Honoring In the world Ladies Big date and VI History Few days, the audience is highlighting around three fearless female in order to which the fresh new Territory owes a good higher obligations. There clearly was continue to work getting done, this is exactly why i review to achieve inspiration and you can reassurance about Virgin Islanders who possess gone before united states.

King Mary

Mary Thomas, labeled as King Mary, (california. 1848–1905) was one of many frontrunners of your own 1878 “Fireburn” work riot, otherwise uprising, to your isle of St. Croix.

Mary Thomas are away from Antigua and you will arrived in St. Croix regarding 1860s when planning on taking work on the brand new ranches from inside the new island. Adopting the 1848 emancipation out-of enslaved Africans on Danish Western Indies, an enthusiastic 1849 work rules repaired salaries and you may work criteria for all plantation professionals and you will prohibited negotiating having most useful earnings or really works standards. This produced plantation really works unappealing and many experts signed up to go out of the plantations as well as the islands, to get better conditions elsewhere. Government entities answered to the labor shortage by creating it harder to help you for pros to exit the hawaiian islands, demanding health licenses and you can asking charge to possess passports. Whenever wages was to end up being negotiated regarding the fall out of 1878, new workers’ requires was basically rejected, and this new severe conditions to have take a trip was basically imposed. It started new so-entitled Fireburn riots, which were called the premier labor riot in the Danish records, and you may where more than fifty plantations have been burned.

Because of her role as the a chief for the uprising elizabeth to be labeled as “Queen Mary”. The workers picked their and two other women, “Queen Agnes” and you can “Queen Matilda”, while the “queens” to do routine and celebratory qualities in the uprising. King Mary is arrested and you can attempted along with other leadership of one’s labor uprising. Within demo of labor leadership Thomas is actually sentenced to help you demise to have arson and you will looting however, got their unique phrase commuted so you’re able to existence imprisonment, and you can is transferred to Copenhagen and you will set from the Ladies’ Jail, Christianshavn when you look at the 1882, in 1887 try repaid so you can Christiansted, St. Croix to serve the rest of her phrase.

Anna Heegaard

Anna Heegaard remains an interesting contour in the Virgin Isles history. This woman is paid with boosting standards on the enslaved African and “Totally free Coloured” populace of one’s Danish West Indies throughout the nineteenth century once the a direct result their particular 20 season reference to the latest islands’ Governor Standard, Peter https://kissbrides.com/hr/blog/kako-zapoceti-razgovor-s-djevojkom/ von Scholten.

According to Encyclopedia of Antislavery & Abolition, “Heegard let me make it clear influenced the newest direction having court and you will public equality for totally free black colored folks throughout the Danish West Indies.” Heegaard grew up in St. Croix into the January regarding 1790 so you can unmarried moms and dads referred to as a “free mulatto lady” and you can a beneficial Danish Authorities clerk. She grew up along with her mom and you may 50 % of sisters into the Christiansted. Heegard relied on their particular wits and you can appeal to create liaisons with St. Croix’s wealthiest and you can effective guys, sooner or later crossing pathways toward Governor-General soon just after their coming in 1827. Of the the period, she had by herself end up being a somewhat prosperous woman.

Heegard and Governor-General first started fulfilling daily to talk about the new predicament of the 100 % free Colored inhabitants and you may this woman is considered have helped him get ready a list of personal reforms he presented to the fresh Danish King, who appointed a commission to learn and you will carry out the fresh laws and regulations to own societal fairness getting non-whites from the D.W.We. . Reforms toward “unfree” ultimately incorporated – a managed period of work-day, curtail from corporal discipline, forbidding out-of personal slave deals, a great reprieve to have pregnant women, business out-of universities and you will housing developments. Von Scholten as well as worked to lift traps at no cost black and you will colored somebody – establishing them in public places ranks and you will hosting racially included social services, to include their own dinner parties presided over because of the Heegard. It existed due to the fact man and you will partner for some regarding two ily inside the Denmark, and ultimately the pair compensated at the Bulows Minde House Home outside of Christiansted.