Carl Adolph von Plessen (18 May 1678 - 30 January 1758) was a Danish statesman and landowner. He played a central role during the early reign of

Christian VI Christian VI (30 November 1699 – 6 August 1746) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1730 to 1746. The eldest surviving son of Frederick IV and Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, he is considered one of Denmark-Norway's more anonymous kings, ...

but fell out of favour at the court and resigned in 1733. He was a major stakeholder in the Danish Asia Company and the Danish West Indies Company and owned a number of estates in Denmark and the

Danish West Indies The Danish West Indies ( da, Dansk Vestindien) or Danish Antilles or Danish Virgin Islands were a Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas with ; Saint John ( da, St. Jan) with ; and Saint Croix with . The ...

Early life and education

Carl Adolf von Plessen was born on 18 May 1678 in

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label=Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwer ...

, the son of chamberlain and later president of the Treasury Christian Siegfried von Plessen (1646-1723) and Sophia Agnes von Lepel (c. 1650–84). He was the brother of Christian Ludvig von Plessen. He studied at

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollm ...

Political career

Plessen accompanied Prince Carl on his

grand tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tu ...

in 1696–99. He later followed the prince back to Denmark where he served first as his '' Hofmeister'' and from 1708as his chief chamberlain (''overkammerherre''). Frederik IV's marriage to Anna Sophie divided the royal family and Prince Carl and Princess Sophia Hedwig moved court to Vemmetofte in 1721. Plessen followed them and played a key role both at their court and in the management of the estate. Plessen was, like the Prince and the Princess, inexorable in his view on Queen Anna Sophie and her party which completely dominated the government in Copenhagen, and the king's overtures in 1825 were therefore met with cold air at Vemmetofte. On his death bed, Frederick IV tried to win Plessen over by awarding him the

Order of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant ( da, Elefantordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutiona ...

but in vain. This hostility and his profound religious beliefs won Plessen the favour of Crown Prince

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

, who immediately included him in the new government upon his ascent to the throne in 1730. Plessen fell out of favour at the court and resigned in April 1733. Plessen lost all political influence and his attempt to return to power when Frederik V ascended the throne in 1746 failed. After his resignation, Plessen return to Princess Sophie Hedevig's court at Vemmetofte a position as chief chamberlain. He assisted her in drafting the statutes for Vemmetofte Frøkenkloster. It entered into force at her death in 1735 with Plessen as the first curator of the institution.

Property

Plessen was a major stakeholder in both the

Danish East India Company The Danish East India Company ( da, Ostindisk Kompagni) refers to two separate Danish-Norwegian chartered companies. The first company operated between 1616 and 1650. The second company existed between 1670 and 1729, however, in 1730 it was re-f ...

and the Danish West India Company. He served as president of the Danish West Indies Company and was a driving force behind the purchase of

Saint Croix Saint Croix; nl, Sint-Kruis; french: link=no, Sainte-Croix; Danish and no, Sankt Croix, Taino: ''Ay Ay'' ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincor ...

from France in 173. He owned the estates Førslev, Harrested,

Gunderslevholm Gunderslevholm is a manor house and estate located 12 km northwest of Næstved in southeastern Denmark. Gunderslevholm has been owned by members of the Neergaard (noble family), de Neergaard family since 1803. The main building is located on high ...

, Saltø, Kastrup, Fuglebjerg and Fodby on

Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is th ...

and Dronninglund Manor in

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

. Princess Sophia Hedwig bequeathed Blågård outside to him. Plessen founded 16 public schools on his estates and took a personal interest in overseeing their operation.

Personal life

Plessen never married. He was interested in the natural sciences and was the owner of an extensive personal library. He supported the historian

Hans Gram Hans Gram may refer to: * Hans Christian Gram (1853–1938), Danish scientist who invented Gram staining * Hans Gram (composer) (1754-1804), Danish-American composer and musician * Hans Gram (historian) Hans Gram (28 October 1685– 19 February ...

. He died on 30 January 1758 and is buried in St. Peter's Church in Copenhagen.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plessen, Carl Adolph von Court of Christian VI of Denmark Danish courtiers 18th-century Danish nobility 18th-century Danish landowners Plessen family Emigrants from the Holy Roman Empire to Denmark-Norway 1678 births 1758 deaths Privy Councillor (Russian Empire)