Editor's Note: The following is reprinted from the booklet and guide of the 1990 Folklife Festival of the Smithsonian Institution. Questions on the text were developed by the editor of the current publication.

Ruth M. Moolenaar

A Historical Perspective

The port town of Charlotte Amalie on St. Thomas was founded to serve the needs of early Danish traders and planters. Savanne, or Savan, the northwestern subdivision of Charlotte Amalie, was established to provide housing for an increasing number of manumitted slaves or "free coloured," as they were called. This group, having gained their freedom by direct purchase or by baptism, left the rural estates on which they worked and lived and moved to the town. Although legally free, they were treated as an inferior class and were subjected to rigid restrictions. As reported in Emancipation in the Danish West Indies, Eye Witness Accounts II, by Eva Lawaetz, "the free colored were banned from certain punishment for certain offenses. In addition, they had to always have on their person a FRIBREV (Letter of Freedom) to prove they were not slaves." In the mid 1800s Governor General Peter Von Scholten was responsible for several laws aimed at protecting the rights of the free coloureds. Unfortunately, many of the freed Blacks were never apprised of their rights. So large was their number in St. Thomas that it was agreed to sell lots in the Savanne area to facilitate their needs. Thus, the neighborhood was established around 1764-65.

The character of the neighborhood was evidenced by the construction of its houses. In contrast to the masonry, European-styled buildings and homes of the commercial district, houses of Savanne were small wooden frames covered with shingles. Described by some architects as vernacular row, the prevailing design was a long row of contiguous houses that formed an L- or U-shaped structure. Others were individual houses of the same wooden frames but having a small balcony. Built a few feet above the ground these elevated homes were reached by wooden or masonry steps. Under the raised houses children found safe havens for play, and nesting hens used these shaded areas as good hiding places for their eggs. One long, winding road ran through the center of the neighborhood.

Economy of the Area

There was no alternative in Savanne to the trading and other businesses of the commercial district. The people of Savanne were obligated to leave their neighborhood to seek employment. Many women and a few men were engaged in "carrying coal," a job that involved carrying huge baskets of bituminous coal on their heads up the planks of ships calling on St. Thomas. Coal was used as fuel by the ships. Working from mid-day into the wee hours of the next morning, coal workers were paid with tallies which, when redeemed, netted two or three cents per basket.

Another source of employment for women was laundry, which involved washing uniforms worn by gendarmes and other uniformed officers. The uniforms were made of heavy cotton like khaki, twill or denim, and when wet the clothes exacted much energy from the women who did their work without modern machinery and detergents. They hand scrubbed the garments, slapped them on rocks, boiled them on an outdoor fire and finally bleached them dry in the sun. Ironing was almost as tedious a chore done with a charcoal fired "goose."

Some women earned a living as vendors in the Bungalow at Market Square, now called the Rothschild Francis Square, or as peddlers throughout the town. The Bungalow vendors were a distinctive group. Colorful in dress and spirited in temperament, they added a special flavor to the area. Each woman had her individual spot or table, which she guarded jealously. As a group they regulated prices and conformed to unwritten norms as they bargained their wares of fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices, food and drinks.

Men earned their living as cargo men, common laborers, janitors, or fishermen. Skilled workers emerged years later from this group. These artisans exercised great influence in the community. Operating small trade shops within and outside the area, they satisfied the community's needs in such areas as cabinet making, furniture repair, masonry, joinery, brick laying, barbering, dressmaking, needle working, and cooking.

Social Services

Before local government provided social services for the needy, fraternal organizations played an important role in furnishing these services for the Savaneros. These institutions, in addition to providing financial assistance in time of need, supplied counseling and other services. Two such fraternal organizations in Savanne were the United Brethren of the St. Joseph Association and the Beloved Sisters of Mary and Joseph. The Harmonic Lodge and the Old Unity Lodge were also popular among Savaneros even though they were located outside the boundaries of Savanne.

Entertainment

Unlike the courtyards of the commercial district, which served as extended work areas or as stables of wealthy merchants, the Big yards of Savanne were for entertainment and informal, traditional education. These wide open spaces bordering the long row houses were identified by landlord's name or by location. There were the Lockhart's Big yard, Richard's Big yard and the Sealey Big Yard. Three popular yards outside of the Savanne area were Ross's yard, Buck Hole, and Barracks Yard. On moonlight nights families gathered to share stories, jokes, gossip, and family events; they recited poems, danced and sang in the Big yards. Daytime activities were also plentiful. The people of Savanne also frequented two popular dance halls, Jubilee Hall and Dilley Hall. Additionally, the fraternal lodges were available for social affairs.

