 | You can helpexpand this article with text translated fromthe corresponding article in Icelandic. (November 2017)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
Jørgen Jørgensen | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Jørgen Jørgensen byEckersberg | |
| Protector of Iceland | |
| In office 26 June 1809 – 22 August 1809 | |
| Preceded by | Frederich TrampeasGovernor of Iceland |
| Succeeded by | Frederich TrampeasGovernor of Iceland |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jørgen Jürgensen (1780-03-29)29 March 1780 |
| Died | 20 January 1841(1841-01-20) (aged 60) |
| Occupation | Mariner |
| Known for | Privateering Exploring Tasmania |
| Other names | The Dog-Days King |
Jørgen Jørgensen (name of birth:Jürgensen, and changed toJorgenson from 1817)[1] (29 March 1780 – 20 January 1841) was aDanishadventurer during theAge of Revolution. During theaction of 2 March 1808, his ship was captured by theBritish. In 1809 he sailed toIceland, declared the country independent fromDenmark–Norway and pronounced himself its ruler. He intended to found a new republic, following the examples of theUnited States and theFrench First Republic. 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 famousbotanistsJoseph Banks andWilliam Jackson Hooker. He left over a hundred written autographs and drawings, most of which are collected in theBritish Library.Marcus Clarke referred to Jørgensen as "a singularly accomplished fortune wooer—one of the most interesting human comets recorded in history".[2]
Jørgensen was born as the second son of the royal watchmaker Jurgen Jurgensen. Two of his brothers were watchmakers; the elder,Urban Jürgensen, was of international renown. At the age of 15, Jørgensen finished school and was apprenticed to Captain Henry Marwood of the BritishcollierJaneon.[3] In 1799, he sailed toCape Town and from there in 1800 toPort Jackson, the new British colony inAustralia and toNew Zealand. In 1801, he joined the crew of theLady Nelson. As a member of that crew, Jørgensen was present at the establishment of the first settlements ofRisdon Cove andSullivans Cove inVan Diemen's Land, as Tasmania was then called. He has been called the founder of the city of Hobart Town, nowHobart, and is still a local hero.
He became amate on the crew of thewhaling shipAlexander, and aboard her he returned to Britain, arriving atGravesend in June 1806.
_-_HMS_%2527Sappho%2527_Capturing_the_Danish_Brig_%2527Admiral_Jawl%2527%2c_2_March_1808%2c_Ships_Engaged_-_BHC0582_-_Royal_Museums_Greenwich.jpg)
In 1807, while Jørgensen was visiting his family, he witnessed theBattle of Copenhagen and soon afterwards was given command of a small Danish vessel,Admiral Juel. In 1808he engaged in a sea battle withHMS Sappho; the British capturedAdmiral Juel and treated Jørgensen as aprivateer.
.svg)
In 1809, while onparole, 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 theClarence as an interpreter. That voyage failed to trade any goods as the ship was British and by that time Denmark-Norway and theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland were atwar. 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', promising that he would reinstate theAlthing 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 inthe Americas andEurope at the time. With the arrival ofHMSTalbot two months later, Danish government was restored and Jørgensen was taken back to England and tried by theTransport Board, who found him guilty of breaking his parole while a prisoner-of-war. He was released in 1811.
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 toSpain,Portugal, andGibraltar and upon his return toEngland was again imprisoned when his creditors caught up with him. Following correspondence with the BritishForeign Office, Jørgensen was recruited into the intelligence service, where he translated documents and travelled throughoutFrance andGermany as a spy as theNapoleonic Wars drew to a close. In 1815, Jørgensen witnessed theBattle of Waterloo. 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 inNewgate Prison, 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 wastransported to Australia in 1825 on boardWoodman.[4][failed verification]
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 byAnthony Fenn Kemp petitioned the governor for Jørgensen to be granted aticket of leave.[5] 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' Aboriginal clearance exercise. Jørgensen obtained a free pardon in 1835 but remained in Tasmania.[5] He married an Irish convict, Norah Corbett, in 1831 and died in the Colonial Hospital on 20 January 1841.
Icelanders refer to Jørgensen asJörundur hundadagakonungur ("Jørgen theDog-Days King"), a reference to the time when thedog star is in the sky.
Posthumously
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Works by or aboutJørgen Jørgensen atWikisource
Media related toJørgen Jørgensen at Wikimedia Commons| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byasGovernor of Iceland | Protector of Iceland 26 June 1809 – 22 August 1809 | Succeeded byasGovernor of Iceland |
