Gustav Adolf Skytte af Duderhof (1637 – 21 April 1663) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

nobleman. He became a pirate 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 ...

in the years 1657 to 1662. Schloss stromsrum

Biography

Skytte was born at Strömsrum Manor 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. His 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. He was the grandson 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 nephew 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). In 1657, Skytte hired a Dutch ship together with some of his friends. Out on the sea, the noblemen murdered the captain and took over the ship, which they used as a pirate ship, attacking ships in the Baltic Sea. One of his colleagues was his brother-in-law Gustaf Drake (1634–1684) the husband of his sister

Christina Anna Skytte Christina Anna Skytte (9 November 1643 – 21 January 1677) was a Swedish baroness and pirate. Life Christina Anna Skytte was born in the parish of Ålems at Mönsterås Municipality, Mönsterås in Kalmar County, Sweden. Her parents were Anna ...

(1643–1677). They pursued this secret business from a base in

Blekinge Blekinge (, old da, Bleking) is one of the traditional Swedish provinces (), situated in the southern coast of the geographic region of Götaland, in southern Sweden. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea. It is the country's second ...

, Sweden. In 1659, Gustav Skytte married Brita Margareta Hamilton, daughter of Colonel Hugo Hamilton (c.1600–1678). In 1662, his pirate activity was exposed. Christina Anna and Gustaf Drake fled the country, but Gustav Skytte was arrested and put on trial. He was convicted of piracy and was executed at

Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat of Jönköping Municipali ...

in 1663. 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

Other sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Skytte, Gustav 1637 births 1663 deaths People from Kalmar 17th-century Swedish nobility Executed Swedish people People executed by the Swedish Empire People executed for piracy Swedish pirates 17th-century executions by Sweden People from the Swedish Empire 17th-century pirates

Biography

See also

References

Other sources