Jacob, Count Palatine and Baron de Petersen (before ennoblement Jacob Petersen) (born September 26, 1622, in Rendsburg, died October 26, 1704, in Leusden) was a Danish and Brunswijker courtier, politician and diplomat. He wore the dignity of Count Palatine (Comes Palatinus), imperial Baron, Lord of Engelenburg, Aschat and the house of Heiligenberg. [2] At the end of the 17th century, De Petersen became the largest landowner in Northern Norway through inheritance. [3]
De Petersen's ancestors lived in Rendsburg, he himself is regarded as the ancestor of the imperial barons De Petersen who emigrated to the Netherlands. He was born under the name Petersen [2] as son of unknown parents. [1] After his tailoring apprenticeship, Petersen came into contact with Frederik Ahlefeldt, the later Grand Chancellor, whom he accompanied as a valet on his travels through Europe in 1647–53. [1] In May 1654, during the court stay in Flensburg, Ahlefeldt was appointed chief valet, and it was apparently he who employed Petersen as a valet to the king Frederick III of Denmark and Norway before May 1655. In 1658, during the Swedish-Danish War, he was in Lübeck to issue one loan for the king and the other one for privateers. At the beginning of his career Petersen officially acted as the king's senior valet and secret valet, [2] later as the king's chamberlain. [4] [5] [6] After the coup d'état in 1660, he was described by a foreign envoy as the king's "darling", but he was particularly in the favor of Queen Sophie Amalie, to whom he was attached as "secret chamberlain". [1] Politically, he played a major role in those years within the Queen's party, which included men like Hannibal Sehested. [1]
Jacob Petersen belonged to the influential circle around Sehested, Ahlefeldt, Hans Svane, Peter Bülche and Theodor Lente, who became increasingly opposed to Frederick III's favorite Christoffer Gabel. Sehested called Petersen in a letter in 1662 as a "respected, particularly trusted, valued friend". [1] Petersen was a factotum in terms of wardrobe and party arrangements and appeared in 1663 as court knight of the queen at the end of the ring at the Electoral Saxon presentation. He also assisted with her various installations in Dronninggård and the construction of the Princess Courtyard in Frederiksborg. In return for his services he was given the Østrup estate by Lake Esrum. [1] In 1663 Petersen received a royal charter with the coat of arms of the southern Jutland noble family Von Petersen, also known as Von Dedens, to whom he was hardly related. [1] Gabel's appointment as privy councilor and governor of Copenhagen in August 1664 spelled defeat for the queen and her circle, who had campaigned for Sehested to become prime minister. Probably fearing Gabel's revenge, Petersen, who had just been appointed as Gabel's successor as councillor, left Copenhagen in November on the pretext of a health trip. [1] [7] Petersen was unspecifically accused of being involved in "many intrigues". [8]
Jacob Petersen sought refuge with the Dukes of Brunswick, the Queen's brothers, sought their intercession in vain, and then settled in The Hague, where he became ducal commissioner in The Netherlands end of 1664. Later he was appointed general commissioner, councillor, Minister-Resident (a sort of Ambassador) and political agent of Rudolph Augustus, Duke of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel in the Netherlands. [1] [2] He was also a canon at the Oud-Munster in Utrecht. [1]
In 1669 Petersen married Catharina Bicker, Lady of Engelenburg (1642-1678), [2] daughter of the knight Jacob Bicker (1612-1676) and Alida Bicker [2] [1] (a daughter of Andries Bicker). She may have introduced her eponymous cousin, a daughter of Andries Bicker, to Joachim Irgens von Westervick, the owner of several copper mines on Røros (Norway) and owner of the private Irgens Estate, which was huge part of Northern Norway. Afterwards Bicker get married by Irgens von Westerwich, [9] and Irgens and Petersen become cousins-in-law.
