Capture of Carolusborg (1658)

Last updated
Capture of Carolusborg (1658)
Part of Dano-Swedish War (1657–1658)
CapeCoastCastle1682 300dpi 001.jpg
Fort Carolusborg, built on the initiative of Hendrik Carloff
Date26 January 1658
Location
Carolusborg, Gold coast
Result Dano-Norwegian victory
Territorial
changes
Carolusborg conquered by Denmark-Norway
Belligerents
Naval Ensign of Sweden.svg Swedish Empire Fetu Kingdom
Rebellious slaves
Commanders and leaders
Naval Ensign of Sweden.svg Johann Phillip  (POW)
Naval Ensign of Sweden.svg Unknown captain (POW)
Royal Standard of Denmark (1731-1819).svg Hendrik Carloff
Acrosan
Hennique
Units involved
Naval Ensign of Sweden.svg Carolusborg garrison
Naval Ensign of Sweden.svgStockholms Slot
Flag of Denmark (state).svg Glückstadt
Strength
16 men
1 ship
40–50 Dano-Norwegians
50–60 Dutch remidors
22 Dutch sailors
100 Fetu natives
4 boats
Total: 190–210 men
Casualties and losses
Entire garrison surrendered
1 ship captured
Negligible

The Capture of Carolusborg (1658) was a capture by the newly recruited Hendrik Carloff on the Swedish fort of Carolusborg on the Gold Coast.

Contents

Background

Founder
David Beck - Louis De Geer d.a. 1587-1657.jpg
Louis De Geer the Elder. 1587-1657 by David Beck

Establishment of the Swedish Africa company

In 1649, the Swedish African company would be created by Louis De Geer along with his son Laurens and other nobles with the privilege to trade slaves, gold and ivory with a letter of privilege issued by Queen Christina. [1] [2] [3] The majority of the share in the company was held by De Geer while others such as Gustaf Horn, Johan Adeler Salvius, and Peter Julius Coyet held smaller shares. [1]

1650 Expedition

In 1650, the two ships, Christina and Stockholms Slott were prepared for an expedition into Africa. Queen Christina excitedly attended the preparations. The ships were loaded with fabrics, copper, iron, tin,

glass beads, knives, mirrors and brandy in order to conduct trade on the Gold coast. [1] When the ships arrived, the Swedes set up a trading post and returned to Sweden with gold, ivory and sugar. [4] [1]

An aide to De Geer, a man named Hendrik Carloff, was appointed governor of the colony, and quickly began preparations to construct a fortress. [1]

Establishment of Carolusborg

Map
Guinea map 1725.jpg
Historic map of the coast of West Africa, then called "Guinea", c. 1725 by Herman Moll

After he had arrived on the Gold coast on 22 April 1650, Carloff quickly began working to renew an agreement that had previously been signed by a certain Gabbesen with King Bredeva of the Fetu. After this, despite protests from other natives he began construction of a fort he named Carolusborg. [5]

Hendrik Carloff's defection

In 1656, a feud between Hendrik and the Swedish Africa company rose up, and he later resigned in anger and offered his services to the Danish king, Frederick III after the Dano-Swedish War had broken out earlier, he was assigned a mission to capture Carolusborg from the Swedes. [5] [6]

Capture

Fetu warriors
Fetu warriors.jpg
Representations of Fetu Warriors by Edmund Halley

On December 1, after signing an agreement with the Danish king, Carloff began sailing to the Gold coast from Glückstadt harbor. When he arrived at Gemoree on January 25, he showed the Swedish colors which prompted the local Swedish agent to send a man to him. However, Carloff detained the man in order to extract information from him about Carolusborg. [5] [6] From the information he received, he quickly sailed over to the nearby Fort Axim controlled by the Dutch to ask for help in taking the fortress. [5] The Dutch quickly agreed to help Carloff, giving him 4 boats, 50-60 Remidors, and 22 sailors. [5] [6] During a march towards Carolusborg in the night, Carloff sent messages to all neighbouring tribes requesting aid in expelling the Swedes. The most important person he contacted was the brother of the King of the Fetu, Hennique. He was able to persuade the African chief to promise aid to Carloff, and under the cover of night he let Carloff into Ogua where the chief called together the slaves under the Swedish African company and promised them riches if they offered their assistance. [5] [6]

