In November 1733, the island of St. John in the Danish West Indies erupted in one of the most remarkable slave revolts in the history of the Americas. By the time it was over, an enslaved man named Franz Claasen had helped his enslaver’s family escape with their lives, and walked away as the first free Black landowner on the island. How he got there is a story that history has never quite agreed on.
Franz’s story begins with the Danish takeover of the island, on the plantations they built to make their fortune.
In 1718, the Danish claimed the island of St. John to develop sugar plantations and crops such as indigo and cotton. Forests were cleared, fields were planted, and every acre of that wealth was built on the backs of enslaved Africans.
Within just 15 years, the island had been transformed into a thriving plantation colony. By the middle of 1733, St. John was home to 109 plantations worked by 1,087 enslaved Africans. The island’s European population numbered only 206, meaning enslaved Africans outnumbered white settlers by more than five to one.
The plantations produced enormous wealth for their owners, but for the enslaved Africans forced to labor on them, daily life meant relentless work, hunger, punishment, and the constant threat of whipping, mutilation, torture, and execution.
1733 slave insurrection on St. John
The growing oppression eventually exploded into open rebellion. On November 23, 1733, enslaved Africans led primarily by members of the Akwamu ethnic group launched a carefully coordinated revolt after secretly capturing Fort Fredericksvaern. A cannon blast from the fort signaled the beginning of the uprising across the island.
Among the revolt’s most remembered leaders was Princess Breffu, an enslaved woman on Pieter Krøyer’s plantation in Coral Bay. After hearing the signal, Breffu entered her enslaver’s home, killed Pieter Krøyer and his wife, seized their weapons and ammunition, and joined fellow rebels in attacking nearby plantations.
Within hours, much of St. John had fallen into rebel hands as plantation owners fled for their lives. The uprising would last for months, becoming one of the longest and most significant slave revolts in Caribbean history, and creating the circumstances that would forever change the life of an enslaved man named Franz Claasen.
Franz Claasen’s Role
Franz Claasen was enslaved by the Van Stell family when the rebellion broke out. Exactly what he did during those chaotic days has remained the subject of debate.
The traditional account states that Claasen warned the Van Stell family about the approaching rebels and helped them escape safely to the neighboring island of St. Thomas. His actions were credited with saving their lives.
Another account, supported by the St. John Historical Society, presents a more complex picture. According to this version, Claasen approached the rebel forces and falsely claimed that he had already killed his enslavers. This deception allegedly convinced the rebels that the Van Stell family was already dead, allowing them time to escape by boat to St. Thomas, the Danish colonial center, where they reportedly delivered the first word of the rebellion.
Whether Claasen acted out of loyalty, self preservation, or careful calculation remains impossible to know. Whatever his true motive, his actions ensured the survival of the Van Stell family and ultimately changed the course of his own life.
End of the Revolt
The rebels controlled much of St. John for several months. Danish authorities struggled to regain the island until they received military assistance from French forces in April 1734.
With greater numbers and superior weapons, the French gradually defeated the insurgents.
Rather than surrender, Princess Breffu reportedly took her own life along with 23 fellow rebels to avoid capture. Others were captured and subjected to gruesome executions intended to discourage future uprisings. By August 25, 1734, the remaining rebel groups had been captured, bringing the insurrection to an end.
Franz Claasen’s Reward
Four years later, Franz Claasen, who had been freed after the rebellion was crushed, received an extraordinary reward.
On August 20, 1738, Jacob van Stell officially transferred ownership of the Mary Point Estate to Claasen in recognition of his role in helping the family escape during the revolt. The deed made Claasen the first recorded free Black landowner on St. John.
Although Mary Point was not considered one of the island’s most productive plantations, owning land was an exceptional achievement for a formerly enslaved African during the eighteenth century.
Today, the former Mary Point Estate remains a historic site. Visitors can still see traces of its past, including stone foundations, a cistern, old graves, and the remains of slave cabins.
Sources:
https://www.nps.gov/viis/learn/historyculture/the-1733-akwamu-insurrection.htm
https://www.aaihs.org/traditions-of-resistance-in-the-black-diaspora/
