Editing Danish West Indies (section)

==Slavery==

[[Chattel slavery]] was practiced in the Danish West Indies from at least the 1670s until the [[Abolitionism|abolition]] of slavery in 1848. Most slaves worked on plantations, particularly in [[Sugar production in the Danish West Indies|sugar production]], though some also worked at the harbors.

===Demographics===

Slaves outnumbered Europeans on all islands, often by large margins. On Saint Thomas, population expansion was recorded as 422 Africans and 317 Europeans in 1688, 555 Africans and 383 Europeans in 1699,{{clarify|date=March 2021}} and 3,042 Africans and 547 Europeans in 1715 (a ratio of more than 5:1), and by 1755 slaves outnumbered Europeans 12:1. On Saint John, there were 677 Africans and 123 Europeans in 1728, 1086 Africans and 208 Europeans in 1733 (a ratio of more than 5:1), and by 1770 slaves outnumbered Europeans 19:1. On Saint Croix in 1797, there were 25,452 slaves and 2,223 Europeans (a ratio of more than 11:1) as well as 1,164 freedmen, and in 1815 there were 24,330 slaves and 180 Europeans (a ratio of more than 135:1) as well as 2,480 freedmen. At that time, freedmen (many of whom had purchased their freedom) also outnumbered Europeans on Saint Thomas and Saint John.<ref name="yellowpigs.net">{{cite web|url=https://yellowpigs.net/virginislands/language/vitimeline.pdf|title=Timeline of the Virgin Islands|publisher=Sara Smollett|access-date=3 July 2020}}</ref>

===Slave trade===
{{main article|Danish slave trade}}

Trading African slaves was part of the [[transatlantic slave trade]] by [[Denmark–Norway]] around 1671, when the [[Danish West India Company]] was chartered, until 1 January 1803, when the 1792 law to abolish the slave trade came into effect.<ref name="goeber">{{Cite journal | doi=10.1080/03468755.2011.564065|title = Danish Shipping Along the Triangular Route, 1671–1802: Voyages and conditions on board| journal=Scandinavian Journal of History| volume=36| issue=2| pages=135–155|year = 2011|last1 = Gøbel|first1 = Erik|s2cid = 143440637}}</ref>

By 1778, it was estimated that the Danes were bringing about 3,000 Africans to the Danish West Indies yearly for enslavement.<ref name=Kitchin1>{{cite book|last=Kitchin|first=Thomas|title=The Present State of the West-Indies: Containing an Accurate Description of What Parts Are Possessed by the Several Powers in Europe|year=1778|publisher=R. Baldwin|location=London|page=21|url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/4397/view/1/21/}}</ref> These transports continued until the end of 1802, when a 1792 law by [[Frederick VI of Denmark|Crown Prince Regent Frederik]] that banned the trade of slaves came into effect.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi = 10.1080/03468755.2011.564065|title = Danish Shipping Along the Triangular Route, 1671–1802: Voyages and conditions on board|year = 2011|last1 = Gøbel|first1 = Erik|journal = Scandinavian Journal of History|volume = 36|issue = 2|pages = 135–155|s2cid = 143440637}}</ref>

===Slave codes===

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. There was a general consensus that if the slaves were punished too hard or were malnourished, the slaves would start to rebel. This was borne out by the [[1733 slave insurrection on St. John]], where many plantation owners and their families were killed by the [[Akwamu people|Akwamu]], including [[Breffu]], before it was suppressed later the following year.<ref name=norton>{{cite thesis|title=Estate by Estate: The Landscape of the 1733 St. Jan Slave Rebellion|author=Holly Kathryn Norton|date=2013|type=PhD|publisher=Syracuse University|page=90|id={{ProQuest|1369397993}}}}</ref> In 1755 [[Frederick V of Denmark]] issued 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.<ref name="SurtSødt.dk">{{cite web|url=http://www.surtsoedt.dk/pages/leksikon/begivenheder/syttentreogtredve.html|title=Begivenheder: 1733|last1=Trolle Gronemann|first1=Signe|last2=Vindberg|first2=Rikke|year=2005|website=SurtSødt|language=da|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130626111624/http://www.surtsoedt.dk/pages/leksikon/begivenheder/syttentreogtredve.html|archive-date=26 June 2013}}</ref>

