1.
British Virgin Islands
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The British Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands, are a British overseas territory located in the Caribbean to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands make up part of the Virgin Islands archipelago, the islands constitute the US Virgin Islands. The 150-square-kilometre British Virgin Islands consist of the islands of Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada. About 15 of the islands are inhabited, the capital, Road Town, is situated on Tortola, the largest island, which is about 20 km long and 5 km wide. The islands had a population of about 28,000 at the 2010 Census, of whom approximately 23,500 lived on Tortola, British Virgin Islanders are classed as British Overseas Territories citizens and since 2002 have had an entitlement to take up full UK citizenship. Although the territory is not part of the European Union and not directly subject to EU law, the official name of the territory is still simply the Virgin Islands, but the prefix British is often used. This is commonly believed to distinguish it from the neighbouring American territory which changed its name from the Danish West Indies to Virgin Islands of the United States in 1917. Moreover, the territorys Constitutional Commission has expressed the view that every effort should be made to encourage the use of the name Virgin Islands. In 1968 the British Government issued a memorandum requiring that the stamps in the territory should say British Virgin Islands. This was likely to prevent confusion following on from the adoption of US currency in the Territory in 1959, the Virgin Islands were first settled by the Arawak from South America around 100 BC. The Arawaks inhabited the islands until the 15th century when they were displaced by the more aggressive Caribs, the first European sighting of the Virgin Islands was by Christopher Columbus in 1493 on his second voyage to the Americas. Columbus gave them the fanciful name Santa Ursula y las Once Mil Vírgenes, shortened to Las Vírgenes, there is no record of any native Amerindian population in the British Virgin Islands during this period, although the native population on nearby Saint Croix was decimated. The Dutch established a permanent settlement on the island of Tortola by 1648, in 1672, the English captured Tortola from the Dutch, and the English annexation of Anegada and Virgin Gorda followed in 1680. Meanwhile, over the period 1672–1733, the Danish gained control of the islands of Saint Thomas, Saint John. The British islands were considered principally a strategic possession, but were planted when economic conditions were particularly favourable, the British introduced sugar cane which was to become the main crop and source of foreign trade, and slaves were brought from Africa to work on the sugar cane plantations. In 1917, the United States purchased St. John, St. Thomas, the British Virgin Islands were administered variously as part of the British Leeward Islands or with St. Kitts and Nevis, with an administrator representing the British Government on the islands. The islands gained separate status in 1960 and became autonomous in 1967. Since the 1960s, the islands have diversified away from their traditionally agriculture-based economy towards tourism and financial services and they are located in the Virgin Islands archipelago, a few miles east of the US Virgin Islands
2.
House of Assembly of the British Virgin Islands
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Sittings of the House of Assembly are divided into terms with each term following from a general election. The House of Assembly is presently sitting its third term, accordingly, in aggregate the legislature is sitting its eighteenth term since the restoration of democracy in the Territory. Each term is then broken down into different sittings, at the end of each sitting the House is either prorogued until the next sitting, or dissolved for a general election. The Hon. Ingrid Moses-Scatliffe was elected Speaker of the House on 14 September 2007, there was no attempt to impose any form of local legislature prior to the British taking control of the islands in 1672. But in 1735 the Governor of the Leeward Islands, William Matthew sought to establish executive councils and legislative assemblies in Virgin Gorda, the assemblies were to consist of nine member, elected by the free inhabitants of the islands. Following the elections, it was determined that the Governor had no such power. During the 18th and 19th centuries the British Virgin Islands a had a number of Legislative Councils, but these proved to be ineffective. Between 1747 and 1754 Lieutenant Governor James Purcell pressed for some form of government in the British Virgin Islands. On 30 November 1773 legislation was introduced which provided for, amongst other things, the assembly opened on 31 January 1774, but got off to an inauspicious start. Accordingly, the legislature refused to pass legislation to establish a court system, in around 1783 the legislature was reconstituted with 15 members and districts were redrawn, and a certain amount of detente emerged. By 1867, when the Territory was struck by a fierce hurricane all pretence to the operation of a Legislative Council in which there were elected representatives came to an end. Legislation was passed reconstituting the assembly again so that it consisted of three members and three appointed members, but with no elections. In 1871 a single colony consisting of all the Leeward Islands was created. In 1902 the Federal Council formally abolished the local Virgin Islands legislature and council and it was grimly noted that the legislature had practically nothing of any real importance. To legislate about and the functions of the executive was the maintenance of law and order, the first Legislative Council of modern times was formed in 1950 pursuant to the Constitution Act,1950. It had eight members, two members, two nominated members and four elected members. Requirements for standing for election included income, property, and a deposit, the four members were elected in the 1950 on a Territory-wide basis. In 1954 the existing provisions were replaced by the Constitution and Elections Ordinance,1954 which expanded the elected membership to six
3.
