Christina Anna Skytte (9 November 1643 – 21 January 1677) was a Swedish

baroness Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher th ...

and

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

Life

Christina Anna Skytte was born in the parish of Ålems at Mönsterås in

Kalmar County Kalmar County () is a county or '' län'' in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Kronoberg, Jönköping, Blekinge and Östergötland. To the east in the Baltic Sea is the island Gotland. The counties are mainly administrative units. Geo ...

, Sweden. Her parents were Anna Bielkenstjerna (c. 1617–1663) and Jacob Skytte af Duderhof (1616-1654) who served as governor of

Östergötland Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English li ...

during 1645–1650. She was the granddaughter of Swedish governor,

Johan Skytte Johan Skytte (1577, in Nyköping – 15 March 1645, in Söderåkra, Sweden) was a Swedish statesman, and the founder of the ''Academia Gustaviana'' (today's University of Tartu in Estonia), in 1632. He was a son of the mayor of Nyköping, Bengt ...

(1577–1645), and niece of the salonist and poet

Vendela Skytte Vendela Skytte (or Wendela Skytte) (8 December 1608 – 18 August 1629) was a Swedish noblewoman, salonist and writer, poet and Lady of Letters. During her lifetime, she became an ideal and role model for a learned female scholar. Biography ...

(1608–1629).

Piracy

From 1657 onward, her brother, Gustav Skytte, secretly managed a pirate ship, attacked and plundered ships in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

. Christina Anna and her fiancé, Gustaf Drake (1634–84), were also initiated in this activity and became his partners. Christina Anna and Gustaf Drake were no passive partner in her brother's enterprise. They reportedly had one of their partners killed, likely due to him wanting to withdraw from the business. In 1662, she was reportedly present when they attacked a Dutch merchant ship, murdered its crew and sunk the ship somewhere between

Öland Öland (, ; ; sometimes written ''Øland'' in other Scandinavian languages, and often ''Oland'' internationally; la, Oelandia) is the second-largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area ...

and

Bornholm Bornholm () is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland. Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. It has usually been ruled by ...

. This attack exposed them after the shipwreck washed up on the beach of Öland, in August of that same year. This event led to the spread of rumors in the capital pointing them out as responsible. The Dutch envoy in Stockholm demanded action from the Swedish authorities.

Later life

Christina Anna and Gustaf Drake married in 1662 and fled to Denmark to avoid arrest. Her brother, Gustav Skytte, did not manage to escape; he was arrested, put on trial for piracy, judged guilty as charged and executed in April 1663. Christina Anna was only 18 when her brother was arrested. Being a married woman and therefore a minor in contemporary law, Christina Anna was not personally prosecuted, but her spouse Gustaf Drake was charged in his absence and sentenced to confiscation of his property. In 1668, they returned to Sweden. Gustaf Drake was tried in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

, but was pardoned. Thereafter, the couple settled at Edeby gård in the parish of Ripsa at

Nyköping Nyköping () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Nyköping Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 32,759 inhabitants as of 2017. The city is also the capital of Södermanland County. Including Arnö, the locality on the ...

Södermanland Södermanland ( or ), locally Sörmland, sometimes referred to under its Latin form ''Sudermannia'' or ''Sudermania'', is a historical province or ''landskap'' on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Östergötland, Närke, Västmanla ...

In fiction

Gustav Skytte was featured by Viktor Rydberg (1828-1895) in the 1857 novel ''

The Freebooter of the Baltic ''The Freebooter of the Baltic'' ( sv, Fribytaren på Östersjön, 1857 in literature, 1857) is an early novel by the Sweden, Swedish romantic novelist Viktor Rydberg. The adventure is set in 17th century Sweden and is a swashbuckling tale of pira ...

'' (''Fribytaren på Östersjön'' Stockholm: Albert Bonniers förlag).

References

External links