177 Years Ago: The Emancipation Rebellion of St. Croix
On July 3rd, 1848, the enslaved people of St. Croix, a Danish colony at the time, forced the end of slavery through their own collective action. This pivotal moment in history was not the result of a royal decree or legislative reform but a movement led by ordinary people—enslaved workers, free laborers, artisans, and organizers—who took their freedom into their own hands.
At the center of the rebellion was Moses Gottlieb, better known as General Buddhoe. Born into slavery around 1820 on the La Grange Estate, Buddhoe worked as a sugar boiler—a skilled and dangerous position. His mobility, education, and determination allowed him to quietly build a network of allies, including free Black sailors, artisans, and trusted laborers across the island. One of his closest collaborators was Martin “Admiral” King, a free man who used his status to help plan the revolt.
The rebellion began on the night of July 2nd, 1848. By sunrise on July 3rd, thousands of people—men, women, and children—had left the plantations, setting cane fields ablaze and marching toward Frederiksted. An estimated 8,000 to 9,000 people surrounded Fort Frederik, where Governor-General Peter von Scholten and approximately 200 troops were stationed. The crowd issued an ultimatum: free them by noon, or the town and fort would be destroyed.
By 3 p.m., Governor von Scholten stepped onto the ramparts of Fort Frederik and declared, “All unfree in the Danish West Indies are from today free.” This proclamation ended slavery across St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John without a single shot fired in Frederiksted. However, the story was different in Christiansted, where violence erupted at Fort Christiansværn. A small garrison attacked and killed those rising up in what is now known as the Bassin Triangle, a tragic chapter often omitted from the broader narrative of the rebellion.
In the aftermath, General Buddhoe was arrested and exiled, disappearing from the historical record after being sent to Trinidad and later New York. Governor von Scholten resigned under political pressure and was court-martialed in Denmark for exceeding his authority, though he was eventually acquitted. The formerly enslaved people, while free in name, faced poor wages, no land redistribution, and were often forced into contract labor agreements that bound them back to the plantations.
The conditions of inequality persisted until 1878, when the working class, led by women remembered today as the Four Queens of Fireburn, rose up again in another significant chapter of Virgin Islands history.
What happened on July 3rd, 1848, was a testament to the power of collective action. The enslaved people of St. Croix did not wait for permission or a royal decree; they freed themselves. This Emancipation Day, let us not only remember the end of slavery but also honor those who fought for their freedom and reflect on how we can carry their legacy forward.
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