Danish West Indies

The Danish West Indies (Danish: Dansk Vestindien) or Danish Antilles was a Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas with 43 square miles (110 km2); Saint John with 42 square miles (110 km2); and Saint Croix with 100 square miles (260 km2). The Danish West India Guinea Company annexed the uninhabited island of Saint Thomas in 1672 and St. John in 1675. In 1733, Saint Croix was purchased from the French West India Company. When the Company went bankrupt in 1755, the King of Denmark-Norway assumed direct control of the three islands. The Danish West Indies was occupied by Britain in 1802–1803 and 1807–1815, during the Napoleonic Wars.

The intention of Danish colonization in the West Indies was to exploit the profitable triangular trade, involving the exportation of firearms and other manufactured goods to Africa in exchange for slaves who were then transported to the Caribbean to staff the sugar plantations. The final stage of the triangle was the exportation of cargo of sugar and rum to Denmark. The economy of the Danish West Indies was dependent on slavery. After a rebellion, slavery was officially abolished in 1848, leading to the near economic collapse of the plantations.

West Indies

The West Indies is a region of the Caribbean Basin and North Atlantic Ocean that includes the many islands and island nations of the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago.

After the first of the voyages of Christopher Columbus to the Americas, Europeans began to use the term West Indies to differentiate that region from the Indies (South Asia and Southeast Asia).

History

From the 17th through the 19th century, the European colonial territories of the West Indies were the French West Indies, British West Indies, the Danish West Indies, the Netherlands Antilles (Dutch West Indies), and the Spanish West Indies.

In 1916, Denmark sold the Danish West Indies to the United States for US $25 million in gold, as per the Treaty of the Danish West Indies. The Danish West Indies became an insular area of the US, called the United States Virgin Islands.

Between 1958 and 1962, the United Kingdom reorganised all their West Indies island territories (except the British Virgin Islands and the Bahamas) into the West Indies Federation. They hoped that the Federation would coalesce into a single, independent nation. However, the Federation had limited powers, numerous practical problems, and a lack of popular support; consequently, it was dissolved by the British in 1963, with nine provinces becoming independent sovereign states and four becoming British Overseas Territories.

East Indies

The East Indies or Indies (or East India) is a term that has been used to describe the lands of South and South East Asia. In a more restricted sense, the Indies can be used to refer to the islands of South East Asia, especially the Malay Archipelago. The name "Indies" is derived from the river Indus and is used to connote parts of Asia that came under Indian cultural influence (except Vietnam which came under Chinese cultural influence).

Dutch-held colonies in the area were known for about 300 years as the Dutch East Indies before Indonesian independence, while Spanish-held colonies were known as the Spanish East Indies before the US-conquest and later Philippines' independence. The East Indies may also include the former French-held Indochina, former British territories Brunei and Singapore, and former Portuguese East Timor. It does not, however, include the former Dutch New Guinea western New Guinea (West Papua), which is geographically considered to be part of Melanesia.

The inhabitants of the East Indies are almost never called East Indians, distinguishing them both from inhabitants of the Caribbean (which is also called the West Indies) and from the indigenous peoples of the Americas who are often called "American Indians." In colonial times they were just "natives". However, the peoples of the East Indies comprise a wide variety of cultural diversity, and the inhabitants do not consider themselves as belonging to a single ethnic group. Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam are the most popular religions throughout the region, while Christianity, Sikhism, Jainism and various other traditional beliefs and practices are also prominent in some areas. The major languages in this area draw from a wide variety of language families, and should not be confused with the term Indic, which refers only to a group of Indo-Iranian languages from South Asia.

Indies (disambiguation)

The Indies is used to describe the lands of South and Southeast Asia.

