VI SLAVE TRADE

INTRODUCTION

Slavery in the Danish colonial system was introduced by the Danes in St. Thomas in 1672, in St. John in 1718 and in St. Croix in 1734. The Danish slave-trading system that accompanied the development of Denmark's tropical slavery, involving trade with Africa and the other islands of the West Indies, remained intact until 1803. At that time the edict for the abolition of the Danish slave trade (enacted in 1792) went into effect, making it unlawful to import slaves into the Danish islands. Nevertheless, a transit trade centering principally on St. Thomas, remained in effect until 1807, at which time it was banned by the British, who in that same year had taken possession of the Danish West Indies as a consequence of their involvement in the Napoleonic Wars.

The institution of slavery itself lasted another 41 years in the Danish West India islands. It was finally prohibited by law in July 1848 after a massive slave rebellion forced the government to grant emancipation. Questions of compensation and labor regulations emerged as a direct result of the end of slavery.

The influence of the slave trade and slavery in the islands reached into every area of colonial life-the economy, plantation life, social interactions, culture, language and the like. It is, in fact, not much of an exaggeration to say that the history of the Danish West Indies is a history of the slave trade and slavery.

This bibliography provides a comprehensive annotated listing of the most significant source materials relative to slavery in the Danish West Indies. Since the institution's influence was broad and pervasive, the principal difficulty in this work has been that of delimitation. Much more could have been included. Our aim, however, has been to focus on those sources that center on the slave trade and slavery. A secondary aim of the project has been to provide the stimulus and the means for further research, particularly in the U.S. Virgin Islands and by Virgin Islanders.

This present bibliographic endeavor began in the mid-1970s as a part of Project VIBIB (i.e., Project Virgin Islands Bibliography) and has continued down to the present time. It is being published in conjunction with "The Symposium on the Danish Slave Trade and its Abolition," held at The University of the Virgin Islands, St. Croix Campus, on December 19, 1992, under the sponsorship of the University of the Virgin Islands, The Society of Virgin Islands Historians and Historical Dimensions, Inc., with assistance from a grant from the Virgin Islands Humanities Council.

Nearly all the citations herein have been provided with a short descriptive annotation. Additionally, there is an abbreviated locator code in capital letters at the very end of each citation. This code refers to the library (or libraries, in some cases) where that particular work is available. The key to these abbreviations is located immediately after this introduction on page three. Titles to the oft-cited Danish government documents have been replaced by the editors' names; the key to these documents is located on page four. Complete sets of these works are located in the Kongelig Bibliotek in Copenhagen and in the Staatsbibliotek in Århus, Denmark.

I am deeply indebted to my colleagues with Project VIBIB, Peter Hoxcer Jensen, who passed away in 1989, and Max E. Bumgarner, for their research input in the late 1970s and 1980s, both in the United States and Denmark. Finally, I was joined in November of 1992 by my able friend and colleague George F. Tyson, who brought to this project his own independent research findings along with his broad understanding of the question of slavery in the history of these islands and his critical insights and abilities.

It remains to acknowledge the much appreciated critical comments on the manuscript offered by Poul Olsen and Erik Gøbel, both of the Royal Archives in Copenhagen, by Karen Fog Olwig of the Institute of Anthropology, University of Copenhagen, by Svend Holsoe of the University of Delaware and by A.E. Figueredo of the University of the Virgin Islands, St. Croix Campus. Equally valuable proof-reading and typing services were provided by Irene Rey Kann of St. Croix.

Locater Code Key

BPL Boston Public Library

CRI Caribbean Research Institute, St. Thomas

HIB Historisk Institut Bibliotek, University of Århus, Denmark

IRF Island Resources Foundation, St. Thomas, USVI

KB Kongelig Bibliotek, Copenhagen

LC Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

MAB Moravian Archives, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

MC Moravian College, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

NPJ National Park Service-St. John, USVI

NPT National Park Service-St. Thomas, USVI

NPX National Park Service-St. Croix, USVI

OSU Ohio State University

RA Rigsarkivet, Copenhagen, Denmark

SB Staatsbibliotek, Århus, Denmark

UVI University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas and St. Croix

VIL Virgin Islands Library network

VSC Von Scholten Collection, Enid Baa Library, St. Thomas

WGL Whim Greathouse Library, St. Croix

YU Yale University

Abbreviations

for

Danish Government Documents Series

Fogtman Fogtman, Laurids, ed. Kongelige Rescripter, Resolutioner og Collegialbreve for Danmark og Norge udtogsvis uddgivne i chronologisk Orden. (1660­1848). Copenhagen: Gyldendal, 1806­1850.

Rothe Rothe, Casper Peter, ed. Kong Christian den Femtes skrevne Befalninger og Anordninger for Norge, Island, Ferrøerne og de Indiske Besiddelser fra Høystsammes Regierings Lykkelige Begyndelse den 9de Februarii 1670 til Dødsdagen den 25de Augusti 1699. v. 2. Copenhagen: [The Author], 1778.

Schou Schou, Jacob Henrik, ed. Chronologisk Register over de Kgl. Forordninger og Aabne Breve, Samt andre trykte Anordninger, som fra Aar 1670 af ere udkomne, tilligemed et nøiagtigt Udtog af de endnu gieldende. Copenhagen: 1795­1849. 25 v. Register of royal ordinances and open letters for the period 1670­1849.

Stampe Stampe, H. Erklæringer, Breve og Forestillinger, General-Prokureur-Embedet vedkommende. Copenhagen: Gyldendal, 1793­1807.

N.B. See section ten, "Documentary Sources," for a complete listing of Danish government documents and document series.

Rothe, Casper Peter, eIntro.slavbib.htmlo Ferrøerne og de Indiske Besiddelser fra Høystsammes Regierings Lykkelige Begyndelse den 9de Februarii 1670 til èÿÿ