Henrik Span
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Henrik Span (17 April 1634 - 27 December 1694) was a naval officer in the Dutch, Venetian and DanishTopsøe-Jensen Vol 2 pp 235 - 236 services. He reached the rank of Admiral in the
Royal Danish Navy The Royal Danish Navy ( da, Søværnet) is the sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Islands and Greenland). O ...
in 1683 and headed the Royal Danish Naval Dockyard in
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
from 1690. In 1692, he was granted Hørbygaard at Holbæk and raised to the peerage by
Christian V of Denmark Christian V (15 April 1646 25 August 1699) was king of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699. Well-regarded by the common people, he was the first king anointed at Frederiksborg Castle chapel as absolute monarch since the decr ...
.


Early life

Span was born in Oldendorf in the County of Schaumburg, the son of consul Bernhard Span and Elisabeth Beichmann. He joined the merchant navy at an early age, and was for a short while a prisoner of the French.


Naval career

Span enrolled in the
Royal Dutch Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world a ...
where in 1652–54 he served in the war with England. In 1654–58, he served in the Venetian navy in the war against the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
. In 1658, he returned to the Royal Dutch Navy. He served under Michael de Ruyter when an expeditionary fleet was sent to
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...
where it managed to liberate
Nyborg Nyborg is a city in central Denmark, located in Nyborg Municipality on the island of Funen and with a population of 17,525 (2022). It is the easternmost settlement on Funen. By road, it is located 34 km east of Odense, 35 km north of ...
in November 1659. He then returned to
the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
where he began to sail for
Dutch India Dutch India consisted of the settlements and trading posts of the Dutch East India Company on the Indian subcontinent. It is only used as a geographical definition, as there was never a political authority ruling all Dutch India. Instead, Dutc ...
, first as a navigator and from 1664 as a
master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...
. He was in East Asia in 1665–71 but then returned to the Netherlands. He was in 1672 appointed as captain in the Royal Dutch Navy and was promoted to commander in 1674 after distinguishing himself in the war against England. In May 1677, he enrolled in the
Royal Danish Navy The Royal Danish Navy ( da, Søværnet) is the sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Islands and Greenland). O ...
with rank of captain of the first class. He commanded ''Norske Løve'' in the Battle of Køge Bay on 1 July and was then appointed as Vice Admiral and command of a squadron in the Baltic Sea fleet under Admiral General
Cornelis Tromp Cornelis Maartenszoon Tromp, ''Count of Sølvesborg'' (3 September 1629 – 29 May 1691) was a Dutch naval officer who served as lieutenant-admiral general in the Dutch Navy, and briefly as a general admiral in the Royal Danish Navy. Tromp ...
. He took part in the expeditionary fleet to
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 lost an eye during the conquest of
Borgholm Borgholm () is a city and the seat of Borgholm Municipality, Kalmar County, Sweden with 4,401 inhabitants in 2020. It is located on the island of Öland in the Baltic Sea, at the Kalmar Strait-side of Öland, north of Färjestaden. Borgholm is on ...
. He then took command of a squadron under
Niels Juel Niels Juel (8 May 1629 – 8 April 1697) was a Danish admiral and a naval hero. He served as supreme command of the Dano-Norwegian Navy during the late 17th century and oversaw development of the Danish-Norwegian Navy. Background Niels Juel ...
, took part in the expeditionary fleet which was sent to
Rügen Rügen (; la, Rugia, ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic city of Stralsund, where ...
in 1678 and headed the Siege of Kalmar in 1679.


Shipbuilding

Span became a member of the Admiralty in 1678. In 1680, he was appointed as inspector of
Bremerholm Gammelholm ( lit. "Old Islet") is a predominantly residential neighbourhood in the city centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is bounded by the Nyhavn canal, Kongens Nytorv, Holmens Kanal, Niels Juels Gade and the waterfront along Havnegade. For ce ...
. In 1683, he was promoted to Admiral. In 1684, he was sent to Ertholmene to establish a port and fortress on Christiansø. Span was also charged with overseeing the work of the English shipbuilder who worked at Royal Danish Naval Dockyards at Holmen in 1687–90 and who was dismissed after cooperation problems with Span. A new position as Head of Holmen was created for Span in 1690. He immediately embarked on reorganizing the naval base and associated dockyards. Nyholm was inaugurated that same year and Span was responsible for the construction of the first ship there, the ship-of-the-line ''
Dannebroge The ''Dannebroge'' was a Dano-Norwegian ship-of-the-line that exploded and sank on 4 October 1710, during the Great Northern War. Almost all of its crew of 600 were killed - one third of the victims were Norwegians. Admiral Iver Huitfeldt was a ...
'',Royal Danish Naval Museum
Dannebroge
which was launched in 1692. Span was the first shipbuilder in Denmark who constructed ships based on mathematical principles and graphical designs. He created the designs for two naval ships (ships of the line) and three merchant ships. He also designed floating docks, cannon and mortars.


Personal life

Span married twice. His first wife was Albertzie Claesdatter. They married in approximately 1660 in the Netherlands but the marriage was dissolved in 1674. His second wife was Susanne Christine Schönbach (c. 1657–1722), a daughter of ''landkansler'' Johann Christoph S. (1616–1683) and Susanne Elisabeth Lange (1621–1673). They married in February 1686. They had one daughter, Charlotte Amalie Henriksdatter Span. She married Hans August v. Pagelsen (1663–1723) but the couple had no children. Christian V granted him Hørbygaard at Holbæk in 1692. He was that same year ennobled. He died on 27 December 1694 in Copenhagen and is buried in Hørby Church.


References


Citations

*T. A. Topsøe-Jensen og Emil Marquard (1935) “Officerer i den dansk-norske Søetat 1660-1814 og den danske Søetat 1814-1932“. Two volumes. Downloa
here
.


External links


Henrik Span
{{DEFAULTSORT:Span, Henrik Danish admirals 17th-century Danish naval officers 17th-century Danish shipbuilders 17th-century Danish landowners 1634 births 1694 deaths