In the next morning, a dense fog covered the surrounding area of Carolusborg, and after the company slaves had picked up their tools and entered the fortress they knocked down a Swedish sentry and announced that those who didn't show resistance would receive their pay as normal. They also opened the gate allowing for the Dutch sailors and around 100 natives entered. [5] [6] Since the Swedish garrison only consisted of 16 men, resistance was all but futile. [6] The Swedish commander and governor, Johann Philipp von Krusenstjerna, was captured along with the captain of the Stockholms slott when Johann was forced to lure him into the fortress. [5] [6] The Dutch support troops were able to persuade the Dutch sailors who made up the majority of the crew on the Stockholms slott to come to them, and since the remaining Swedish crew were not numerous enough to sail away, the Dutch were able to capture it. [5] [6]

Aftermath

The Swedes in the garrison who chose to enter into service under Carloff were permitted to do so, and Carloff gathered them in the hall of the fort and forced them to swear an oath of allegiance to himself and make a written confirmation of it. The Danish flag would eventually be hoisted, and the Danish artillery signal would be fired. [5] [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fredriksten</span> Historic fortress in Halden, Viken, Norway

Fredriksten is a fortress in the city of Halden in Norway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Coast Castle</span> Former fortified colonial trading post in Ghana

Cape Coast Castle is one of about forty "slave castles", or large commercial forts, built on the Gold Coast of West Africa by European traders. It was originally a Portuguese "feitoria" or trading post, established in 1555, which was named Cabo Corso.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of the Sound</span> 1658 naval battle of the Second Northern War

The Battle of the Sound was a naval engagement which took place on 8 November 1658 during the Second Northern War, near the Sound or Øresund, just north of the Danish capital, Copenhagen. Sweden had invaded Denmark and an army under Charles X of Sweden had Copenhagen itself under siege. The Dutch fleet was sent to prevent Sweden from gaining control of both sides of the Sound and thereby controlling access to the Baltic Sea as well as of its trade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scanian War</span> 1675–79 war between Sweden and Denmark–Norway

The Scanian War was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark–Norway, Brandenburg and Sweden. It was fought from 1675 to 1679 mainly on Scanian soil, in the former Danish–Norwegian provinces along the border with Sweden, and in Northern Germany. While the latter battles are regarded as a theater of the Scanian war in English, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish historiography, they are seen as a separate war in German historiography, called the Swedish-Brandenburgian War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swedish overseas colonies</span> Colonies controlled by Sweden

Swedish overseas colonies consisted of the overseas colonies controlled by Sweden. Sweden possessed overseas colonies from 1638 to 1663, in 1733 and from 1784 to 1878. Sweden possessed five colonies, four of which were short lived. The colonies spanned three continents: Africa, Asia and North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis De Geer (1587–1652)</span> Dutch politician and merchant (1587–1652)

Louis De Geer was a Walloon-Swedish entrepreneur, banker, industrialist and slave trader, who was part of the prominent De Geer family. A pioneer of foreign direct investment in the early modern period, De Geer is considered to be both the father of Swedish industry for introducing Walloon blast furnaces to Sweden and the father of the Swedish slave trade for pioneering Sweden's involvement in the Atlantic slave trade. Furnaces owned by De Geer produced cannons for German Protestants and the Dutch Navy and the Dutch East and West India Companies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swedish Gold Coast</span> Swedish colony in present-day Ghana

The Swedish Gold Coast was a colony of the Swedish Africa Company founded in 1650 by Hendrik Carloff on the Gulf of Guinea in present-day Ghana in Africa. Under foreign occupation for much of its existence, it disappeared for good in April 1663 when it became part of the Dutch Gold Coast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Gothenburg</span>

The history ofGothenburg begins with the foundation of the city in 1621, although by that time people had already been living in the area for thousands of years, since the Neolithic Period, and moreover there had already been a series of earlier settlements on the lower Göta Älv, including one which also bore the name Gothenburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Landskrona Citadel</span>

Landskrona Citadel is situated in Landskrona, Scania, southern Sweden. Much of the original work is intact. Examples remain of all major parts of the fortification, which is uncommon in such an accessible area. The moat around the central fortification is intact, as are the north-west and north-east parts of the outermost moat, which originally connected to a moat surrounding the city itself. Centermost, the citadel sits on an island surrounded by its own moat. North of the fort, between the second, third and fourth moat is Sweden's oldest allotment-garden. Several of its garden houses are attractions in themselves. Also the fortress castle itself hides both history as such as well as historical horrors, like the 16th Century dungeon in the old western tower, into which the unlucky prisoners were thrown down through a hatch. If surviving the 4-5 meter fall, there then was neither any daylight or any way out. Also the eastern tower has in later centuries served as a prison for those serving life sentences. Around 1900 until 1940 a part of the fortress served as a forced labour institution for vagrant women

