Cornelius Cruys

Cruys statue in Stavanger

Cornelius Cruys (also Krøys, Kreutz, Cruijs or Крюйс ), (born June 14, 1657 in Stavanger , Denmark-Norway , † July 14, 1727 in Saint Petersburg , Russian Empire ), actually Niels Olsen (Olufsen, Roulofsen), was a Norwegian - Dutch admiral in the service of the Russian tsar.

Life

Olsen developed a relationship with the sea early on, as he lived with his family in the immediate vicinity of the Stavanger harbor. In November 1668 he lost his father. As a 14-year-old he went to the Netherlands on board a Dutch ship to train as a seaman. Little is known about the following 12 years of Cornelius Cruys' life. According to Cruys himself, he served as a sailor in the Dutch navy from 1672 to 1673 during the Second Anglo-Dutch Sea War . Around 1680 he reappeared in sources as the captain of the merchant ship Africa . In a Dutch document it is further stated that he worked for nine shipping companies and had traveled the three continents of Europe, Asia and America. What is known for sure is that he visited Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Denmark and Italy.

In 1681 Cruys married a young woman named Catharina Voogt, daughter of a Dutch captain and trader. There were five children from the marriage, two of whom died in childhood.

On a trade voyage during the Nine Years War , the Cruys' ship was seized by French privateers . In October 1691 he and his crew were arrested and imprisoned in the port of Brest . Cruys, 34, turned to his family in Stavanger to prove that he was Norwegian and had Danish citizenship. Since Denmark was not at war with France at that time, the seizure of his ship and his imprisonment were lifted after evidence was provided.

Cruys joined the Dutch Navy in 1696. In 1697 the Russian Tsar Peter I traveled incognito with a large Russian delegation through Europe (see Grand Legation ). He also visited the Netherlands to study the technology of the time - the Netherlands was considered the most advanced country in Europe at the time - especially shipbuilding. Thanks to the mediation of Nicolaas Witsen , the mayor of Amsterdam, the tsar was given the opportunity to receive practical training in one of the large private shipyards for a period of four months. The tsar helped there with the construction of an East Indiaman .

During his stay in the Netherlands, Peter I, with the help of Russian and Dutch assistants, had many skilled workers recruited to advance his reform efforts in Russia . Cruys accepted Peter I's offer to serve as Vice Admiral. As advisor to the tsar and vice admiral, Cruys played a central role in the establishment and expansion of the Russian Navy . After his return to Russia, the construction of the Azov flotilla began in Voronezh under the command of Admiral Fyodor Alexejewitsch Golovin , a Russian nobleman who succeeded the late Swiss Franz Lefort . Golowin was assisted by Vice Admiral Cruys and Rear Admiral Jan van Rees . From 1705 he helped set up the Baltic Sea fleet , became its first commander and was in charge of building the Kronstadt fortress . During the Great Northern War he took part in the conquest of Vyborg in 1710 , but lost a ship in the Finland campaign in 1713, whereupon he was first sentenced to death, but then pardoned and rehabilitated by the tsar. For his services in the fight against Ottoman Turks and Swedes, he was promoted to admiral in 1721.

In Saint Petersburg he had a residential building in the area of what is now the 18 Nevsky Prospect building .

literature

E. Holm: Cruys, (ell. Kreutz) Cornelius . In: Carl Frederik Bricka (Ed.): Dansk biografisk Lexikon. Tillige omfattende Norge for Tidsrummet 1537-1814. 1st edition. tape 4 : Clemens – Eynden . Gyldendalske Boghandels Forlag, Copenhagen 1890, p. 118 (Danish, runeberg.org ).
CL With: CruyS [kråi's] (Cruijs), Cornelis . In: Christian Blangstrup, Jens Braage Halvorsen (ed.): Salmonsens store illustrerede Konversationsleksikon. En nordisk Encyklopædi . 1st edition. tape 4 : Canadian River – Dase . Brødrene Salmonsen, Copenhagen 1895, p. 710 (Danish, rosekamp.dk [PDF]).
C. With-Seidelin: Cruys [holl. krö ^ ys] (Cruijs), Cornelis . In: Christian Blangstrup (Ed.): Salmonsens Konversationsleksikon . 2nd Edition. tape 5 : Cikorie – Demersale . JH Schultz Forlag, Copenhagen 1916, p. 328 (Danish, runeberg.org ).
Johan Zielstra: In the service of van de Tsaar. Vice admiraal Cornelis Cruys, zeeman of organizer? Groningen 2000 nrac.nl (PDF) on NRAC Nederlands-russisch Archief Centrum, visited on January 5, 2013 (Dutch)
Cornelius Cruys. In: Store norske leksikon . ( snl.no )

Web links

Commons : Cornelius Cruys - collection of images, videos and audio files

File title by Cruys from the Russian State Naval Archives (RGAVMF) , accessed January 5, 2013 (English)

Individual evidence

↑ Torgrim Titlestad: Carskij admiral Kornelius Krjujs na službe u Petra Velikogo (= Mnogonacional'nyj Peterburg ). Russko-Baltijskij Informacionnyj Centr "Blic", Sankt-Peterburg 2003, ISBN 5-86789-144-5 , p. 134 (Russian).
↑ Torgrim Titlestad: Carskij admiral Kornelius Krjujs na službe u Petra Velikogo (= Mnogonacional'nyj Peterburg ). Russko-Baltijskij Informacionnyj Centr "Blic", Sankt-Peterburg 2003, ISBN 5-86789-144-5 , p. 31 (Russian).

personal data
SURNAME	Cruys, Cornelius
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Olufsen, Niels (real name); Olufsen, Niels; Roulofsen, Niels; Krøys, Cornelius; Kreutz, Cornelius; Cruijs, Cornelius
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Norwegian-Dutch navigator
DATE OF BIRTH	June 14, 1657
PLACE OF BIRTH	Stavanger
DATE OF DEATH	July 14, 1727
Place of death	St. Petersburg

[1] Torgrim Titlestad: Carskij admiral Kornelius Krjujs na službe u Petra Velikogo (= Mnogonacional'nyj Peterburg ). Russko-Baltijskij Informacionnyj Centr "Blic", Sankt-Peterburg 2003, ISBN 5-86789-144-5 , p. 134 (Russian).

[2] Torgrim Titlestad: Carskij admiral Kornelius Krjujs na službe u Petra Velikogo (= Mnogonacional'nyj Peterburg ). Russko-Baltijskij Informacionnyj Centr "Blic", Sankt-Peterburg 2003, ISBN 5-86789-144-5 , p. 31 (Russian).