April 2, 2011 - Danish West Indies Exhibit Opening

It is an honor for me to serve as President Barack Obama’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark.  This is especially so because I have Danish heritage and Danish relatives.  The relationship between the United States and Denmark has been important to me throughout my life.

It is a pleasure to be here with Director Madsen and Architect Ulla Lunn to open this exhibit on “The Danish West Indies – Building a Colony.”  One of the “fun” aspects about being the US Ambassador to Denmark is the opportunity to learn about the history and culture of Denmark.    The Danish West Indies – or the American Virgin Islands as they are now called – give us the opportunity to focus on the long-standing relationship between our countries – and some of the common features of our histories.

Let’s go back to the arrival of Columbus in America.  Some say that Columbus discovered America – but you Danes know that is not true.  But Columbus did in fact arrive in America, and on his second voyage in 1493, he landed in the Salt River area in St. Croix – or Santa Cruz – meaning Holy Cross.  He sighted and named the archipelago the Virgin Islands.  So, over 500 years ago, the US and Denmark shared the common history of Christopher Columbus – or Cristobel Colon.

Along with other European nations, the Danes began to be interested in the West Indies, focusing on Saint Thomas as the initial Danish settlement.  The fort was named after the Danish King Christian V and the town which grew up around the fort was named Charlotte Amalie after the Queen.

Like other Europeans who settled in the American South and the Caribbean Islands, the Danes discovered that the indigenous population on the islands were not suitable for hard work in the sugar plantations – and so Danes were caught up in the triangular routes of the slave trade – with Danish ships sailing from Europe to Africa filled with trading commodities; from Africa to the islands filled with African slaves; and from the islands to Denmark and Europe with sugar and other colonial products.

Denmark annexed St. Johns, and later St. Croix.  But Danes were always a minority in these colonies.  Other Europeans, including Dutch, outnumbered the Danes, and as the years passed, the number of African slaves far surpassed the number of Europeans.  While the official language was Danish, the everyday language spoken among the whites was English – and the African inhabitants often spoke Creole.

In the early 1800s, we shared a common enemy.  When Lord Nelson’s navy attacked Denmark in 1801 and 1807, Great Britain occupied the Danish islands in the Caribbean – where they remained until 1815.  In 1812, the British landed in and burned much of the federal city of Washington, D.C., including the Capitol and the White House.

Denmark ended the importation of slaves into the Danish West Indies in the early 1800s.  Slavery in the Danish West Indies was abolished in 1848, which was accomplished after minor unrest.  In the United States, it took a civil war to abolish slavery and keep the southern confederate states as part of our Union.

In fact, needing port facilities in the Caribbean during the U.S. Civil War, the United States signed a treaty to purchase St. Thomas and St. John in 1867, but post-Civil war domestic issues in the U.S. prevented the sale from going through.

The economic importance of the islands declined after the 1860s, and the Danes offered to sell the islands to the U.S.  This time the Danish Parliament refused to go along with the sale.

But the third time was a charm.  As World War I broke out, the U.S. wanted the islands in order to prevent Germany from establishing a naval base so close to the U.S.   Ninety-four years ago, on March 31, 1917, for the price of $25 million, ownership of St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix was transferred to the U.S.

Since World War II, the beautiful Virgin Islands have attracted many tourists from the US and from around the world.  The attractions include the sandy beaches and beautiful blue Caribbean Sea.  But other attractions include the Danish architecture and heritage.  Many of the streets names remain in Danish.

I have not yet visited the Danish West Indies – but my great grandfather Mads Jensen from Aale (west of Horsens) in Denmark was one of the crew on a ship that sailed to the Danish West Indies in the late 1800s.

Seeing this wonderful exhibit only increases my desire to visit the islands.  But until I get there, I will enjoy this exhibit as an opportunity to learn about and appreciate the Danish social and architectural heritage of the Danish West Indies – US Virgin Islands.  Again, I thank Ulla Lunn for her dedication in putting this exhibition together, and to Director Madsen and the National Museum for opening the exhibition today.

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You can learn more about the exhibition at the National Museum website.