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.

On 8 November 1639, Willem Leyel leaves Denmark as commander of the ship "Christianshavn". The destination is the Danish possession Tranquebar with the fortress Dansborg on the south-western coast of India from which he is to manage the trading activities of the first Danish East India Company. The journey is a nightmare of obstacles and it ends up lasting several years. When he finally arrives at Dansborg on 5 September 1643, everything is in a state of decay and the relieved manager bolts with the last items of value. Leyel has to reconstruct everything from scratch and proves to be equal to the occasion. There are too few men, too little money, and hardly any connection to the management in Copenhagen. But Leyel knows how to stay friends with the local princes, he earns money through trading in their kingdoms -- and gradually through piracy too! -- so that Dansborg can remain Danish territory. The story of Willem Leyel builds primarily on his own records which are kept in the public record office. It paints a picture of a unique and fantastic piece of Danish history, of the conditions in Tranquebar, of life during the perilous voyages -- several dramatic events have been reconstructed down to the last detail.