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halmstad Castle</span>

Halmstad Castle is a 17th-century castle situated in Halmstad, in the province of Halland, Sweden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dano-Swedish War (1658–1660)</span> War between Denmark–Norway and Sweden that took place between 1658-60

The Dano-Swedish War of 1658–1660 was a war between Denmark–Norway and Sweden, with the former backed by the Dutch Republic and Poland. It is known in Denmark as the Second Karl Gustav War, in Norway as Bjelkes Feud in Sweden as Karl Gustav's Second Danish War, and in the Netherlands as the Swedish-Dutch War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Fredriksten</span> 1718 siege of the Great Northern War

The Siege of Fredriksten was an attack on the Norwegian fortress of Fredriksten in the city of Fredrikshald by King Charles XII of Sweden. While inspecting his troops' lines, Charles XII was killed by a projectile. The Swedes broke off the siege, and the Norwegians held the fortress. Along with the Treaty of Nystad three years later, the death of Charles XII marked the end of the imperial era in Sweden, and the beginning of the Age of Liberty in that country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Batenstein</span> UNESCO World Heritage Site in Western Region, Ghana

Fort Batenstein was a fort and trading post established by the Dutch on the Gold Coast in 1656. It was situated near Butre. The fort was ceded with the entire Dutch Gold Coast to Britain in 1872.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hendrik Carloff</span> 17th century European adventurer

Hendrik Carloff, Caerloff or Caarlof was an adventurer and slave trader active in the 17th century. Carloff began his career as a cabin boy but rose to become a commander and governor appointed by the Dutch West India Company and Danish or the Swedish Africa Company on the Gold Coast. Between 1676 and 1677, he was Governor of Tobago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swedish Africa Company</span> Swedish trading company, founded in 1649

The Swedish Africa Company was a Swedish trading company, founded in 1649 on the initiative of the Walloon-Dutch merchant Louis De Geer and his son Laurens, for whom Sweden had become a second home. The primary interest of the company was the trade on the Swedish Gold Coast, notably the trade of human beings to be sold into slavery in the Americas.

Johann Philipp von Krusenstjerna (1624–1659) was a German soldier who entered the service of the Swedish Africa Company. He was the second governor of Cape Coast Castle. However, this was not to the liking of Hendrik Carloff, the previous governor appointed by the Swedish Africa Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Älvsborg</span> Castle in Gothenburg, Sweden

Älvsborg, now generally known as Old Älvsborg or Älvsborg Castle to distinguish it from the later New Älvsborg and Älvsborg Fortress, was a medieval castle situated on the rocky outcrop known as Klippan, on the south bank of the Göta Älv river within the urban area of the modern city of Gothenburg. It was demolished in the late seventeenth century, but some of its ruins are still visible today, close to the southern pylon of the Älvsborg Bridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capture of Fort Casimir</span>

The Capture of Fort Casimir was a confrontation between a Swedish force of 1 sloop and 20–30 armed soldiers under Johan Risingh against the Dutch controlled Fort Casimir under Sergeant Gerrit Bicker and a garrison of 10–12 men on May 31 1654, it ended with a Swedish victory and the fort was captured by Johan Risingh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dano-Dutch colonial conflict on the Gold Coast</span> War between the Dutch and Danish, 1661–1665

The Dano-Dutch colonial conflict on the Gold Coast was a colonial conflict between the Danes and Dutch over the control of European fortifications on the Gold Coast. Denmark-Norway, assisted by England, defeated the Dutch in various places, although Michiel de Ruyter retaliated against the English by recapturing all forts but Cape Coast. This forced the Royal African Company into bankruptcy, which started the Second Anglo-Dutch War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War in Gotland (1524)</span> Swedish expedition to Gotland in 1524

The War in Gotland (1524) also called the Gotland expedition was a Swedish invasion of Gotland led by Berend von Melen against Gotland which was controlled by Søren Norby during the Swedish War of Liberation. The Swedes left the island in early October after peace was signed with Denmark at the Malmö Recess

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Svensk historia - Hans Högman". www.hhogman.se. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
  2. "Kolonin Cabo Corso 1649-1658 - Historiesajten.se". historiesajten.se. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
  3. "The Swedish Africa Company is Formed". African American Registry. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
  4. "Svensk slavhandel | Historia | SO-rummet". www.so-rummet.se (in Swedish). 2024-03-26. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 georg norregard (1966). danish settlements in west africa 1658-1850. Internet Archive.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Milhist (2013-11-01). "Svenskekrig på Guineakysten -". milhist.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 2024-04-16.

5°06′13″N1°14′29″W / 5.1036°N 1.2413°W / 5.1036; -1.2413