Vieques
- Filed under: Puerto Rico
- Date: May 26,2008
Vieques, in full Isla de Vieques, is an island-municipality of Puerto Rico in the northeastern Caribbean. Although Puerto Rico is a U.S. Commonwealth, Vieques, like the rest of Puerto Rico, retains strong Spanish influences from 400 years of Spanish ownership.
Vieques lies about 8 miles (13 km) to the east of the Puerto Rican mainland, and measures approximately 21 miles (34 km) long by 4 miles (6 km) wide. The two main towns of Vieques are Isabel Segunda (sometimes written “Isabel II”), the administrative center located on the northern side of the island, and Esperanza, located on the southern side. At peak, the population of Vieques is around 10,000.
The island’s name is a Spanish spelling of a Native American word said to mean “small island”. It also has the nickname “Isla Nena”, usually translated from the Spanish as “Little Girl Island”, as a reference to its being perceived as Puerto Rico’s little sister island. During the colonial period the British name was “Crab Island”.
Vieques is best known internationally as the site of a series of protests against the US Navy’s use of the island as a bombing range and weapons testing ground, which eventually led to the Navy’s departure in 2003.
Vieques measures about 21 miles (34 km) east-west, and three to four miles (5 km) north-south. It has a land area of 52 square miles (135 km²) and is located about ten miles (16 km) to the east of Puerto Rico. To the north of Vieques is the Atlantic ocean, and to the south the Caribbean Sea. The island of Culebra is about 10 miles (16 km) north of Vieques, and the US Virgin Islands lie to the east. Vieques and Culebra, together with various small islets, make up the so-called Spanish Virgin Islands, sometimes known as the Passage Islands.
The former US Navy lands, now wildlife reserves, occupy the entire eastern and western ends of Vieques, with the former live weapons testing site (known as the “LIA”, or “Live Impact Area”) at the extreme eastern tip. These areas are unpopulated. The former civilian area occupies very roughly the central third of the island and contains the towns of Isabel Segunda on the north coast, and Esperanza on the south.