Peter Anker (officer)

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Peter Anker

Peter Anker , Ancher, (born July 31, 1744 in Fredrikshald (now Halden ), † April 17, 1832 in Aker (now part of Oslo )) was a Norwegian diplomat. He was governor of the Danish colony Tranquebar and an art collector.

Life

His parents were the merchant and ironworks owner Erik Ancher (1709–1785) and his wife Anne Cathrine Tank (1723–1761). He remained unmarried. He changed his name to anchor in 1778.

He grew up in Fredrikshald, where his family had grown rich from the timber trade. In 1760 he and his brother Carsten went on a long trip abroad, as was customary for young men of his class at the time. He learned English in Norwich , stayed in Scotland and in 1762 in London. Via France and Germany he returned to Norway in 1765, where he worked in his parents' timber trade.

Diplomat in England

In 1773 he became Danish-Norwegian consul in Hull , a port that was important for the Norwegian timber trade. From 1777 he was consul in London, which is even more important for foreign trade. In this position he was involved in major diplomatic tasks for the neutral Danish-Norwegian shipping industry during the North American Wars of Independence. This earned him the appointment of Danish-Norwegian Consul General in Great Britain. In addition, he also carried out industrial espionage on behalf of Copenhagen. He was to provide details on industrial development in Great Britain, mining equipment, methods of salt production and the textile industry and new technical facilities. In 1775 he was commissioned by the Generallandøconomi- und Commercekolleg to provide precise information about industrial plants, especially how the tools and machines worked, preferably with drawings and precise descriptions of how the machines were to be operated. He was a good draftsman and sent many detailed plans to Copenhagen. He was one of the first to make the steam engine and other new machines known in Denmark and Norway.

In 1778 Peter Ancher and his cousins ​​Peder and Jess were naturalized as Danish nobles by the name of Anker. They claimed that their gender could be traced back to the Swedish aristocratic Anckar family, although no evidence could be provided for this later either.

After the Peace of Paris he received the rare gold medal “pro meritis” for his successful work for the Danish-Norwegian merchant fleet during the American Wars of Freedom.

Diplomat in India

Tranquebar 1733

His diverse knowledge, but certainly also his poor economic circumstances, led to his being transferred to India. In 1786 he became colonel and governor general in the Danish colony of Tranquebar and over the possessions in the East Indies, which had been transferred from the state to the Danish East India Company since 1777 , but did not come there until May 1788 with the title of major general. There he gained a certain reputation despite some conflicts. Unlike many others he has dealt with, he fought corruption and did not derive any particular financial benefit from his position. It was a difficult balancing act for him to take British and French interests into account in the internal Indian disputes. Tranquebar was on the territory of the Raja of Tanjore , with whom he could conclude an advantageous agreement, in which he leased the Tiruvidikally district in the surrounding area. In return, the Danish state helped the indebted Raja financially. In addition, there were conflicts within his own staff and also with the missionaries who worked there, who refused to bow to his authority. A good connection to Copenhagen was important, also because his opponents in the colony tried to undermine trust in him there. After 1795 an Indian had lodged a complaint directly with the Crown Prince Frederik, which led to the formation of a commission of inquiry. But he received the best testimony from both the British and Indian sides, so that he emerged strengthened from this affair as governor. After a long trial, the Indian was sentenced to dishonor for his accusations.

Peter Anker always placed great emphasis on good relations with the British. This led to particular problems in the conflict between Denmark and Great Britain in 1801. Tranquebar was annexed by the British army in 1801/1802. But this was done in a calm and orderly manner. The governor behaved so skillfully in this situation that he nonetheless emerged from the matter with an economic gain. For this he was made a knight (Grand Cross) of the Dannebrog Order in 1804 .

Dansborg Fortress in Tranquebar today

He couldn't get the profit he'd hoped for from his post as governor. The days of making a fortune in Tranquebar were over. He received 3,000 Rikstaler a year. But his expenses were so high that he had to go into debt. When he left Tranquebar in 1806, he owed the royal treasury 21,000 rikstalers. This was handled carefully and he received 3,000 Rikstaler as a pension. The king wanted to keep him in his service, but Anker felt mentally and physically burned out.

Retired

He was sickly while traveling from India to Great Britain for an extended stay. In 1807 he received his farewell and settled on the Øraker estate west of Christiania , where he stayed until the end of his life. After recovering from his exertions, he took part in politics again in 1814. On February 16, he took part in the Notable Assembly in Eidsvoll, which the Constituent Assembly was supposed to prepare. At the request of Christian Frederik , he traveled to London on April 2nd. The idea was that he should use his previous good connections to gain approval for an independent Norway. As expected, this failed, and at the end of the year he retired to his estate.

Peter Anker brought back a large and valuable collection of Indian art from India, including some bronze figures of gods. They were bought by the National Museum in Copenhagen for the ethnographic collection. In addition, he had made many drawings and watercolors, 131 of which were later given to Christiania University by the heirs and which are now in the ethnographic museum.

literature

Individual evidence

The article is essentially based on the article in Norsk biografisk leksikon . Any other information is shown separately.

  1. ↑ a b c Yngvar Nielsen: Anker, Peter . 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. 281 (Danish, runeberg.org ).
  2. ^ Yngvar Nielsen: Anker, Peter . 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. 282 (Danish, runeberg.org ).
personal data
SURNAME Anker, Peter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ancher, Peter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Norwegian diplomat, governor of the Danish colony of Tranquebar
DATE OF BIRTH July 31, 1744
PLACE OF BIRTH Halden (Norway)
DATE OF DEATH April 17, 1832
Place of death Aker (Norway)