-century Cologne rather than submit to marauding Huns. Note that the channel in which these islands lie is not named for him but rather for the buccaneer Francis Drake and that several other islands are named for those privateers who routinely hid along the countless nooks and bays waiting for their chance to attack the treasure- laden Spanish ships.
By the late 17th century pirates gave way to planters from Germany who intended to establish a large settlement here, having failed to do so in nearby Danish-owned St. Thomas. The soil here did not allow for sugar cane plantations, but planters from Tortola did establish cotton plantations worked by slaves. The decline of the plantation system combined with the abolition of slavery led to the complete decline of Peter Island, which reverted to its natural primitive state.
In the 1920s a few tobacco plantations were established but the island remained virtually uninhabited until the late 1960s, when Norwegian millionaire Peter Smedwig fell in love with it and purchased most of the land. He shipped in a group of luxury A-frame chalets and building materials from Norway and assembled them on Spray Bay, along with a clubhouse and marina.
It’s incredible to think, when looking at the resort today, that in 1969 there was no water supply, no electricity and no roads on Peter Island. In fact, Sprat Bay had to be dredged to reclaim land from a coral reef on which tons of sand, rock and fill were piled. The original 32 rooms and some hotel facilities stand on this reclaimed area. Upon Smedwig’s death in 1979, the resort was purchased by a Michigan-based corporation. They have upgraded many of the facilities and added new amenities, but have not lost sight of Smedwig’s concept of a small, luxurious and tasteful resort.
Last updated November 18, 2010
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