As Frederik III. died in 1670 Queen Sophie Amalie dropped all charges against Petersen [8] and when Gabel fell out of favor soon, Ahlefeldt had Petersen's sentence overturned because of his illegal stay abroad, his marriage and other crimes. The entire trial was erased from the court record. [1] In 1675, Petersen tried unsuccessfully to get to Copenhagen through Peder Schumacher Griffenfeld. Perhaps the new King and his circle also feared his influence, for he still had friends in the highest offices. This was shown by the fact that his sons, who were baptized in Utrecht in 1674 and 1675, almost all had godparents from the Danish royal family, supplemented by his old friends Hans Schack and Frederik Ahlefeldt. [1] The couple Jacob Petersen and Catharina Bicker had seven children, all of whom grew up in Utrecht, including his heir Jacob de Petersen. [2] He operated Financial transactions in connection with Irgens von Westervick. [1] Emperor Leopold I appointed him and his descendants Imperial barons De Petersen on November 18, 1676. [1] The highest honor was the Palatinate, the title of Count Palatine, [2] [1] the title Wohlgeboren , the perpetual right to court at the Viennese Imperial Court and the right to inherit courtiers. [10] That Was at the time when the Emperor, who needed money to pay his mercenary army, granted more titles for money. [4] As a result, De Petersen's 2nd cousin Pieter de Graeff wrote a paper on the older genealogy of his family. [11]
De Petersen was a wealthy man [4] and owned the manor house De Heiligenberg in the Lordship of Asschat (Leusden), [1] where he spent the summers and an estate near 's-Graveland. [2] He spent the winters at the Janskerkhof in Utrecht. [4] He was, also as a catholic, the biggest supporter for the construction of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Amersfoort. The sacrament silver, in 1914 in use, with his coat of arms and initials was donated by him to the church. [4]
When Petersen's cousin-in-law Joachim Irgens von Westervick died in 1675, his estate was bankrupt and his widow, Cornelia Bicker, entered into multi-creditor proceedings. Lawspeaker Gjert Lange, who had been the manager of Irgens Estate, had a lien on all properties in North Troms, a total of about 120 company numbers and 80 to 90 fin spacings. Lange mortgaged the property in the years 1686-1705. By a Supreme Court ruling in 1705, Cornelia Bicker regained control of the estate by repurchasing Lange, and the sum was allegedly provided by Jacob de Petersen. De Petersen had also registered his claims to the estate by reference to a mortgage deed from 1677, but his heirs did not become owners of the Tromsø Estate until 1713. A Hans Graa managed this part of the estate around 1680, then Andreas Tønder in the years 1690-1710, and after him came Carsten Andersen Bernhoft. Also in Helgeland, Jacob de Petersen became the owner of some estates after Irgens von Westerwick a total of approx. 80 farm number. In addition, it came with a whole lot of tithes, management, patchwork tax, hunting trips, as well as sightings and cases. Bailiff Peder Christophersen Broch was for a time trustee for this part of De Petersen's estate. De Petersen himself apparently had no intention of becoming a landowner in northern Norway. He never set foot on Norwegian soil, and strangely enough, he never acquired a deed to the properties either. [3]
Frederick III was King of Denmark and Norway from 1648 until his death in 1670. He also governed under the name Frederick II as diocesan administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Verden, and the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen (1635–45).
Christoffer Gabel was a Danish statesman. He was the father of Vice Governor-general of Norway, Frederik Gabel.
Hannibal Sehested was a Dano-Norwegian statesman and son-in-law of King Christian IV. He served as Governor-general of Norway from 1642 to 1651. He fought in the Torstenson War against Sweden and implemented many reforms in Norway. After a fall from grace leading to his resignation as Governor-general in 1651, he regained the trust of Frederick III in 1660 and negotiated the Treaty of Copenhagen. He worked as lord treasurer and councillor of state until his death in 1666.
Hans Svane (Svaning) was a Danish statesman and clergy member of the Church of Denmark. He was a professor at the University of Copenhagen from 1635 and Bishop of the Diocese of Zealand from 1655 until his death.
