Saint Thomas (Brandenburg colony)

The Brandenburg colony of St. Thomas consisted of a leased part of the Danish island of St. Thomas (today part of the United States Virgin Islands) to the Brandenburg-Prussia margraviate of the Holy Roman Empire from 1685 to 1754.

For this reason, the Brandenburg Navy-General Director Benjamin Raule signed a rental agreement with the Danish West India Company on November 24, 1685.

The agreement included a portion of the Danish Antilles island of St. Thomas, which had belonged to Denmark-Norway since 1666.

The agreement between Brandenburg and the Danish West India Company included a number of sections on trade, primarily on slaves.

During the Brandenburg presence in Saint Thomas, some of the largest slave auctions in the world were held on the island.