Hassel Island, Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, VI

Significance: Hassel Island was a key British military base in the Caribbean during the Napoleonic Wars that followed the French Revolution in 1793. During this time, Great Britain and its coalition allies fought against Napoleon Bonaparte's aggressive expansion of the French Empire across Europe. British and French colonies in the Caribbean were crucial to both sides' war efforts as the plantations and natural resources of the Caribbean supplied great wealth that financed much of the fighting in Europe. Britain also sought to conquer and occupy Dutch and Danish colonies in the region in order to deny their strategic and commercial advantages to the French. As a result, Britain twice seized and occupied the Danish West Indies, including St. Thomas and Hassel Island, from 1801-1802 and again from 1807-1815.

Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N2102
Survey number: HABS VI-166
Building/structure dates: 1801 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: after 1807 Subsequent Work
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 76001862