Why did Denmark sell the Virgin Islands to the U.S. but not Greenland?
Donald Trump wants the United States to own Greenland and has announced that he will impose new tariffs against eight European countries that oppose his request and have recently sent forces to this polar island.
The U.S. President insists that his country needs Greenland for "national security" reasons and has not ruled out the possibility of seizing it by force.
This is not the first time the U.S. has sought to annex territory belonging to Denmark.
More than a hundred years ago, far from the polar cold of Greenland and in the warmth of the Caribbean, the issue of transferring ownership of several small islands from Denmark to the United States was raised.
At that time, Washington also presented its strategic and defense reasons. However, unlike today, the Danes were in favor, and the final sale transaction was completed.
The issue of Greenland was also part of this agreement because in a contract signed by the two governments, Washington committed to respecting Denmark's control over Greenland.
This report narrates how the islands known as "Danish West Indies" became the "U.S. Virgin Islands" and how a declining European power ceded part of its overseas territories to a rising power at that time.
Where are the U.S. Virgin Islands?
The U.S. Virgin Islands is a small group of islands under U.S. sovereignty in the Caribbean Sea, east of Puerto Rico.
The main islands include St. John, St. Thomas, and St. Croix, but about fifty other small and large islands are also located in this area.
With a population of about 83,000, these islands are considered unincorporated territories of the United States.
The natives of these islands are U.S. citizens but do not have the right to vote in presidential elections.
These islands, located at the eastern mouth of the Caribbean Sea facing the Atlantic Ocean, are highly susceptible to severe storms and are surrounded by coral reefs.
Their economy is based on tourism, and three-quarters of the population of this region have African ancestry.
Why were the U.S. Virgin Islands once owned by Denmark?
These islands were known for centuries as the "Danish West Indies."
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Spanish, English, French, and Dutch periodically competed for control of these islands, which often served as a haven for Caribbean pirates.
In 1684, Denmark took control of St. John and declared its sovereignty over the island. Shortly before that, it had done the same with St. Thomas.
The Danes then began to establish large sugar plantations on these islands, exploiting slaves brought by European traders from Africa.
The sugar trade was the factor that maintained the connection between these islands and Danish immigrants benefiting from its wealth with the mainland Denmark for centuries.
Remnants of that era can still be seen in the names of some towns, such as Christiansted and Frederiksted, named in honor of the Danish kings of that time.
Why was the U.S. interested in acquiring the Virgin Islands?
In the second half of the 19th century, the situation began to change.
Denmark's power was declining, and the United States, after the Civil War (1861–1865), believed it needed to solidify its dominance over the American continent and end the influence of old European powers.
Political leaders in Washington focused on territorial expansion and strengthening the country's navy within the framework of the "Monroe Doctrine," which had been proposed in the 1820s.
Danish historian Hans Christian Berg wrote in an article: "After the Civil War, it was time to reassess the strategic conditions in the Caribbean, and W.H. Seward, the U.S. Secretary of State, was focused on both the annexation of Mexico and the possibility of expanding American influence in the Caribbean."
For American strategists, the port of St. Thomas Island held special significance. Today, this port is where large cruise ships filled with tourists dock, but due to its unique geographical position and natural harbor, it was considered an ideal base for dominance over the Caribbean.
In Denmark, with the falling sugar prices, these islands gradually came to be seen as an economic burden on the government, a situation exacerbated by the ongoing rebellions of the black slaves working on the plantations.
According to Hans Christian Berg, "For the Danes, it was primarily an economic issue."
Thus, the two governments began negotiations for a possible sale of the islands, and in 1867, a preliminary agreement was signed under which the United States would acquire the islands for the equivalent of $7.5 million in gold.
However, the first attempt to finalize this deal did not succeed.
In 1868, Washington finalized the purchase of another territory in the Arctic, namely Alaska, a territory bought from Imperial Russia for about seven million dollars, and William Seward's initiative in this deal faced criticism and even ridicule from those in America who viewed Alaska as merely a piece of frozen land with no economic or strategic value.
The controversies surrounding the purchase of Alaska ultimately led Congress to not approve the treaty for the purchase of the "Danish West Indies."
World War I and the Purchase of the U.S. Virgin Islands
World War I (1914–1918) ultimately determined the fate of these islands in favor of the U.S.
Europe was engaged in a long and exhausting war, and the Allies hoped the U.S. would join them in the war to defeat Germany and its allies.
Woodrow Wilson, the then U.S. President, had been unable to convince Congress and public opinion to enter the war, but the anger caused by German submarines attacking American commercial and even passenger ships turned the tide.
Astrid Andersen from the Danish Institute for International Studies told BBC Mundo: "Denmark was neutral in the war, and Washington's concern was that Germany could attack Denmark and thus gain control of the islands and the port of St. Thomas."
If these islands fell into German hands, they could become an ideal ambush point for submarines to attack ships or even the U.S. mainland; a situation that was the worst nightmare for Washington strategists.
With Spain expelled from Cuba and Puerto Rico in the 1898 war, these islands were among the few remnants of European presence in the Caribbean, and the construction of the Panama Canal in 1914 further increased American interest in the region and the security of its maritime routes.
In such circumstances, Washington and Copenhagen began negotiations that, according to Andersen, bore similarities to Trump's current approach to Greenland.
Mr. Andersen states: "There were similarities to what we hear now because the U.S. was practically saying: either you sell or we occupy."
Finally, in August 1916, the two countries agreed to sell these islands to the United States for $25 million in gold, an amount that Bloomberg estimates is equivalent to about $630 million today.
As part of this agreement, the U.S. committed not to oppose "the expansion of Denmark's political and economic interests throughout Greenland"; a matter that the Trump administration may not wish to recall.
This time, the signed agreement was ratified in both countries, and the Danes voted in a referendum in favor of selling the islands by a majority.
According to Mr. Andersen, "In fact, the majority of Danes did not consider those islands part of Denmark."
This historian recalls that neither in that deal nor in the previous attempt was the local population of the islands given a say.
Finally, on March 31, 1917, during an official ceremony, the U.S. flag was raised for the first time over the government buildings of these islands.
At that ceremony, the Danish honor guard lowered their flag for the last time and took it away forever.
This is probably the scene that Donald Trump, over a hundred years later, dreams of repeating in Greenland.
But the problem is that this time Denmark does not intend to sell.