Danish colonization of the Americas: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 17:51, 6 September 2003

Revision as of 02:11, 26 February 2004

Line 1:

{{msg:euromericas}}

Explorers and settlers from [[Denmark]] took possession of the Danish [[Virgin Islands]] which Denmark later sold to the [[United States]]. Beginning in 1721, they also founded colonies in [[Greenland]], which is now a self-governing part of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Denmark started a colony on [[St Thomas]] in 1671, [[Saint John, United States Virgin Islands|St John]] in 1718 and purchased [[Saint Croix]] from France in 1733. During the [[18th century]], the [[Virgin Islands]] in the [[Caribbean Sea]] were divided into two territorial units, one English and the other Danish. Sugar cane, produced by slave labor, drove the islands' economy during the [[18th century|18th]] and early [[19th century|19th centuries]]. They were also used as a base for pirates. In [[1917]], the US purchased the islands which had been in economic decline since the abolition of slavery in [[1848]].

''See also [[European colonization of the Americas]],:'' [[U.S. Virgin Islands]], [[Greenland]].