===1733 slave insurrection===

{{main article|1733 slave insurrection on St. John}}

The 1733 slave insurrection on St. John, which lasted from November 1733 until August 1734, was one of the earliest and longest [[slave rebellion]]s in the [[Americas]]. The insurrection started on 23 November 1733, when 150 slaves, primarily [[Akwamu]]s, revolted against plantation owners and managers. The slaves captured the fort in [[Coral Bay, United States Virgin Islands|Coral Bay]] and took control of most of the island.<ref>{{Citation|last=Sebro|first=Louise|title=The 1733 Slave Revolt on the Island of St. John: Continuity and Change from Africa to the Americas|date=2013|doi=10.1007/978-1-4614-6202-6_15|work=Scandinavian Colonialism and the Rise of Modernity|series=Contributions to Global Historical Archaeology|volume=37|pages=261–274|publisher=Springer New York|isbn=978-1-4614-6201-9}}</ref>

Planters regained control by the end of May 1734, after the Akwamu were defeated by several hundred better-armed French and Swiss troops sent in April from [[Martinique]], a French colony. Colony militia continued to hunt down [[Maroon (people)|maroons]] and finally declared the rebellion at an end in late August 1734.<ref name=Rebellion>{{cite web |url=http://www.stjohnbeachguide.com/Slave%20Rebellion.htm |title=St. John Slave Rebellion |access-date=19 July 2008 |work=St. John Off the Beaten Track |publisher=Sombrero Publishing Co |year=2000| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080621205949/http://www.stjohnbeachguide.com/Slave%20Rebellion.htm| archive-date= 21 June 2008 <!--Added by DASHBot-->}}</ref>

===Emancipation===
[[File:EmancipationsplakatDWI1848.jpg|thumb|Emancipation proclamation, 1848]]

By the 1830s and 1840s, the [[sugar beet]] industry had reduced the profitability of sugarcane. The British [[Slavery Abolition Act 1833]] [[Emancipation of the British West Indies|emancipated slaves in the neighboring British West Indies]], fully effective as of 1840. Abolition in the Danish West Indies was discussed, with [[Peter von Scholten|Governor von Scholten]], who had been seeking reforms since 1830, in favor of [[emancipation]].<ref name="history.dk">{{cite web|url=http://www.virgin-islands-history.dk/eng/vi_hist.asp|title=A Brief History of the Danish West Indies|publisher=Danish National Archives|access-date=3 July 2020|archive-date=4 December 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204103732/http://www.virgin-islands-history.dk/eng/vi_hist.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="FreedomWeekProclamation">{{cite executive order | number=2017-06-26 | url=http://aphj2sd.com/files/documents/2017-Virgin-Islands-Freedom-Week.pdf | title=Virgin Islands Freedom Week | date= 26 June 2017 | language=English | post=Governor of the United States Virgin Islands | access-date=3 July 2020}}</ref> Scholarly consensus suggests von Scholten's views were influenced by his [[Free people of color|free-colored]] mistress Anna Heegaard.<ref name="stcroixlandmarks.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.stcroixlandmarks.org/history/anna-heegaard/|title=Anna Heegaard, mistress of Governor General Peter von Scholten|publisher=St. Croix Landmarks Society|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200704055102/http://www.stcroixlandmarks.org/history/anna-heegaard/|access-date=3 July 2020|archive-date=4 July 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last1 = Dookhan | first1 = Isaac | year = 1994 |orig-year=1974 | title = A History of the Virgin Islands of the United States |url={{GBurl|XxT8qxBjwoUC|pg=PA173}} | location = Kingston, Jamaica | publisher = Canoe Press | page = 173 | isbn = 9789768125057}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last1 = Hall| first1 = Neville A. T.| year = 1992| editor1-last = Higman| editor1-first = Barry W.| title = Slave Society in the Danish West Indies: St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=D5maZy-O5GcC | location = Mona, Jamaica| publisher = University of the West Indies Press | page = 175| isbn = 9789764100294| access-date = 7 September 2017}}</ref>

