Willem Leyel's siege of Dansborg | |||||||
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Part of Conflict between Willem Leyel and Bernt Pessart | |||||||
Modern-day picture of Fort Dansborg, India | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Danish India | Leyel loyalist Portuguese Carical Supported by: Thanjavur Nayak Tranquebar | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Bernt Pessart Jacob Stackenborg Niels Andersen Frantz Erkmand | Willem Leyel Antonio Pacheco Vijaya Raghava Nayak | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
Unknown | Christianshavn | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
35 men | 70 men | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown | Unknown |
The Siege of Dansborg (Danish; Belejringen af Dansborg) alternatively the Siege of Fort Dansborg (Danish; Belejringen af Fort Dansborg) sometimes also referred to as Willem Leyel's siege of Dansborg (Danish; William Leyels belejring af Dansborg), was a siege initiated by traveler and seafarer, Willem (Danish; William) Leyel, against the men loyal to governor Bernt Pessart. The siege was concluded after the men at Dansborg opened the gates for Willem Leyel, surrendered, and accepted Leyel as the new governor.
In 1620, on a voyage from Denmark to India, Ove Gjedde established Danish India at Tranquebar. [1] His successor, Dutchman Ronald Crappé went further and established a far-flung string of Danish factories in Asia. [2] These foundations were, though, not maintained by his successor, Bernt Pessart (admin. 1636-1643) who encumbered large debts from the start of his administration. [2] Because of the economic failures, the largest investor in the company, king Christian IV of Denmark, sought to reestablish the economic success and therefore sent out experienced seafarer, Willem Leyel, to Tranquebar. [3] [4]
Leyel went ashore at Tranquebar on 22 June 1644, with 70 armed men, both "blacks and "whites", and two smaller guns. Concurrently, governor Bernt Pessart had left for Japan and left the fort in control of Jakob von Stackenborg. [3] [5] Stackenborg sealed off Dansborg for Leyel, [6] [7] [5] and subsequently, Leyel now initiated a siege on the fortress. [3] [6] [7]
Leyel was well-received by the local inhabitants of Tranquebar, who had suffered under Pessart’s rule, and now came with food and water to assist the besiegers. [3] [5] The local adrigar at once offered to assist Leyel with his own men. [3] [4] Leyel's army camped behind a stone powder magazine about two musket shots from Dansborg. [3] The siege lasted for some time. [5] [4] The Thanjavurians, who were eager to get rid of Pessart and his governorship, now helped Leyel and his men by feeding them. [3] [6] [7]
After some time, the commander of the guard, Frantz Erkmand, with some other men from Dansborg, came out and admitted that there was a shortage of nearly everything in Dansborg. [3] Leyel now showed Erkmand the king's orders, upon which Erkmand promised, on behalf of the garrison, that they would surrender and recognize Leyel as their governor if Leyel promised to pardon them on behalf of the king. [3] [4] [5] Leyel could not afford to lose more men on Tranquebar, and thus willingly accepted the demands. [3] [6] [7] [5]
The gates of Dansborg were now opened for Leyel and his men. [3] Yet to his demise, there was not much left but the naked walls. [3] [4] [5] Leyel initiated a closer inspection of Dansborg’s buildings and fortifications. [3] [4] [5] There did not seem to be a whole door or window frame in all of the fortifications, and everything was in bad shape. [3] [4] Leyel would, despite setbacks, still try to reestablish the trade and prestige of the Danish East India Company, which had been lost to his predecessor. [3] [4] [5]
Danish India was the name given to the forts and factories of Denmark in the Indian subcontinent, forming part of the Danish overseas colonies. Denmark–Norway held colonial possessions in India for more than 200 years, including the town of Tharangambadi in present-day Tamil Nadu state, Serampore in present-day West Bengal, and the Nicobar Islands, currently part of India's union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Danish and Norwegian presence in India was of little significance to the major European powers as they presented neither a military nor a mercantile threat. Dano-Norwegian ventures in India, as elsewhere, were typically undercapitalized and never able to dominate or monopolize trade routes in the same way that British, French, and Portuguese ventures could.
The Cattle War also commonly referred to as the Perumal War or the Perumal Naik-War was a colonial conflict between the Danish East India Company and the Thanjavur Maratha kingdom over the Danish governor Hans Georg Krog's expansionistic foreign policy. The conflict started over the raiding of Danish cattle by the local supervisor of a small land district, Perumal Naik.
The Siege of Dansborg or the Siege of Fort Dansborg, was a short siege lasting from 20 to 30 December 1644, between general Tiagepule of Thanjavur and the Danish command at Fort Dansborg. The conflict started over the Danish rejection of the general's demand to tax Tranquebar, and as a result, a series of confrontations followed. The confrontations had no major result, and an armistice may have been signed.
