From one ownership to another Historic Context
Christopher Columbus was the first European to visit St. Croix on November 1493, where he entered Salt River Bay. During the following century, St. Croix was under the control of various European powers until it came under the possession of the France Kingdom in 1650. In 1733 King Louis XIV ordered the French settlers to abandon St. Croix to strengthen the defense of Haiti. The Danish West India-Guinea Company (DWI&G) bought St. Croix along with the Virgin Islands St. Thomas and St. John in [årstal] for 164.000 Danish Rigsdaler. At that time, there were still traces of French settlements and plantations and they would soon form the towns of Frederiksted and Christiansted. Frederiksted was the site of an older French settlement while Christiansted was the site of an old plantation Grande Princess. Due to the natural harbor at Christiansted, the town had great potential for DWI&G Company as the long reef is almost surrounded the bay. In the following years, Christiansted outgrew Frederiksted and became the island’s “capital”. The brick Fort Christiansværn was built on top of an old French dirt ramparts in 1734 - 1749. With the support from two small bastions on Protestant Cay and cannons pointing directly at the opening of the reef the Danes had complete control of the harbor (Eilstrup, Boesgaard and Eilstrup, 1974).
Work at the harbor in Christiansted, St. Croix. http://www.kb.dk/da/nb/tema/dvi/index.html
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