Carsten Anker

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Carsten Anker

Carsten Anker , Carsten Tank Anker, b. as Ancher, change of name 1778 (born November 17, 1747 in Fredrikshald (today Halden ), † March 13, 1824 in the glassworks in Gjøvik municipality) was a Norwegian businessman and politician .

family

Carsten Anker belonged to the rich Ancher family of timber merchants: his parents were the merchant and owner of an ironworks Erik Ancher (1709–1785) and his wife Anne Cathrine Tank (1723–1761). The father started his business together with the half-cousin of his wife Mads Værn in Fredrikshald. In 1749 they bought the Moss hardware factory . Carsten Anker grew up here with his older brother Peter Anker .

On July 2, 1784, Carsten Anker and Hedevig Conradine married Ernestine Christine Wegener (April 7, 1763 - December 14, 1846), daughter of Lieutenant General Wilhelm Theodor (us) Wegener (1724–1792) and his wife Christiana Henrietta Dorothea Walter ( † 1771).

Life

From 1759 to 1765 the brothers were on a long trip abroad with four cousins. The first contacts to Great Britain came about, which later became of great importance. After returning home, he went into his father's business. He enjoyed a great reputation early on and was sent to Stockholm at the age of 24 to negotiate with the local government about rafting on the common border river Klarälven . But since the coup d'état Gustav III. took place, the Danish ambassador suspected that there could be political motives behind the trip, and Anker had to return without success.

As his father's business was going badly, Anker decided to pursue a career as an official. He became secretary and from 1774 to 1781 a member of the “Generallandøconomi- og Commerce College” and then the mine directorate. This also led to certain titles: in 1776 he became a councilor of commerce, in 1784 he became a conference councilor, and in 1778 he and his brother and three cousins ​​were raised to the Danish nobility under the name of "anchor". From 1777 to 1782 he was a member of the Norwegian Factory Commission and from 1782 to 1792 a member of "Det kongelige octroyerede Danske, Norske, Slesvigske og Holstenske forenede Handels og Canal Compagnie" (Royal, publicly licensed Danish, Norwegian, Schleswig and Holstein United Trade and Canal Companies). The Norwegian glass factories were among his many responsibilities in this position.

Gradually, Anker switched from civil servant to merchant. In 1792 he became director of "Det Kongelige Octroyerede Danske Asiatiske Kompagni" and spent over three years in London in this capacity, negotiating with the East India Company . In this way he came into contact with the leading figures of the British aristocracy. At the same time, he had good contacts with the leading people in Norwegian trade. In 1794 he bought the large Eidsvoll Hütten-Werk. In 1811 he left the "Dansk-Asiatisk-Compagni" and returned to Norway.

His influence on the history of Norway and on Norwegian politics is due to his special relationship with Prince Christian Friedrich . They became good friends. After the prince's divorce from Charlotte Friederike von Mecklenburg-Schwerin , Anker became his most important advisor. He persuaded the prince to go to Norway in 1813. The prince became governor of Norway. They often met in Eidsvoll at the Ankers house.

In 1813, Prince Christian planned to send Anker on a diplomatic mission to Great Britain because of his good contacts with the British aristocracy. But at first nothing came of the trip.

On January 24, 1814, the prince first learned of the Peace of Kiel , which was concluded on January 14, 1814. On his journey to Trondheim, which then began, he stayed in Eidsvoll for three days and drafted a proclamation that he wanted to publish on the occasion of his accession to the throne as the elected Norwegian king. On February 15th he returned to Eidsvoll. There was a meeting of the Norwegian political elite, the "Notable Assembly", at which it was decided to convene an Imperial Assembly to give Norway a constitution. After this meeting an Ankers diplomatic mission to Great Britain was envisaged again. Anker was appointed government councilor and head of the Department of Industry and Mining. In reality, however, he performed the duties of a foreign minister. He was supposed to promote Norway's independence in Great Britain. He arrived in London on March 24, 1814. There he negotiated first with Undersecretary of State Hamilton, then with the British Prime Minister Lord Liverpool . He flatly rejected Norway's striving for independence. Despite this failure, Anker stayed in London to further promote his cause. He even came under guilty responsibility for debts from the time in which he had been at the head of the East Asian Company. At least he succeeded in getting the Norwegian striving for independence on the parliamentary agenda, on May 10th in the upper house, two days later in the lower house. Although both the House of Lords and the House of Commons spoke vehemently in favor of Norway, the government felt bound by the agreement with Sweden, if only because of Sweden's support in the Napoleonic wars. At the beginning of July, Prince Hardenberg of Prussia and Prince Metternich of Austria came to London. Negotiations with them also ended with a rejection of the Norwegian plans.

