The Danish West Indies
Virgin Island History
For nearly 250 years, Denmark was a colonial power in the West Indies – today the US Virgin Islands. From the founding of the colony in 1672 to the sale of the islands to the USA in 1917. Uniquely, an enormous amount of descriptions, registers, letters, and illustrations have been preserved in the Danish National Archive, providing a unique insight into history.
Guides
Get started!
Get an overview of the collections and how to find the sources for your history.
Find a person
The right sources for finding a person depend on their status: enslaved, free, or European civilian or military employee.
Property and ownership
Sources on property relations in the Virgin Islands under colonial Danish rule include sources on estate and places, but also documentation on slave ownership.
Slavery
Until the abolition of slavery in the Danish West Indies in 1848, slaves and slavery were a fundamental part of life on the islands. Find the sources here.
Colonial rule
The Danish colonial rule influenced many aspects of life in the Danish West Indies – in court, in the barracks, in the hospital, or in the school.
Trade and shipping
Trade and shipping were crucial for the Danish West Indies colony. The easy access to the sea and oceangoing sailing ships enabled the islands in the Caribbean to develop into a significant economic success.
Collections & literature
Archives
From 2013 to 2017, the Danish National Archives digitized 5 million pages from the local and central administration of the Danish West Indies. However, there are also archival groups and cases related to the Danish West Indies in other collections at the National Archives and in archives abroad.
Registry
The searchable registry of all digitized sources from the Danish West Indies is a valuable tool. It includes useful comments on the archives and direct links to each archival series on Arkivalieronline. This register allows you to efficiently locate and access the digital records relevant to your research.
Literature and other collections
Find overviews of the most important sources, publications, and collections about the Danish West Indies that are available outside of the Danish National Archives.