HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
and
Burgrave Burgrave, also rendered as burggrave (from german: Burggraf, la, burgravius, burggravius, burcgravius, burgicomes, also praefectus), was since the medieval period in Europe (mainly Germany) the official title for the ruler of a castle, especial ...
Christopher Delphicus zu Dohna-Carwinden (, ; 4 June 162821 May 1668) was a German-born soldier and diplomat. His family came from Carwinden, then in
Brandenburg-Prussia Brandenburg-Prussia (german: Brandenburg-Preußen; ) is the historiographic denomination for the early modern realm of the Brandenburgian Hohenzollerns between 1618 and 1701. Based in the Electorate of Brandenburg, the main branch of the Hohenz ...
, now part of modern
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
, but he was born in the
Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
and spent much of his life in the service of the
Swedish Empire The Swedish Empire was a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region during the 17th and early 18th centuries ( sv, Stormaktstiden, "the Era of Great Power"). The beginning of the empire is usually ta ...
. Appointed
Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...
in 1666, he helped negotiate the
1667 Treaty of Breda The Peace of Breda, or Treaty of Breda was signed in the Dutch city of Breda, on 31 July 1667. It consisted of three separate treaties between England and each of its opponents in the Second Anglo-Dutch War: the Dutch Republic, France, and Denma ...
and the 1668 Triple Alliance, the first in a series of attempts to contain French expansion under
Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...
. He died in London on 31 May 1668 and later buried in Uppsala Cathedral, Sweden.


Life

Dohna was born on 4 June 1628, the fourth son of
Christopher von Dohna Burgrave Christopher von Dohna ( German: ''Burggraf Christoph von Dohna''; 27 June 1583 – 1 July 1637) was a German politician and scholar during the time of the Thirty Years' War. He came from the Prussian family of the Burgraves of Dohna ...
(1583-1637) and Ursula von Solms-Braunfels (1594-1657). The family came from Carwinden, then in
Brandenburg-Prussia Brandenburg-Prussia (german: Brandenburg-Preußen; ) is the historiographic denomination for the early modern realm of the Brandenburgian Hohenzollerns between 1618 and 1701. Based in the Electorate of Brandenburg, the main branch of the Hohenz ...
, now part of modern
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
. His father moved to the Netherlands in 1628 when his estates were over-run during the 1626 to 1629 Polish–Swedish War; in 1630, he was appointed Governor of the
Principality of Orange The Principality of Orange (french: la Principauté d'Orange; oc, Principat d'Aurenja) was, from 1163 to 1713, a feudal state in Provence, in the south of modern-day France, on the east bank of the river Rhone, north of the city of Avignon, an ...
in 1630, which he retained until his death in 1637. Dohna's birth in the Dutch town of
Delft Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...
is commemorated in the name 'Delphicus'. He had twelve siblings, the most prominent being Friedrich, (1621-1688), who also became Governor of the Principality of Orange, and Christian Albrecht, (1621-1677), a general in the Prussian army. In 1658, he married Countess Anna (1620–90), a member of the powerful
Oxenstierna Oxenstierna ( , ) is a Swedish noble family, originally from Småland in southern Sweden which can be traced up to the middle of the 14th century. The Oxenstierna family held vast estates in Södermanland and Uppland during the late Middle Ages a ...
family and distant relative of the Swedish Royal family. They had three surviving children, Charlotte (1660-1735), Amalie (1661-1724), and Friedrich Christoph (1664-1727). Throughout his career, Friedrich served both Prussia and Sweden and in 1697 was appointed Prussia's representative in Stockholm.


