St. John to BVI, Running away to “Freedom”

In this activity students will analyze two primary sources, a police report dated 1830 from St. John, and a letter between the governors of the British Virgin Islands and the Danish West Indies. They will learn about enslaved people running away to quasi-freedom, from the Danish West Indies to Tortola.

Activity Type
Written Document
Historical Period:
Danish West Indies
Keywords
Protest
-
St. John

About

The Danish West Indian archives contain a vast amount of documentation about police matters, including correspondence, reports, and cases that demonstrate unrelenting resistance to enslavement, as well as actual crimes. Although most of it is rendered in the Danish gothic script, some of the correspondence, like these two letters, are written in English. These documents highlight the steady flight of enslaved St. Johnians to neighboring Tortola, where, starting in 1825 they, as "fugitive slaves", could become quasi-free in accordance with British Government policy and regulations. The abolition of slavery in the British Virgin Islands occurred on August 1, 1834.

Primary Sources in this Activity

Item:
Police Report of Runaway Enslaved Person From St. John to BVI, 1830
Author / Artist:
John Hodge
Date:
2023
Source:
The Danish National Archives (Rigsarkivet)
View Primary Source
Item:
Letter from George R. Porter, Governor on Tortola, to Johannes Søbøtker, Governor on St. Thomas
Author / Artist:
George R. Porter
Date:
2023
Source:
The Danish National Archives (Rigsarkivet)
View Primary Source

Suggested Teaching Instructions

This primary source activity includes the topic of slavery. Viewed as a sensitive topic for classroom lessons, teachers should consider their students ability to engage with the topic, give background information, create a safe environment for discussion, and be prepared to support their students’ questions and responses to the subject matter. Additionally, there are terms used in the primary sources that describe race and people that are not acceptable to use today. These terms should be discussed prior to looking at the primary sources with students.

This activity includes the analysis of two primary sources, and may be most appropriate for 11th and 12th grade. This activity may require multiple class sessions to complete, looking at one primary source a day, in sequence.

The teacher can share with students the background information found in the About section related to this activity. Discuss the meaning of fugitive and quasi-free with students as needed.

Load each primary source on the smart board for students to examine and analyze. If a smart board is not available, load the primary sources on computers.

Analyze the Primary Source

Questions from primary source analysis worksheets for a written document were included directly in the classroom discussion section of this activity. A teacher can however edit the activity and have students complete the worksheets independently or work as a class directly from the worksheets. Primary Source Analysis Worksheets

Class Discussion

This is a class activity. Load the police report on the smart board and have students take a few minutes to examine and read it. They can read it individually or the teacher can ask for volunteers to read it out loud. It is in English but in gothic script. It may take some careful reading to identify the words. A zoom feature is available if needed.

Ask students:
What type of document is this?
Who wrote it?
When is it from?
Where is it from?
What is it talking about?
Ask for a student to summarize the document as if they were explaining it to someone else that had not seen it themselves.
Why was it written?
Did you learn anything from this document that you have not learned anywhere else?
What other documents could you use to help you understand this document?

Ask students to consider the dates of events being examined in order to better understand why “Freedom” is in quotation marks and the background information refers to quasi-freedom. Prompt students as needed. The runaway police report is from 1830. It predates general emancipation in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. The abolition of slavery in the British Virgin Islands occurred on August 1st, 1834. How could an enslaved person runaway to another island where slavery still existed, and hope to be free?

Next load the letter between governors on Tortola and St. Thomas. It is in English. Have students take turns reading the paragraphs out loud, stopping from time to time to discuss and to give students a chance to ask questions or share what they are think about the letter. Continue through to the end of the letter.

Analyze the letter:
What type of document is this?
Who wrote it?
Who read it (or who was it sent to)?
When is it from?
Where is it from?
What is it talking about?
Why was it written?
Did you learn anything from this document that you have not learned anywhere else?

Does the letter between governors help you to understand, and bring situational context, to the runaway slave police report? Explain your answer.

Show students a map of the USVI and BVI. How close is Tortola to St. John? How will an enslaved person make their escape? What awaits them in Tortola? Slavery is not abolished in Tortola when the enslaved St. John man ran away in 1830? Will he find work? Will he be captured by someone and enslaved in Tortola? Will he be incorporated into society and live the life of a free man but without documentation proving that he is free? Have students consider these questions and add their own questions and concerns as they imagine the lives and the precarious situation that faced fugitive slaves from St. John and the Danish West Indies seeking escape on Tortola prior to general Emancipation in the British Virgin Islands.

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