Christian August Broberg (3 April 1811 – 30 April 1886) was a Danish merchant, ship owner and politician. His company, C. Broberg & Søn, founded by his father in 1805, was the largest importer of coffee to the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...

in the 1860s and early 1870s but collapsed during the coffee crisis of 1874 as a result of high-risk, speculative transactions undertaken by his son.

Early life and education

Broberg was born in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, the son of merchant and ship-owner Christian Mortensen Broberg (1776–1852) and Anna Cosine Edsleff (1774–1851). He became an apprentice in his father's office from 1828 and then continued his education abroad. He came to

Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...

in 1832 where he worked for Ferd. Baller & Co. and became a partner. He returned to Copenhagen in 1835.

Chr. Broberg & Søn

Broberg's father had established his company in 1805 and it acquired its first ship ''Aurora'' in 1814. It was initially involved in the import of exotic fruit and other

colonial goods In economics, colonial goods are goods imported from European colonies, in particular coffee, tea, spices, rice, sugar, cocoa and chocolate, and tobacco. At a time when food and agriculture represented a relatively large proportion of overall ec ...

from Asia but would later specialize in the lucrative coffee trade. On 1 January 1836, Broberg became a partner in the family firm which now changed its name to Chr. Broberg & Søn. He headed the company after his father's death in 1852. Chr. Broberg & Søn was the first trading house in the

which established direct trade relations to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

(E. Jonston & Co., Rio and Santos) in competition with those in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. He brought the coffee home in his own fleet of merchant ships and became one of the largest ship-owners in Denmark of his time. In the 1860s, it was by far the largest Nordic importer of coffee. Broberg & Søn was hit hard by the 1874 international coffee crisis. Christian August Broberg was abroad and had left the company in the hands of his son, Carl August B.s (1846–1917), who had engaged in risky, speculative transactions. Broberg hurried back to Copenhagen but was unable to prevent the loss of almost his entire fortune.

Ships

''This list is incomplete''

Other occupations

Broberg was also involved in the establishment of a number of other ventures. He was elected for the board of representatives of the Bank of Denmark in 1844. He was one of the founders of in 1853. In 1857, he was also a co-founder of and remained a member of the bank council until his death. Broberg was a driving force behind the appointment of

Carl Frederik Tietgen Carl Frederik Tietgen (19 March 1829 – 19 October 1901) was a Danish financier and industrialist. He played an important role in the industrialisation of Denmark as the founder of numerous prominent Danish companies, many of which are stil ...

to bank manager and later secured him extensive freedom of action. Broberg was a board member of many of the successful companies later founded by Tietgen.

Politics, public office and honors

Broberg was a member of

Grosserer-Societetet The ('Wholesalers' Society') was a society for wholesale merchants in Copenhagen founded by law in 1742. After 1714, it was possible to acquire citizenship as a wholesaler in the city. was reorganized in 1817. In 1987 the association was replace ...

's committee from February 1743 to 1863 and was its vice president from February 1856. He was a member of the

Copenhagen City Council The Copenhagen City Council (Danish: ) is the municipal government of Copenhagen, Denmark, and has its seat at Copenhagen City Hall. The city council is Copenhagen's highest political authority and sets the framework for the committees' tasks. ...

from 1845 to 1851 and was elected to the

Folketinget The Folketing ( , ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral List of legislatures by country, national legislature (parliament) of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark — Denmark proper to ...

in Copenhagen's 2nd constituency in December 1849. He ran for reelection in the same constituency but lost to Alfred Hage. He was instead reelected in the 3rd constituency in the

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

in July 1854, but left the office in May 1856 after being elected to ''Rigsrådet'' (Privy Council) in February that same year. He was a member of until 1863 and was elected to the Landsting in 1864 but left office in 1866. From 1882 to 1886, he was persuaded to return to the Landsting. He was a driving force behind the sale of

Børsen ( Danish for "the bourse" or "the stock exchange"), is a 17th-century commodity bourse and later stock exchange in the centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. The historic building is situated next to Christiansborg Palace, the seat of the Danish Parli ...

to in 1855–1856. As a politician, he was mainly interested in mercantile issues. Broberg was awarded the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

in 1851, became Dannebrogsmand in 1854 and a Commander of the Dannebrog in 1874. He was awarded the title in 1857.

Personal life

Broberg married Ida Frederikke Gotschalk (1814–1877), daughter of merchant and Consul-General Frederik Gotschalk (1786–1869) and Marie Frederikke Kierulf (1791–1870), on 21 November 1835 in St. Peter's Church in Copenhagen. They had three daughters and a son. The son, Carl Broberg, continued the company after his father's retirement in 1882. The shipping activities had been discontinued after the 1874 crisis but it was still active under the name Chr. Broberg, Søn / Co. in 1910. One of Carl Broberg's daughters, Dorit Vroberg, married Harald Heering of the Heering family. Broberg died on 30 April 1886 and is buried in the

Cemetery of Holmen Holmen Cemetery ( Danish: Holmens Kirkegård) is the oldest cemetery still in use in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was first located next to the naval Church of Holmen in the city centre but relocated to its current site on Dag Hammarskjölds Allé in ...

. Brobergsgade, a street in Christianshavn, is named after him.

References

External links

Christian August Broberg
at geni.com
Source
*
Privatbanken i Kjøbenhavn, 1857-1907
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Broberg, Christian August 19th-century Danish businesspeople 19th-century Copenhagen City Council members Businesspeople from Copenhagen Danish companies established in 1805 1811 births 1886 deaths