When is Transfer Day?
Transfer Day is a public holiday in the U.S. Virgin Islands observed on March 31st.
The holiday commemorates this day in 1917 when Denmark ceded the islands to the United States.
History of Transfer Day
These Caribbean islands are part of the Virgin Islands archipelago. They are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles and lie west of the British Virgin Islands.
On March 31st 1917, the 133-square-mile island chain comprising the Danish West Indies was ceded to the United States by Denmark, becoming the U.S. Virgin Islands in exchange for $25 million in gold.
The U.S. interest in the islands primarily was their strategic location to improve military positioning during World War I. Later, the islands were a foothold in the Caribbean for the U.S. Navy in World War II.
The islands are an organized, unincorporated United States territory.
