Peter Ravens

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Peter Raben (* 1661 probably in Haderslev ; † September 29, 1727 ) was a Danish admiral during the Great Northern War .

personality

For much of his work inside and outside the Navy, Raben was perceived as very energetic and ambitious. In his person he was very controversial, he was said to have a strong tendency to intrigue and the exploitation of power at the beginning of his career in the Navy.

Military career

In 1681 Peter hired Raben in the Dutch Navy. His first sea voyage took him through the Mediterranean . He left the ship in the Italian port of Livorno and sailed on French merchant ships from 1683 to 1684. From 1684 to 1687, again in the Dutch navy, he took part in several sea battles.

He returned to Denmark in 1685 and was made a lieutenant .

In 1688 he took part in the French campaign against the barbarians of northern Africa . Under the command of the French Marshal and Vice Admiral Jean II. D'Estrées , Raben took part in the bombing of Algiers on board the liner le vigilant .

After the end of this campaign, Raben finally returned to Denmark in 1689. His excellent training quickly earned him a place in the officer corps of the Admiral von Stöcken . The admiral's transport fleet operated in the waters off Scotland . In 1691 he was promoted to captain and was given command of the frigate Hejren . The frigate was patrolling the sound . Three years later he was appointed Kommandørkapitajn.

In the Great Northern War

In the spring of 1700, when an invasion of Denmark by the Swedish King Charles XII. Increasingly likely, Raben was appointed flag captain of Admiral Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve's flagship during the mobilization . The dying General Admiral Jens Juel was in command of the Danish fleet . He didn't like Raben and warned King Friedrich IV that he had a very bad character and that he was having a bad influence on the king's half-brother . He recommended that he withdraw command of the flagship and instead use him as commander of the liner Dronning Louise . The king complied with this recommendation.

In 1701 Raben was appointed Kommandør and raised to the Danish nobility. 1703 Appointment as Schoutby Night and commander of a small fleet that operated between Norway and Denmark. He was later said to have used this position for personal gain.

In 1705 he was appointed chief of the naval recruitment office in Zealand and administrator of the ferry trade between the mainland and the island. Between 1706 and 1709 he held a similar position in Norway.

By signing the Treaty of Alliance in Copenhagen in October 1709, Denmark took part in the Northern War again. Raben again became the flag captain of Admiral General Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve, who had been in command of the Danish Navy since 1701. In the spring of 1710, Raben was promoted to vice admiral. He was given command of a fleet consisting of 7 ships of the line and two frigates; the area of ​​operation of the fleet was the waters off Norway. Without actually defeating the Swedes in a sea battle, he succeeded in driving the Swedish fleet out of the waters. The other tasks of the fleet were the escort of trade convoys.

1711-12 he took part as commander of the liner Venden in several naval battles against the Swedish fleet. In the naval battle of Rügen in 1712, he helped capture the Swedish army's supply fleet.

In 1714 he was appointed admiral and one year later Raben was appointed commander in chief of the Danish fleet.

Sea battle at Jasmund

Together with Vice Admiral Christian Thomesen Sehested , Raben attacked the Swedish fleet in the Tromper Wiek between Jasmund and Wittow . The Swedish fleet, which was commanded by Admiral Claes Sparre , withdrew after 8 hours of sea combat. Although it was a huge success for the Danish Navy, it wasn't really a decisive victory over the Swedes. The Danish historian Niels Ditlev Riegels later accused Raben of having been bribed by the Swedes. The ship's commander Ulrik Kaas reported that he had repeatedly asked the admiral to follow the Swedes in order to destroy them. However, he decided not to pursue him so as not to be ambushed. The allegations against ravens have never been proven and are also controversial.

In the autumn of 1715 Raben became seriously ill and resigned as commander in chief of the fleet. In 1718 he took over the naval recruitment position in Copenhagen. In 1718, the year Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve died, Raben was the longest-serving flag officer in the Danish Navy.

After the Great Northern War

In 1720 he was awarded the Dannebrogorden and took over the post of the late Gyldenløve as administrator of the Faroe Islands . In the same year he toured the archipelago on board the frigate Søridderen . Although he did not stay in the Faroe Islands permanently, he remained the administrator of the archipelago until his death.

After the peace agreement, the Danish Navy was fundamentally reformed by Minister of War Christian Carl Gabel . Raben was accused of embezzlement of naval funds and corruption and was discharged from the navy. Together with the also dismissed Holmadmiral Ole Judichær and Admiral Frants Trojel he was brought to justice. At the end of 1727 the verdicts were pronounced, all of the defendants were found guilty and lost all of their privileges. Raben did not live to see the verdict; he died on September 29, 1727. His widow Elline Marie von Robring, daughter of the merchant Mads Hansen Robring, died in 1735 at the age of 60.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i C. With: Raben, Peter . In: Carl Frederik Bricka (Ed.): Dansk biografisk Lexikon. Tillige omfattende Norge for Tidsrummet 1537-1814. 1st edition. tape 13 : Pelli – Reravius . Gyldendalske Boghandels Forlag, Copenhagen 1899, p. 341-344 (Danish, runeberg.org ).
  2. ↑ Knut Lundblad, pp. 461-465
personal data
SURNAME Ravens, Peter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Danish admiral
DATE OF BIRTH 1661
PLACE OF BIRTH Haderslev
DATE OF DEATH September 29, 1727