Interpreting Slavery from Urban Spaces: African Diaspora Archaeology and the Christiansted National Historic Site

Summary

The Christiansted National Historic Site in the US Virgin Islands has served as a landmark site documenting the history of African Diaspora and Danish occupation in St. Croix from 1733-1917. Three archaeological projects surrounding the Danish West India and Guinea Company Warehouse have uncovered a wealth of cultural resources that have lasting implications for the largely Afro-Caribbean descendent Crucian community and for future interpretations of urban slavery in Caribbean contexts. Following a stump removal, exposing the remains of a Danish military stock warehouse containing 3,186 artifacts, two excavations conducted in the courtyard of the park recovered over 2,000 artifacts and the approximate location of the royal slave quarters within the warehouse. These new projects have brought into focus the importance of the enslaved Afro-Caribbean peoples that lived within this site, but have also revived local interest in investigating the story behind a multicultural society almost 300 years in the making. 

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• New Considerations in African Diaspora Material Culture and Heritage   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2016

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 405