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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.
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.
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