Anders Olsen (1718-1786) was a
Norwegian trader
Trader may refer to:
* Merchant, retailer or one who attempts to generally buy wholesale and sell later at a profit
* The owner of a trading post, where manufactured goods were exchanged with native peoples for furs and hides.
* Trader (finance), ...
, explorer and colonial administrator, who founded several important towns in
Greenland including
Qaqortoq (Julianehåb) and
Maniitsoq (Sukkertoppen) as well as the village of
Igaliku.
Anders Olsen was born on the
island of Senja,
Norway.
In the autumn of 1741 they traveled to
Copenhagen, and the next spring they went on to Greenland. Together with his brother Anders Olsen, he came to
Godthåb, which was built by
Hans Egede in 1721 There they were employed by
Jacob Sørensen Severin Jacob Sørensen Severin (27 October 1691 – 21 March 1753) was a Danish merchant who held a trade monopoly on Greenland from 1733 to 1749.
Biography
He was born in Sæby, Denmark, to Søren Nielsen (c. 1655–1730) and his wife Birgitte Ot ...
(1691–1753),
the Danish merchant who held a trade monopoly on Greenland from 1733 to 1749.
General Trade Company, which was founded on 4 September 1747, and in 1750 received a full monopoly on trade in Greenland taking over the operation of the general trading company. In 1754, Olsen established a trading colony at Fiskenesset south of Godthåb. In 1755, he was given the task of establishing and managing a trading colony at Sukkertoppe which was north of Godthåb. Olsen remained at Sukkertoppen until 1773. Anders Olsen left Sukkertoppen to establish a colony in the south in 1773. He set off on a reconnaissance journey with a son and came to colonization
Julianehåb
Qaqortoq, formerly Julianehåb, is a city in the Kujalleq municipalities of Greenland, municipality in southern Greenland, located near Cape Thorvaldsen. With a population of 3,050 in 2020, it is the most populous town and the municipal capital in ...
where he stayed until 1780.
In 1752 he married the Greenlandic woman Tupernat and eventually had six children with her. He died during 1786 at
Igaliko
Igaliku is a settlement in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. The town was founded as Igaliko in 1783 by the trader and colonial administrator Anders Olsen and Greenlandic wife Tuperna. In 2020, Igaliku had 21 inhabitants. The n ...
,
Greenland.
References
Other Sources
*
History of Greenland
Norwegian businesspeople
Danish businesspeople
1718 births
1786 deaths
Greenlandic politicians
People from Senja
{{Greenland-politician-stub