Page 33 - The Virgin Islands

The British, in order to maintain hospitable relations with Denmark,
eventually ceased their opposition. After the Danes settled St. John
plantation agriculture developed rapidly. The Danish West Indian
Company purchased St. Croix from the French in 1733 bringing St.
Thomas, St. Croix and St. John together as the Danish West Indies.
In 1685, the Danish government signed a treaty with the Dutch of
Brandenburg. This treaty allowed the Brandenburg American Com-
pany to establish a slave-trading post on St. Thomas. Early governors
also approved of St. Thomas becoming a pirates’ safe haven. The gover-
nors realized an influx of pirates would benefit local merchants. While
piracy ceased to be a factor in the island’s economy in the early 1800s, islands were run by Naval administrators and appointed officials. The
the slave trade continued. In the Danish West Indies slaves labored
mainly on sugar plantations. Cotton, indigo and other crops were also
grown. Sugar mills and plantations dotted the islands hilly landscapes.
Each islands economy prospered through sugar plantations and slave
trading. While St. John and St. Croix maintained a plantation econ-
omy, St. Thomas developed into a prosperous center of trade. Slave
rebellion on St. John and St. Croix are well documented. Legitimate
trade and business on St. Thomas influenced a different society where
many more slaves were given freedom and an opportunity outside of
plantation life.
A July 2, 1848 rebellion on St. Croix, where some 5,000 blacks were
free while another 17,000 remained enslaved, prompted liberal gov-
ernor Peter von Scholten to declare what he had long pressed for, that
all unfree in the Danish West Indies were from that day free. While
his proclamation was in direct contradiction of the King’s orders and
while plantation owners refused to accept the proclamation, slavery
was abolished on July 3rd, 1848. Strict labor laws were implemented
several times after emancipation and the populous reacted in tense
labor riots. Planters began to abandon their estates and the population
and economy in the islands declined. The islands and its residents fell
on rough times in the late 1800s due to the poor economy and numer-
ous natural disasters.
The islands remained under Danish rule until 1917, when the United
States purchased them for $25 million in gold in an effort to improve
military positioning during critical times of World War I. St. Croix, St.
Thomas and St. John became the US Virgin Islands. While conditions
improved, change came slowly and frustrations brewed. Residents felt
deceived when they were not granted American citizenship immedi-
ately following the transfer and disappointment also existed in that the
Military and the Interior Departments managed the territory until the
passage of the Organic Act in 1936. Today the USVI is a U.S. territory,
run by an elected governor. The territory is under the jurisdiction of
the president of the United States of America and residents are Ameri-
can citizens.
Virgin Islands National Park - In 1956 Laurance Rockefeller gave the
National Park Service a generous gift of 5,000 acres of land on St. John.
This gift along with subsequent additions have increased the holdings.
Today almost two thirds of St. John’s beautiful forest, shorelines and
underwater lands are protected by the Park. Historical and marine
treasures on St. Croix including Buck Island are also protected by the
Park Service, as are portions of Hassell Island. In 1996 Water Island,
located in St. Thomas’ Charlotte Amalie harbor, was officially returned
to the USVI from the Department of the Interior.