Ove Gjedde

Early years

Gjedde was born in Skåne, Tommerup near Kristianstad in 1594.

Career with Danish East India Company

In March 1618, Gjedde commanded an expedition to India and Ceylon to establish a Danish colony that could be used as a base for the China and East Indies trade of the Danish East India Company. His fleet consisted of the Danish naval ships Elefanten and David, the yacht Øresund, and the merchant ships Kiøbenhavn and Christian. He established the fort Danborg at Tranquebar, which would remain a Danish colony for 200 years. Gjedde returned in March 1622.

Mining industry in Norway

Gjedde acquired land properties in Norway, and was a central participant in the mining industry in Norway. From 1630 he was director of the Kongsberg Silver Mines.

Torstenson War

He participated in the Torstenson War (1643–1645) as an admiral and in 1645 he was made "admiral of the realm", but in 1648 he became sick, and was instead granted the fiefdom of Helsingborg Castle.

Later years

After the peace in Roskilde, Denmark lost Scania to Sweden. When the Swedish king Karl X Gustav broke the peace of 1658, Ove Gjedde was taken prisoner, during a visit to Helsingborg. He was first sent to prison in Helsingborg castle, and later sent to Malmö. In 1660 he was released during prisoner exchanges between Sweden and Denmark. At the time Gjedde was an old and physically weak man and he had already built a grave monument in the old Danish city of Helsingborg, which had now become Swedish. The legend says that, "His bones after the Roskilde peace never found rest, after Scania became Swedish" (Danish: hans ben efter Roskildefreden fandt aldrig hvile, efter Skåne var blevet svensk)

Personal

Gjedde married Dorothy Knudsdatter in 1622 and had three children:

Death

Gjedder died in Copenhagen in 1660.