Unicameralism
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In government, unicameralism is the practice of having one legislative or parliamentary chamber. Thus, a parliament or unicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of one chamber or house. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multicameralism, many multicameral legislatures were created to give separate voices to different sectors of society. Multiple chambers allowed for guaranteed representation of different social classes, ethnic or regional interests, where these factors are unimportant, in unitary states with limited regional autonomy, unicameralism often prevails. Unicameral legislatures are also common in official Communist states such as the Peoples Republic of China, similarly, many formerly Communist states, such as Ukraine, Moldova and Serbia, have retained their unicameral legislatures, though others, such as Romania and Poland, adopted bicameral legislatures. Both the former Russian SFSR and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics were bicameral, the two chambers were the Soviet of Nationalities and the Soviet of the Union. The Russian Federation retained bicameralism after the dissolution of the USSR, the principal advantage of a unicameral system is more efficient lawmaking, as the legislative process is much simpler and there is no possibility of deadlock. Proponents of unicameralism have also argued that it costs, even if the number of legislators stay the same, since there are fewer institutions to maintain. There is also the risk that important sectors of society may not be adequately represented, approximately half of the worlds sovereign states are currently unicameral, including both the most populous and the least populous. Many subnational entities have unicameral legislatures, and all of the Brazilian states. In the United Kingdom, the devolved Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales, Congress of Deputies of Second Spanish Republic was unicameral between 1931 and 1936. Dissolved at the end of Spanish Civil War, the actual Spanish Parliament is bicameral, Supreme Assembly of Uzbekistan was unicameral before being replaced in 2005 by the current, bicameral Supreme Assembly. National Assembly of Cameroon was unicameral before being replaced in 2013 by the current, chamber of Peoples Representative of Equatorial Guinea was unicameral before being replaced in 2013 by the current, bicameral Parliament of Equatorial Guinea. National Assembly of Kenya was the unicameral legislature before becoming the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Kenya in 2013. National Assembly of Ivory Coast was the unicameral legislature before becoming the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Ivory Coast in 2016. Nebraskas state legislature is also unique in the sense that it is the state legislature that is entirely nonpartisan. In 1999, Governor Jesse Ventura proposed converting the Minnesota Legislature into a unicameral chamber. Although debated, the idea was never adopted, if those constitutional changes had been approved, Puerto Rico could have switched to a unicameral legislature as early as 2015
4.
Democratic Party (United States)
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The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The Democrats dominant worldview was once socially conservative and fiscally classical liberalism, while, especially in the rural South, since Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal coalition in the 1930s, the Democratic Party has also promoted a social-liberal platform, supporting social justice. Today, the House Democratic caucus is composed mostly of progressives and centrists, the partys philosophy of modern liberalism advocates social and economic equality, along with the welfare state. It seeks to provide government intervention and regulation in the economy, the party has united with smaller left-wing regional parties throughout the country, such as the Farmer–Labor Party in Minnesota and the Nonpartisan League in North Dakota. Well into the 20th century, the party had conservative pro-business, the New Deal Coalition of 1932–1964 attracted strong support from voters of recent European extraction—many of whom were Catholics based in the cities. After Franklin D. Roosevelts New Deal of the 1930s, the pro-business wing withered outside the South, after the racial turmoil of the 1960s, most southern whites and many northern Catholics moved into the Republican Party at the presidential level. The once-powerful labor union element became smaller and less supportive after the 1970s, white Evangelicals and Southerners became heavily Republican at the state and local level in the 1990s. However, African Americans became a major Democratic element after 1964, after 2000, Hispanic and Latino Americans, Asian Americans, the LGBT community, single women and professional women moved towards the party as well. The Northeast and the West Coast became Democratic strongholds by 1990 after the Republicans stopped appealing to socially liberal voters there, overall, the Democratic Party has retained a membership lead over its major rival the Republican Party. The most recent was the 44th president Barack Obama, who held the office from 2009 to 2017, in the 115th Congress, following the 2016 elections, Democrats are the opposition party, holding a minority of seats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The party also holds a minority of governorships, and state legislatures, though they do control the mayoralty of cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and Washington, D. C. The Democratic Party traces its origins to the inspiration of the Democratic-Republican Party, founded by Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and that party also inspired the Whigs and modern Republicans. Organizationally, the modern Democratic Party truly arose in the 1830s, since the nomination of William Jennings Bryan in 1896, the party has generally positioned itself to the left of the Republican Party on economic issues. They have been liberal on civil rights issues since 1948. On foreign policy both parties changed position several times and that party, the Democratic-Republican Party, came to power in the election of 1800. After the War of 1812 the Federalists virtually disappeared and the national political party left was the Democratic-Republicans. The Democratic-Republican party still had its own factions, however. As Norton explains the transformation in 1828, Jacksonians believed the peoples will had finally prevailed, through a lavishly financed coalition of state parties, political leaders, and newspaper editors, a popular movement had elected the president
5.