[[Christian VIII of Denmark|King Christian VIII]] supported the gradual abolition of slavery and ruled in 1847 that every child born of an unfree woman should be free from birth, and that slavery would end entirely after 12 years. That ruling satisfied neither the slaves nor the plantation owners.<ref name="history.org1">{{cite web|url=https://www.virgin-islands-history.org/en/history/slavery/the-emancipation-of-the-enslaved-in-1848/|title=The emancipation of the enslaved in 1848|publisher=Danish National Archives|access-date=3 July 2020|archive-date=3 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803000738/https://www.virgin-islands-history.org/en/history/slavery/the-emancipation-of-the-enslaved-in-1848/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Meanwhile, on 27 April 1848, France signed a law to abolish slavery in their colonies within two months, but a slave insurrection on [[History of Martinique#1815-1899|Martinique]] led to immediate abolition on Martinique on 22 May and [[Guadeloupe]] on 27 May.<ref name="slaveryandremembrance.org">{{cite web|url=http://slaveryandremembrance.org/partners/partner/?id=P0054|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200704055059/http://slaveryandremembrance.org/partners/partner/?id=P0054|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 July 2020|title=Monument to Abolition of Slavery|publisher=Slavery and Remembrance|access-date=3 July 2020}}</ref>

The slaves in the Danish West Indies did not want to wait for their freedom, either. On 2 July 1848, freedman John Gottlieb (also known as "Moses Gottlieb" or "General Buddhoe") and Admiral Martin King (among others) led a slave rebellion, taking over [[Frederiksted, U.S. Virgin Islands|Frederiksted]], Saint Croix.<ref name="history.org2">{{cite web|url=https://www.virgin-islands-history.org/en/timeline/the-slave-rebellion-on-st-croix-and-emancipation/|title=The slave rebellion on St. Croix and Emancipation|publisher=Danish National Archives|access-date=3 July 2020|archive-date=31 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731003106/https://www.virgin-islands-history.org/en/timeline/the-slave-rebellion-on-st-croix-and-emancipation/|url-status=dead}}</ref> That evening, hundreds of slaves gathered peaceably outside [[Fort Frederik]] refusing to work the next day and demanding freedom. By 10 a.m. the following morning, about 8,000 slaves had joined.<ref name="slaverebellion.info">{{cite web|url=http://slaverebellion.info/index.php?page=slave-resistances-in-latin-america-2|title=Slave Resistances in Latin America|publisher=African American Information Service|access-date=3 July 2020|archive-date=4 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200704063555/http://slaverebellion.info/index.php?page=slave-resistances-in-latin-america-2|url-status=dead}}</ref>[[File:Høgensborg, Plantation, St. Croix, Danish West Indies.jpg|thumb|The Høgensborg estate on Sankt Croix, 1833]]

[[File:FreedomStatueCruzBay.jpg|thumb|The conch blower in the "Freedom Statue" depicts the slaves' call to action in 1848]]

On the afternoon of 3 July 1848 (now known as [[Emancipation Day#US Virgin Islands – July 3|Emancipation Day]]), Peter von Scholten, in order to end the rebellion and prevent bloodshed and damages, went to Frederiksted and announced an immediate and total emancipation of all slaves. He then went to [[Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands|Christiansted]], where a second rebellion had formed and some fires had been set, and had notices disseminated to the other islands. General Buddhoe worked with the governor and other officials to end the riots and violence that had broken out on a few estates.<ref name="aphj2sd.com">{{cite web|url=http://aphj2sd.com/general-buddhoe~liberator-of-the-virgin-islands|title=General Buddhoe~Liberator of the Virgin Islands|publisher=A People's Historical Journey to Self Determination and Decolonization 2020|access-date=3 July 2020}}</ref>

