Peter Carl Frederik von Scholten (17 May 1784 – 26 January 1854) was

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

of the

Danish West Indies The Danish West Indies ( da, Dansk Vestindien) or Danish Antilles or Danish Virgin Islands were a Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas with ; Saint John ( da, St. Jan) with ; and Saint Croix with . The ...

from 1827 to 1848.

Early life and education

He was born in

Vestervig Vestervig is a village in Vestervig Parish in Denmark, located in Thisted municipality in North Denmark Region (until December 31, 2006; Sydthy municipality, Viborg County). Vestervig has a population of 591 (1 January 2022).Thy,

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

as the son of captain Casimir Wilhelm von Scholten and Catharina Elisabeth de Moldrup.Bricka, Biografisk, 257

Career

As a young man, von Scholten joined the Danish army and in 1803 he was appointed

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

in a unit stationed in the West Indies. He was transported to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

when the British

occupied ' ( Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 Octobe ...

the Danish West Indies in 1807. Peter von Scholten married Anne Elisabeth Thortsen, daughter of Danish army captain Johan Thortsen, on October 31, 1810. Later, he had a career as an officer in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...

, first as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army unt ...

in the ''Det Sjællandske Jægerkorps'' (a Danish Jaeger or rifle regiment) in 1808, promoted to premier lieutenant in 1811, he reached the rank of

staff captain Staff captain is the English translation of a number of military ranks: Historical use of the rank Czechoslovakia In the Czechoslovak Army, until 1953, Staff Captain ( cs, štábní kapitán, sk, štábny kapitán) was a senior captain ran ...

in 1813. This ledhis becoming

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

for

Frederick VI of Denmark Frederick VI ( Danish and no, Frederik; 28 January 17683 December 1839) was King of Denmark from 13 March 1808 to 3 December 1839 and King of Norway from 13 March 1808 to 7 February 1814, making him the last king of Denmark–Norway. From 1784 ...

's general adjudant

Frants Cristopher Bülow Frants may refer to: * Frants Banner (died 1575), Danish landowner and lensmann *Frants Berg (1504–1591), Danish clergyman, Bishop of Oslo * Frants Beyer (1851–1918), Norwegian average adjuster, tax inspector and composer * Frants Diderik Bøe, ...

. He served in this role until 1814 when British occupation of the Danish West Indies ended, and he got his first official position on St. Thomas, as customs toller. Peter von Scholten 01

Peter von Scholten continued to advance in the Danish military, becoming

major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

in 1816,

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...

in 1820, commander of Dannebrog in 1828, and

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

in 1829. In 1827, he became acting governor general of St. Thomas. From 1835 to 1848, he served as governor general for all three islands, Saint Thomas, Saint Croix, and Saint John, giving him overall command of the islands. During this period he showed himself a patriarchal administrator trying to lighten the burden of the

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

and to restrain racial tensions. He did this by creating schools for the black population, as well as permitting them private ownership.Bricka, Biografisk, 258
Picture of ruins of Von Scholten school, St. Croix
) In spite of his relatively liberal attitudes, von Scholten was opposed to

Christian VIII of Denmark Christian VIII (18 September 1786 – 20 January 1848) was King of Denmark from 1839 to 1848 and, as Christian Frederick, King of Norway in 1814. Christian Frederick was the eldest son of Hereditary Prince Frederick, a younger son of King Frederi ...

's ruling that every child born of an unfree woman should be free from birth, as he felt that such an arrangement would cause discontent with serious consequences. When the new policy was brought into effect, he felt himself proven right as a slave rebellion broke out on St. Croix in 1848. Peter von Scholten responded by, on 3 July 1848, emancipating all slaves in the Danish West Indian Islands.

Late years in Denmark and Altona

Assistens Kirkegård - Peter vin Scholten

Shortly thereafter, von Scholten was called back to Denmark. There, a humiliating and hard trial was brought against him, and he was at first denied his pension, although he was later cleared of the charges and acquitted shortly before his death. Von Scholten was the last governor general of the West Indies because of the beginning

democratisation Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an authoritarian regime to a full ...

of the Danish state and colonial administration. Peter von Scholten died on 26 January 1854 in Altona,

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...