Independent Citizens Movement
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The Independent Citizens Movement is a political party in the U. S. Virgin Islands that was founded by Virdin C. Brown and Steve OReilly in 1968. The party advocates for grassroots participation in politics, as well as more autonomy for the U. S. Virgin Islands, the party had its first political candidates in 1968, and it ran candidates again in 1970. An advertisement in The Virgin Islands Daily News on June 24,1970 listed Fabian Martinez as the partys president, the partys mission, according to a speech by Brown in 1969, is to give the government back to the people through good, responsive, and responsible leadership. The partys platform was published in The Virgin Islands Daily News on October 26,1974, the platform includes increasing the autonomy of the Virgin Islands and increased control over the territorys internal affairs, while still remaining a part of the United States. Party member Cyril E. King successfully ran for governor in 1974, King was succeeded as Governor in turn by his former ICM Lieutenant Governor Juan Francisco Luis who remained in office until 1987. From 1995 to 1997 Victor O. Frazer was Delegate from the U. S. Virgin Islands as the partys candidate, in the United States Virgin Islands general election,2014, the party won one out of 15 seats
6.
Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
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Charlotte Amalie, located on St. Thomas, is the capital and the largest city of the U. S. Virgin Islands, founded in 1666 as Taphus. In 1691, the town was renamed to Amalienborg after Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel, 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 came here in 1493, the area was inhabited by Island Caribs and Taíno. It is on the shore at the head of Saint Thomas Harbor. In 2010 the city had a population of 18,481, hundreds of ferries and yachts pass through town each week, and at times the population more than doubles. The city is known for its Danish colonial architecture, building structure and history, the town has a long history of pirates, especially stories of Bluebeard and Blackbeard. In the 17th century, the Danes built both Blackbeards Castle and Bluebeards Castle attributed to the pirates, Blackbeards Castle is a U. S. National Historic Landmark. Another tourist attraction is Fort Christian, the oldest standing structure in the Virgin Islands Archipelago, a copy of the Liberty Bell is in Emancipation Park, which is a tourist attraction. Before the time of the Danish West Indies, the city was known as Taphus for its many beer halls, Taphus is Danish and directly translates to beer houses, beer halls, or taphouse. In 1691 the town received a respectable name by being named Amalienborg in honor of Danish king Christian V’s wife. In English, Charlotte Amalie is pronounced SHAR-lut uh-MAHL-yuh or AH-muh-leh, between 1921 and 1936, the city was named St. Thomas. In 1936 it was renamed Charlotte Amalie, on his second voyage to the New World, Christopher Columbus encountered Native Americans living in the present-day archipelago of the United States Virgin Islands. Archaeological records indicate that the islands have been home to Indian tribes, including the Taíno people, Arawak people, Kalinago people, several of them lived in present-day Charlotte Amalie in small fishing communities. As was the case in most of the Americas, the population died relatively quickly from disease when the Europeans settled. The Danish West India Company chartered Charlotte Amalie in 1671 after King Christian V decided to secure them for plantations, as early as in 1672, the Danish government began the construction of Fort Christian on Saint Thomas Harbor in Charlotte Amalie. In 1675, the Danes constructed four pubs near the edge on the western side of the fort. The Danish government supplied convicts to work the plantations but soon allowed colonists from neighboring islands to settle there, in 1680, there were more black African slaves than white European settlers. Adjacent Water and Buck Islands served as pasture lands for the city and it was the main port of the Virgin Islands Archipelago and was connected to about 50 plantations by one road, which remains the main highway today
7.
