Sugar production in the Danish West Indies

The island of Saint Croix has long been associated with sugar production and has been the dominant cash crop for the economy for over two hundred years.

[5] When the Danes arrived on Saint Croix they found a number of British families raising cane and making rum.

[6] Although the Danes almost went bankrupt in 1753, they steadily grew to dominate Saint Croix, operating 375 plantations not only cultivating sugar, but also cotton, indigo and tobacco.

The sugar industry reached its peak between 1795 and 1800 after the Danes declared the slave trade in 1792 which ensured a plentiful supply of African labor, coinciding with high prices on the world market.

However, prices continued to fall due to the increasing competition from beet sugar and from the East Indies.