Kathleen D. Dowling BLOOD IN BASSIN

In this third volume of my 3-part series, I primarily focused on the emancipation events that occurred in Christiansted, also called "Bassin" or "Bass End" (the name commonly used by the enslaved population). Most people are knowledgeable about the events that took place in Frederiksted on July 2nd and 3rd, 1848, but few are cognizant of the events that occurred in Christiansted on the night of Monday, July 3, 1848...and the days immediately following. While Frederiksted was the main staging area for most of the emancipation events, where no less than 8,000 of our enslaved ancestors gathered at Frederiksfort awaiting the pronouncement of Governor-General Peter von Scholten to proclaim their emancipation, the enslaved population in Christiansted only received fragments of the news around 6 or 7 p.m. and gathered en masse around 9 p.m. and immediately headed into Christiansted town from various nearby and countryside plantations when they encountered the most unexpected outcome. Bloodshed. Sadly, some never even got to know that they were free.