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Lot Essay
The Danes settled in St. Thomas in 1665 and declared it a free port, encouraging it as a trading centre. The capital, Charlotte Amalie, provided one of the best sheltered waterfronts in the Caribbean, and soon attracted ocean traders and pirate ships. Its role as one of the chief emporia of the West Indies continued until the introduction of steam ships in the 1880s and its succession as a trade centre by Barbados.
Blackbeard's tower, where the most famous of all Caribbean pirates, Edward Thatch (alias Blackbeard) was said to have lived, can be seen on top of the town on the right.
St. Thomas, along with the other Danish islands of St. Croix and St. John, transferred voluntarily to the United States in 1917, the islands becoming the United States Virgin Islands.
For a smaller but similar watercolour of Charlotte Amalie by Cazabon, see Sotheby's, 17 May 1995, lot 224.
Blackbeard's tower, where the most famous of all Caribbean pirates, Edward Thatch (alias Blackbeard) was said to have lived, can be seen on top of the town on the right.
St. Thomas, along with the other Danish islands of St. Croix and St. John, transferred voluntarily to the United States in 1917, the islands becoming the United States Virgin Islands.
For a smaller but similar watercolour of Charlotte Amalie by Cazabon, see Sotheby's, 17 May 1995, lot 224.