The Caribbean Scorpion: The Saint-Barthélemy Archive and Swedish Colonial Amnesia

Sweden became a slaveholding nation when it acquired its only Caribbean colony, Saint-Barthélemy—a.k.a. St. Barths or St. Barts—from France in 1784. When the island was retroceded in 1878, the records created during ninety-four years of Swedish Caribbean rule were left behind and are now held in France. Examining the history of this archive that stands as a metaphor for Swedish colonial amnesia, this essay discusses the reluctance in Sweden to recognize a past that goes against a self-image untainted by slavery and colonialism. The essay also discusses a project that aims to open the archive to a larger audience through digitization.