Political Life

Since Savanne was one of the most densely populated areas on the island, it attracted the attention of politicians, who stumped the area at election time wooing voters. In the 1940s and later, the strength of a political party or its candidates hinged on support from Savanne. The old Banaba Well, a popular landmark formally used as a water source, became the rostrum from which political candidates delivered fiery speeches. After these performances people gathered at nearby "Eva Grants Corner" for drinks and conversation. Middle-class and wealthy political candidates were sometimes viewed ironically by the Savaneros who were aware that their small homes and their food and drink would ordinarily be scorned by these candidates outside of an election year.

Several leaders were elected from Savanne. These individuals fought tenaciously for improved wage laws, improved roads, better health facilities and most importantly, for job opportunities. Today, people with their roots in Savanne can be counted among the society's list of legislators, doctors, lawyers, civic and religious leaders and other professionals.

Other Impacts

From the 1930s education became high priority, and graduation from high school was considered an outstanding milestone in one's life. Unlike parents in the commercial district, few Savaneros could send their children to the mainland or to Europe for higher education. Therefore, after high school graduation most young men and women worked for the Virgin Islands Government. Many of these individuals continued their education in the 1950s.

Savanne Today

Visible change in the area is reflected in the houses. Quite different from their predecessors, many homes are now two- and three-story concrete buildings. Glass and aluminum shutters have replaced wooden windows and doors. Several wooden homes with shingles remain, however, as testimonies to the early character of the area.

Unlike commercial Charlotte Amalie, few historic sites in Savanne remain to tell the community's history. One surviving site is the Jewish Cemetery, which served the group of Jews who fled from the island of St. Eustatius in 1781 after the attack of Sir Rodney on that island. These Jewish members of the community became ship owners, ship chandlers and brokers and participated in the slave trade. They became a vital part of the community and lived primarily in other urban areas, but they were buried in Savanne, on "Jode (from Judah) Street." Other street names in Savanne are Pile Strade, Vester Gade, Slagter Gade, Gamble Gade, Silke Gade and Levkoi Strade.

Currently Savanne is home to immigrant populations from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the eastern islands. Blacks of Savanne earned a living in conditions resembling servitude while the Whites of the commercial district flourished financially from the bustling trade of the town and its harbor. The sociology of the two groups reflected this difference.

QUESTIONS:

1. Why was Savanne established?

2. Whence the "free coloured" in the Danish West Indies?

3. Where did Savan's inhabitants live before moving there?

4. How did these early residents of Savan prove they were not slaves in the days of slavery.

5. About when and how did residents of Savan come into possession of their lots of land?

6. What was the typical shape of the so-called vernacular row house?

7. What material was the row house typically constructed of?

8. What impact did bituminous coal have on the well-being of families in Savan?

9. What was a tally?

10. What was the source of heat in the "gooses" used to iron people's clothes?

11. What kinds of purchases took place in the market?

12. What indications are there that division of labor was practiced in the upkeep of the family during this period?

13. Name one source of aide to those in need in the days when no government sources were available?

14. What role did the "big Yard" play in the social organization of the old neighborhoods?

15. What is the historical significance of Banaba Well for Savan and Virgin Islands politics?

16. Did the different classes mix and mingle freely during the period covered by the article?

17. Where did the more affluent get their higher education?

18. How did the early Jewish people would eventually be buried in the "Jewish

Burial Ground" come to the Virgin Islands in the first place?

19. In what essential way has the sociology of the area called Savan remained fundamentally the same to this day?

Citations and Further Readings

Gjessing Frederik and William MacLean. 1987. Historic Buildings of St. Thomas and St. John. London: Macmillan Publishing, Ltd.

Jarvis, J. Antonio. 1938. A Brief History of the Virgin Islands. St. Thomas: The Art Shop.

Knox, John P. 1952. A Historical Account of St. Thomas. Reprinted 1966. St. Thomas: C.V.I.

Lawaetz, Eva. n.d. Emancipation in the Danish West Indies, Eyewitness Accounts II (English Translation). The City Library, St. Thomas.

Svensson, Ole, ed. Three Towns. Copenhagen: Tutein and Koch.

Taylor, Charles Edwin. 1888. Leaflets from the Danish West Indies. London: Dawson and Sons. Reprinted 1970 by Negro Universities Press.