Career

Dohna is a good example of the fluidity of European society in the 17th century, where religion and family were often more important than nationality. His father was a
Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
member of the Brandenburg nobility, with close ties to Frederick Henry (1584-1647), hereditary
Prince of Orange Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title originally associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by sovereigns in the Netherlands. The title ...
and
Stadtholder In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and H ...
of six Dutch provinces, including
Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...
,
Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...
and
Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...
. Prince Henry's wife,
Amalia of Solms-Braunfels Amalia may refer to: People *Amalia (given name), feminine given name (includes a list of people so named) * Princess Amalia (disambiguation), several princesses with this name Films and television series * ''Amalia'' (1914 film), the first ...
, was Dohna's aunt; his cousin William II (1626-1650), succeeded to his father's titles in 1647. In 1645, Dohna enlisted in the Dutch army and took part in the Siege of Hulst, last major action of the
Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an es ...
, which ended with the 1648
Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought pea ...
. His cousin William II died in 1650 and two years later, Dohna was appointed
Chamberlain Chamberlain may refer to: Profession *Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure People *Chamberlain (surname) **Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...
to
Christina, Queen of Sweden Christina ( sv, Kristina, 18 December (New Style) 1626 – 19 April 1689), a member of the House of Vasa, was Queen of Sweden in her own right from 1632 until her abdication in 1654. She succeeded her father Gustavus Adolphus upon his death a ...
. In 1653, he was promoted to
Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
in the
Royal Guard A royal guard is a group of military bodyguards, soldiers or armed retainers responsible for the protection of a royal person, such as the emperor or empress, king or queen, or prince or princess. They often are an elite unit of the regular arm ...
, then
Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
in 1654, shortly before Christina abdicated in favour of her cousin
Charles X Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Loui ...
. The relationship between Dohna and Christina is hard to assess; he clearly benefitted from frequent promotions but she was notorious for the indiscriminate distribution of posts and titles, while many historians consider her either asexual or homosexual. However, on her journey into exile, she dressed as a man and used the name 'Count Dohna'; in later life, she sometimes employed the title 'Countess Dohna'. His marriage to Anna in 1658 made Dohna brother-in-law to Bengt Oxenstierna, (1623-1702), a close advisor to Charles X, who then led the Swedish invasion of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
in 1655. He fought in the 1655 to 1660
Second Northern War The Second Northern War (1655–60), (also First or Little Northern War) was fought between Sweden and its adversaries the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1655–60), the Tsardom of Russia (Russo-Swedish War (1656–1658), 1656–58), Brande ...
and the 1666 Swedish War with Bremen, after which he was promoted
Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...
. In 1667, Dohna was part of the Swedish delegation that mediated an end to the 1665 to 1667
Second Anglo-Dutch War The Second Anglo-Dutch War or the Second Dutch War (4 March 1665 – 31 July 1667; nl, Tweede Engelse Oorlog "Second English War") was a conflict between Kingdom of England, England and the Dutch Republic partly for control over the seas a ...
. Their involvement arose from concerns over retaining control of the Baltic
grain trade The grain trade refers to the local and international trade in cereals and other food grains such as wheat, barley, maize, and rice. Grain is an important trade item because it is easily stored and transported with limited spoilage, unlike other ...
; the envoys sought to remove commercial concessions imposed by the Dutch Republic in the 1656 Treaty of Elbing, and end its alliance with Denmark. While lead negotiator Göran Fleming helped finalise the Treaty of Breda, Dohna was in
The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
, negotiating a separate Dutch-Swedish agreement. Both were signed on 31 July, while Dohna also managed to gain concessions on the Treaty of Elbing; the Dutch gave him 100,000 guilders in recognition of his services. On 31 January 1668, England signed a treaty of friendship with the Dutch Republic and
Sir William Temple Sir William Temple, 1st Baronet (25 April 162827 January 1699) was an English diplomat, statesman and essayist. An important diplomat, he was recalled in 1679, and for a brief period was a leading advisor to Charles II, with whom he then fell ...
, English ambassador in The Hague, invited Sweden to join them. After it had been approved by the government in Stockholm. Dohna travelled to London and signed on 25 April, creating the Triple Alliance. Considered a triumph for Swedish diplomacy, it brought together the three major powers in the
Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...
and
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
. In addition, Sweden was supposed to receive subsidies from Spain, although these were never paid. Dohna remained in London, where he died on 31 May 1668 and initially buried in Storkyrkan Cathedral, Stockholm, before being transferred to
Uppsala Cathedral Uppsala Cathedral ( sv, Uppsala domkyrka) is a cathedral located between the University Hall of Uppsala University and the Fyris river in the centre of Uppsala, Sweden. A church of the Church of Sweden, the national church, in the Lutheran tra ...
in 1674. The Triple Alliance collapsed in 1672 but his memorial in Uppsala includes his role in negotiating it; his monument was designed and executed by the Flemish sculptor
Pieter Verbrugghen the Elder Pieter Verbrugghen I (alternative spellings: ''Pieter Verbruggen I'', ''Peter van der Brugghen I'', ''Pieter van der Brugghen I'', ''Peter Verbrugghen I'', ''Peeter Verbrugghen I'') (1615, Antwerp – 1686, Antwerp) was a Flemish sculptor from th ...
and still exists.


References


Sources

* * * *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Delphicus zu Dohna, Christopher 1628 births 1668 deaths Swedish nobility German emigrants to Sweden Field marshals of Sweden People from Delft 17th-century Swedish military personnel Court of Christina, Queen of Sweden