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The Treaty of the Danish West Indies of 1879
Treaty of the Danish West Indies of 1879
Since the end of the slavery in 1848 the Danish West Indies had been a drain on the Danish Treasury. With every passing year it was becoming clear to Copenhagen that the economy of the Danish West Indies wouldn’t improve. In the peace talks to end Second Schleswig War, they were offered up to the victorious Prussians and Austrians as a possible answer to allow them to Duchies of Schleswig, Holstein, and Lauenburg. The problem that the Prussians and Austrians didn’t want them. By the mid-1860s Copenhagen came to the decision to try and sell their colony in the Caribbean for money to improve their economy at home.
For the Danish however there were a problem, a lack of buyers. The British weren’t interested in buying them as their own Caribbean islands weren’t profitable and they didn’t want more unprofitable colonies than they already had. The French under Napoleon III did have some interest in buying the colony from the Danish. They however decided again buying them as Napoleon wanted to improve his relations with the Americans in the aftermath of his adventure in Mexico during their civil war. None of the other European powers were in a position to buy the colony from the Danish for a host of reasons.
This left the United States and they were interested in buying the Danish colony as they viewed it as a way to help give the Freemen a way to make their own way forward in the aftermath of the civil war. The talks quickly became serious and led to a treaty being drawn up in 1867. For a sum of 7.5 million US Dollars the colony would become an American territory. The treaty through ratified by the Danish, but failed to get through the US Senate. The treaty failed there for a number of reasons, notably that President Andrew Johnson was in a major political feud with Congress that would lead to his impeachment and worries about how often the islands were hit by hurricanes. Because of this the treaty lapsed without ever coming to a vote.
Following the treaty lapsing on the floor of the US Senate in 1867 the Danish were really just stuck with their Caribbean colony. With their lack of buyers they gave up trying to actively sell their colony. Then the Spanish American War happened a short time later. Following their victory in the war the United States started to look to secure their new positions within the Caribbean and the Danish West Indies were a short stone throw from their new territory in Puerto Rico. Yet President Grant and his cabinet through briefly shown an interest in buying their colony the Danish were once again let down shortly after talks started when the US withdrew their team. The US had far more pressing matters in 1876-77 in Cuba and the election that happened in 1876.
This time through the US didn’t stay gone long. As the dust settled in Cuba and President Benjamin Bristow deal with the redeemers interest by the United States to buy the Danish Colony return. In 1879 the US once again inquired if the Danish were interest in selling their Caribbean Colony. The talks started soon after this inquiry. Using the 1867 treaty as the basics for their talks things moved very quickly. Within three months an agreement had been reached which was largely a copy of the 1867 Treaty, just the US paying a further half a million dollars than they would had in 1867 for a total of 8 million dollars.
With new treaty in hand things when to getting it through the ratification process. For the Danish this wasn’t a challenge. On the other hand this proved to be a challenge for Bristow Administration to get this treaty out of the Senate. The question of how prone the islands were to hurricanes was one of the main sticking points once again. Further some were pointing out the US had brought Russian Alaska which was far larger than the Danish West Indies for 800,000 dollars less in 1867 which was a stumbling block. Bristow unlike Johnson didn’t have a standing feud with Congress and was well liked by many in the Northern States and South Carolina. When the treaty finally came to a vote on the Senate floor after over three months of debate on the subject it passed by a single vote.
Under the terms of the treaty the United States would take possession of the Danish West Indies six months following ratification. This happened on March 18 1880. In the harbor of Charlotte Amalie on that day was one of the side effects of the Spanish-American War, the USS Maine ACR-1, the first armored cruiser of the United States Navy. In the aftermath of the war with Spain the United States wanted to make what happened at New Orleans would never happen again. As such they started to invest money into upgrading their coast defensives and along with their navy. The Maine was a newly commissioned ship that was on its way to the west coast and it had been decided on the cruise to stop here to formally take over the islands.
Between the US buying the Danish West Indies, them defeating the Spain, and increasing their navy had some in Europe, notably London starting to view the US in a different light.
