Counter-Admiral Carl Adolph Rothe (8 December 1767 – 12 July 1834) was a Danish naval officer and colonial administrator who served as the Governor-General of the Danish West Indies from 1820 to 1822.

Biography

Rothe was born on 8 December 1767 in Tybjerggård on Zealand, Denmark, to parents Tyge Jesper Rothe and Karen Bjørn.

Bricka, Carl Frederik Carl Frederik Bricka (10 July 1845 – 23 August 1903) was a Danish archivist, historian and biographer. Biography Carl Bricka was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. His father, Frederik Vilhelm Theodor Bricka (1809–79), was a medical doctor. He ...

, ''Dansk Biografisk Lexikon'', vol. XIV esen - Saxtrup 1900. Entry: "Rothe, Carl Adolph", pp.353-355
Available online
/ref> The Rothe family originates from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, coming to Denmark in the end of the 17th century. On 12 January 1811 he married Benedicte Ulfsparre de Tuxen (1790-1877) in

Helsingør Helsingør ( , ; ), classically known in English as Elsinore ( ), is a coastal city in northeastern Denmark. Helsingør Municipality had a population of 63,953 on 1 January 2025, making it the 23rd most populated municipality in Denmark. Helsin ...

, the daughter of Louis de Tuxen and Charlotte Elisabeth Klingfeldt. The couple had no less than eight children: Louis, Anna Rosine, Andrea Bjørn, Karen, Charlotte Elisabeth, Martha Gustava, Margrethe Christine and Louise. Rothe joined the Danish navy as a naval volunteer (

cadet A cadet is a student or trainee within various organisations, primarily in military contexts where individuals undergo training to become commissioned officers. However, several civilian organisations, including civil aviation groups, maritime ...

) in 1778 and on 2 April 1783 he was commissioned as an officer in the rank of a Second Lieutenant. In his naval career Rothe, fought in the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801 against the

British fleet The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from th ...

, commanding the ship (pram) Nyborg. He was promoted to the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in 1806, and served as the second in command of the ship Prinds Christian Frederik under command of captain Carl W. Jessen from 24 December 1807. He participated in the battle of

Battle of Zealand Point The Battle of Zealand Point was fought off Zealand on 22 March 1808 during the Gunboat War. Three ships of the line and one frigate of the Royal Navy intercepted and destroyed a Danish ship of the line. The British victory in the battle resulted ...

on 22 March 1808,Johnny E. Balsved
''The Battle of Sealand's Point (1808): "At Eventide on open Sea the Vessels they did Meet"'' (transl. Robert Rayce) in: ''Danish Naval History''
on iewed on August 14th 2008/ref> which he survived as the second in command of Prinds Christian Frederik. After that battle, in which he was wounded, he spent two months as an English

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, Sweden. He was promoted to the rank of counter admiral as of 16 April 1833. From 11 November 1808 until 25 July 1814 Carl was governor of

Bornholm Bornholm () is a List of islands of Denmark, 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. I ...

and Christiansø, and was the governor of the

Virgin Islands The Virgin Islands () are an archipelago between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Caribbean Sea, geographically forming part of the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean, Caribbean islands or West Indie ...

in the

Danish West Indies The Danish West Indies () or Danish Virgin Islands () or Danish Antilles were a Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas with , Saint John () with , Saint Croix with , and Water Island. The islands of St ...

from 1820 to 1822. He died, 66 years old, in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

on 12 July 1834. He is buried in Holmens Cemetery.

Biography

Notes

Further reading