Jan Clausen Coott

Jan Clausen Coott (also Johann Clausen Kotte or Codt ; * between 1570 and 1580; † after 1626 ) was a dike builder.

Live and act

Jan Clausen Coott was a son of Claus Peter Koth from Oldenswort . His mother's name is not recorded. It is only known that the family originally came from the Netherlands . The father is documented in 1588 as a mennonite living in Oldenswort from the Gottorf parts of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein . Since Jan Clausen Coott himself cannot be found in relevant documents from this time, it can be assumed that he was still underage at that time. His date of birth should therefore be between 1570 and 1580, perhaps he was born in Oldenswort. He moved to Eiderstedt by 1600 at the latest .

In 1604, several Mennonites had to be interrogated because of their beliefs, with Coott acting as their spokesman. He also took on this function in conflicts between the authorities and the Mennonites that took place in 1607/08. At that time he lived in Tönning and probably worked there as a merchant. For 1608 it is documented that he supplied the Gottorfer Hof with cheese on a large scale.

It is documented that Coott helped build the Koog von Sieversfleth in 1610 and the Freesenkoog the following year . In 1612 he probably took part in the construction of the Dreilandenkoog and in 1613 in the construction of the port of Tönning and the supply canals. In September 1613, unrest among the local population forced the responsible dikemaster Johann Clausen Rollwagen , who was also from the Netherlands, to leave Schleswig-Holstein for a long time. During this time Coott took over his duties and had the title of vice dichgrave. In 1614 he was one of several people to receive the Ehsterkoog to be dammed up . In the same year there were again conflicts over the Mennonites of Eiderstedt . Coott mediated between the believers and the authorities.

In the summer of 1615, Coott worked for some time, obviously without success, as a dike builder for the Count of Schauenburg in the “Count's wilderness” in the Elbmarschen. In autumn he traveled with Claus Jansen Rollwagen to Nordstrand , which at that time was still part of the larger island of Strand , where the course of a new sea dike was to be determined, which was to be built in front of the parishes of Ilgrof , Brunock and Stintebüll (all of which sank in the Burchardi flood in 1634) should. A short time later he and other entrepreneurs created a cost estimate for a construction phase and won against Rollwagen. The Duke had obviously recommended him to work as an independent dike builder here for the first time. This ended the previously successful cooperation between Cootts and Rollwagens.

From 1616 Coott built a dike on the north beach. After a short time there were conflicts with day laborers and the Gottorf government. Since Coott then no longer wanted to meet his contractual obligations, he was imprisoned for some time. Johann Clausen Rollwagen judged Coott's construction work to be devastating. Coott was still allowed to continue working and completed the job in the summer of 1617, accompanied by major problems. What he did in the following years is not sufficiently documented; the time and place of death are also unknown. Documents can only be deduced that he had great financial difficulties, as part of which there was a lawsuit against the heirs of another dike builder, which was completed at the end of 1626.

Coott had a wife named Barse Wolves who was known to be living in 1607. He had documented a child born in May 1608.

Wrong historiography

Anton Heimreich's report on Coott in his North Frisian Chronicle led to the fact that articles on the history of Schleswig-Holstein were for a long time partly mixed up with those of Johann Clausen Rollwagen and his son Claus Jansen Rollwagen. In the literature and also in Dutch and Mennonite publications, there is therefore a "JC Kotte Rollwagen" whose résumé was put together from data from several different people. This irritation persisted well into the 20th century, but has since been refuted.

literature

• Dieter Lohmeier: Coott, Jan Clausen . in: Biographisches Lexikon für Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck Vol. 6. Neumünster 1982. ISBN 3-529-02646-8 , pages 66-68.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Gideon Stiening, Udo Thiel: Johann Nikolaus Tetens (1736-1807): Philosophy in the tradition of European empiricism . De Gruyter 2014, p. 381