Jørgen Jørgensen (name of birth: Jürgensen, and changed to Jorgenson from 1817)
[Wilde, W H, ''Oxford Companion to Australian Literature'' 2nd ed. ] (29 March 1780 – 20 January 1841) was a
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
adventure
An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...
r during the
Age of Revolution
The Age of Revolution is a period from the late-18th to the mid-19th centuries during which a number of significant revolutionary movements occurred in most of Europe and the Americas. The period is noted for the change from absolutist monarc ...
. During the
action of 2 March 1808, his ship was captured by the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
. In 1809 he sailed to
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
, declared the country independent from
Denmark–Norway
Denmark–Norway (Danish and Norwegian: ) was an early modern multi-national and multi-lingual real unionFeldbæk 1998:11 consisting of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Norway (including the then Norwegian overseas possessions: the Faroe I ...
and pronounced himself its ruler. He intended to found a new republic, following the examples of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and the
French First Republic
In the history of France, the First Republic (french: Première République), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (french: République française), was founded on 21 September 1792 ...
. He was also a prolific writer of letters, papers, pamphlets and newspaper articles covering a wide variety of subjects, and for a period was an associate of the famous
botanists
This is a list of botanists who have Wikipedia articles, in alphabetical order by surname. The List of botanists by author abbreviation is mostly a list of plant taxonomists because an author receives a standard abbreviation only when that auth ...
Joseph Banks
Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences.
Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James ...
and
William Jackson Hooker
Sir William Jackson Hooker (6 July 178512 August 1865) was an English botanist and botanical illustrator, who became the first director of Kew when in 1841 it was recommended to be placed under state ownership as a botanic garden. At Kew he ...
. He left over a hundred written autographs and drawings, most of which are collected in the
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
.
Marcus Clarke
Marcus Andrew Hislop Clarke (24 April 1846 – 2 August 1881) was an English-born Australian novelist, journalist, poet, editor, librarian, and playwright. He is best known for his 1874 novel ''For the Term of His Natural Life'', about the co ...
referred to Jørgensen as "a singularly accomplished fortune wooerone of the most interesting human comets recorded in history".
Biography
Early life and career
Jørgensen was born as the second son of the royal watchmaker Jurgen Jurgensen. Two of his brothers were watchmakers; the elder,
Urban Jürgensen
Urban Bruun Jürgensen (5 August 1776 - 14 May 1830) was a Danish watchmaker. His company lived on and was called Jules Jürgensen after one of his two sons and is based in Switzerland.
Early life and education
Jürgensen was born on 5 August 1 ...
, was of international renown. At the age of 15, Jørgensen finished school and was apprenticed to Captain Henry Marwood of the British
collier ''Janeon''. In 1799, he sailed to
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
and from there in 1800 to
Port Jackson
Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...
, the new British colony in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and to
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. In 1801, he joined the crew of the ''
Lady Nelson''. As a member of that crew, Jørgensen was present at the establishment of the first settlements of
Risdon Cove
Risdon Cove is a cove located on the east bank of the Derwent River, approximately north of Hobart, Tasmania. It was the site of the first British settlement in Van Diemen's Land, now Tasmania, the island state of Australia. The cove was named ...
and
Sullivans Cove
Sullivans Cove is on the River Derwent adjacent to the Hobart City Centre in Tasmania.
It was the site of initial European settlement in the area, and the location of the earlier components of the Port of Hobart.
History
The cove was the init ...
in
Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sepa ...
, as Tasmania was then called. He has been called the founder of the city of Hobart Town, now
Hobart
Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...
, and is still a local hero.
He became a
mate
Mate may refer to:
Science
* Mate, one of a pair of animals involved in:
** Mate choice, intersexual selection
** Mating
* Multi-antimicrobial extrusion protein, or MATE, an efflux transporter family of proteins
Person or title
* Friendship ...
on the crew of the
whaling ship
A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales.
Terminology
The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japa ...
, and aboard her he returned to Britain, arriving at
Gravesend
Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Ro ...
in June 1806.
Admiral Juel
In 1807, while Jørgensen was visiting his family, he witnessed the
Battle of Copenhagen and soon afterwards was given command of a small Danish vessel,
''Admiral Juul''. In 1808
he engaged in a sea battle with ; the British captured ''Admiral Juul'' and treated Jørgensen as a
privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...
.