In the aftermath, Buddhoe is said to have been jailed and exiled to [[Trinidad]].<ref name="aphj2sd.com" /> Governor von Scholten also fared poorly. As governor, he did not actually have the authority to end slavery, but had found himself in a situation where he needed to take immediate action that could not wait for communicating with Denmark. For his actions, he was called back to Denmark to face a trial for treason. He was first denied his pension, but later cleared of the charges.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bricka |first1=C.F. |title=Dansk Biografisk Lexikon |date=1901 |publisher=Gyldendal |location=Copenhagen |pages=255–256 |url=https://runeberg.org/dbl/}}</ref>

When Denmark abolished slavery 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.<ref name="SurtSødt.dk"/>

===Post-slavery===
[[File:Klods-Hans foto (cropped).jpg|thumb|A cartoon by [[Alfred Schmidt (artist)|Alfred Schmidt]] published in the Danish magazine ''{{ill|Klods-Hans|da|Klods-Hans (tidsskrift)}}'' in January 1917 about the [[treaty of the Danish West Indies]]. It depicts [[Woodrow Wilson]] as having "adopted" the three islands of [[Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands|St. Thomas]], [[Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands|St. John]] and [[Saint Croix|St. Croix]] (depicted as [[Pickaninny|pickaninnies]]) from Denmark.]]
The lives of the formerly enslaved people changed very little because many continued to be bound to the plantation system through contractual servitude.<ref>{{cite web |title=Embodying A Hero: Connecting to the past, present and future |url=https://www.iamqueenmary.com/history |website=I Am Queen Mary |access-date=28 July 2021}}</ref> Most were bound to serve the plantations where they had previously been enslaved. As employees, former slaves were not the plantation owners' responsibility and did not receive food or care from their employers. As part of a [[sharecropping]] system, some formerly enslaved people received a small hut, a little land, and some money; however, this one-time compensation did not change the harsh working conditions.

The [[1878 St. Croix labor riot|Fireburn labor riot]], considered to be the largest labor revolt in Danish colonial history, took place on 1 October 1878.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Three Rebel Queens |url=https://www.virgin-islands-history.org/en/history/fates/the-three-rebel-queens/ |website=The Danish West-Indies: Sources of History |publisher=Rigsarkivet |access-date=28 July 2021 |archive-date=14 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314164827/https://www.virgin-islands-history.org/en/history/fates/the-three-rebel-queens/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The revolt began because the formerly enslaved continued to live and work in slave-like conditions even though three decades had passed since the abolition of slavery. [[Mary Thomas (labor leader)|Mary Leticia Thomas]], today referred to as Queen Mary of St. Croix, spearheaded the revolt alongside three other women: Axeline ‘Agnes’ Elizabeth Salomon, Matilde McBean and Susanna ‘Bottom Belly’ Abrahamsson.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Witcombe |first1=Nicola |title=The 1878 Fireburn uprising in the Danish West Indies |url=https://nordics.info/en/show/artikel/the-1878-fireburn-uprising-in-the-danish-west-indies/ |website=Nordics Info |publisher=Aarhus University |access-date=28 July 2021 |archive-date=28 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728184929/https://nordics.info/en/show/artikel/the-1878-fireburn-uprising-in-the-danish-west-indies/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Fireburn uprising and its leaders continue to have a meaningful role in St. Croix.

2017 marked the 100th anniversary of the sale of the colony by Denmark to the United States. With this centennial, conversations on the legacy of Danish–Norwegian colonization and slavery were reignited in the Scandinavian mainstream.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Danbolt |first1=Mathias |last2=Wilson |first2=Michael K. |title=A monumental Challenge to Danish History |url=https://kunstkritikk.no/a-monumental-challenge-to-danish-history/ |website=Kunstkritikk |date=26 April 2018 |access-date=28 July 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Keskinen |first1=Suvi |title=Racism and colonial legacies in multicultural Nordic societies |url=https://raster.fi/2020/03/03/racism-and-colonial-legacies-in-multicultural-nordic-societies/ |website=Raster.fi |date=3 March 2020 |publisher=Anti-Racist Research Network |access-date=28 July 2021}}</ref> For example, the artists [[Jeannette Ehlers]] and [[La Vaughn Belle]] unveiled Denmark's first statue of a black woman, I Am Queen Mary, to memorialize Denmark's colonial impact.