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Virgin Islands History: Repression and Rebellion- The St. John Slave Insurrection of 1733
By Aesha Duval, Virgin Islands Branch Librarian

Sugar and trade transformed the economy of the Danish West Indies (Virgin Islands) due in a large part to African slave labor. William Boyer wrote in America’s Virgin Islands – A History of Human Rights and Wrongs, that after the use of indigenous people as slaves and the indentured servitude of white Europeans both failed, the foundation for the African slave system was laid. African slave labor was cheaper; the cost of an indentured servant’s service for ten years could buy an African for life, along with their offspring.
A rigid social caste system existed in the Virgin Islands with distinctions between the higher status native-born slaves and the lower class African-born slaves. St. Croix and St. John were predominantly comprised of sugar plantations, and on these islands the laborers were mostly field slaves who worked under the most arduous conditions from sunrise to sunset. According to the slave hierarchy that existed, at the top were the house servants and domestics, followed by skilled artisans whose numbers increased on St. Thomas as commerce and trade replaced agriculture on the island. At the bottom of the hierarchy were the field slaves. Regardless of their work and status, the slaves in the Virgin Islands were chattel property and could be bought and sold and even exchanged for payment of debts.

Sugar Mill in St. Croix. Source: National Archives Denmark

Aside from the extremely restricted opportunity of being given their freedom through unlikely generosity of their masters, the only ways of escape open for the slaves of the Virgin Islands were through suicide, which was not unusual, through escape, which was frequent, or through armed uprising, which was very rare. One of the most famous West Indian slave rebellions was the revolt in St. John in 1733, occurring soon after new brutal and oppressive slave codes, still considered the most barbarous and unparalleled in human history, were promulgated by the Danish government. Also, with several other conditions occurring at the time – famine, devastating hurricanes, illness, and plague -- St. John was ripe for rebellion.

Map of Coral Bay, 1720. Source: National Archives Denmark
At the time there were 208 whites and 1,087 slaves distributed among the 109 plantations on St. John and most of those slaves recently arrived from Africa.  Some were Akwamu, a warrior African tribe that was dominant in the West African region (Ghana). The Akwamu slaves on St. John were nobles, wealthy merchants, and powerful warriors, accustomed to large commands and being slave-owners themselves. Leading the rebel slaves was Breffu, an Akwamu woman who was enslaved at a plantation owned by Pieter Kroyer and lived in Coral Bay.

Breffu was an Akwamu leader of the 1733 slave insurrection on St. John (then known as St. Jan) in Danish West Indies. Source: www.blackpast.org

Faced with starvation, the brutal slave codes were the last straw for the slaves on St. John and after careful planning, they took over the island’s only fort and began a nearly eight-month long insurrection and island-wide uprising.
The rebellion began on November 23, 1733, when a small group of slaves used smuggled weapons to kill several Danish soldiers at Estate Fortsberg in Coral Bay. They fired canons as a signal and the slaves on other plantations also revolted. Upon hearing the signal, Breffu entered the main house and killed both Kroyer and his wife. About fifty plantations were destroyed and the rebels soon controlled almost the entire island. Historians say that the leaders of the insurrection did not seek to destroy the plantations as they planned to take over their operations.
Only after French forces were brought in from Martinique to find and destroy the rebels in August 1734, did the last remnant of unarmed slaves surrender, under the promise of a free pardon, and were tortured and executed. Those who did not surrender and were not killed, committed suicide. Breffu and 23 other Akwamu rebels took their own lives in ritual suicide to prevent being captured. In many accounts of this rebellion, the French military and slave owners were shocked at the revelation that the uprising was led by a woman. Breffu is popularly called the “Queen of St. John.”
The insurrection caused many St. John plantation owners to move to St. Croix, which Denmark had purchased in 1733 from France. It took 114 more years for slavery to be abolished in the Danish West Indies. The 1733 rebellion is commemorated each November 23 on Virgin Islands Freedom Fighters Day. A historic walking tour of Fortsberg is also held each November.
The St. John Insurrection of 1733 remains one of the singular most important events in the history of the New World. It was one of the earliest and most successful revolts of enslaved people in the Americas and predated the Haitian, French and American revolutions.

Resources
Boyer, William W. (2010). America’s Virgin Islands – A History of Human Rights and Wrongs, 2d ed.
Krigger, M. (2017). Race relations in the U.S. Virgin Islands, St. Thomas—A Centennial Retrospective. Carolina Academic Press.

In The News
Recent articles about the courts and people in the Third Circuit. For more about this weekly service, click here

Reminder--Diversity Speaks: Distinguished Speaker Series featuring the Hon. Joseph A. Greenaway Jr. Monday March 14 4:00-5:00PM
Diversity Speaks is one of Seton Hall Law School’s signature events of the year. The Diversity Speaks distinguished speaker is a leader who prioritizes the principles of equity and inclusion in their work. The lecture series was established in 2008 and is part of the Law School’s overall effort to promote a diverse and inclusive academic environment.

Monday March 14, 2022

Seton Hall Law School's
Larson Auditorium, Newark, New Jersey.
Registration required

Courts, Community and Rule of Law Committee Middle School Essay Contest

The Courts, Community, and Rule of Law Committee of the Judicial Council of the Third Circuit announced in January that it is hosting an essay contest for 5th and 6th grade classes focused on civics, citizenship, and the concept of the “Rule of
Law.” The essay prompt is: “What does the Rule of Law mean to you and to our country?”

Copewood Middle School in Camden, New Jersey has been learning to write about the rule of law from Matthew Tom, Judicial Law Clerk for the Hon. Marjorie Rendell, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Matthew Tom, a lawyer and writing coach, has been assisting the students with the entries to the competition.  Tom  and Judge Rendell are featured in a  recent 6ABC interview.  "We as courts are a positive force. We are there to help people," said Judge Marjorie Rendell. "And we think getting in the community and promoting an understanding of what we do is really important."  The due date to submit essays has been extended to March 31, 2022. Visit the Third Circuit website for more information on the Rule of Law Essay Contest.

Website of the Week

ProQuest Regulatory Insight offers U.S. federal administrative law histories beginning in 1936 organized by federal statutes and Executive Order. Regulatory histories associated with a public law are compiled from Federal Register (FR) notices, proposed rules, and rules representing the complete rulemaking process associated with specific Public Laws or Executive Orders. All rulemaking FR articles published following the date of enactment of a law are included in a regulatory history, as well as any other articles associated with said rulemaking. Search by Number using: CFR Citation, Public Law Number, Statutes at Large Citation, U.S. Code Citation, Regulation Identifier Number (RIN) or Agency Docket Number. The “search within” function allows the user to limit content to notices, proposed rules and final rules.

Off the Shelf

“Because of Sex”: The Supreme Court, Federal Sex Discrimination Law, and Best Practices for Protecting LGBTQ Workers
By: James D. Esseks 

Available in PLI Plus. 

Tables of contents:

Program Schedule  

Faculty Bios

1. Bostock’s Impact: Recent Policy and Litigation Developments, PLI Chronicle: Insights and Perspectives for the Legal Community (March 2021)
  James D. Esseks
ACLU Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & HIV Project
Nonnie L. Shivers
Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.
Julie Wilensky
National Center for Lesbian Rights
 

2. “Because of Sex”: The Supreme Court, Federal Sex Discrimination Law, and Best Practices for Protecting LGBTQ Workers (PowerPoint slides)
  James D. Esseks
ACLU Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & HIV Project
Nonnie L. Shivers
Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.
Julie Wilensky
National Center for Lesbian Rights

Index

Precedential Opinions
From the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit are available here.