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Trials & Travels of Willem Leyel - An Account of the Danish East India Company in Tranquebar, 1639-48 (Hardcover)
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Trials & Travels of Willem Leyel - An Account of the Danish East India Company in Tranquebar, 1639-48 (Hardcover)
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On 8 November 1639, Willem Leyel left Denmark as commander of the
ship Christianshavn bound for the Danish colony of Tranquebar with
its fortress Dansborg, where he was to take charge of all trading
operations of the first Danish East India Company. The voyage,
however, became a seemingly endless nightmare of difficulties and
disasters. When Leyel finally reached Tranquebar almost four years
later, he found the fortress in a state of complete disrepair --
with the former governor having run off with everything of value.
But despite having only a few men in his service, barely any
capital and almost no possibility of communicating with the
managers of the Company in Copenhagen, Leyel managed to turn things
around -- befriending local princes and establishing a profitable
trade with their kingdoms, at times even resorting to piracy in
order to preserve Tranquebar on Danish hands. Drawing on Leyel's
own letters and papers located in The National Archives in
Copenhagen, Asta Bredsdorff ingeniously weaves together the rich
narrative strains in order to produce a moving and memorable
account of Leyel's exploits in the East Indies. The source material
even allows for a reconstruction of several dramatic episodes down
to the last detail. This book offers a fascinating account of
personal fortitude, courage and determination as well as a unique
and fantastic glimpse of the conditions in Tranquebar at the time,
of life at sea during the dangerous voyages and of Danish history
in general.
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