The privateer war in the Oresund

Even though pirates are usually associated with warm southerly climates, islands filled with wafting palm trees and rum drinking, Danish maritime history has also often been affected by piracy.

During the English Wars 1801-1814, privateers had permission from the King to seize enemy vessels, which in practice meant that Denmark supported state-authorized piracy. Legal piracy in the form of privateering was common practice; in fact, pirates were often funded by a state or royal power. By the standards of that time, it was only ”real” piracy if you seized vessels without a valid letter of marque (written permission from the king). On the other hand, if the privateers were caught by the enemy, they would be seen as prisoners of war and hanged.

Along with Norway, Denmark had tried to stay neutral during the English Wars, but in 1807, England and France started a race to gain control over the Danish Navy – with catastrophic consequences for Denmark: The Danish Navy was seized by England after a battle in Copenhagen, and Denmark lost its prominent position as a seafaring nation. As a result, Denmark decided to support Napoleon, but as the Navy was gone, the war against England was fought with other measures: Gunboats and privateering.

The gunboats were rowed by between 24 and 64 men and carried only a few cannons. Their mission was to attack English merchant ships and small warships. In total, 226 gunboats were built during that period.

From September 1807, all interested captains could get a letter of marque providing royal permission to sail as privateer. In practice, this mean that the captains could engage in legal piracy against all English and neutral vessels transporting goods to and from England. When a seized vessel reached Denmark, special courts of justice would assess the value of the cargo, whereupon it was auctioned off to the highest bidder. In the years 1807-14, Denmark had around 600 privateers who in total earned around 100 million rix-dollars.

But this was not the first time piracy had been going on in the Oresund. Helsingør has borne witness to many gruesome executions of pirates throughout history.

Today, you see a peaceful white sandy beach next to Kronborg castle, but it has a dark past. The Sound Tolls were enforced from around 1429 by the Danish King Erik af Pommern (Erik of Pomerania) and turned out to be a beneficial business plan for Denmark. It meant that all non-Danish ships had to pay a toll to pass.

One of the major Danish execution sites of that time was constructed next to Kronborg, facing the sound. That way, anyone sailing into the Oresund could clearly see that the Danish king protected ships against pirates in Danish waters. On the beach was a gallows that could hold as many as 22 men at a time, but this was not the only one: A gallows constructed as a seesaw was also an integral part of the execution site. The site was even used for burning witches.

The next time you visit Kronborg and walk onto the beach, try to picture how gruesome this place one was.

Source: local TV station TV2 Lorry (website in Danish)

Photo: M/S Museet for Søfart (Maritime Museum of Denmark) / Hauch, H. The privateer KIEK OG HURTIG of Helsingør is pursued by English ships on 13th June, 1809.

Coordinates:  Latitude: 56.040424
Longitude: 12.621560