Remembering Queen Mary: Heritage Conservation, Black People, Denmark, and St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands

ABSTRACT

On October 1, 1878, Afro-Crucian laborers on the Danish colonial Caribbean island of St. Croix launched a historic protest that resulted in extensive damage to the sugar industry. Known locally as “Fireburn,” this was a formative event in the relationship between Afro-Crucian people and plantation owners, who were mostly of European descent. Histories of Fireburn cite four women, Queen Mary, Queen Agnes, Queen Mathilda, and Susana Abramsen, as the uprising’s leaders. Fireburn, the Queens, and other forms of resistance continue to be sources of pride for Afro-Crucians and are part of Black heritage conservation efforts in St. Croix. Community-based archaeological work conducted by the Society of Black Archaeologists (SBA) dovetails with the ways Afro-Crucian heritage is created, maintained, and discussed by Afro-Crucian people, but contrasts with prevailing Danish narratives of history. This work has also found a home with anticolonialism scholars in Denmark working to create a more reparatory history.

KEYWORDS:

• Afro-Caribbean
• historical archaeology
• heritage conservation
• colonialism
• Denmark
• St. Croix
• Queen Mary
• African diaspora

Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge the generous people of St. Croix, U.S.V.I. who have received me and other scholars of the Society of Black Archaeologists with warmly welcoming arms. A special debt of gratitude is owed to Frandelle Gerard of Crucian Heritage and Nature Tourism (CHANT) and ChenziRa R. Davis-Kahina of the University of the Virgin Islands who have enlightened me to many of the cultural practices Afro-Crucian people used to build such a rich heritage on St. Croix. My colleagues at the Society of Black Archaeologists, Alicia Odewale, Ayana Flewellen, Alexandra Jones, and Justin Dunnavant, have a special place in my heart. Thank you for helping make this happen. A special thanks is also owed to the Nature Conservancy who granted permission to conduct archaeological research and the undergraduate students of the UC-HBCU program at Estate Little Princess who did all the heavy lifting. Finally, this work stems from a desire to honor Black ancestors worldwide, known and unknown, whose lives resulted in today’s African diaspora.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Archaeological Research Facility, University of California, Berkeley: [Grant Number Stahl Grant]; University of California: [Grant Number UC-HCBU Grant].

Notes on contributors

William A. White

Bill White is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, where he specializes in historical archaeology of the African diaspora, historic preservation, and community-based research.