A contribution to the project “Decolonial [hi]stories” by Decolonial Memory Culture in the City
Today, Flensburg is often marketed as the ‘city of sugar and rum’. Sugar and the by-product of sugar production, cane rum, were made from sugar cane – cultivated mainly in the Caribbean – until sugar beet was grown in Europe. As Flensburg was the third largest port in the Danish state until 1864, the city benefited from favourable trading conditions with the Danish colonies in the Caribbean, now known as St Thomas, St Croix and St John (US Virgin Islands). Sugar production was closely linked to the transatlantic slave trade and the plantation economy. After Flensburg’s membership of the Danish state ended in 1864, the city became part of Prussian/German colonialism. Changes in tax laws made trade with Danish colonies in the Caribbean more difficult. As a result, the cane rum for Flensburg’s rum production was from then on mainly imported from the British colony of Jamaica.
This article focuses on Flensburg’s entanglements during its time as part of the Danish state. The colonial relationships between Osu-Castle in Ghana, the plantation economy of St Croix in the Caribbean and the city of Flensburg are illustrated by means of the colonial commodity sugar. In all three places, the history of exploitation has left its mark on urban structures and landscapes. If you want to take a closer look at the places and their connections, you can browse through the article on Dekoloniale. Those who want some additional background informations can read the text here on our website.