Economic-demographic panel dataset over the Danish West Indies (current-day US Virgin Islands), 1760-1914. The dataset contains demographic information on the population, and their ownership of property. The dataset has been assembled from primary sources in the Danish National Archive's collection, for more than 50 benchmark years. The dataset contains information about historical individuals, but all individuals are long deceased, so the dataset is in a legal sense not personal data.

Data contains personal data

Language

Danish

English

Method and outcome

Unit of analysis

Population

The total population on the island of St. Croix, in the Danish West Indies, during the period 1760-1914.

Sampling procedure

Full population on the island of St. Croix, no sampling. Data has been collected for 59 benchmark years, with as regular intervals as the sources allow for.

Time period(s) investigated

18th century – 20th century

1760 – 1914

Variables

274

Data format / data structure

Numeric

Text

Data collection

Mode of collection: Transcription
Description of the mode of collection: Data has been transcribed manually from historical sources kept in the Danish National Archive. The transcription has been undertaken by the researchers involved in the project, and by research assistants employed particularly for the project.
Time period(s) for data collection: 2018 – 2023
Data collector: University of Gothenburg
Source of the data: Registers/Records/Accounts: Historical, Registers/Records/Accounts

Geographic coverage

Geographic spread

Geographic location: US Virgin Islands

Geographic description: The island of St. Croix, one of the three islands in current-day US Virgin Islands, in the Caribbean. During the period covered by the dataset, these islands constituted the Danish West Indies.

Administrative information

Responsible department/unit

Department for Economy and Society

Contributor(s)

Kathrine Faust Larsen - University of Gothenburg

Funding 1

Funding agency: Swedish Research Council
Funding agency's reference number: 2018-01840_VR
Project name on the application: Reversal of fortune or persistence of wealth? Institutions and wealth inequality in a Caribbean plantation economy, 1750s to 1917

Funding 2

Funding agency: Jan Wallanders och Tom Hedelius stiftelse
Funding agency's reference number: P18-0020
Project name on the application: Reversal of fortune or persistence of wealth? Institutions and wealth inequality in a Caribbean slave plantation economy, 1750s to 1917
Funding information: https://www.wallander-hedelius-browaldh.handelsbanken.se/sv/beviljade-anslag/foretagsekonomi-varen-2018

Topic and keywords

Research area

History (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Housing (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Land use and planning (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Economic history (Standard för svensk indelning av forskningsämnen 2011)

History (Standard för svensk indelning av forskningsämnen 2011)

Economy (INSPIRE topic categories)

Society (INSPIRE topic categories)

Demography (population, vital statistics, and censuses) (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Censuses (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Economic conditions and indicators (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Keywords

Social inequality, Colonialism, Wealth, Social history, Slavery, Enslaved persons, Economic history, Addresses, Agricultural and aquaculture facilities, Buildings, Land use, Population distribution — demography, Historical demography, Slaves, Inequality, Colonialism, Social history, Property, Wealth, Economic history, Slavery, History (discipline), Caribbean, Slave owners, Colonialism, Demography, Social history, Economic inequality, Slavery, Property records, Wealth, Slaves (people)

Publications

Galli, Stefania, Klas Rönnbäck and Dimitrios Theodoridis (2023): Reconstructing a slave society: Building the DWI panel, 1760-1914. Göteborg Papers in Economic History no. 32.
Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/2077/78393
SwePub: oai:gup.ub.gu.se/333918

If you have published anything based on these data, please notify us with a reference to your publication(s). If you are responsible for the catalogue entry, you can update the metadata/data description in DORIS.