Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Oct 18, 2025

Sir Francis Drake Highway to be renamed

Sir Francis Drake Highway to be renamed

The Sir Francis Drake Highway in the Virgin Islands (VI) will soon be renamed to reflect the legacy of a Virgin Islands hero, Premier and Minister of Finance, Hon Andrew A. Fahie announced last evening, March 2, 2021.

Touching on the legacy of the late Chief Minister, H. Lavity Stoutt during last evening’s broadcast of the VIP Let's Talk radio programme on ZBVI 780 AM, Hon Fahie said the highway remains a great legacy of Mr Stoutt’s tenure in the VI.

Touching on the legacy of late Chief Minister, H. Levity Stoutt during last evening’s broadcast of the VIP Let's Talk radio programme on ZBVI 780am, Premier Andrew A. Fahie said the highway remains a great legacy of Stoutt’s tenure in the VI.

A section of Sir Francis Drake Highway in the area of Cox Heath.


Road a legacy of H.L. Stoutt - Hon Malone


“One of the exciting things for me during the tenure that I can remember, was to learn how H.L. Stoutt was able to bring the road we call Drakes Highway, which eventually we will get to change the name to one of our local heroes,” Hon Fahie said.

The Premier mentioned that before the existence of the road, persons had to walk and sail to get to town, “to know that we drive there more than one time a day and think nothing of it, its amazing," he said.

While Hon Fahie did not say who’s name the road will reflect, the announcement comes following a rift between the public and ex-Governor Augustus J.U. Jaspert after he called for the names of landmarks in honour of perpetrators of slavery to be preserved in the territory.

On the Monday, September 7, 2020, interview with 284 Media, the Governor also indicated that the VI will receive no slavery reparations as a policy of the UK, sparking outrage from Virgin Islanders, including radio hosts/social commentators Claude O. Skelton Cline and Cromwell Smith aka ‘Edju Enka’, who had called for places in the VI named after slave traders, thieves and murderers to be renamed.

While Premier Andrew A. Fahie did not say who’s name the road will reflect, the announcement comes following a rift between the public and ex-Governor Augustus J.U. Jaspert after he called for the names of landmarks by the perpetrators of slavery to be preserved in the territory while in a Monday, September 7, 2020, interview with 284 Media.


Preserve names of slavery perpetrators - Ex-Gov Jaspert


“All the places that we have is named after these murderers and thieves," Smith told the listening audience on an episode on his Umoja show on Thursday, January 9, 2020.

Ex-Governor Jaspert had indicated that his difference in opinion was to preserve the names of landmarks, that were named after people, like Sir Francis Drake, who inflicted decades of harm and suffering on the ancestors of Virgin Islanders and other Caribbean people.

After his statements, many progressive locals claimed that the Governor’s response and presence in the VI was a manifestation of white supremacy and that his office remains a remnant of slavery and oppressive colonial rule.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
×