Page 82 - The Virgin Islands

The first two ships that set sail to settle St. Thomas headed out on Au-
gust 30, 1671 and arrived three months later on February 26,1672. The
original crew included 116 men engaged by the company and 61 con-
victs. The first months and years of colonization were costly in terms of ports indicate that their prosperity was impeded by difficulties with
lives. Of the first two ships that sailed 89 people died on one ship and
75 died after landing. A third ship with 67 passengers on board sailed
to St. Thomas in 1673; 7 died on board and 53 after landing! With
these grim numbers the little Danish settlement on St. Thomas grew
slowly. Many Dutch settlers seeped in from neighboring islands; con-
sequently from the very beginning Dutch was the dominant language.
In 1673 a ship of 103 slaves was sent to St. Thomas, another 24 added
in 1675 and 16 in 1678. These were the first of many slaves brought to
the island.
The population in 1680 was 156 whites and 175 blacks. The settlement
included one fort, one road running through the island and about 50
plantations (of which 46 were occupied). Neighboring islands around
St. Thomas, like Buck Island and Water Island, were used as pastures
for goats and sheep; intended to feed the settlers on St. Thomas. After
some time passed the government realized that much of St. Thomas’
future lay in the development of the area around the natural harbor.
Soon Taphus was born! Taphus, meaning beer houses or halls, was
the name of what is today Charlotte Amalie. The latter name used in
honor of King Christian V’s wife.
Under the Esmit Brothers, who served as the 2nd and 3rd governors
of St. Thomas, the island gained the image of being a pirates den. This
is not surprising considering the Esmit Brothers are said to have il-
legally and openly traded with freebooters and allowed them to use
St. Thomas as a refuge. Romanticized stories of piracy on St. Thomas
are common; stories of pirates Blackbeard and Bluebeard are the most
well known. In 1685, after several years of poor management, the
Danish West India Company signed a treaty with the Brandenburger
Company allowing them to establish a slave trading business on St.
Thomas. Despite the slave trade being big business, Bradenburger re-
the Danish hosts and conflicts with the Dutch West India Company.
The early 1700’s were the boom period for St. Thomas, sugar became
the popular crop and slave trading was on the rise. African slaves
were used for labor on the many plantations that dotted the island.
Additionally, many traders from other islands came to St. Thomas
to buy slaves. Between 1691 and 1715 the population of St. Thomas
grew from 389 whites to 547 and 555 blacks to 3042. In 1717, a small
group of planters, slaves and soldiers were sent from St. Thomas to
claim St. John. And, on June 13, 1733 the Danish West India Company
bought St. Croix from France. In 1754 a proposal recommending that
the Danish Government take over the administration of the islands
was approved by King Frederik V. The islands became crown colonies.
Around this same time St. Croix was growing rapidly, its population
almost doubling St. Thomas’ and St. John’s combined. The capital was
moved from St. Thomas to Christiansted, St. Croix. While St. Croix
developed a typical plantation economy, St. Thomas’ economy shifted
to trade.
The English seized the Danish islands in 1801 for about a year and
again from 1807 to 1815. While the first takeover left little lasting effect
the second caused trade on St. Thomas to stagnate and left some plant-
ers impoverished. St. Thomas was made a free port in 1815 and in the
years following it became a shipping center and distributing point for
the West Indies. Charlotte Amalie flourished commercially. Large and
small importing houses, belonging to English, French, German, Ital-
ian, American, Spanish, Sephardim and Danish owners, were thriving.