Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 26:39-26:46

Did the Danish West Indies become the U.S. Virgin Islands?

A viewer connects Cochrane's 1807 target islands with their modern identity as the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Alexander CochraneDanish West IndiesNapoleonic WarsSt CroixSt ThomasUS Virgin Islands
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Question

Did the Danish West Indies become the U.S. Virgin Islands?

Short answer

Yes, although the reply is phrased cautiously as 'I think.'

Notes

The exchange supplies a modern geographic anchor for the Danish West Indies discussed moments earlier. Alexander Cochrane's 22-warship force seized St. Thomas and St. Croix without bloodshed in 1807 after the second Battle of Copenhagen. A viewer identifies those former Danish possessions with the present-day U.S. Virgin Islands, and the reply is a qualified yes. The modern place names make the 1807 operation easier to locate geographically.