Charlotte Amalie

Charlotte Amalie (umäl'ē) [key], town (2000 pop. 11,044), capital of the Virgin Islands of the United States, on St. Thomas Island. It is the commercial center of the islands, a free port, and a popular tourist resort. Founded in the late 17th cent., Charlotte Amalie was a center of Danish colonial life. It became important as a trading center during the American Civil War. It was renamed St. Thomas in 1921, but the former Danish name was restored in 1937. The town still retains a Danish flavor in its architecture and street names; it has one of the oldest synagogues in the New World.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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