Other Capital Origins ~ Part Two

Here we are again, another episode in the Other Capitals Origins blog series where we examine the etymology behind city names. I still never know what to write (type?) in the Introduction or Summary of these blogs, but it's sort of tradition now, I can't change it. However hard it gets, I've got to carry on. Still, at least you get to read the drivel I write, you do read it don't you? Don't mind me, I've just gone off on a tangent again. Back to the plot....

We've reached the Caribbean now after stowing away in a lifeboat on the Icon of the Seas from Hamilton, Bermuda. By the way, at the time of writing, Icon of the Seas is the world's largest cruise ship operated by Royal Caribbean, so hopefully they will know which direction to take.

So, here we are, in our first destination....

The Turks and Caicos Islands aren't quite in the Caribbean, but we're getting there. This Overseas Territory of the UK is known for tourism and as an "offshore financial centre", make of that what you will! Their name has two different origins, one for Turks and one for Caicos, Turks comes from the name of a cactus plant called the "Turks Cap " cactus, due to it having what resembles a fez or hat worn by Turks on the tip of its arms. Caicos derives from the Taito language words, caya hico, meaning "string of islands"

The capital, Cockburn Town, was founded in 1681 by salt collectors, and has been the seat of the island's government since 1766. It is thought that the town is sited at the point where the Spanish explorer, Juan Ponce de Leon, first landed on the island. The town's name comes from the former governor of the Bahamas, Francis Cockburn, who was born in 1780. He also has Cockburn Town in the Bahamas and Cockburn Island in Ontario, Canada named after him.

COCKBURN TOWN = NAMED AFTER FRANCIS COCKBURN

Puerto Rico is a self-governing unincorporated territory of the United States. It's residents are US citizens, they may move freely to the mainland US, however they cannot vote in Federal elections and don't pay Federal taxes. The political status of Puerto Rico is an ongoing debate. Puerto Rico is Spanish for "Rich Port".

San Juan was founded in 1521 by Spanish settlers who called it Ciudad de Puerto Rico meaning "Rich Port City". This name was given due to similar geographic features with Puerto Rico de Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands of Spain. The city was then given the formal name of Ciudad de Puerto Rico de San Juan Bautista.. The name was often shortened to Puerto Rico, but this gave rise to confusion when the island gained the same name. Some early 18th century maps show "Puerto Rico de Puerto Rico", so it was decided to name the city San Juan Bautista which is Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist". Eventually the Bautista part was dropped and it became just San Juan.

SAN JUAN = SAINT JOHN

Officially, the British Virgin Islands are just the Virgin Islands, but the word British is usually added to save confusion with the US Virgin Islands. Makes sense to me anyway. They are an Overseas Territory of the UK, obviously. Their name comes from Christopher Columbus who named them "Santa Úrsula y las Once Mil Vírgenes" after the legend of Saint Ursula and her 11,000 virgins. Remember her? The Portuguese named St.Pierre and Micquelon after her in the last blog. Saint Ursula and her virgins sure got about a bit.

Anyway, Road Town is the capital of BVI and you would think it was named after the road around the island. This is wrong however, it is named after the water. Weird huh? Not really when you know that "the roads" is a name for a area of water that isn't quite a harbour but is a relatively safe place that ships can seek some shelter, even if it isn't as much as a harbour or port.

ROAD TOWN = NAMED AFTER "THE ROADS" A SAFE HAVEN FOR SHIPS

As you have probably guessed by now that the origin of the name of the US Virgin Islands is the same as the BVI, there isn't much point in repeating myself, safe to say Saint Ursula strikes again!

This capital city was originally called Taphus which is Danish for "beer house" due to the many beer halls there were in the town at the time in 1666. In 1691, it was renamed Charlotte Amalie in honour of the wife of the Danish King, Christian V. Her name was, obviously, Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel. In 1921, the city was called St. Thomas by the United States, but reverted to Charlotte Amalie in 1936.

CHARLOTTE AMALIE = NAMED AFTER CHARLOTTE AMALIE, THE WIFE OF DANISH KING CHRISTIAN V

The Cayman Islands is a self-governing Overseas territory of the United Kingdom. Like Turks and Caicos above, these islands are an "offshore financial centre" or Tax Haven to use its tabloid description. The Cayman islanders have the highest standard of living in the Caribbean and one of the highest worldwide. It is thought that Christopher Columbus was the first to sight these island sand he named them Las Tortugas due to the large number of turtles he found, and then promptly hunted and ate to near extinction. They take their modern name from the Arawak-Taito peoples word for crocodiles, caiman.

In line with many other places called George Town, there are several around the world including Malaysia, this city was named in honour of a King, in this case George III. With a population of over forty thousand people, George Town is the largest of any of the Overseas territories of the UK and has residents from over a hundred different countries.

