Henrik Span (17 April 1634 27 December 1694) was a naval officer in the Dutch, Venetian and DanishTopsøe-Jensen Vol 2 pp 235 - 236 navies. He reached the rank of Admiral in the
Royal Danish Navy
The Royal Danish Navy (, ) is the Naval warfare, sea-based branch of the Danish Armed Forces force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Denmark, Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Islands and ...
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 ...
Holbæk
Holbæk () is a town in Denmark and the County seat, seat of Holbæk municipality with a population of 30,903 (1 January 2025).Christian V of Denmark
Christian V (15 April 1646 – 25 August 1699) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699.
Well-regarded by the common people, he was the first king anointed at Frederiksborg Castle chapel as absolute monarch since the dec ...
.
Early life
Span was born in Oldendorf in the County of Schaumburg, the son of consul Bernhard Span and Elisabeth Beichmann. He joined the merchant navy at an early age, and was for a short while a prisoner of the French.
Naval career
Span enrolled in the
Royal Dutch Navy
The Royal Netherlands Navy (, ) is the Navy, maritime service branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It traces its history to 8 January 1488, making it the List of navies, third-oldest navy in the world.
During the 17th and early 18th centurie ...
where in 1652–54 he served in the war with England. In 1654–58, he served in the
Venetian navy
The Venetian navy () was the navy of the Venetian Republic which played an important role in the history of the republic and the Mediterranean world. It was the premier navy in the Mediterranean Sea for many centuries between the medieval and ea ...
in the war against the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
. In 1658, he returned to the Royal Dutch Navy. He served under Michael de Ruyter when an expeditionary fleet was sent to
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
where it managed to liberate
Nyborg
Nyborg is a city in central Denmark, located in Nyborg Municipality on the island of Funen and with a population of 17,990 (2025). It is the easternmost settlement on Funen. By road, it is located 34 km east of Odense, 35 km north of ...
in November 1659. He then returned to
the Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
where he began to sail for
Dutch India
Dutch India () consisted of the settlements and trading posts of the Dutch East India Company on the Indian subcontinent. It is only used as a geographical definition, as there was never a political authority ruling all Dutch India. Instead, D ...
, first as a navigator and from 1664 as a
master
Master, master's or masters may refer to:
Ranks or titles
In education:
*Master (college), head of a college
*Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline
*Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...
. He was in East Asia in 1665–71 but then returned to the Netherlands.
He was in 1672 appointed as captain in the Royal Dutch Navy and was promoted to commander in 1674 after distinguishing himself in the war against England.
In May 1677, he enrolled in the
Royal Danish Navy
The Royal Danish Navy (, ) is the Naval warfare, sea-based branch of the Danish Armed Forces force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Denmark, Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Islands and ...
with rank of captain of the first class. He commanded ''Norske Løve'' in the Battle of Køge Bay on 1 July and was then appointed as Vice Admiral and command of a squadron in the Baltic Sea fleet under Admiral General
Cornelis Tromp
Cornelis Maartenszoon Tromp, ''Count of Sølvesborg'' (3 September 1629 – 29 May 1691) was a Dutch naval officer who served as lieutenant-admiral general in the Dutch Navy, and briefly as a general admiral in the Royal Danish-Norwegian ...
. He took part in the expeditionary fleet to
Öland
Öland (, ; ; sometimes written ''Oland'' internationally) is the second-largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area of and is located in the Baltic Sea just off the coast of Småland. ...
and lost an eye during the conquest of Borgholm. He then took command of a squadron under
Niels Juel
Niels Juel (8 May 1629 – 8 April 1697) was a Danish naval officer. He served as supreme commander of the Dano-Norwegian Navy during the late 17th century and oversaw development of the Danish-Norwegian Navy.
Background
Niels Juel was born ...
, took part in the expeditionary fleet which was sent to
Rügen
Rügen (; Rani: ''Rȯjana'', ''Rāna''; , ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic ci ...
Span became a member of the Admiralty in 1678. In 1680, he was appointed as inspector of Bremerholm. In 1683, he was promoted to Admiral. In 1684, he was sent to Ertholmene to establish a port and fortress on Christiansø.
Span was also charged with overseeing the work of the English shipbuilder who worked at Royal Danish Naval Dockyards at Holmen in 1687–90 and who was dismissed after cooperation problems with Span. A new position as Head of Holmen was created for Span in 1690. He immediately embarked on reorganizing the naval base and associated dockyards. Nyholm was inaugurated that same year and Span was responsible for the construction of the first ship there, the ship-of-the-line '' Dannebroge'',Royal Danish Naval Museum Dannebroge which was launched in 1692.
Span was the first shipbuilder in Denmark who constructed ships based on mathematical principles and graphical designs. He created the designs for two naval ships (ships of the line) and three merchant ships. He also designed floating docks, cannon and mortars.
Personal life
Span married twice. His first wife was Albertzie Claesdatter. They married in approximately 1660 in the Netherlands but the marriage was dissolved in 1674. His second wife was Susanne Christine Schönbach (c. 1657–1722), a daughter of ''landkansler'' Johann Christoph S. (1616–1683) and Susanne Elisabeth Lange (1621–1673). They married in February 1686. They had one daughter, Charlotte Amalie Henriksdatter Span. She married Hans August v. Pagelsen (1663–1723) but the couple had no children.
Christian V granted him Hørbygaard at
Holbæk
Holbæk () is a town in Denmark and the County seat, seat of Holbæk municipality with a population of 30,903 (1 January 2025).here .