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美国接管维京群岛 (Virgin
Islands) ：1917年3月31日
这些岛屿曾经由西班牙与法国轮流掌管。丹麦开垦者到达这里后，开始利用罪犯种植甘蔗。1678年之后，非洲奴隶也被派来当作劳工。法国在1733年把这些岛屿卖给丹麦，于是丹麦军队也正式进驻圣克洛伊克斯岛，并且利用抓来的当地黑人奴隶开始修筑工事。后来他们建造了一座石造的堡垒，并命名为克里斯防御堡垒 (Fort
Christiansvaern) ，以纪念国王克里斯六世 (King
Christian VI) 。
美国独立战争爆发时，丹麦决定保持中立。然而，因为丹麦与西印度群岛的利益，中立政策往往遭到破坏。根据内政部 (Department of Interior) 于1988年提出的一份报告，独立战争期间，这些岛屿至少曾经发生过一次走私事件。
The islands went back and forth between Spanish and French rule. Danish settlers arrived and began growing sugarcane using convicted criminals and, after 1678, African slaves, for labor. Over time, St. Thomas became a major Caribbean slave market. After the French sold the islands to Denmark in 1733, the Danish military took up residence on St. Croix and, using the captured leaders of a local black slave revolt, began work on a fortification. Later they built a permanent masonry fort and named it Fort Christiansvaern ("Christian's Defense"), in honor of King Christian VI of Denmark-Norway.
Denmark's policy during the American Revolution was not to take sides. However, special interests in both Denmark and the West Indies often caused that policy to be violated. According to a 1988 report by the Department of the Interior, there was also at least one incident of smuggling on the islands during the Revolution.
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