[3] The Danes claimed Saint John in 1718 as a result of a period of negotiation, but numerous Dutch planters stayed on the island.

Young Danish people could not be persuaded to emigrate to the West Indies in great enough numbers to provide a reliable source of labor.

They became the dominant Akan state in the district of Accra and were known for being "heavy-handed in dealing with the tribes they had conquered", taking captives and selling them as slaves, and keeping numerous women as concubines in various villages.

In retaliation for years of oppression, their enemies sold many Akwamu people into slavery to the Danes; they were transported to plantations in the West Indies, including estates on St.

The Danish West India Company provided only six soldiers for the defense of St. John, which supplemented the local white militia.

[2] In 1733, in response to harsh living conditions from drought, a severe hurricane, and crop failure from insect infestation, many slaves in the West Indies, including on St. John, left their plantations to maroon, hiding in the woods.

[7][pages needed] Penalties for disobedience were severe public punishment, including whipping, amputation of limbs, or death by hanging.

According to a report by French planter Pierre Pannet, the rebel leaders met regularly at night for some time to develop the plan.

In each area, they avoided widespread destruction of property since they intended to take over the estates and resume crop production for their benefit.

Landowners John and Lieven Jansen and a group of loyal slaves resisted the attack, holding off the advancing rebels with gunfire.

Defenders repelled the slaves' attack at Durloe's, and many planters and their families escaped to St. Thomas, 5–9 miles (8.0–14.5 km) by sea.

[11] The French ships returned to Martinique on June 1, leaving the local militia to track down the remaining rebels, which they did over the next three months.

[8] The loss of life and property from the insurrection caused many St. John landowners to move to St. Croix, a nearby island bought by the Danish from the French in 1733.

[12] Denmark-Norway ended the African slave trade in the Danish West Indies on January 1, 1803, but slavery continued on the islands.

The eight men (Charles Bryan, James Jacob, Adam [alias Cato], Big David, Henry Law, Paulus, John Curay), and three women (Kitty, Polly, and Katurah) were from the Annaberg plantation and ten Leinster Bay estates.

After planters replaced those overseers, Charles Bryan, his wife Katurah, and James Jacobs returned to work at Leinster Bay.

On July 3, 1848, 114 years after the slave insurrection, enslaved Afro-Caribbeans of St. Croix held a non-violent, mass demonstration seeking the abolition of slavery.