Commandants and Governors

The first years of the Danish colonization of the West Indies was a rough period. Danish Jørgen Iversen was the first Governor of St. Thomas and ruled the island with an iron fist. However, he ended his life at the bottom of the sea – thrown overboard during a mutiny.

Peter von Scholten is probably the most well-known Dane in the West Indies. He has been portrayed frequently in both books and film. He had an impressive career in the colony where he became the Governor-General but in 1848 he was forced to declare a general emancipation of the enslaved laborers to avoid a rebellion. The emancipation was not popular with all groups on the islands. Von Scholten suffered a nervous breakdown and had to leave the islands a broken man.

When Denmark established a colony in the West Indies in 1672, the goal was to make Denmark richer. But the plantation owners and the enslaved laborers in the West Indies were not motivated by a desire to increase Denmark’s well-being. Therefore, the Danish government needed to maintain close supervision and control.