Protector of Iceland
![Flag of Jørgen Jørgensen (1809)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Flag_of_J%C3%B8rgen_J%C3%B8rgensen_%281809%29.svg)
In 1809, while on
parole
Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
, he suggested to a merchant that a voyage to Iceland could be profitable as the island was suffering from food shortages at the time, due to the Danish monopoly on Icelandic trade. Jørgensen accompanied the voyage of the ''Clarence'' as an interpreter. That voyage failed to trade any goods as the ship was British and by that time Denmark-Norway and the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Great B ...
were at
war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
. Soon after, Jørgensen sailed on a second voyage. On arrival in Iceland the ship's crew found the Danish-Norwegian Governor,
Count of Trampe, would still not permit trading. With the help of other crew members, Jørgensen managed to arrest the governor and proclaimed himself '
Protector
Protector(s) or The Protector(s) may refer to:
Roles and titles
* Protector (title), a title or part of various historical titles of heads of state and others in authority
** Lord Protector, a title that has been used in British constitutional l ...
', promising that he would reinstate the
Althing
The Alþingi (''general meeting'' in Icelandic, , anglicised as ' or ') is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is one of the oldest surviving parliaments in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at ("thing fields" or "assembly ...
as soon as the Icelandic people were able to govern themselves. His intent was to establish a liberal society in the spirit of those emerging in
the Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...
and
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
at the time. With the arrival of
HMS ''Talbot'' two months later, Danish government was restored and Jørgensen was taken back to England and tried by the
Transport Board, who found him guilty of breaking his parole while a prisoner-of-war. He was released in 1811.
Later adventures
Jørgensen spent the next few years in London, where he began to drink heavily and gamble compulsively, building up substantial debts which eventually led to his conviction and incarceration. When released from prison in 1812, he travelled to
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, and
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
and upon his return to
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
was again imprisoned when his creditors caught up with him. Following correspondence with the British
Foreign Office
Foreign may refer to:
Government
* Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries
* Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries
** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government
** Foreign office and foreign minister
* Unit ...
, Jørgensen was recruited into the intelligence service, where he translated documents and travelled throughout
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
as a spy as the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
drew to a close. In 1815, Jørgensen witnessed the
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...
. While he was never involved in the battle, he was situated relatively close to some of the action. Upon returning to England, Jørgensen continued to write various reports, papers and articles but after being accused of theft in 1820, was imprisoned in
Newgate Prison
Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, t ...
, released, and sent back there when he failed to leave Britain (a condition of his parole). A sentence of death was commuted thanks to the actions of a prominent friend and he spent another three years in Newgate before he was
transported to Australia
Between 1788 and 1868, about 162,000 convicts were transported from Britain and Ireland to various penal colonies in Australia.
The British Government began transporting convicts overseas to American colonies in the early 18th century. When ...
in 1825 on board .
Sarah Bakewell, ''The English Dane''
/ref>
After five months at sea, Jørgensen arrived back in Tasmania in 1826. In 1827, after he helped prevent the circulation of forged treasury bills, a group of local merchants headed by Anthony Fenn Kemp
Anthony Fenn Kemp (1773 – 28 October 1868) was a soldier, merchant and a deputy judge advocate of the colony of New South Wales (the predecessor to the Australian State). He was one of the key participants in the "Rum Rebellion" that removed W ...
petitioned the governor for Jørgensen to be granted a ticket of leave
A ticket of leave was a document of parole issued to convicts who had shown they could now be trusted with some freedoms. Originally the ticket was issued in Britain and later adapted by the United States, Canada, and Ireland.
Jurisdictions ...
.[Shakespeare, N (2010) In Tasmania: Adventures at the End of the World, Random House, P92] Jørgensen led several explorations of Tasmania, and was employed by the Van Diemen's Land Council as a Constable, taking part in the 'Black Line
}
The Black War was a period of violent conflict between British Empire, British colonists and Aboriginal Tasmanians in Tasmania from the mid-1820s to 1832. The conflict, fought largely as a guerrilla war by both sides, claimed the lives of 600 ...
' Aboriginal clearance exercise. Jørgensen obtained a free pardon in 1835 but remained in Tasmania. He married an Irish convict, Norah Corbett, in 1831 and died in the Colonial Hospital on 20 January 1841.
Icelanders refer to Jørgensen as ''Jörundur hundadagakonungur'' ("Jørgen the Dog-Days King"), a reference to the time when the dog star is in the sky.
