Imagine yourself among emerald green hills, aquamarine waters, and white sand beaches while soaking up the rays or gently swaying in a hammock tied between two palm trees. Close your eyes for a moment and you can almost feel the warm trade winds blowing through your hair. Open your eyes and, if you're in the BVI, you'll experience this and a whole lot more.

When you think British Virgin Islands, think tropics, think beaches, think paradise. But, there's a whole lot more to these magical isles steeped in history. More than a century before the first permanent settlement on mainland North America, the Caribbean was already a hotbed of activity

While the Virgin Islands and much of the West Indies were initially claimed by Spain, the other European powers had different ideas. It wasn't long before the navies of Spain, France, England and others were contesting ownership of the islands. In fact, the course of European history was greatly influenced by successes or failures in the West Indies. The wealth from the "Indies" fuelled the development of European nations from the 16th through 19th centuries.

The legacy of that period is still much in evidence throughout the BVI. From the ruins of the Spanish Copper Mine on Virgin Gorda to the remnants of the forts that encircled Tortola, history is everywhere.