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Caribbean Journal of Education

Education for Slaves in the Danish Virgin Islands: 1732-1846

Authors: 
Pages: 
1-45
Publication Date: 
April 1987
Issue: 
Abstract: 

On 16 May 1841, some seven years before emancipation in the Danish Virgin Islands of St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John, the first school for slave children was officially opened on the St. Croix plantation of La Grande Princess. It was one of 17 such projected schools — 8 in St. Croix, 5 in St. Thomas and 4 in St. John — built from capital funds provided by the crown, with recurrent costs for staffing and maintenance borne by local taxation. The occasion was marked with flourishes of congratulatory oratory from Bishop Coleridge, the Anglican Bishop of Barbados, and the Roman Catholic Bishop of Trinidad, Rt. Rev. McDonnel. They both expressed high praise for what they saw as a remarkably humane achievement.
 

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