| Office | Governor of Tranquebar
|
|---|---|
| Term start | July 1702 |
| Term end | 12 June 1704 |
| Predecessor | Mikkel Knudsen Crone |
| Successor | Johan Sigismund Hassius
|
| Born | 1652 |
| Born | Copenhagen, Denmark–Norway |
| Died | 12 June 1704 |
| Place of death | Tranquebar, Danish India
|
| Spouse | Template:Marriage Template:Marriage |
| Children | 4-6
|
Jørgen Hermandsen BjørnTemplate:Efn (1652 – 12 June 1704) was a Danish captain and governor of Tranquebar from July 1702 to his death on 12 June 1704.
Bjørn was born in Copenhagen in 1652 and went to sea at the age of 16. In 1671, he entered the Danish navy and became a captain in 1682, participating in the conquest of Heligoland in 1684. The following year, he went to Danish India, possibly conducting privateering against the Mughals, and returned in 1687. During the return voyage, he became involved in a conflict with Governor Wolf Henrik von Kalnein, who wanted to arrest Bjørn. After a short armed encounter, Bjørn's ship left the fleet and returned to Copenhagen alone.
In 1701, he was appointed Governor of Danish India and reached the Danish colony of Tranquebar in July 1702. Notwithstanding, he governed with great authority and caused trade to decline. Consequently, he was replaced by Johan Sigismund Hassius on 31 June 1704, but had already died on 12 June.
Early career
Jørgen Hermandsen Bjørn was born in Copenhagen in 1652.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn He was the son of a sailmaker and compassmaker at Bremerholm, Herman Bjørn (or Bjørnssøn),Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn and Birgitte Lygtemager Bjørn,Template:Sfn daughter of the Danish vice admiral, Jørgen Bjørnsen.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
At the age of 16, he went to sea and in 1671 became a naval cadet.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn In 1673, he became a Lieutenant and was on board the vessel, Hvide Falk, in the following year under the command of Template:Ill.Template:Sfn Hereafter, Bjørn conducted merchant shipping in India for eight years.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn Bjørn became Captain of the 3rd Class in 1682 and received many commands, including commanding the frigate Tumleren in 1684 during the conquest of Heligoland.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Captain of Antoinetta
Template:Main Template:See also In 1685, Bjørn became Captain of 2 Class and got a sea passport (Template:Langx) as captain of Antoinetta on 19 September of the same year. Together with the Governor of Tranquebar, Wolf Henrik von Kalnein, on the Flyvende Ulv, Antoinetta sailed for Danish India on 7 October, reaching the Danish colony of Tranquebar on 12 July 1686.Template:Sfn
It is possible that Bjørn partook in the Dano-Mughal War with Antoinetta, capturing a prize renamed Gyldenløve.Template:Sfn
On 11 October 1687, Bjørn returned to Copenhagen from Tranquebar with Flyvende Ulv, Gyldenløve, and the yacht Haabet.Template:Sfn During the return voyage, Bjørn became increasingly more in conflict with Wolf Henrik von Kalnein:Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn once reaching the Cape of Good Hope, Bjørn was berated by von Kalnein in front of the entire crew.Template:Sfn The fleet left the Cape of Good Hope on 27 January 1688,Template:Sfn reaching Ascension Island on 29 February.Template:Sfn Here, the relationship between Bjørn and von Kalnein completely deteriorated: von Kalnein summoned Bjørn to Flyvende Ulv; however, upon warnings that von Kalnein would arrest Bjørn, the latter excused himself and remained on board Antoinetta. In response, von Kalnein sent two vessels with armed men to Antoinetta, but they were quickly driven away after a short encounter.Template:Sfn
Subsequently, the ship council on Antoinetta resolved to make the ship ready for sailing in case of attack. Again on 5 March, the ship council decided to leave the fleet and go directly to Copenhagen. Antoinetta reached Copenhagen on 19 June 1688, but Bjørn initially refrained from complaining about von Kalnein.Template:Sfn
Governor of Tranquebar
On 2 June 1691, Bjørn received the office of Commander of Dansborg by royal decree,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn but was quickly dismissed on 7 October.Template:Sfn However, shortly thereafter, a different decision was made regarding him.Template:Sfn In 1694, he became the commanding captain of the frigate Søhunden, which he saved during a storm in the Texel roadstead through his seamanship.Template:Sfn Furthermore, he was appointed head of the shipyard in Christianssand, Norway, in 1699,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn but stepped down on 5 April 1701.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
