Jacob Jacobsen Dampe often referred to in Danish as J.J. Dampe or Dr. Dampe (born 10 January 1790 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 ...

; died 22 December 1867 in Copenhagen) was a Danish

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...

, and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

. In 1820 Dampe was sentenced to death because he had demanded the abolition of the

Absolute monarchy Absolute monarchy (or Absolutism as a doctrine) is a form of monarchy in which the monarch rules in their own right or power. In an absolute monarchy, the king or queen is by no means limited and has absolute power, though a limited constitut ...

and the introduction of a free constitution. His sentence was however changed to

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

and he was held in a prison called "the Balloon" on the islet Fredriksø, part of the Ertholmene islands north of

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 ...

. In 1840, after the abolition of exile as a form of punishment, he was placed under house arrest in

. He was granted amnesty in 1848 under the new King

Frederick VII of Denmark Frederick VII (Frederik Carl Christian; 6 October 1808 – 15 November 1863) was King of Denmark from 1848 to 1863. He was the last Danish monarch of the older Royal branch of the House of Oldenburg and the last king of Denmark to rule as an ...

. In 1849 the

Constitution of Denmark The Constitutional Act of the Realm of Denmark ( da, Danmarks Riges Grundlov), also known as the Constitutional Act of the Kingdom of Denmark, or simply the Constitution ( da, Grundloven, fo, Grundlógin, kl, Tunngaviusumik inatsit), is the c ...

was introduced.

Literature

* J. J. Dampe: ''Fortælling om mit fængsel i haardeste grad i tyve aar, og min forviisning i syv aar, lidelser, mig tilføiede formedelst min lære om folkets ret.'' Salomon, København 1858 (Reprint: Dansk Kautionsforskring, København 1951). * Michael Helm: ''Det kvalte demokrati. Guldalderens glemte systemkritikerne.'' Gyldendal, København 1986, . * Teddy Petersen (Hrsg.): ''Skrivefrækhed.'' In: ''Studier i Skandinavistik.'' Vol. 3, 1989, , pp. 75–174.
Article
in Dansk biografisk leksikon (Danish)

External links

Enestående Dr. Dampe-arkivalier afleveret til Statens Arkiver
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dampe, Jacob Jacobsen 1790 births 1867 deaths 19th-century Danish non-fiction writers 19th-century Danish people Danish activists Prisoners and detainees of Denmark People from Copenhagen