page_title: Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
section_title: Culture
hierarchical_section_title: Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands / Culture
context_page_description: Charlotte Amalie, located on the island of St. Thomas, is the capital and the largest city of the United States Virgin Islands, founded in 1666 as Taphus. In 1691, the town was renamed to Charlotte Amalie after Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel, queen consort to King Christian V of Denmark-Norway. It has a deep-water harbor that was once a haven for pirates and is now one of the busiest ports of call for cruise ships in the Caribbean, with about 1.5 million/plus cruise ship passengers landing there annually. Protected by Hassel Island, the harbor has docking and fueling facilities, machine shops, and shipyards and was a U.S. submarine base until 1966. The Town has been inhabited for centuries. When Christopher Columbus arrived in 1493, the area was inhabited by Caribs, Arawaks, Ciboney and Taíno native peoples. It is on the southern shore at the head of Saint Thomas Harbor. In 2010 the City had a population of 18,481, which makes it the largest city in the Virgin Islands Archipelago. Hundreds of ferries and yachts pass by the Town each week.
  The City is known for its Danish colonial architecture, building structure and history.
context_section_description: The culture is a mixture of United States socio-economic activities- and Afro/Latino-Caribbean culture, with an influence from Danish colonial history. There are United States fast food chains in the City, as well as local restaurants serving only Caribbean cuisine. Grocery stores contain United States items and local items such as rum. Seafood and local produce can be found at open-air markets.
caption: The main street of Charlotte Amalie, Dronningens Gade, which translates to "the Queen's Street"
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