Peter Carl Frederik von Scholten (1784-1854) was a governor of the Danish West Indies. He was born in Copenhagen as the son of captain Casimir von Scholten. A governor is also a device that regulates the speed of a machine. ... The Danish West Indies (DWI) are a former colony of Denmark in the Caribbean, now known as the U.S. Virgin Islands. ... Copenhagen (Danish: København) is the capital of Denmark, and the name of the municipality (Danish, kommune) in which it resides. ...

As a young man, he joined the Danish army and trained as an officer. In 1814 he got his first official position on Saint Thomas. In 1827, he became acting governor general. From 1835 to 1848, he became governor general for all three islands, Saint Thomas, Saint Croix, and Saint John, giving him virtually absolute command of the islands. In this period he showed himself a patriarchal ruler trying to lighten the burden of the slaves and to cushion the racial tensions. Saint Thomas is an island in the Caribbean Sea and a constituent of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI). ... Saint Thomas is an island in the Caribbean Sea and a constituent of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI). ... A separate article treats the several rivers known as the St. ... Saint John is the smallest of the three main United States Virgin Islands (USVI), a United States territory. ... A monument celebrating the emancipation of slaves in the British Empire in 1834, erected in Victoria Tower Gardens, Millbank, Westminster, London Wiktionary has a definition of: Slavery Slavery can mean one or more related conditions which involve control of a person against his or her will, enforced by violence or...

In 1848 the slaves on Saint Thomas rebelled and Peter von Scholten responded by emancipating all slaves in the Danish West Indian Islands. Shortly after, von Scholten returned to Denmark. His non-portended act of emancipation led to a humiliating and hard trial that ended by his acquittal few years before his death. He was the last governor general of the West Indies because the democratisation of Danish state and colonial administration after 1848 changed the role of the governor. Democratization is the transition from authoritarian or semi-authoritarian systems to democratic political systems, where democratic systems are taken to be those approximating to universal suffrage, regular free and fair elections, a civil society, the rule of law, and an independent judiciary. ...

His fate has inspired several authors. A movie about his last years as a governor general was made 1987. 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Personal life

During his stay on the West Indian Islands, von Scholten lived with Anna Heegaard (1790-1859). Von Scholten' brother, Frederik, also served on the West Indian Islands.

Peter von Scholten is buried on Assistens Cemetery in Copenhagen Assistens Cemetery (Assistens Kirkegård) is located in a large park in the Nørrebro section of Copenhagen, Denmark. ... Copenhagen (Danish: København) is the capital of Denmark, and the name of the municipality (Danish, kommune) in which it resides. ...