The Tillali Massacre, or the Battle of Tillali was a confrontation on 30 June 1756 during the Cattle War, between the Danish command at the village of Tillali (Thillaiyadi) and the Raja of Thanjavur, Pratap Singh. The confrontation resulted in a Thanjavurian victory and a subsequent massacre of most Danish troops. After the victory, the Thanjavurian army led a further invasion into Danish Tranquebar and besieged Fort Dansborg.
The Siege of Dansborg or the Siege of Fort Dansborg, was a siege of the newly finished Danish fort of Dansborg in Trangebar in 1624. The siege was initiated by the nayak of Thanjavur, Raghunatha, because of the Danish rejection of the demands from the nayak. The Siege, laid by general Calicut, was abandoned after the arrival of Danish reinforcements from sea. The event is mostly described by Icelander, Jón Ólafsson, in his work The Life of the Icelander Jón Ólafsson, Traveller to India.
A Siege of Dansborg may refer to:
Willem Leyel or Willum Leyel was a Danish governor of Tranquebar and captain in the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy.
The Skirmish at the Strait of Malacca was a skirmish between the claimed governor of Tranquebar, Bernt Pessart, and the local authorities of Dutch Malacca. The confrontation led to the imprisonment or death of all of Pessart's crew and the confiscation of the vessel, Dend gode Haab. Although Pessart and his crew would later be released and cooperate with the Dutch to spy on the Spanish in Manila.
The Siege of Tranquebar was a siege of the Danish colony of Tranquebar by Shahuji I of the Thanjavur Maratha kingdom in 1699. Despite the dire situation of the besieged Danes, the English at Madras came to relieve the Danes, and the Thanjavurians would eventually retreat.
The Ambush near the Bay of Manila, alternatively the Death of Bernt Pessart, was an ambush by the Indigenous peoples of the Philippines, against a combined Dano-Dutch espionaging expeditionary force in 1645. The ambush led to the death of former governor and president of Danish India, Bernt Pessart.
The Sieges of Tranquebar or the War between Tranquebar and Thanjavur refers to the warfare between the Thanjavur Nayak kingdom and Danish Tranquebar between 1655 – 1669. The Thanjavurian sieges were repelled, mainly due to the new fortifications being built around Tranquebar, and a peace agreement was issued in 1669.
The Conflict between William Leyel and Bernt Pessart refers to the tensions and minor civil war between Willem Leyel and Bernt Pessart over the governorship of Tranquebar and the Danish East India Company. The conflict led to the escape of Bernt Pessart, and the command at Tranquebar accepted Willem Leyel as governor of Danish India.
The Capture of St. Michael or the Seizure of St. Michael, was a Danish seizure of a Bengali ship in the Bay of Bengal. The Danes captured the Bengali ship and the vessel was subsequently incorporated into the Danish Navy given the name St. Michael.
The Battle of Balasore was an engagement between Bengali and English ships against Danish ships at Balasore. When the English failed to persuade the Danes, the Bengalis started attacking the English vessel, yet the English were rescued by the Dutch.
Roland Crappé or Roelant Crappé was a Dutch colonial official serving the Dutch and Danish East India Company. He became director general of the Ceylonese department of the Danish East India Company in 1618 and became commander in chief and governor of Tranquebar upon his seventh arrival in the Indies in 1624. During his leadership, new factories and offices were established and Danish trade went exceptionally well. He died in 1644 only a few years after his homecoming to Denmark.
The Tranquebar Rebellion also known as the TranquebarMutiny was a bloodless mutiny and uprising against the governor of Tranquebar, Willem Leyel, at Tranquebar in 1648. The mutineers succeeded in arresting Leyel, and he would be replaced by the leader of the rebellion, Paul Hansen Korsør.
Bernt Pessart, Berndt Pessart or Berent Pessart was a Dutch overhoved and self-proclaimed President of Danish India from 1636 to 1643. In his earlier years, he would serve the Dutch East India Company in Bantam, and in September 1636 he would land in Danish Tranquebar on the St. Jacob. Here he would serve the Danish East India Company until his deposure in 1643, after which he again would serve the Dutch East India Company by espionage on the Spanish Philippines. He would die in June 1645 by an ambush of local natives near Manila.
The Expulsion of Danes from Balasore was a violent expulsion and ousting of the Danish East India Company from the Mughal habour and trading hub of Balasore in 1643 or 1644 by the local Mughal governor, Malik Beg.
The Dano-Carical Conflict was a small-scale conflict between the Danes at Tranquebar and the Portuguese at Carical (Karaikal). The conflict includes three smaller naval engagements, which eventually led to a four-hour-long imprisonment of Danish Captain Simon Jansen.
Willem Leyel's war on Golconda, or simply the Dano-Golconda War, was a brief privateering war between Sultanate of Golkonda and the Danish East India Company led by Willem Leyel. The hostilities quickly resulted in a peace treaty and the two parties would soon reconcile.