Danish West Indies

The Danish West Indies or Danish Antilles or Danish Virgin Islands was a Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas with 32 square miles ; Saint John with 19 square miles ; Saint Croix with 84 square miles , and Water Island with 491.5 acres . The islands have belonged to the United States since they were purchased in 1917.

The Danish West India Guinea Company annexed the uninhabited island of Saint Thomas
in 1672 and St. John in 1718. In 1733, Saint Croix was purchased from the French West India Company. When the Danish company went bankrupt in 1754, the King of Denmark–Norway assumed direct control of the three islands. Britain occupied the Danish West Indies in 1801–02 and 1807–15, during the Napoleonic Wars.

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