Emancipation - 1848
As with the 1733 Rebellion, rebels were denied the opportunity to leave their own written or other documentary accounts of their experiences and perceptions, through second and third hand narratives provide the following accounts for future generations of Virgin Islanders........
General Buddhoe~Liberator of the Virgin Islands
Emancipation Proclamation - July 3, 1848
Emancipation in the Danish West Indies : Reading Representations in History and Historical Fiction
PETITION FOR COMPENSATION FOR THE LOSS OF SLAVES BY EMANCIPATION IN THE DANISH WEST INDIES
The end of slavery – Compensation to the slave owners - The Danish West-Indies
Emancipation - 2017
Ancestral and Indigenous Inhabitants of the Danish West Indies who were neither citizens or subjects of Denmark were neither passive beneficiaries of a munificent monarchy nor complacent victims of imperial designs, but active agents who, notwithstanding insurmountable odds, labored energetically to recover and preserve their freedom. On July 2, 1848 over eight thousand enslaved people lead by John Gottliff, Moses Roberts, Martin "Admiral" King along with others marched together, demanded their freedom and gave Governor-General Peter von Scholten a 4 p.m. deadline to liberate them.
June 26 – July 3 Proclaimed Freedom Week
Governor Kenneth Mapp has proclaimed this Freedom Week in the U.S. Virgin Islands in accordance with Act. No. 8002.
Freedom Week encompasses two significant dates in the Territory’s history – July 2, 1848 when a call went out to enslaved Africans to come to Fort Frederik in the town of Frederiksted and July 3, 1848 when Governor General Peter Von Scholten, then Governor of the Danish West Indies, officially announced that, “All unfree in the Danish West Indies are from today, free”.
“Due to their heroic efforts, the enslaved Africans in Frederiksted, St. Croix succeeded in freeing all unfree persons in the Danish West Indies from the bonds of chattel,” the proclamation states. “I urge all people of the Virgin Islands to take a moment and think about that had it not been for the brave efforts of our ancestors that came before us, we would have never been able to enjoy and experience the freedoms that we have today.”
Emancipation Day, July 3, has long been recognized as a holiday in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Freedom Week has been proclaimed from June 26th through July 3. Freedom Week