Since the end of the slavery in 1848 the Danish West Indies had been a drain on the Danish Treasury. With every passing year it was becoming clear to Copenhagen that the economy of the Danish West Indies wouldn’t improve. In the peace talks to end Second Schleswig War, they were offered up to the victorious Prussians and Austrians as a possible answer to allow them to Duchies of Schleswig, Holstein, and Lauenburg. The problem that the Prussians and Austrians didn’t want them. By the mid-1860s Copenhagen came to the decision to try and sell their colony in the Caribbean for money to improve their economy at home.
For the Danish however there were a problem, a lack of buyers. The British weren’t interested in buying them as their own Caribbean islands weren’t profitable and they didn’t want more unprofitable colonies than they already had. The French under Napoleon III did have some interest in buying the colony from the Danish. They however decided again buying them as Napoleon wanted to improve his relations with the Americans in the aftermath of his adventure in Mexico during their civil war. None of the other European powers were in a position to buy the colony from the Danish for a host of reasons.
This left the United States and they were interested in buying the Danish colony as they viewed it as a way to help give the Freemen a way to make their own way forward in the aftermath of the civil war. The talks quickly became serious and led to a treaty being drawn up in 1867. For a sum of 7.5 million US Dollars the colony would become an American territory. The treaty through ratified by the Danish, but failed to get through the US Senate. The treaty failed there for a number of reasons, notably that President Andrew Johnson was in a major political feud with Congress that would lead to his impeachment and worries about how often the islands were hit by hurricanes. Because of this the treaty lapsed without ever coming to a vote.
Following the treaty lapsing on the floor of the US Senate in 1867 the Danish were really just stuck with their Caribbean colony. With their lack of buyers they gave up trying to actively sell their colony. Then the Spanish American War happened a short time later. Following their victory in the war the United States started to look to secure their new positions within the Caribbean and the Danish West Indies were a short stone throw from their new territory in Puerto Rico. Yet President Grant and his cabinet through briefly shown an interest in buying their colony the Danish were once again let down shortly after talks started when the US withdrew their team. The US had far more pressing matters in 1876-77 in Cuba and the election that happened in 1876.
This time through the US didn’t stay gone long. As the dust settled in Cuba and President Benjamin Bristow deal with the redeemers interest by the United States to buy the Danish Colony return. In 1879 the US once again inquired if the Danish were interest in selling their Caribbean Colony. The talks started soon after this inquiry. Using the 1867 treaty as the basics for their talks things moved very quickly. Within three months an agreement had been reached which was largely a copy of the 1867 Treaty, just the US paying a further half a million dollars than they would had in 1867 for a total of 8 million dollars.
With new treaty in hand things when to getting it through the ratification process. For the Danish this wasn’t a challenge. On the other hand this proved to be a challenge for Bristow Administration to get this treaty out of the Senate. The question of how prone the islands were to hurricanes was one of the main sticking points once again. Further some were pointing out the US had brought Russian Alaska which was far larger than the Danish West Indies for 800,000 dollars less in 1867 which was a stumbling block. Bristow unlike Johnson didn’t have a standing feud with Congress and was well liked by many in the Northern States and South Carolina. When the treaty finally came to a vote on the Senate floor after over three months of debate on the subject it passed by a single vote.
Under the terms of the treaty the United States would take possession of the Danish West Indies six months following ratification. This happened on March 18 1880. In the harbor of Charlotte Amalie on that day was one of the side effects of the Spanish-American War, the USS Maine ACR-1, the first armored cruiser of the United States Navy. In the aftermath of the war with Spain the United States wanted to make what happened at New Orleans would never happen again. As such they started to invest money into upgrading their coast defensives and along with their navy. The Maine was a newly commissioned ship that was on its way to the west coast and it had been decided on the cruise to stop here to formally take over the islands.
Between the US buying the Danish West Indies, them defeating the Spain, and increasing their navy had some in Europe, notably London starting to view the US in a different light.
- Jim Smitty
- Word Count: 920