In Eidsvoll, the prince opened the Imperial Assembly in Anker's house on April 10, 1814, which declared Norway an independent state. The independence did not last long, and under pressure from the great powers, the Swedish King Charles XIII. elected King Charles II of Norway. Anker found himself unable to swear allegiance to the Swedish king and came up with the plan to have himself appointed by the Danish king as bailiff in Larvik , which still belonged to him after the Peace of Kiel, and to acquire Danish citizenship, but this did not materialize has been. In 1816 he was also to become envoy in Lisbon, but never took up this office.

After the death of Karl II. Karl Johann was the Norwegian King Karl III. King. He was generous to previous opponents. Anker received his farewell with a high pension, medal and an offer to become a minister. He reconciled himself with the new government, but he no longer wanted to hold a public office, with the exception of the management of the state glass factories, which had been in his hands since ancient times. In the end, he had to sell his private property, which he had pledged in 1815, because business continued to decline. The Eidsvoll Glaswerk was sold to the pledgee a year after his death. The main building, in which the Imperial Assembly had taken place, was bought by private individuals along with the surrounding park in 1837 and transferred to the state in 1851. Today it forms the core of the “Eidsvoll 1814” memorial center.

Anker died on an inspection trip to the glass factory in Biri and was initially buried in the local cemetery. He was later chained to a grave in Eidsvoll Park.

Remarks

  1. ^ "Generallandøconomi- og Commercekollegiet" was an advisory body founded in 1668, which dealt with trade issues and ship calibration. This body was dissolved in 1691. In 1704 a new commerce college was founded. It dealt with applications for the approval of manufactories , advised the government on trade issues and became an appeal body in commercial matters.
  2. ↑ The mining directorate was the competent authority for the mining industry and was subordinate to the finance college until 1791. It was based in Copenhagen. After 1791 the mine administration was part of the Rentkammer.
  3. ↑ Conference Councilor was an honorary title that classified the bearer at court in the 12th stage of the second class.
  4. ↑ According to another version, an already existing Swedish nobility title was recognized by the Danish king. Yngvar Nielsen: Anker, Carsten Tank . In: Carl Frederik Bricka (Ed.): Dansk biografisk Lexikon. Tillige omfattende Norge for Tidsrummet 1537-1814. 1st edition. tape 1 : Aaberg – Beaumelle . Gyldendalske Boghandels Forlag, Copenhagen 1887, p. 273 (Danish, runeberg.org ).
  5. ↑ This company was supposed to promote trade on the Eider Canal . The company had a starting capital of 1.5 million riksdalers. The state subscribed for shares equal to half of the capital and promised an interest rate of 4.5%.
  6. ^ Yngvar Nielsen: Anchor, Carsten Tank . In: Carl Frederik Bricka (Ed.): Dansk biografisk Lexikon. Tillige omfattende Norge for Tidsrummet 1537-1814. 1st edition. tape 1 : Aaberg – Beaumelle . Gyldendalske Boghandels Forlag, Copenhagen 1887, p. 274 (Danish, runeberg.org ).
  7. ↑ The company was the largest of Danish mercantilism. It was founded in 1730, succeeded the "East India Company" in 1732 and held the monopoly in trade east of the Cape of Good Hope for 40 years.
  8. ↑ In a secret additional protocol, the Danish king received 1 million riksdalers, with which he should set up a corps against Napoleon. In return, he was guaranteed his personal property in Larvik County. Source: Eidsvoll 1814 .
  9. ^ Yngvar Nielsen: Anchor, Carsten Tank . In: Carl Frederik Bricka (Ed.): Dansk biografisk Lexikon. Tillige omfattende Norge for Tidsrummet 1537-1814. 1st edition. tape 1 : Aaberg – Beaumelle . Gyldendalske Boghandels Forlag, Copenhagen 1887, p. 275 (Danish, runeberg.org ).

literature

Web links

Commons : Carsten Anker  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Anker, Carsten
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Anchor, Carsten Tank; Ancher
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Norwegian businessman and politician
DATE OF BIRTH November 17, 1747
PLACE OF BIRTH Heaps
DATE OF DEATH March 13, 1824
Place of death Gjøvik