In 1733 the island of St. Croix, after continuously passing from the control of one proprietor[370] to another, was purchased by certain merchants of Copenhagen and later was bought from them by King Christian VI of Denmark. The land was then divided into estates and sold to various planters, some of whom came from St. Eustatius, Virgin Gorda, and Tortola. Being thereafter under more stable control, the island made progress, becoming, like the other Danish West Indies, a sugar colony. The seat of government was then transferred from St. Thomas to St. Croix. The outstanding fact in the history of this group in the eighteenth century is the insurrection of 1733, which took place on the island of St. John. Because a large number of slaves had just been brought in from Africa there had been urged by the masters and later enacted by decree of the Royal Council certain additional tyrannical regulations which doubtless caused this trouble. Instead of increasing the number of armed men necessary to keep order the planters resorted to legislation.[371] At that time at the west end of St. John stood the only fort which was garrisoned by eight soldiers under a lieutenant and a sergeant. These men had to be depended upon to handle thousands of discontented slaves.[372] The insurrection, on the other hand, was well planned. Governor Philip Gardelin, of St. Thomas, who was at that time on a visit to the island was to be murdered along with all other white inhabitants so as to bring the island entirely under the control of the Negroes. An unexpected change in his arrangements, however, caused the Governor and a part of his family to leave St. John on the day preceding the uprising. On the following Sunday, however, the insurrection began. Early that morning certain slaves, as was usual, took into the fort bundles of wood for the use of the soldiers. Within these bundles they had concealed their knives and cutlasses, and at a given signal they brought them forth and murdered all the garrison save one who succeeded in concealing himself. When in possession, the insurgents fired the signal previously agreed upon and at once upon every plantation the slaves began to massacre the masters and their families. Most of the surviving planters fled with their families to the Durlo estate, situated on an eminence and protected by two cannon and, under the direction of an old Englishman, repulsed the slaves, killing and wounding many. While the slaves were in retreat the planters hastily removed their families to vessels which conveyed them to Tortola and St. Thomas.