State legislature (United States)
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A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U. S. states. The formal name varies from state to state, in 25 states, the legislature is simply called the Legislature, or the State Legislature, while in 19 states, the legislature is called the General Assembly. In Massachusetts and New Hampshire, the legislature is called the General Court, while North Dakota, every state except Nebraska has a bicameral legislature, meaning that the legislature consists of two separate legislative chambers or houses. In each case the smaller chamber is called the Senate and is referred to as the upper house. This chamber typically, but not always, has the power to confirm appointments made by the governor. Members of the chamber represent more citizens and usually serve for longer terms than members of the larger chamber. In 41 states, the chamber is called the House of Representatives. Five states designate the larger chamber the Assembly and three states call it the House of Delegates, members of the larger chamber usually serve for terms of two years. The larger chamber customarily has the power to initiate taxing legislation. In 1964, the United States Supreme Court announced the one man, one vote standard, Nebraska originally had a bicameral legislature like the other states, but the lower house was abolished following a referendum, effective with the 1936 elections. The remaining unicameral legislature is called the Nebraska Legislature, but its members continue to be called senators, as a legislative branch of government, a legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at the national level. During a legislative session, the legislature considers matters introduced by its members or submitted by the governor, businesses and other special interest organizations often lobby the legislature to obtain beneficial legislation, defeat unfavorably perceived measures, or influence other legislative action. A legislature also approves the operating and capital budgets, which may begin as a legislative proposal or a submission by the governor. Under the terms of Article V of the U. S, under Article II, state legislatures choose the manner of appointing the states presidential electors. Formerly, state legislatures appointed the U. S, Senators from their respective states until the ratification of the 17th Amendment in 1913 required the direct election of Senators by the states voters. Generally, the bodies and their committees use either Masons Manual of Legislative Procedure or an amended form thereof. During official meetings, a parliamentarian is available to ensure that legislation. The lawmaking process begins with the introduction of a bill in either the House of Representatives or the Senate, bills may be introduced in either house, sometimes with the exception of bills increasing or decreasing revenue, which must originate in the House of Representatives
8.
United States Virgin Islands
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The United States Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of islands in the Caribbean that are an insular area of the United States. The islands are part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles. The U. S. Virgin Islands consist of the islands of Saint Croix, Saint John, and Saint Thomas. The total land area of the territory is 133.73 square miles, the territorys capital is Charlotte Amalie on the island of Saint Thomas. Previously the Danish West Indies of the Kingdom of Denmark–Norway, they were sold to the United States by Denmark in the Treaty of the Danish West Indies of 1916. They are classified by the U. N. as a Non-Self-Governing Territory, the U. S. Virgin Islands are organized under the 1954 Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands and have since held five constitutional conventions. The Fifth Constitutional Convention of the U. S. Virgin Islands met in October 2012 to address these concerns, in 2010 the population was 106,405, and mostly Afro-Caribbean. Tourism and related categories are the economic activity, employing a high percentage of the civilian non-farm labor force that totalled 42,752 persons in 2016. Private sector jobs made up 71 percent of the total workforce, the average private sector salary was $34,088 and the average public sector salary was $52,572. In a May 2016 report, some 11,000 people were categorized as being involved in some aspect of agriculture in the first half of 2016, at that time, there were approximately 607 manufacturing jobs and 1,487 natural resource and construction jobs. The single largest employer was the government, in mid February 2017, the USVI was facing a financial crisis due to a very high debt level of $2 billion and a structural budget deficit of $110 million. The U. S. Virgin Islands were originally inhabited by the Ciboney, Carib, the islands were named by Christopher Columbus on his second voyage in 1493 for Saint Ursula and her virgin followers. Over the next two hundred years, the islands were held by many European powers, including Spain, Great Britain, the Netherlands, France, and Denmark-Norway. The Danish West India Company settled on Saint Thomas in 1672, settled on Saint John in 1694, the islands became royal Danish colonies in 1754, named the Danish West Indian Islands. Sugarcane, produced by labor, drove the islands economy during the 18th and early 19th centuries. The Danish West India and Guinea Company are also credited with naming the island St. John, the Danish crown took full control of Saint John in 1754 along with St. Thomas and St. Croix. Sugarcane plantations such as the famous Annaberg Sugar Plantation were established in great numbers on St. John because of the intense heat, the establishment of sugarcane plantations also led to the buying of more slaves from Africa. In 1733 St. John was the site of one of the first significant slave rebellions in the New World when Akwamu slaves from the Gold Coast took over the island for six months, the Danish were able to defeat the enslaved Africans with help from the French in Martinique
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