Danish West Indies
Danish West Indies Dansk Vestindien | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1672–1917 | |||||||
| Status | Colony of Denmark–Norway (1672–1814) Colony of Denmark | ||||||
| Capital | Charlotte Amalie (1672–1754,1871–1917) Christiansted (1754–1871) | ||||||
| Common languages | Danish (official) English Virgin Islands Creole Negerhollands Other Languages | ||||||
| Governor-General | |||||||
• 1756–1766 | Christian Leberecht von Prøck (first) | ||||||
• 1916–1917 | Henri Konow (last) | ||||||
| History | |||||||
• Danish West India Company takes possession of Saint Thomas | 1672 | ||||||
| 1685–1754 | |||||||
• Saint John colonized and claimed | 1717–1718 | ||||||
• Danish West India Company purchases Saint Croix from French West India Company | 1733 | ||||||
| 31 March 1917 | |||||||
| Area | |||||||
| 400 km2 (150 sq mi) | |||||||
| Population | |||||||
• 1911 | 27,000 | ||||||
| Currency | Danish rigsdaler (until 1875) Rigsdaler (1754–1849) Daler (1849–1917) Latin Coin Union (from 1905) Danish krone (1875–1917) | ||||||
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| History of the United States Virgin Islands |
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| United States portal |
The Danish West Indies (Danish: Dansk Vestindien), also known as the Danish Virgin Islands (Danish: Danske Jomfruøer) or the Danish Antilles, were a Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas with 83 square kilometres (32 sq mi), Saint John (Danish: St. Jan) with 49 square kilometres (19 sq mi), Saint Croix with 220 square kilometres (85 sq mi), and Water Island.
Water Island was sold in 1905 to the Danish East Asiatic Company. The islands of St Thomas, St John, and St Croix were purchased by the United States in 1917 and became known as the United States Virgin Islands. Water Island was bought by the US Government in 1944, and became part of the US Virgin Islands in 1996.