Danish West Indies
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This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in the Danish Wikipedia. (August 2010) Click [show] on the right for instructions.
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| Danish West Indies Dansk Vestindien |
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| Colony of Denmark-Norway (1814- Denmark) | |||||
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| Capital | Charlotte Amalie (1672–1754 and 1871–1917) Christiansted (1754–1871) |
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| Language(s) | Danish, English | ||||
| Political structure | Colony of Denmark-Norway (1814- Denmark) | ||||
| Monarch | |||||
| - 1754-1765 | Frederick V | ||||
| - 1912-1917 | Christian X | ||||
| Governor-General | |||||
| - 1756-1766 | Christian Leberecht von Prøck | ||||
| - 1916-1917 | Henri Konow | ||||
| History | |||||
| - Sold by the Danish West India Company | 1754 | ||||
| - Treaty of the Danish West Indies | March 31, 1917 | ||||
| Area | |||||
| - [1] | 400 km2 (154 sq mi) | ||||
| Population | |||||
| - 1911[1] est. | 27,000 | ||||
| Currency | Rigsdaler (1754-1849), daler (1849-1917) | ||||
The Danish West Indies (Danish: Dansk Vestindien or De dansk-vestindiske øer) or "Danish Antilles", were a colony of Denmark-Norway and later Denmark in the Caribbean. They were sold to the United States in 1916 in the Treaty of the Danish West Indies and became the United States Virgin Islands in 1917. Jomfruøerne ("Virgin Islands") is the Danish geographic name for the Virgin Islands.
They covered a total area of 185 square miles (480 km2) and in the 1850s consisted of three islands—St. Thomas at 43 square miles (or 111 kilometres2); St. John 42 square miles (110 km2) and St. Croix of 100 square miles (260 km2).
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[edit] History
The Danish West India and Guinea Company settled on St. Thomas island first in 1672, expanding to St. John in 1683 (a move disputed with the British until 1718), and purchasing St. Croix from the French West Indies Company in 1733. In 1754, the islands were sold to the Danish king, Frederick V of Denmark, becoming royal Danish colonies.
At times during the Napoleonic Wars, the islands were occupied by the British; first from March 1801 to March 27, 1802, and then again from December 1807 to November 20, 1815, when they were returned to Denmark.
In the 1850s Danish West Indies had a total population of about 41,000 people. The government of the islands were under a governor-general, whose jurisdiction extends to the other Danish colonies of the group, however, because the islands formerly belonged to Great Britain consequently the inhabitants were English in customs and in language. The islands of that period consisted of[2]:
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- St. Thomas had a population of 12,800 people and sugar and cotton were its chief exports. St. Thomas city was the capital of the island, then a free port, and the chief station of the steam-packets between Southampton, in England, and the West Indies.
- St. John had a population of about 2,600 people.
- Santa Cruz though inferior to St. Thomas in commerce, was of greater importance in extent and fertility and had the largest population of 25,600 people.
On January 17, 1917, the islands were sold to the United States for $25 million when the United States and Denmark exchanged their respective treaty ratifications. Danish administration ended March 31, 1917, when the United States took formal possession of the territory and renamed it the United States Virgin Islands.
The United States had been interested in the islands for years because of their strategic position near the approach to the Panama Canal and because of the fear that Germany might seize them to use as U-boat bases during World War I.
[edit] Postage stamps
Denmark issued stamps for the Danish West Indies from 1856 on; see postage stamps and postal history of the Danish West Indies for more details.
[edit] Religion
The Danish West Indies were inhabited by many different cultures, and each had its own traditions and religions. The king and the church worked closely together to maintain law and order; the church was responsible for people's moral upbringing, and the King led the civil order. There was no state-sponsored religion in Denmark until 1849, but in the Danish West Indies there had always been a great deal of religious freedom. Danish authorities tended to be lenient towards religious beliefs, but required that all citizens had to observe Danish holidays. Freedom of religion was partially granted to help settle the islands, as there was a shortage of willing settlers from Europe. This worked to an extent, seeing that a large proportion of settlers were in fact Dutch and British natives fleeing religious prosecution.[3]
In spite of a general tolerance for religion, many African religions were not recognized. Beliefs that revolved around animism and magic were consistently met with scorn, and were regarded as immoral and subservient. A widespread viewpoint was that if you could convert slaves to Christianity, they could have a better life, and many slaves were converted.[3]
[edit] Slavery and property rights
Slaves and property Laws and regulations in the Danish West Indies were based on Denmark's laws, but the local government was allowed to adapt them to match local conditions. For example, things like animals, land, and buildings were regulated according to Danish law, but Danish law did not regulate slavery. Slaves were treated as common property, and therefore did not necessitate specific laws.
In 1733, differentiation between slaves and other property was implied by a regulation that stated that slaves had their own will and thus could behave inappropriately or be disobedient.[4] The regulation also stated that the authorities were to punish slaves for participating in illegal activity, but many owners punished slaves on their own. There was a general consensus that if the slaves were punished too hard or were malnourished, the slaves would start to rebel. In 1755 issued Frederick V of Denmark more new Regulations, in which slaves were guaranteed the right not to be separated from their children and the right to medical support during periods of illness or old age. However, the colonial government had the ability to amend laws and regulations according to local conditions, and thus the regulations were never enacted in the colony, on grounds that it was more disadvantageous than advantageous.[4]
When the slaves were released everywhere in Denmark in 1848, many plantation owners wanted full reimbursement, on the grounds that their assets were damaged by the loss of the slaves, and by the fact that they would have to pay for labor in the future. The Danish government paid fifty dollars for every slave the plantation owners had owned and recognized that the slaves' release had caused a financial loss for the owners.[4] However, the lives of the former slaves changed very little. Most were hired at the plantations where they had previously worked and were offered one-year contracts, a small hut, a little land and some money. As employees, former slaves were not plantation owners' responsibility and did not receive food from their employers.
[edit] See also
- List of Governors of the Danish West Indies
- Danish colonization of the Americas
- U.S. Virgin Islands
- Danish India
- Danish Gold Coast
- Colonialism
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Dansk Vestindia". Caplex. http://www.caplex.no/Web/ArticleView.aspx?id=9307059. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
- ^ Stewart, K. J., (1864). A Geography for Beginners. Richmond, Va: J W Randloph.
- ^ a b "History: St. Criox, United States Virgin Islands Retrieved On 14 January 2012
- ^ a b c "Begivenheder 1733", The Guardian, Retrieved On 26 November 2007, In Danish
[edit] Sources, references and external links
- World Statesman
- Transfer Day, from Denmark's consulate on the U.S. Virgin Islands
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Coordinates: 18°20′00″N 64°50′00″W / 18.3333°N 64.8333°W
