History

For almost 250 years Denmark was a colonial power in the West Indies. From the founding of the colony in 1672 to the sale of the islands to the USA in 1917. This is an introduction to aspects of the history of the Danish West Indies, which will be helpful to you if you would like to know more about the subject or if you want to search the digitized records from the colony

Traktat og check fra salget af de dansk vestindiske øer.

Sale of the Danish West Indian islands to the USA

In 2017, it is 100 years ago since Denmark sold the Danish West Indies to the USA. To mark the centennial the Danish National Archives has launched a series of twelve articles about the process leading up to the sale. The articles examine both the first attempts to sell the islands and the events leading up to, during and after the sale in 1917.
Hezekiah Smith fremstillet i Frederiksted Ekstra Kriminalret.

Fates

Here you find life stories of various individuals from the history of the colony. From the convicts Mette and Jens, through the enslaved laborer Christian Sort who became a surgeon and plantation owner, to the well-known governor-general Peter von Scholten and the black national hero David Hamilton Jackson.
David Hamilton Jackson.

David Hamilton Jackson

The black labor leader David Hamilton Jackson has been described in completely different ways. For officials towards the end of the Danish era he was an unpleasant rebel. But for the black population of the islands he was and is a hero.
Kulidreng fotograferet på De Vestindiske Øer i 1903.

Personal history

Here you can read about the population in the colony. The texts focus on the demographic development through the colonial era and on how significant events in the lives of individual people were recorded, such as births, marriages and funerals.
Plantagen Morning Star med bjergene på nordsiden af St. Croix i baggrunden.

Ownership history

Here you can read about different kinds of property in the colony. For instance about maps of plantations and towns in the three islands, and about where the ownership of land, houses, enslaved laborers and much more was recorded.
Tøjvask i bækken, St. Croix ca. 1844.

Slavery

Here you can learn about the life of the enslaved laborers in the colony. For instance about the slave trade across the Atlantic, working conditions and health, rebellion and punishment, the free colored population and about the emancipation in 1848.

Colonial power

Here you find information on the structure of Danish colonial power both locally and in the capital, and how it acted in the colony. For instance about the judicial system and the health services, the Moravian missionaries, and about the central administration in Copenhagen.

Trade and shipping

Here you can read about trade and shipping, which was essential to life in the colony. For instance about the trading companies, trade in enslaved laborers and sugar, the world harbor on St. Thomas, and about the ships of the Danish Navy.