David W. Knight Sr.

Writer.
Historian.
Consultant.

David W. Knight Sr. is a cultural resource consultant, historian, and author.

My Books

You can purchase my books at these locations:

Baja El Sol Gallery

Available in the Virgin Islands on St John.

VI Traders

Purchase online here.

Caribbean Genealogy Library

Available in the Virgin Islands on St Thomas.

For wholesale quantities or special orders please contact: 
NordsidePress@gmail.com 

On the Outskirts of Eden

Exploring the Roots of Creole Society in the Virgin Islands,
1492 – 1692
Coming in November 2024!
 For those who came of age steeped in the carefully crafted narratives of New World colonization espoused in the modern era, it is easy to have missed the more-nuanced aspects of social development that took place in small-island communities throughout the Lesser Antilles during the postmedieval period. On the Outskirts of Eden shines new light on this little-understood, yet critically important period in Eastern Caribbean history. (History & Genealogy)

Cruz Bay
From Conquest to Exploitation
A Forgotten History

The previously untold history of the town of Cruz Bay (now a National Register Historic District) on the island of St John, U. S. Virgin Islands, from its founding as a modest rural hamlet by Danish colonists in 1766, to its meteoric rise as a booming gateway to one of America’s most popular National Parks. (History & Historic District Resource Guide)

The Enigmatic History of Water Island in the Danish West Indies
1672-1917

An in-depth documentary investigation into Danish colonization in the West Indies and the occupation and development Water Island, the smallest of the primary islands of today’s U. S. Virgin Islands. (History)

Understanding Annaberg

Step back in time and explore the complex tapestry of lives and events behind the imposing ruins of the Annaberg sugar-factory on the island of St. John in the Virgin Islands National Park. (History & Visitor’s Guide)

St Thomas 1803
Crossroads of the Diaspora

An annotated transcription of the little-known 1803 “Registration of Free Colored Inhabitants” in the town of Charlotte Amalie in the Danish West Indies – today’s St Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands – with translations by Dr. Gary T. Horlacher. A must read for all students of the African Diaspora! (Genealogy & History)

The 1688 Census of the Danish West Indies
Portrait of a Colony in Crisis

An annotated transcription of the first comprehensive census of the multiethnic inhabitants of the Danish colony of St. Thomas in the West Indies, with information on the condition and locations of their properties, as well as rare data regarding the colony’s enslaved African and Indigenous-American laborers – translations by Dr. Gary T. Horlacher (Genealogy & History)

There may have been a time when preservation was about saving an old building here or there, but those days are gone. Preservation is in the business of saving communities and the values they embody.

Richard Moe

National Trust for Historic Preservation

Articles

Short excerpts of Virgin Islands history.
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dk-Melbye-web
The Cruz Bay Battery, St. Jan, Danish West Indies, c1852 (Lithograph print by Bærentzen & Co., from a painting by Fritz Melbye)
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The Sons of the Sea Beggars & the Daughters of Eden

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Throughout the 1600s, most new arrivals to the Caribbean emanated from the old world’s long-oppressed peasant and laboring classes. Among them were prisoners of war, ...
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A True Account of Piracy and Buried Treasure in the Virgin Islands As recounted by William Blackstock aboard the HMS Christian at sea, November 26, 1750

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A story of piracy and buried treasure as accounted by William Blackstock aboard the HMS Christian in November of 1750.
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A New Vernacular: Cruz Bay’s Historic Post-Transfer Architecture

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Although only a few examples of classic Danish Colonial architecture can be found in Cruz Bay, there is certainly no shortage of notable historical buildings ...
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