GEORGE TOWN = NAMED AFTER KING GEORGE III

Another Overseas Territory of the UK, Anguilla was thought to also have been discovered by Christopher Columbus, he got around as much as St Ursula, mmm, conspiracy theory anyone? Anyway, CC did name the island of Anguilla apparently, and he named it after the Italian word for "eel" due to the shape of the island. I think he may have had a problem with his eyesight too, but I suppose the science of ophthalmology wasn't as precise as it is now.

The Valley is the islands capital and largest settlement. There seems to be a lack of imagination amongst Anguillans when it comes to naming places. Other placenames include North Hill, Long Path, and Stoney Ground. It seems that the etymology of The Valley is just that, a settlement in the valley between two, admittedly small, hills.

THE VALLEY = NAMED BECAUSE IT IS IN THE VALLEY.

Saint Barthélemy is an Overseas Collectivity of France. It became independent from Guadeloupe in 2003 after a vote amongst residents. It is almost unilaterally known as St. Barts in most of the English speaking world. It was the only Caribbean island that was a Swedish colony for a time before reverting back to France. The name is another gift from our friend Columbus. he named it after his younger brother Bartholomew, somehow making him a Saint as well, delusions of grandeur much there Chris?

It's capital, Gustavia, was originally called Le Carénage which is French for "The Careening". Careening is a process for repairing ship's hulls without the use of a dry dock. The island of St.Barts was given to the Swedes by the French in 1784 in exchange for trading rights in Gothenburg, the name of the city was changed a couple of years later to honour King Gustav III of Sweden. When the island was sold back to the French in 1878, the name of Gustavia remained.

GUSTAVIA = NAMED AFTER KING GUSTAV III OF SWEDEN

The north part of the island of Saint Martin is a French Collectivity and the south is a part of the Netherlands who call it Sint Maarten, same name, different language. The name is another of Chris Columbus' choices. Although the name of Saint Martin was originally given to what is now called Nevis, you know, the one in St. Kitts and Nevis. Consequently due to some confusion on early maps, Saint Martin was given the name that Nevis was supposed to have. This time it isn't a relation of his, but it is named after Saint Martin of Tours, the third bishop of Tours in France. That's Tours in France, not Tours de France. Just thought I'd clear that up.

The capital "city" of Marigot was originally a small fishing village on the edge of a swamp until the building of a fort under the orders of King Louis XVI. The town grew up around the fort. The final sequence in the movie Speed 2 starring Sandra Bullock was filmed in Marigot. The name is the French word for "backwater" and refers to the swampland of the area.

MARIGOT = BACKWATER

If you've just skipped to this entry from the links at the top, then you'll have to jump back one place for the origin of the island's name. Although it is spelled different it is the same, just in a different language. Dutch in this case, because the south side of the island belongs to the Netherlands.

Philipsburg is world famous, even if you don't know the name. Nearby is Princess Juliana International Airport, famous on YouTube for its runway being right next to the beach and planes flying in at a very low level. Jet blasts from departing airplanes create artificial waves on the sea.  Anyway, Philipsburg gets its name from its founder, John Philips, who was a Scottish captain in the Dutch navy, I don't know why either, perhaps the pay was good.

PHILIPSBURG = NAMED AFTER JOHN PHILIPS, DUTCH NAVY CAPTAIN

The island of Saba belongs to the Netherlands, and in fact, has the highest point of the country in Mount Scenery, a dormant volcano that is 870 metres high. Saba was a haven for pirates in the 17th century due to high cliffs and rocky shores. Theories about the names derivation include siba, the Arawak word for "rock", sabot, a type of clog and sabado the Spanish for "Sabbath". Before this, the island was named by, guess who? Yup old CC himself. He named it San Cristobal or St. Christopher. Vain as well as prolific!

The Bottom is the capital of Saba and is not a rude name, unless you make it one, grow up children! In Old Dutch the settlement was called De Botte which translates as "The Bowl" referring to the location amongst hills resembling the sides of a bowl. The Bottom is simply an English corruption of De Botte.

THE BOTTOM = THE BOWL

Well, that was quick. I only published Part One yesterday and I've already finished Part Two, I'm on fire. Not really, I'm off work with a sickness bug and was bored watching daytime TV. I'm off tomorrow for a few more days yet as well, so who knows, I may knock a few more out. We'll see.

I'd like to thank luuktb for his suggestions in the comments of the last blog, I had never heard of Saba and it made me look closer at the Caribbean islands, I may have missed a few out if he (or she) hadn't commented. Thanks my friend!

So where to next? Well, I'm going to finish of the Caribbean and then on down the coast of South America towards Tierra del Fuego and beyond. This format with just ten entries in each seems a lot easier than the last series about the US state capitals, but then I had to find a tourist attraction for each entry on those blogs. Plus I knew there were 50 entries to compile, whereas in this series it is open-ended. I don't know if it makes a difference really, but it seems to do. I am enjoying the writing again for some reason.

Anyways, that's it for now, hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing (typing) it. I'll leave you with a quote from our "friend" Christopher Columbus...

Bye for now!