Andries Bicker was a prominent burgomaster (mayor) of Amsterdam, politician and diplomat in the Dutch Republic. He was a member of the Bicker family, who governed the city of Amsterdam and with it the province of Holland for about half a century. At that time, the Republic was at the height of its power.
Joan or Johan Huydecoper van Maarsseveen, knighted lord of Maarsseveen, was an important merchant, financial expert, property developer active in Amsterdam and a director of the Dutch East India Company during the Dutch Golden Age. The republican minded Huydecoper was an influential member of the Dutch States Party, diplomat and six times mayor of Amsterdam. He was together with Cornelis de Graeff one of the initiators of the construction of the new town hall of Amsterdam and was a prominent patron of the arts and art collector. Beside Maarsseveen he held the feudal titles of Neerdijk, Thamen and Blockland. Huydecoper is representative of the love of art, political influence and welfare in the Golden Age.
Andries de Graeff was a regent and burgomaster (mayor) of Amsterdam and leading Dutch statesman during the Golden Age.
Jan Gerritsz. Bicker was a general contractor, shipping magnate, mayor (burgomaster) and a member of the Bicker family, influential regenten from Amsterdam.
Henrik Ruse, Baron of Rysensteen was a Dutch officer and fortification engineer. Following a period when he served in various armies in Germany and Italy, he wrote a well-researched book documenting the latest trends in fortification systems across Europe. As a result, he was entrusted with commissions for improving defences in his native Amsterdam, in Germany, and finally in Denmark and Norway where, benefitting from the support of the monarchy, he first became a general and later a baron. Ruse died in Sauwerd near Groningen in the Netherlands.
Bicker is a very old Dutch patrician family. The family has played an important role during the Dutch Golden Age. They led the Dutch States Party and were at the centre of Amsterdam oligarchy from the beginning of the 17th century until the early 1650s, influencing the government of Holland and the Republic of the United Netherlands. Their wealth was based on commercial transactions, and in their political commitment they mostly opposed the House of Orange.
Joachim Irgens von Westervick, born as Jochum Jürgens, was a Dano-Norwegian nobleman, a Danish official and an estate owner. He was one of the most important financial magnates and entrepreneurs in Denmark–Norway and also hold land in the Netherlands. Between 1666 and 1675 he owned the Norwegian Irgens Estate, which was huge part of Northern Norway, as a private estate. He held the titles of Lord of Vestervig, Lord of Horsleben and Noordlanden. The Danish variant of his name by birth was Joachim Irgens.
The Irgens Estate, which existed from 1666 and to c. 1675, was a private estate in Norway.
Tromsø Estate (Tromsøgodset) was an estate located in Troms, Norway. It was once part of the more sizable Irgens Estate.
Events from the year 1708 in Denmark.
Gjorslev is a cruciform medieval castle located 17 km south-east of Køge, on the Stevns Peninsula, Stevns Municipality, some forty kilometres south of Copenhagen, Denmark. Originally owned by the Bishop of Roskilde, it is considered one of the most well-preserved examples of Gothic secular architecture in Denmark.
Frederik Gabel (1645–1708) was a Danish-Norwegian nobleman who served as Vice Governor-general of Norway from 1699 until his death in 1708.
Carl von Ahlefeldt was a German-Danish statesman. He was a stadtholder and by birth a member of the House of Ahlefeld. He was part of the inner circle around Frederick IV until 1712 and then became Governor-general of Slesvig-Holsten.
Jacob Bicker was a Dutch patrician and merchant. He was a director of the Oostzeevaart, handling grain trade with Riga, since 1618 and a manager of the Dutch East India Company and between 1641-1646 manager of the Wisselbank.
Count Frederik of Ahlefeldt-Rixingen was a Danish landowner and statesman. By birth member of the House of Ahlefeldt, he was the first reigning Count of Rixingen. He was also Grand Chancellor during the reign of King Christian V. He was also Landgrave of Langeland.
Gerard Bicker (I) van Swieten, Lord of Swieten was a Dutch aristocrat and civil servant.