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A Plantation Bell : Echoes and Entanglements of Fireburn

Halberg, Rikke Lie LU orcid (2024) Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies 2024
Abstract
This working paper is based on a presentation given at the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies (SASS) conference, Seattle, May 2024, and is part of the empirical research process for one of the chapters in my dissertation, The Fireburn 1878-2018: Revolt, Representations and Remembrance.
Abstract (Swedish)
In 1778, a large bronze bell was cast by royal bellfounder Michael Troschell in Copenhagen. Unlike most of his bells, which were destined for church towers, this one was sent to La Grange, the largest plantation on St. Croix in the Danish West Indies. The bell functioned as an instrument of discipline, structuring the workday for more than a thousand enslaved laborers. This paper explores the plantation bell’s role as a colonial mechanism of control, its destruction during the 1878 Fireburn labor revolt, and its later transformation into a contested museum artifact in Denmark. The study examines how the bell's meaning has shifted over time, tracing its movement from a tool of coercion to a symbol of resistance and, ultimately, a piece of... (More)
In 1778, a large bronze bell was cast by royal bellfounder Michael Troschell in Copenhagen. Unlike most of his bells, which were destined for church towers, this one was sent to La Grange, the largest plantation on St. Croix in the Danish West Indies. The bell functioned as an instrument of discipline, structuring the workday for more than a thousand enslaved laborers. This paper explores the plantation bell’s role as a colonial mechanism of control, its destruction during the 1878 Fireburn labor revolt, and its later transformation into a contested museum artifact in Denmark. The study examines how the bell's meaning has shifted over time, tracing its movement from a tool of coercion to a symbol of resistance and, ultimately, a piece of material culture subject to debates over memory, history culture and repatriation. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to conference
publication status
unpublished
subject
keywords
Colonial history, Danish West Indies, Danish colonialism, Fireburn revolt, plantation bell, repatriation, museum studies, material culture, history culture, Danish colonialism, Danish West Indies, Fireburn, material culture, history culture, repatriation, museum studies
conference name
Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies 2024
conference location
Seattle, United States
conference dates
2024-05-09 - 2024-05-11
project
FIREBURN: Revolt, Representations and Remembrance from 1878 to the present
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
628e2ffc-02ce-42f7-976c-38fae035c94a
alternative location
http://Rikke Lie Halberg_2024_Working Paper_Echoes and Entanglements of Fireburn
date added to LUP
2025-02-27 16:07:14
date last changed
2025-06-18 16:38:56
@misc{628e2ffc-02ce-42f7-976c-38fae035c94a,
  abstract     = {{This working paper is based on a presentation given at the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies (SASS) conference, Seattle, May 2024, and is part of the empirical research process for one of the chapters in my dissertation, The Fireburn 1878-2018: Revolt, Representations and Remembrance.}},
  author       = {{Halberg, Rikke Lie}},
  keywords     = {{Colonial history; Danish West Indies; Danish colonialism; Fireburn revolt; plantation bell; repatriation; museum studies; material culture; history culture; Danish colonialism; Danish West Indies; Fireburn; material culture; history culture; repatriation; museum studies}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  title        = {{A Plantation Bell : Echoes and Entanglements of Fireburn}},
  url          = {{http://Rikke Lie Halberg_2024_Working Paper_Echoes and Entanglements of Fireburn}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}