Publications
*''Efterretninger om Englændernes og Nordamerikanernes Fart og Handel paa Sydhavet'', Copenhagen 1807
*''The Copenhagen Expedition Traced to Other Causes than the Treaty of Tilsit; with Observations on the History and Present State of Denmark by a Dane'', London 1811
*''State of Christianity in the Island of Otaheite, and a Defence of the Pure Precepts of the Gospel, against Modern Antichrists, with Reasons for the Ill Success which Attends Christian Missionaries in their Attempts to Convert the Heathens, by a Foreign Traveller'', Reading 1811
*''Travels through France and Germany in the Years 1815, 1816 & 1817. Comprising a View of the Moral, Political, and Social State of those Countries. Interspersed with Numerous Historical and Political Anecdotes, Derived from Authentic Sources'', London 1817
*''The Religion of Christ is the Religion of Nature. Written in the Condemned Cells of Newgate. By Jorgen Jorgenson, Late Governor of Iceland'', London 1827.
*''”History of the Origin, Rise, and Progress of the Van Diemen's Land Company”'' Six articles published in the Colonial Advocate, and Tasmanian Monthly Review and Register, Hobart 1828, a revised version was published in London in 1829 and a republished in 1979.
*''Observations on the Funded System; Containing a Summary View of the Present Political State of Great Britain, and the Relative Situation in which the Colony of Van Diemen's Land Stands towards the Mother Country'', Hobart 1831
*''An Address to the Free Colonists of Van Diemen's Land, on Trial by Jury, and our Other Constitutional Rights'', Hobart 1834
*''”A Shred of Autobiography, Containing Various Anecdotes, Personal and Historical, Connected with these Colonies”'' Two sections published in The Hobart Town Almanack, and Van Diemen's Land Annual for 1835 and The Hobart Town Almanack, and Van Diemen's Land Annual for 1838, Hobart 1838.
Posthumously
*''”Aboriginal Languages in Tasmania”'' in Tasmania Journal of Natural Science, Agriculture, Statistics, etc. Tasmanian Government Printer Hobart & John Murray, London 1842
*''Letter from Jürgensen dated September 11, 1835 to his brother Frederik (Fritz) Jürgensen''. Published in Personalhistorisk Tidsskrift 9. rk., I. bind 1928, Copenhagen 1929, ss. 82-89.
In literature
*Flanagan, Richard ''Gould's Book of Fish'' (2002)
*Hogan, J F ''The Convict King'' (1891)
* Clarke, Marcus ''Old Tales of a Young Country'' (1871)
* Clune, Frank and Stephensen, P R ''The Viking of Van Diemen's Land'' (1954)
* Magris, Claudio ''Alla cieca'' (2006)
*Plomley, N J B ''Jorgen Jorgenson and the Aborigines of Van Diemen's Land'' (1991)
*Richards, Rhys, ''Jorgen Jorgenson’s observations on Pacific trade, and sealing and whaling in Australian and New Zealand waters before 1805'', Wellington, Paremata Press, 1996.
*Sprod, Dan, ''The Usurper; Jorgen Jorgenson and his turbulent life in Iceland and Van Diemen’s Land, 1780-1841'', Hobart, Blubber Head Press, 2001.
* Stockwin, Julian ''Persephone'' (2017)
See also
*List of convicts transported to Australia
Penal transportation to Australia began with the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788 and ended in 1868. Overall, approximately 165,000 convicts were transported to Australia.
Convicts
A
* Esther Abrahams (c. 1767–1846), English wife of ...
Citations and references
Citations
References
*
*Scott, Ernest (1916).
''A Short History of Australia'': Chap.XV
Melbourne
*Bakewell, Sarah. (2006). ''The English Dane: The Life of Jørgen Jørgensen.'' Vintage: London.
External links
*
*
The Mythic Mutiny of Tolleif Thomsen
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070928055416/http://www.sarahbakewell.com/English%20Dane.html A biography of Jørgensen
Source
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jorgensen, Jorgen
1780 births
1841 deaths
18th-century Danish people
19th-century Danish writers
19th-century male writers
19th-century Icelandic people
19th-century pirates
Danish sailors
Danish pirates
Danish explorers
Danish expatriates in the United Kingdom
Danish emigrants to Australia
Privateers
People from Copenhagen
Napoleonic Wars prisoners of war held by the United Kingdom
Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy personnel
Danish military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars
People imprisoned for debt
Spies of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
Prisoners sentenced to death by the United Kingdom
Convicts transported to Australia
Van Diemen's Land people
Heads of state of Iceland
British people in whaling
Sealers
19th-century Australian historians
Sea captains