1642-1806: Copenhagen served as the primary organizational center for the trafficking of captives among countries bordering the Baltic Sea and was the home p…

1642-1806: Copenhagen served as the primary organizational center for the trafficking of captives among countries bordering the Baltic Sea and was the home port for the Danish West Indies Company. Danish slaving vessels focused their trade almost exclusively at the fort of Christiansborg on the Gold Coast of Africa. From there, captives were transported to the small islands of St. Thomas and St. Croix, which functioned as vital centers for trafficking captives onward in the Caribbean. Although minor compared to British or French traffic, this network was crucial for sustaining the plantation economies of the Danish colonial possessions.