Johan Lorentz Castenschiold (13 May 1705 – 19 June 1745) was a Danish nobleman, landowner and planter.

Early life

Johan Lorentz Carstens was born on 13 May 1705 on the island of Saint Thomas in the

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

. His parents were a Danish planter named Jørgen Carstens and his wife Margrethe Volckers. Margrethe was the daughter of Governor

Johan Lorensen Johan Lorensen (died 1702) was a Danish colonial administrator who twice served as governor of the Danish West Indies from October 1689 to 17 September 1692 and 7 April 1693 to 19 February 1702. Little is known about his career or personal life ou ...

, a wealthy man whose financial status benefitted that of Jørgen's via the marriage. Prior to the marriage, Jørgen had already acquired a

sugar plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tobacc ...

known as Mosquito Bay.

Plantation-owning career

Carstens inherited the Mosquito Bay plantation in 1720 after his father died. He married in 1728 to Jacoba von Holten, daughter of former governor Joachim Melchior von Holten. As a result of the marriage, Carstens acquired ownership over two plantations formerly owned by the von Holten family, the

Pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living Exoskeleton, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pear ...

and Crown estates. Carstens also acquired 400 ''tønder'' of land on

Saint Croix Saint Croix ( ; ; ; ; Danish language, Danish and ; ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent Districts and sub-districts of the United States Virgin Islands, district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an Unin ...

when Denmark-Norway purchased the island from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 1733.

Later life and death

Carsten's family moved to

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 1739, where they lived in a

townhouse A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of Terraced house, terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type o ...

in Store Kirkestræde. Carsten continued to manage his slave plantations and dealings in the Danish sugar trade. Von Holten gave birth to two sons during her marriage to Carsten; first was Carl Adolph Carsten, who was born in 1740, and the second was Joachim Carsten, who was born in 1743. Castenschiold died from

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

on 19 June 1747. He purchased Knabstrup Manor in 1745 and was

ennobled Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. Th ...

under the surname Castenschiold on 12 March that same year. His widow purchased the property of Hørbygaard in 1748. She lived on the estate until her death in 1751.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castenschiold, Johan Lorentz 1705 births 1747 deaths 18th-century Danish landowners Castenschiold family Danish planters Danish slave owners Danish sugar industry businesspeople Deaths from smallpox People from the Danish West Indies Danish Calvinist and Reformed Christians 18th-century Danish farmers Sugar plantation owners 1720s in the Danish West Indies 1730s in the Danish West Indies