Jacob Aall

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Jacob Aall (born July 27, 1773 in Porsgrunn , † August 4, 1844 in Arendal ) was a Norwegian politician , economist and historian . He gained fame as a member of the Norwegian constitutional national assembly in 1814 in Eidsvoll .

Jacob Aall

Life

Jacob Aall was the son of Nicolai Benjamin Aall (1739–98), who owned all of Ulefoss and an ironworks there and was a timber merchant in Porsgrunn, and his wife Amborg Jørgensdatter Wesseltoft (1741–1815). From 1791 he went to the renowned Nyborg skole on Fyn in Denmark. Aall first studied theology at the University of Copenhagen , where he passed his pastor's exam with honors in 1795. In 1797 he attended the natural science faculties of the universities and academies in Leipzig , Kiel and Göttingen . In Leipzig he made friends with the then famous geologist Abraham Gottlob Werner . He spent the winter of 1797/98 at the renowned Bergakademie , today's Technical University in Freiberg . He married on December 6, 1799 in the Heilig-Geist-Kirche in Copenhagen Lovise Andrea Stephansen (born October 30, 1779 - May 30, 1825), daughter of the judiciary Lauritz Nyeland Stephansen and Anna Sejersløv. From 1799 he took over his father's ironworks in Nedenes, which today belongs to Arendal, and bought the Næs ironworks in Holt between Tvedestrand and Arendal for 170,000 thalers Danish Courant. With great care he turned both ironworks into model factories. During the times of need of the Napoleonic wars, it made a decisive contribution to the basic needs of the population, which led to high levels of debt because it sold grain to the needy population at a cheaper rate than it had bought it on credit.

Imperial Assembly in Eidsvoll , painting by Oscar Wergeland, 1885

Political career

The Norwegian government commission headed by Prince Christian August had unclear powers and received little help from the government in Copenhagen. This was heavily criticized by Aall, and he also saw that Norway had to suffer from the Danish involvement in the war due to the sea blockade. In this assessment he met with Count Herman Wedel-Jarlsberg , in whose hands the Commission had placed the food supply in Norway. Count Wedel inaugurated him in 1809 in his thoughts on separating Norway from Denmark and connecting it with Sweden. Although Aall had asked the commission to make peace with England, he refused to follow Count Wedel's further plans. Both his education in Denmark and his trade connections there and the traditional rejection of Sweden did not allow him to break with Denmark. He regarded Denmark as his "Second Fatherland".

He was a member of the 1814 Eidsvoll day national assembly. His role there seems controversial. Thyness says he didn't play a major role there because he lacked the ability to speak freely in front of many people. Nielsen and Mardal attribute greater influence to him. Jørgensen even emphasizes that he has introduced his own draft constitution. He was also hard hit by the personal attacks against the opponents of the independence party.

Because of his persistent concerns about Norway's independence, he was not elected to the extraordinary storting of autumn 1814. After the union with Sweden was decided, he turned down Count Wedel's offer to become a member of the government. He also refused to become commissioner in the commission on the financial dispute with Denmark. It was not until 1815 that he was persuaded to become a member of the Storting. He remained a member until 1830 with the exception of 1818 and 1824. In Storting, he brought great personal commitment to various committees. He was a liberal on economic issues and always tried to mediate between opposing viewpoints. With his profound knowledge of agriculture and forestry, industry, mining and economics, he implemented many innovations. In 1816 he also played a decisive role in the repeal of the so-called "Eidsvoll guarantee" of 1814, according to which the government bonds were guaranteed at a rate of 375%, although the currency decline had already raised the rate to 500%. He was also responsible for the resumption of silver production in Kongsberg and the discovery of a large new deposit in 1831, which helped to clean up the household. He was also a great patron who supported some writers.

Despite the loss of duty-free access to the Danish market, he managed to put his iron factories, which were indebted by his charity, back on a sound economic basis.

science

The death of his wife and his poor health led him to withdraw from politics from 1830. Instead, he focused on his literary and scientific interests. In the magazine Nutid og Fortid he wrote several articles on economic problems, inspired by Adam Smith , but enriched with his own experiences. He had learned Norrøn from an early age out of an interest in ancient history and published a number of translations of Icelandic saga literature in the magazine Saga, which he co-founded . He published Snorri Sturluson's royal sagas at his own expense. They gained great prominence in the national survey in the 1840s. His reminiscences published in 1844/45 are a treasure trove for the comparative history of the Scandinavian peninsula .

Honors

Aall was a member of the Kongelige Norske Videnskabers Selskab in Trondheim (since 1822), the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and the Samfundet til utgivelse af handlingar rörande Scandinaviens historia (Association for the publication of essays on Scandinavian history). He was the holder of the Borgerdådsmedalje (Medal for Civil Service) (1821), commander of the Swedish Order of Wasa and Knight of the Order of Dannebrog and the Swedish Order of Nordstjärne .

Works

  • Fædrelandske Ideer , Kristiansand 1809
  • Om Kornmangelen i Norge, med Hensyn paa Misvæxten 1812 , Kristiansand 1813
  • Erindringer som Bidrag til Norges Historie fra 1800-1815 . Cappelen, Christiania 1844
  1. Første tidsrum from 1800-1807 .
  2. Andet tidsrum fra 1809-1814 .
  3. Tredie tidsrum 1814-1815 .
  • Second edition in one volume 1859.

literature

Web links

Commons : Jacob Aall  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikisource Wikisource: Aall  - Article of the 4th edition of Meyers Konversations-Lexikon

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Paul Thyness: Jacob all . In: Store norske leksikon ; Takeover of Norsk biografisk leksikon .
  2. ^ Yngvar Nielsen : Aall, Jacob . 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. 14 (Danish, runeberg.org ).
  3. ↑ Thyness ibid.
  4. ↑ Nielsen p. 16; Magnus A. Mardal: Approved article "Jacob Aall". In store norske leksikon .
  5. ↑ Jørgensen p. 45.
  6. ↑ Here, too, the statements in the literature differ. According to Nielsen p. 16, despite his concerns, he became a member of the independence party under the pressure of the circumstances, but was nevertheless attacked by his party comrades because they knew that he actually did not identify with their plans. Thyness takes from the Norsk biografisk leksikon that Aall was never a party man.
  7. ^ So Thyssen. Nielsen and Jørgensen write “except 1824”.
personal data
SURNAME Eel, Jacob
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Norwegian politician, member of the Storting
DATE OF BIRTH July 27, 1773
PLACE OF BIRTH Porsgrunn
DATE OF DEATH 4th August 1844
Place of death Arendal