New Testament Bible Dutch Creole

Enslaved Africans on St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix developed Dutch Creole, a language combining Dutch and African influences. The Dutch language influence is from interaction with Dutch planters on the islands and contact with Dutch slave traders on the West African coast prior to departure to the New World. Missionaries in the Danish West Indies reinforced Dutch Creole as the language of the enslaved by publishing a bible and hymnals in this language. Christiansted National Historic Site preserves and protects Danish colonial history from the mid-1700s through the 1800s; the majority of structures at the historic site were built by enslaved Africans, some of whom used a bible like this one.