For the Health of the Enslaved

With the abolition of the Danish slave trade in the early nineteenth century, slave health had become a central concern in the Danish West Indies. Plantation owners and colonial administrators were no longer able to replace a population decimated by high mortality rates with slaves from Africa. On this background, the author offers a comprehensive look at the health conditions of the enslaved workers and the health care policies initiated by planters and the colonial government. The investigations reveal that in a comparative Caribbean perspective, Danish West Indian health policies were often quite unique and efficient, but also that the health of the enslaved fuelled an ongoing power struggle between planters, administrators, and the enslaved in the waning years of human bondage in the New World.