The 1949 March: And The Restoration of the Legislature: ONE (Virgin Islands History)

Activities leading up to the restoration of the Legislature... A rumbling sound is coming out of the British Virgin Islands which may soon attract the attention of No. 10 Downing Street. Having tasted freedom and the pursuit of happiness served the American way the younger inhabitants of Tortola are clamoring for a liberal form of government which gives them a voice in their own affairs.In 1938 Mr. Hope Stevens a native Tortolian returned from the USA where he had studied and become a lawyer and activist. When he saw the depressed conditions of the Virgin Islands both economically and politically he decided to try to do something about it. One night he and David G. Fonseca together with Charlie Georges and Jose O Neal came into my shop and Mr. Stevens told me that they proposed to start an organization to be called a Civic League. On Thursday the 24th of November 1949 a historic march led by three Virgin Islands native heroes Leader No.1 Theodolph Faulkner Leader No.2 Isaac Glannie Fonseca and Leader No.3 Carlton L. DeCastro and more than 1500 Virgin Islanders demonstrated that the Virgin Islands (British) wished to have its own local government that represents its interests. The Legislative Council was therefore restored on Monday the 20th of November 1950. The 1949 March often referred to as the Great March or the Freedom March which was followed by the restoration of the Legislative Council of the Virgin Islands in 1950 are significant events in the historical annuals of the territory of the Virgin Islands. These two milestone events helped pave the way for internal self-government and the building of a modern Virgin Islands including being allowed a Ministerial system of government in 1967 and further constitutional and political advancement which we continue to achieve. To understand why over 1500 persons participated in the Great March demanding political freedom and better living conditions it was necessary to provide the historical context by highlighting those factors which contributed to the conditions that triggered the march. Those factors include the following The negative effects that a small population and the absence of a stable civil government had on the socio-economic and political well-being of the territory in that early period of sporadic settlement from the mid-1600s up to 1672. In 1672 the islands were included as part of the Colony of the Leeward Islands to achieve efficiency in their governance. A brief review of the colonial and local legislatures which administered the Presidency of the Virgin Islands between 1672 - 1956 when the islands were a member of the Colony of the Leeward Islands. The impact on the islands development was minimal while being a part of that federation. (The inclusion of the workings of the colonial and local legislatures that were responsible for governance in the islands is not intended to be a comprehensive review of our constitutional history). The reasons why the Legislative Council of the Virgin Islands was taken away and most important the immediate pre-existing socio-economic conditions that triggered the march which was instrumental in the restoration of the Legislative Council in 1950 and a return of our democratic rights to representative government. The publication is part of a Young Readers-Easy Readers Series of the Virgin Islands Educational Publications Initiative spearheaded by the Director of the Virgin Islands Studies Institute at the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College.