The
Brandenburg
Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 sq ...
colony of St. Thomas consisted of a leased part of the
Danish island of
St. Thomas (today part of the
United States Virgin Islands
The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...
) to the
Brandenburg-Prussia margraviate of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
from 1685 to 1754.
History
In the 17th century, the
Margraviate of Brandenburg
The Margraviate of Brandenburg (german: link=no, Markgrafschaft Brandenburg) was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe.
Brandenburg developed out ...
had several African colonies, including
Brandenburger Gold Coast (''Groß Friedrichsburg'') and
Arguin
Arguin ( ar, أرغين, pt, Arguim) is an island off the western coast of Mauritania in the Bay of Arguin. It is approximately in size, with extensive and dangerous reefs around it. The island is now part of the Banc d'Arguin National Park.
H ...
, which were involved in the
slave trade
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 ...
. In order to support this business, Brandenburg needed a base in the Caribbean. For this reason, the
Brandenburg Navy __NOTOC__
The Brandenburg Navy was the navy of the Margraviate of Brandenburg in Germany from the 16th century to 1701, when it became part of the Prussian Navy.
The navy was originally assembled as the Hohenzollern rulers of Brandenburg began to ...
-General Director Benjamin Raule signed a rental agreement with the
Danish West India Company on November 24, 1685. The agreement included a portion of the Danish
Antilles
The Antilles (; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy; es, Antillas; french: Antilles; nl, Antillen; ht, Antiy; pap, Antias; Jamaican Patois: ''Antiliiz'') is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mex ...
island of St. Thomas, which had belonged to Denmark since 1666. The ownership of the island would belong to the Danish King, but Brandenburg was granted the right to use the land. In 1693 the Brandenburg section of Saint Thomas was seized by the Danes without any resistance or repayment. With the end of the Brandenburg African colonies (they were sold to the Dutch, Groß Friedrichsburg in 1718 and Arguin in 1721) there was no need to maintain a presence in Saint Thomas and the town completely passed from Brandenburg control.
Slave trade
The agreement between Brandenburg and the Danish West India Company included a number of sections on trade, primarily on slaves. They agreed that for 30 years a limited free trade (mostly on slaves) would apply. After the 30-year period, the price of a slave could not exceed 60
taler. For each imported slave, the Danes would receive 1% and for each exported slave 2% of the purchase price. If Brandenburg had an excess number of slaves, the Danes agreed to buy 100 slaves per year at a fixed price of 80 Taler. Finally, Brandenburg and the Danes agreed to work together on slaving expeditions to the
Slave Coast. During the Brandenburg presence in Saint Thomas, some of the largest slave auctions in the world were held on the island.
Facts about St. Thomas
/ref>
See also
* German colonization of the Americas
German attempts at the colonization of the Americas consisted of German Venezuela (german: Klein-Venedig, also german: Welser-Kolonie), St. Thomas and Crab Island in the 16th and 17th centuries.
History
Klein-Venedig
''Klein-Venedig'' ( ...
** German interest in the Caribbean German interest in the Caribbean involved a series of unsuccessful proposals made by the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) during the late-nineteenth century to establish a coaling station somewhere in the Caribbean. The German Empire (fo ...
* German colonial projects before 1871
When the German Empire came into existence in 1871, none of its constituent states had any overseas colonies. Only after the Berlin Conference in 1884 did Germany begin to acquire new overseas possessions, but it had a much longer relationship ...
References
* Hermann Kellenbenz: ''Die Brandenburger auf St. Thomas'', in: Jahrbuch für Geschichte von Staat, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft Lateinamerikas 2 (1965), S. 196–217
* Ulrich van der Heyden: ''Rote Adler an Afrikas Küste. Die brandenburgisch-preußische Kolonie Großfriedrichsburg in Westafrika''. berlin: Selignow-Verlag 2001,
{{Caribbean topics, state=collapsed
Former German colonies
Danish West Indies
African slave trade
17th century in the Danish West Indies
Brandenburg-Prussia
Overseas empires