(present day Germany), leaving little to his heirs. He is buried in

Assistens Cemetery Assistens Cemetery ( da, Assistens Kirkegård) is the name of a number of cemeteries in Denmark. The common nominator is, as the first part of the name implies (Latin: ''assistens'' meaning assisting), an assisting cemetery for a town's churches. ...

, Copenhagen.

Personal life

During his early years on St. Thomas, Peter von Scholten enjoyed a wealthy lifestyle due to his position as customs officer during the surge in trade under the state of war between the nearby Spanish islands and the South American colonial insurgents. He later gained promotion to the position of Governor based on St. Croix. At this time, Peter von Scholten lived with Anna Heegaard (1790–1859), a woman of color. The consensus amongst modern scholars is that Anna Heegaard influenced von Scholten into a policy of more humane treatment of the black population. They bought the country house Bülowsminde. Peter Von Scholten's brother Frederik also served on the West Indian Islands. Belvedere (Klampenborg)!

Peter von Scholten married Anna Elizabeth (Lise) Thortsen in Copenhagen in 1810. The couple had three daughters. He owned a property at

Bredgade Bredgade ( lit. "Broad Street") is one of the most prominent streets in Copenhagen, Denmark. Running in a straight line from Kongens Nytorv for just under one kilometre to the intersection of Esplanaden and Grønningen, it is one of the major stre ...

45 in Copenhagen from 1831 to 1849. After his return to Denmark he acquired the country house

Belvedere Belvedere (from Italian, meaning "beautiful sight") may refer to: Places Australia *Belvedere, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region Africa * Belvedere (Casablanca), a neighborhood in Casablanca, Morocco * Belvedere, Harare, Z ...

Klampenborg Klampenborg is a northern suburb to Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located in Gentofte Municipality, directly on Øresund, between Taarbæk and Skovshoved. Like other neighbourhoods along the Øresund coast, Klampenborg is an affluent area with man ...

on the coast north of Copenhagen. Peter von Scholten is buried in

Cultural references

His fate has inspired several authors.IMDB: Peter von Scholten https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089803/ Peter von Scholten is portrayed in the Danish 1987 drama film ''

Peter von Scholten Peter Carl Frederik von Scholten (17 May 1784 – 26 January 1854) was Governor-General of the Danish West Indies from 1827 to 1848. Early life and education He was born in Vestervig, Thy, Denmark as the son of captain Casimir Wilhelm von Sch ...

''. Peter von Scholten is played by

Ole Ernst Ole Ernst Pedersen (16 May 1940 – 1 September 2013) was a Danish actor, active on stage, TV and film. He appeared in 95 films and television shows from 1967 to 2013. He starred in the 1983 film ''Der er et yndigt land'', which won an Honou ...

Bibliography

* ''C. F. Bricka'' (editor), Dansk biografisk Lexikon, first edition, 19 volumes, 1887–1905, Vol. XV. Online edition available: http://runeberg.org/dbl/15/ (pages 255 and 256. Numbered as 257 and 258 in the online edition).

References

another reference can also be the book by Thorkild Hansen about the Danish slave trade, the third volume(Slavernes Öer)

External links

On the Danish abolition of slavery: 3 sources by Von Scholten translated to French by French abolitionist Victor Schoelcher in 1843.
*
Édit du roi danois Christian VIII du 1er mai 1840
*
Ordonnance du gouverneur général des Antilles danoises du 7 mai 1838
*
Deux ordonnances locales signées par le gouverneur général danois Von Scholten entre 1828 et 1848
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scholten, Peter Von Danish generals Governors of the Danish West Indies 1784 births 1854 deaths People from Thisted Municipality 19th century in the Danish West Indies 19th-century Danish politicians Abolitionists