History of The United States Virgin Islands - The Danish West Indies Period

The Danish West Indies Period

Diseases, coupled with murder and slavery, took a large toll on both the Arawaks and the Caribs. Several groups of Arawaks committed mass suicide rather than submit to foreign rule. By the late 17th century, the Arawaks had been completely exterminated and few Caribs remained.

With only a small population on the islands, there was a great demand for labor. The trans-Atlantic slave trade to the islands began in 1673. The difficult conditions and inhumane treatment slaves were subjected to bred discontent. Moravian Brethren missionaries from Herrnhut, Saxony, arrived in St. Thomas in December, 1732. Objects of great distrust from the slave holders, they lived with the slaves and won their confidence. In 1733, a long drought followed by a devastating hurricane pushed slaves in St. John to the breaking point. Members of the Akwamu tribe from modern Ghana staged a massive rebellion, seizing control of the island for six months. The Danish, who controlled the island at that point, enlisted the help of French authorities from Martinique to regain control (see St. John Slave Revolt).

A non-violent slave revolt in 1848 proved more successful. The governor at the time, Peter von Scholten, faced with thousands of enslaved Africans with burning torches threatening to burn down the town of Frederiksted, freed the slaves, even though the Danish Crown decreed that slaves would be emancipated in 1859. Von Scholten would later be jailed in Denmark by the Danish Crown for this action.