Robert Thomas Hamilton (died 1677) was a military officer who served in Denmark and Norway. He served as the first County Governor of Lister og Mandal county from 1671 until around 1675. Robert Hamilton was born in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. He began as an officer for army for the

Kingdom of Denmark-Norway Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchic state or realm ruled by a king or queen. ** A monarchic chiefdom, represented or governed by a king or queen. * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and me ...

in 1657, serving in the

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

. This was during a time of an alliance between the

House of Stuart The House of Stuart, originally spelled Stewart, also known as the Stuart dynasty, was a dynasty, royal house of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and later Kingdom of Great Britain, Great ...

who ruled in Britain and the

House of Oldenburg The House of Oldenburg is a Germans, German dynasty whose members rule or have ruled in Danish Realm, Denmark, Kingdom of Iceland, Iceland, Kingdom of Greece, Greece, Norway, Russian Empire, Russia, Sweden, United Kingdom, the United Kingdom, King ...

who ruled in Denmark-Norway. He was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in Norway in 1658 and became a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

watchmaster in 1660. Hamilton's promotion continued and he made lieutenant colonel in 1661 due to a commendation by King Charles II. He was also named a Knight of the Elephant the same year. In 1668, King

Frederik III Frederick III (; 18 March 1609 – 9 February 1670) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1648 until his death in 1670. He also governed under the name Frederick II as diocesan administrator (colloquially referred to as prince-bishop) of the ...

of Denmark-Norway ordered the Governor-general of Norway to pay 2000 rigsdaler of the army's money to Hamilton in advance of his wages. In 1670, Hamilton left the cavalry and became commander of

Kronborg Castle Kronborg is a castle and historical stronghold in the town of Helsingør, Denmark. Immortalised as Elsinore in William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet'', Kronborg is one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe. It was inscribed ...

and was also appointed as the County Governor of Lister og Mandals amt in 1671. These appointments happened after years of service by the Scotsman to the Danish-Norwegian Oldenburg monarchy. He continued as governor until he resigned around 1675 when the

Scanian War The Scanian War (; ; ; ) was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark–Norway, Electorate of Brandenburg, Brandenburg and Swedish Empire, Sweden. It was fought from 1675 to 1679 mainly on Scanian soil, in the former Danish ...

broke out between the kingdoms of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and Denmark-Norway. At some point Hamilton raised a marine regiment of about 1,000 men for the navy at his own expense. These marines were still in service in the forces of Rigsadmiral

Gustaf Otto Stenbock Gustaf Otto Gustafsson Stenbock (17 September 1614, Torpa stenhus – 24 September 1685, Stockholm) was a Swedish military officer and politician. Biography He was a member of the noble Stenbock family; born to the Riksråd (Privy Councilor) ...

in 1679, although Hamilton himself died before that date. Hamilton is said to have died on 16 February 1677 in Norway and was buried at the King's cost 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 ...

on 7 May 1677.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Robert (Norwegian Governor) 1677 deaths Scottish mercenaries Scottish knights County governors of Norway 17th-century Scottish military personnel 17th-century Danish military personnel Expatriates from the Kingdom of Scotland