Indies may also refer to:

  • West Indies, the islands in, bordering, or immediately north of the Caribbean Sea
  • Indies Records, a Czech record label
  • Canadian Independent Music Awards, also known as the Indies, a Canadian award
  • See also

  • Indie (disambiguation); "indie" is a short for "independent"
  • India (disambiguation)
  • Podcasts:

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    Latest News for: danish west indies

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    History is on Donald Trump's side in his bid to annex Greenland

    The Daily Telegraph 16 Jan 2025
    Denmark has, in fact, been willing to sell its overseas territories to other countries since at least 1864, when it offered the Danish West Indies to Prussia, which declined to purchase them.
    Edit

    The real danger of Trump’s Greenland gambit

    Vox 11 Jan 2025
    The year is 1915 and the territory in question is the Danish West Indies, known today as the US Virgin Islands ... another Danish-administered island ... issues at the Danish Institute of Security Studies.
    Edit

    Morning Report — Senate gears up for confirmation fights

    The Hill 10 Jan 2025
    On Thursday afternoon in West Hills, a fast-moving ... President Woodrow Wilson in 1917 signed a treaty transferring the Danish West Indies to the United States in exchange for $25 million in gold coins.
    Edit

    Greenland: America's northern rampart?

    Korea Times 09 Jan 2025
    Greenland remains a Danish territory, with Copenhagen exercising control over its foreign and defense policy ... Danish coalition government ... bought the Danish West Indies in 1917 for $25 million in gold.
    Edit

    Morning Report — Trump, Senate GOP try to get on the same page

    The Hill 09 Jan 2025
    Editor’s note ... To subscribe, click here or fill out the box below. Close. Thank you for signing up! ... Sen ... President Woodrow Wilson in 1917 signed a treaty transferring the Danish West Indies to the United States in exchange for $25 million in gold coins.
    Edit

    The truth behind Trump's bold bid for Greenland: China, rare minerals, space ... and why ...

    The Daily Mail 08 Jan 2025
    It was a sobering reminder that Trump has talked up his interest in the Danish dependency since at least 2019 ... Washington has made several attempts to purchase the territory from Denmark (as it did with the Danish West Indies - now the U.S.
    Edit

    What would it take for Donald Trump to buy Greenland?

    Financial Express 08 Jan 2025
    Can Trump buy Greenland? Here\u2019s what history shows The last time the US \u201cbought\u201d a territory was in 1917, when it acquired the Danish West Indies, now known as the US Virgin Islands.
    Edit

    Greenland Redux: Trump and America’s Continuing Obsession

    GlobalResearch 31 Dec 2024
    The treaty with Denmark concerning the Danish West Indies was a reminder that things were not going to be smooth ... The First World War finally saw the Danish West Indies formally transferred on March ...
    Edit

    Greenland is a no, but what territories has the U.S. purchased?

    Star Gazette 25 Dec 2024
    Beginning in 1867, the United States made several attempts to expand its influence into the Caribbean and asked Denmark if they were willing to sell the Danish West Indies, according to the State Department.
    Edit

    US acquired nearly 40% of its territory through land purchases

    Anadolu Agency 04 Sep 2024
    As a result, in 1917, the US purchased the Danish West Indies, now known as the Virgin Islands, from Denmark for $25 million in gold ... in ice except for small coastal areas in the south and west.
    Edit

    WEDNESDAY, July 3, 2024

    Korea Times 02 Jul 2024
    1608-City of Qu?bec founded by Samuel de Champlain. 1848-Slaves freed in Danish West Indies (now U.S. Virgin Islands). 1863-Battle of Gettysburg Pa ends, major victory for North ... 1915-U.S ... 1970-L ... .
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    Juneteenth inspires new paths in education

    The Cincinnati Herald 18 Jun 2024
    ... as Moses Gottlieb, perhaps better known as General Buddhoe, who is credited with leading a nonviolent revolt that led to the abolishment of slavery in the Danish-ruled West Indies on July 3, 1848.
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    Stunning beaches and an ugly past: What travelers discover at Virgin Islands National Park

    Usatoday 25 May 2024
    John, which was part of the Danish West Indies before the U.S ... understanding and perspective of enslavement in the Danish West Indies and also how that differed from slavery in the continental U.S.
    Edit

    Danish heirs to sell $72 million rare coin collection after 100 years

    Canoe 16 Apr 2024
    “You’ve got Denmark, Norway, Sweden and then places that used to be under Danish or Norwegian or Swedish rule,” says Yegparian, name-checking places as varied as the Danish West Indies (now the U.S.
    Edit

    No God but greed: Slavery and indifference

    The Manila Times 02 Mar 2024
    After having characterized the West Indian islands as "by far the most important branch of the Danish commerce," he went on to call the Danish colony of Saint Croix "one of the most splendid jewels in Your Majesty's crown.".

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