About the archives

The three islands of St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. Jan (now St. John) were a Danish colony under the name Danish West Indies for 250 years, until the end of March 1917. Uniquely, a large number of archival materials—including registers, documents, and illustrations—have been preserved both on and off the three islands. These documents offer a rare insight into the history of the West Indian slave society as a sugar-producing colony.

The colonial archives represent an invaluable resource for today’s Virgin Islands community and for Denmark, as well as for all descendants whose ancestors were enslaved, settlers, or members of the ruling elite on the islands or in Denmark.

Furthermore, the archives are unique in the context of international research on the history of slavery and Atlantic slave societies—both from the perspective of the enslaved and the colonial powers.

These archival materials are of great significance for the local population’s access to their history and for Danes’ understanding of conditions during the colonial era. The archives offer a special opportunity to explore property ownership and everyday life in the Caribbean colony during the latter part of the colonial period. In particular, the police and court records—due to their detailed content—provide new information about the treatment, conditions, and lives of the enslaved, as well as their relationships with the rest of the population.

When Denmark transferred the Danish West Indies to the United States in 1917, several important archival records remained on the islands for continued administrative use. Most of these were transferred to the U.S. National Archives in Washington (NARA) in 1936–37, while a smaller portion remained in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The total volume of DWI (Danish West Indies) archives amounts to at least 1.24 linear miles of shelving - or two kilometers - and they are spread across multiple locations.

The Danish National Archives (Rigsarkivet) holds by far the largest collection, approximately 1 mile.

In connection with the 2017 centennial marking the transfer of the islands to the United States, the Danish National Archives digitized almost all its holdings related to the USVI. This includes more than 8 million pages, which are now freely accessible online.

A catalogue of the contents with direct links to the digitized materials is available here:
https://en.rigsarkivet.dk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Registratur-Dansk-Vestindien.pdf

The U.S. National Archives (NARA) holds about 0,25 mile of DWI archives, primarily from the local government and its departments and institutions.

NARA has created a finding aid for this material, categorized as Record Group 55:
https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/055.html#55.1

In U.S. Virgin Islands, about 0,12 mile  of records remain.

The archival records held by the Danish National Archives were transported to Denmark gradually, and a large portion was brought to Denmark after the sale in 1917.
The remainder was left on the islands, primarily concerning the judicial and property systems, which were essential for continued local administration. For example: The police court protocols from the Christiansted jurisdiction from 1756–1841 are located at the Danish National Archives. The protocols from 1841–1918, a total of 83 volumes, many up to 500 pages each are on St. Thomas.

A small portion of these protocols is held at NARA, which received some materials in the 1930s and 1950s, including volumes related to the 1848 emancipation.

In addition, the land registration offices on St. Thomas and St. Croix hold many property-related records, such as real estate registers and deed and mortgage books.
Since the islands were Danish for 250 years, the archival structure follows the Danish system, making it relatively straightforward for Danish researchers to interpret and navigate the real estate records.