In November of 1733 enslaved Africans in the Caribbean island of St John, led by an Akan princess named Breffu, rebelled against their Danish captors, seized control of the island & established an Akan Kingdom in the Caribbean, in one of longest slave revolts. Thread...

The rebellion was carried out primarily by enslaved Akan from the Akwamu Kingdom in the Gold Coast (Present day Ghana & Ivory Coast). It was masterminded by an Akan princess named Breffu, who was enslaved by Pieter Kroyer, a plantation owner from Denmark.

Breffu approached King June, another enslaved Akan royal from Akwam with her plan to massacre the slave owners & the Danish soldiers on station on the Island. Together they succeeded in rallying 150 Akan slaves to their cause. Many non Akan slaves refused to join the rebellion

Their plan was to first seize Fort Fredericksvaern, a heavily fortified military stronghold on Coral Bay. After that, a signal would be given to commence the massacre. Breffu & the other rebels began stealing knives & hiding them in firewood bundles.

In the evening of November 23rd 1733, King June & a handful of slaves were allowed through the gates of Fort Fredericksvaern to deliver firewood as they routinely did every week. Once inside the Fort, the Slaves retrieved the knives they had hidden in the firewood bundles.

With the knives, the managed to overpower & kill every single soldier in the Fort, except one who was able to escape. After they had taken control of the Fort, the fired the cannons 3 times to signal to the other rebels that the raid on Fort Fredericksvaern had been successful.

When Breffu & the other rebels heard the signal, they grabbed knives & began killing all their slave masters. Breffu killed her owner Pieter Kroyer & his whole family. She then went to the home of
Van Stell, the wealthiest man on the Island & killed him & his whole family

The Rebels then went from door to door killing every single European in sight. Many other enslaved Africans banded together & started fighting against the Akan rebels to protect their slave masters. As a result, many Blacks were also killed by the rebels.

The rest of the Europeans on the Island fled to the coast, jumped in ships & boats & escaped to the neighboring slave island colony of Martinique, which was under French rule at the time. After the revolt, the rebels declared the Island the new Akwamu kingdom with Breffu as Queen

When news of the revolt reached Denmark, many Danish merchants & slave traders pleaded with their king to intervene & retake the Island. King Christian VI of Denmark reached out to France, which had the largest & most powerful military in Europe at the time.

The Danish merchants & slave traders successfully negotiated a deal with the French to recapture the island. In April 1734, thousands of French troops from Martinique & launched an assault on St John. After a bloody campaign, the French managed to retake control of the island.

Breffu & the rebels retreated to Fort Fredericksvaern to make their last stand. The Fort was then surrounded & bombarded by French troops. After French troops managed to blow the gates open, Breffu & 23 surviving Rebels committed suicide. The Island was then return to Denmark

Today the Island of St John is part of the U.S Virgin Islands, & an American overseas territory. Breffu is a national Hero in the U.S Virgin Islands & is fondly remembered as the Queen of St John.