The Virgin Islands are politically divided into three jurisdictions: the U.S. Virgin Islands (owned by the United States), the British Virgin Islands (a British Overseas Territory), and the Spanish Virgin Islands (part of the unincorporated American territory of Puerto Rico). The U.S. Virgin Islands, which include the main islands of Saint Croix, Saint John, and Saint Thomas, were purchased from Denmark by the United States in 1917 for $25 million. This made them an unincorporated territory of the United States, where the U.S. government has sovereignty.
The British Virgin Islands, consisting of islands such as Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada, and Jost Van Dyke, are a British Overseas Territory governed by the United Kingdom.
Thus, ownership of the Virgin Islands depends on which group of islands is being referred to: the U.S. Virgin Islands belong to the United States, and the British Virgin Islands belong to the United Kingdom.
