Emancipation Monument - Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, USVI
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 18° 20.481 W 064° 55.838
20Q E 295984 N 2029033
A monument commemorating the 150th anniversary of the emancipation of slaves in the Danish West Indies is located in the northwest part of Emancipation Gardens in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, USVI
Waymark Code: WMHKK0
Location: US Virgin Islands
Date Posted: 07/20/2013
Views: 11
In 1847, King Christian VIII of Denmark decreed that all Danish West Indian slaves were to be free within 12 years. In the duration any children that were born would be born free. There was great dissatisfaction with the 12 year period. This led, in 1848, to a successful slave revolt.
The revolt began on the island of St. Croix on July 2, 1848 under the leadership of Moses Buddhoe Gottlieb. As a result, The Governor-General Peter Von Scholten issued an Emancipation Proclamation on July 3, 1848.
A 7' high monument in the Emancipation Gardens consists of a 5' high square marble base supporting the bronze figure of a former slave, shown from the waist up, celebrating by blowing through a conch shell held in his right hand while holding a cane knife in his left hand high over his head. The bust was sculpted by Bright Bimpong and dated May 1998.
The front of the marble base contains a plaque with a bronze plaque with the name of the sculpture FREEDOM. The back of the base contains a bronze plaque which is inscribed:
ST. THOMAS
EMANCIPATION 150
1848-1998
The Danish West Indies were purchased by the United States on January 17, 1917 and are now called the United States Virgin Islands.