Dead Chest Island, British Virgin Islands facts for kids
Dead Chest island as viewed from Deadman's Bay, Peter Island
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 Dead Chest Island
Location in British Virgin Islands
Dead Chest Island
Location in Caribbean
The location of Dead Chest Island within the British Virgin Islands
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| Geography | |
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| Location | Caribbean Sea |
| Coordinates | 18°21′57″N 64°33′48″W / 18.36583°N 64.56333°W |
| Archipelago | Virgin Islands |
| Administration | |
| British Overseas Territory | British Virgin Islands |
| Additional information | |
| Time zone | |
| ISO code | VG |
Dead Chest Island is a small island in the British Virgin Islands. It is located about half a mile (0.4 miles) northeast of Deadman's Bay on Peter Island. This island has no people living on it, no fresh water, and very few trees. It only has some sparse plants.
Years ago, the Royal Virgin Islands Police used Dead Chest Island as a place to practice shooting. But when a new hotel opened nearby on Peter Island, they decided to build a proper shooting range on the island of Tortola instead. Today, Dead Chest Island is a protected National Park. It is a popular spot for Scuba diving and snorkeling because of its clear waters and interesting underwater life.
Contents
Pirate Legends and Famous Books
The Story of Blackbeard and His Crew
There is a famous story about the pirate Blackbeard and Dead Chest Island. The legend says that Blackbeard left some of his crew members on the island as a punishment. He supposedly gave them only a cutlass (a type of sword) and one bottle of rum each. The story changes depending on who tells it, so we don't know exactly how many pirates were left there or for how long. Some versions say that after a month, only a few pirates were still alive.
However, this story is probably not true. The first time anyone wrote about this legend was in the 20th century. This means it is likely a "fakelore" story. This kind of story seems old but was actually made up more recently. It probably came from a famous song by Robert Louis Stevenson.
The Song from Treasure Island
Robert Louis Stevenson wrote a well-known song called "Dead Man's Chest". This song first appeared in his famous adventure novel, Treasure Island, in 1883. The chorus of the song goes like this:
Fifteen men on the dead man's chest—
...Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!
Drink and the devil had done for the rest—
...Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!
Stevenson found the name "Dead Man's Chest" in a list of island names. He saw it in a book by Charles Kingsley called At Last: A Christmas in the West Indies, which was published in 1871. Stevenson said that Treasure Island and the idea for "Dead Man's Chest" came from Kingsley's book.
Kingsley had written that English buccaneers (pirates) gave many of the Virgin Islands less poetic names, like "The Dead Man's Chest." This suggests that the song is not based on an old pirate legend. Instead, it was a new idea that Stevenson created in 1883.
Is it the Same Island?
The names "Dead Man's Chest" (from the song) and "Dead Chest Island" (the real island) are very similar. There are no other islands with similar names in the Virgin Islands. This makes people think they might be the same place.
However, if the island Kingsley mentioned in his book was not the same as the island we now call Dead Chest Island, then Stevenson's song would not be connected to the real Dead Chest Island. This is because Stevenson's song was inspired by Kingsley's island.
A Modern Castaway
In 1994, a journalist named Quentin van Marle spent 31 days alone on Dead Chest Island. He did this on purpose to be a voluntary castaway. He wanted to beat the supposed record of Blackbeard's pirates. He also did it to remember the 100th anniversary of Robert Louis Stevenson's death.
See also
In Spanish: Isla Dead Chest para niños
