Gysbert Behagen (8 March 1725 – 17 December 1783) was a German- Danish merchant, ship owner and director of Danish Asia Company. His home at

Strandgade Strandgade ( lit. "Beach Street") is one of the principal streets in the Christianshavn district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It runs along the full length of the neighbourhood, following the harbourfront, from Christian's Church in the south-west to ...

26 in the

Christianshavn Christianshavn (literally, "ingChristian's Harbour") is a neighbourhood in Copenhagen, Denmark. Part of the Indre By District, it is located on several artificial islands between the islands of Zealand and Amager and separated from the rest of th ...

neighbourhood of Copenhagen is known as Behagen's House (Danish: Behagens Gård) after him.

Biography

Behagen was born in Hamburg, the son of wine merchant Anthony Behagen (1687-1727) and Petronelle Elisabeth Mestecker (1703-1778). His father died when he was two years old. His mother later moved to Copenhagen where she married the wealthy merchant Joost van Hemert in 1732. Behagen joined his step father's company. He married Elisabeth Gertrud Wasserfall on 9 April 1755 in the Reformed Church in Copenhagen.

Career

Behagen became an agent and a grocer in 1760 and was also active in Kurantbanken where he held several trusted posts. In 1764, he obtained a royal licence to establish a sugar refinery at his house in

. In 1769, he became a member of the board of directors of the Danish Asia Company. When the octroi was up for renewal in 1772, many stakeholders expressed their dissatisfaction with the management and a new board was elected.

Later life

In 1776, he became ''etatsråd'' and in 1782 he was ennobled with a right to use a coat of arms dating from his ancestors. He died on 17 December 1783 and is buried in the graveyard of the

Reformed Church Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...

in Copenhagen.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Behagen, Gysbert 1725 births 1783 deaths 18th-century Danish businesspeople 18th-century merchants Danish Asiatic Company people Danish businesspeople in shipping Danish sugar industry businesspeople Danish merchants Businesspeople from Copenhagen German emigrants to Denmark Danish sugar industry