Hans Nansen (28 November 1598 – 12 November 1667) was a Danish statesman.

Biography

The son of a burgher, Evert Nansen, he was born at

Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish language, Danish and ; ; ) is an independent city, independent town in the far north of the Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. After Kiel and Lübeck, it is the third-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg's ...

. He made several voyages to the

White Sea The White Sea (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; ) is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the nort ...

and to places in northern Russia, and in 1621 entered the service of the thriving Danish Icelandic Company. For many years the whole trade of

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

, which he frequently visited, passed through his hands, and he soon became equally well known at

Glückstadt Glückstadt (; ) is a town in the Steinburg district of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is located on the right bank of the Lower Elbe at the confluence of the small Rhin river, about northwest of Altona. Glückstadt is part of the Hamburg ...

, the centre of the Iceland trade, and at

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 ...

. In February 1644, at the express desire of King Christian IV, the Copenhagen burgesses elected him

burgomaster Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, ) is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or executive of a city or town. The name in English was derived from the Dutch . In so ...

. During his northern voyages he had learned Russian, and was employed as interpreter at court whenever

Muscovite Muscovite (also known as common mica, isinglass, or potash mica) is a hydrated phyllosilicate mineral of aluminium and potassium with formula KAl2(Al Si3 O10)( F,O H)2, or ( KF)2( Al2O3)3( SiO2)6( H2O). It has a highly perfect basal cleavage y ...

embassies visited Copenhagen. His travels had begotten in him a love of geography, and he published in 1633 a ''Kosmografi'', previously revised by the astronomer Longomontanus. During the siege of Copenhagen by the Swedes in 1658 Nansen became prominent. At the meeting between the king and the citizens to arrange for the defence of the capital, he urged the necessity of an obstinate defence. It was he who obtained privileges for the burgesses of Copenhagen which placed them on a footing of equality with the nobility; and he was the life and soul of the garrison till the arrival of the Dutch fleet practically saved the city. These eighteen months of crisis established his influence in the capital once for all and at the same time knitted him closely to Frederick III, who recognized in Nansen a man after his own heart, and made the great burgomaster his chief instrument in carrying through the anti-aristocratic Revolution of 1660. Nansen used all the arts of the agitator with extraordinary energy and success. His greatest feat was the impassioned speech by which, on 8 October, he induced the burgesses to accede to the proposal of the magistracy of Copenhagen to offer Frederick III the realm of Denmark-Norway as a purely hereditary state. How far Nansen was content with the result of the Revolution—absolute monarchy—it is impossible to say. It appears certain that, at the beginning he did not want absolutism. Whether he subsequently regarded the victory of the monarchy and its corollary, the admittance of the middle classes to all offices and dignities, as a satisfactory equivalent for his original demands; or whether he was so overcome by royal favour as to sacrifice cheerfully the political liberties of his country, is a matter for conjecture. After the Revolution Nansen continued in high honour, but he chiefly occupied himself with commerce, and less with politics.

Bibliography

* Oluf Nielsen, ''Københavns Historie'', iii (Copenhagen, 1877) * Julius Albert Fridericia, ''Adelsvaeldens sidsie Dage'' (Copenhagen, 1894) * ''Danmarks Riges Historie'', v (Copenhagen, 1897–1905).

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nansen, Hans 1598 births 1667 deaths 17th-century mayors of Copenhagen 17th-century councilmen of Copenhagen 17th-century Danish politicians People from Flensburg