Jørgen Iversen Dyppel

Infobox Governor-General | name = Jørgen Iversen Dyppel


order = 1st Governor of The Danish West Indies
term_start = May 1672
term_end = July 4 1680
predecessor =
successor= Nicolai Esmit
birth_date = birth date|1638|2|25|mf=y
birth_place = Helsingør, Denmark
death_date = 1683
death_place = Atlantic ocean
spouse = 1st wife: Birgitte Pedersdatter
2nd wife: Margrethe Christensdatter
profession =
religion = |

Jørgen Iversen Dyppel (also called George Iversen or Ifversen [Ryberg/Vicq, Names, 134] , or sometimes Doppel in Knox) (February 25 1638 - 1683) was the first governor of St. Thomas in the Danish West Indies, from 1672 to 1680.

Biography

Dyppel was born in Helsingør, Denmark as the son of a baker from Holstein or SønderjyllandBricka, Biografisk, 332] and Else Pedersdatter. [Ehrencron-Müller, Forfatterlexikon, 343] After his education, he went to the West Indies to trade with British and Dutch residents. However, he had losses due to British pirates, and returned to Denmark in 1665.

There, he married Birgitte Pedersdatter in 1670, and due to his experiences in the West Indies, he was named by the newly founded Danish West India Company as the first governor of St. Thomas in 1671, for a term of three years. Dyppel left Denmark on October 20 1671 on the Danish vessel "The Pharaoh" and arrived May 23 the following yearKnox, Account, 47] . Sources disagree on the exact date of his officially taking the gubernatorial position, as Bricka has the date as May 26 1672, where Westergaard has May 25 [Westergaard, Danish West Indies, 22] .

At the time when Danish West India Company claimed St. Thomas, it had been abandoned by the previous English settlers, although some Dutch were there upon Dyppel's arrival. The estates of the present settlers were confirmed in deeds issued by Dyppel in 1678. Such estates were taxed for a capon or a turkey, which were used for a banquet each year. [Knox, Account, 52] Future governors Nicolai and Adolph Esmit are named as land owners in the 1678 deeds. [Knox, Account, 247]

His first orders included mandatory church attendance for all settlers (and piousness for white servants), the stocking of arms (swords and guns), and a curfew for black slaves [Knox, Account, 48] . Additionally, a system of alarms were set up in the case of hostile ships. A settler who spotted a ship was to fire his gun and alert his neighbor, who would in turn alert the next. Any rule broken resulted in a fine of 10 to 1000 pounds of tobacco, depending on the offense. [Knox, Account, 49]

The system of alarms was, according to Knox, instated due to the "Spaniards, at Porto Rico, still jealous of other nations possessing islands in their vicinity, sought to annoy [St. Thomas] by every means in their power. They often descended by night upon the island, and stole negroes and cattle." [Knox, Account, 51] Another concern was French and English buccaneers at Tortuga.

Among Dyppel's other initial tasks included organizing the clearing of forests, building roads and plantations. Due to the other Danes not being used to the climate, as well as the Franco-Dutch and Anglo-Dutch wars, this proved a complex undertaking, and his term was extended. Dyppel obtained some help from the British settlers of Tortola. [Westergaard, Danish West Indies, 23]

The war caused problems with the predominantly Dutch settlers, and on February 2, 1678, St. Thomas was attacked by the French, albeit they were repelled. Dyppel's first wife died in 1679.

The task of defending St. Thomas proved arduous, and Dyppel called upon the company to find a replacement. The company elected Nicolai Esmit as successor on September 9 1679, and Dyppel officially resigned as governor on July 4, 1680. [Westergaard, Danish West Indies, 25] [Knox, Account, 54] After returning to Denmark, he quickly rose in power in Danish West India Company, and in 1682 it was decided that he would return to St. Thomas to reclaim the title as governor. Dyppel married the niece of Copenhagen mayor Bartholomæus Jensen, Margrethe Christensdatter.Bricka, Biografisk, 333]

However, it proved difficult to find people willing to accompany him as settlers in Denmark, and instead convicted prisoners were brought along with the promise of freedom. During the trip, these prisoners mutinied around New Years Eve, 1683, and Dyppel was thrown overboard with one of his children. His wife survived the ordeal and married a plantation owner on St. Thomas. Dyppel's first son, Iver Jørgensen Dyppel, married Anna van Ockeren, who upon becoming a widow married future Governor Claus Hansen.

Dyppel's legacy according to Biografisk Lexikon is that of an honest man and a hard worker.

Bibliography

* Waldemar Westergaard, "The Danish West Indies under Company Rule (1671 - 1754)" (MacMillan, New York, 1917)
* "C. F. Bricka" (editor), Dansk biografisk Lexikon, first edition, 19 volumes, 1887-1905, Vol. VIII. Online edition available: http://runeberg.org/dbl/8/ (pages 332 & 333. Numbered as 334 & 335 in the online edition).
* Hugo Ryberg, Rigmor de Vicq, "A list of the names of inhabitants - The Danish Westindian Islands (The Virgin Islands)" from the sources in the Royal Danish State Archive (Copenhagen, 1945)
* John P. Knox, "A Historical Account of St. Thomas" (Charles Schribner, New York, 1852). [http://books.google.com/books?id=eFI78OWTgsYC Online edition available]
* Holger Ehrencron-Müller, "Forfatterlexikon omfattende Danmark, Norge og Island indtil 1814" (Aschehoug, Copenhagen, 1925-39)

References