On 17 September 1701, he was appointed as the Governor of Danish India by the Danish East India Company.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Consequently, he left the Danish navy on 20 September and instead became schoutbynacht in November.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn It is not known why Bjørn was chosen as governor; nonetheless, it is likely that his wealthy father-in-law, Template:Ill, who was a shareholder in the Template:Abbr, may have influenced this decision.Template:Sfn
Upon his arrival at Tranquebar in July 1702,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn he intervened authoritatively in all affairs, abolishing the old ceremonial military honors for secretaries and officers, so that no one received any respect except himself, who retained a military escort of 1 lower officer (Template:Langx), 6 white soldiers, and 8 to 10 Template:Langx (sepoys from present-day Thirunallar).Template:Sfn Accordingly, Jørgen Bjørn set about enjoying to the full extent the benefits his position offered: in particular, he was keen on exploiting the Indian custom of giving gifts on festive occasions, such as when applying for offices and "thank-you visits." The Danish officers kept everything in the old routine and were left undisturbed in their own affairs.Template:Sfn Despite this, many of them felt that Bjørn put his own interests before theirs and the company's.Template:Sfn Concurrently, Bjørn increased his private fortune, while his wife, Anna Uddal,Template:Efn ensured that the Government House became the center of social life.Template:Sfn
Bjørn continued the fortification works on Fort Dansborg, so that in 1704, the so-called Template:Langx (fortified island) was finished.Template:Sfn Nevertheless, trade got worse everywhere,Template:Sfn especially on the Malabar Coast, where trade almost completely ceased for a period.Template:Sfn This was soon noticed by the company management in Copenhagen,Template:Sfn who therefore decided to elect Johan Sigismund Hassius as the new governor and bring Bjørn home.Template:Sfn Hassius reached Tranquebar on 31 June 1704; however, Bjørn had already died on 12 June.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Personal life
Jørgen Bjørn was married twice:Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn first in 1675 to Margrethe Dahl and second to Anna Lauritsdatter Uddal in Template:Circa.Template:Sfn He had 3-4 children in his first marriage,Template:Sfn and is mentioned as a father on 12 April 1684 in Holmen Church.Template:Sfn
He remarried in c. 1699 in Christianssand with Anna Lauritsdatter Uddal.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Together, they had Jørgen Bjørn (Template:Born in in Tranquebar),Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn but also raised other non-biological children,Template:Sfn including Anne Sophie Jørgensdatter (b. 1 July 1691 in Copenhagen).[1] Additionally, a number of later sources talk of a certain Anna Cathrina, claimed to be born in Tranquebar in 1703,Template:Sfn which could be a biological daughter of Jørgen Bjørn.Template:Sfn Furthermore, Norwegian genealogist Template:Ill claims that Jørgen Bjørn and Anna Uddal had a second child, named Margrethe Bjørn.Template:Sfn
After Bjørn's death in 1704, Anna Uddal became notably wealthy and remained in Tranquebar.Template:Sfn She remarried in 1707 to the new governor of Tranquebar, Johan Sigismund Hassius,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn who received much of her wealth.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
See also
Notes and references
Notes
References
- ↑ Peter Grib, Topsøe-Jensen, Theodor Andreas. Dansk Biografisk Leksikon | Lex(2011-07-17). Retrieved 2025-12-23.
Works cited
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- De dansk-ostindiske Koloniers Historie{{#if:Larsen|, Larsen}. Centralforlaget(1907)
- Om min grønlandske familie{{#if:Christensen|, Christensen}. self-published(2021)
- Personhistorisk tidsskrift{{#if:Thomle|, Thomle}. Samfundet for dansk genealogi og personalhistorie(1906)
- Kjærulfske studier{{#if:Klitgaard|, Klitgaard}. Schultz Forlag(1918)
- Nordmenn i slavefart{{#if:Engevold|, Engevold}. Humanist Forlag(2022)
- Dansk biografisk lexikon{{#if:Bricka|, Bricka}. Gyldendal(1887)
- Sources of the History of North Africa, Asia and Oceania in Denmark{{#if:Rise|, Rise}. De Gruyter(2011)
- Personhistorisk tidsskrift{{#if:Thomle|, Thomle}. Samfundet for dansk genealogi og personalhistorie(1888)
- Dansk biografisk lexikon{{#if:Bricka|, Bricka}. Gyldendal(1905)
- Historiske Efterretninger om Danske Søe-officierer{{#if:Lützow|, Lützow}. Johan Frederik Schultz(1788)