gamleskibegamlehuse

In general, many of the soldiers of the garrison were billeted on the towns­ people in the old days, and the ceremonial changing of the guard took place at the residence of the Commandant of the Artillery Garrison (ill. p. i 17). A drill square was laid-out at the powder factory (ill. p. 115), and after the »Palace Revolt« in 1784 an alarm post was established here as a precaution against riots.

D U R I N G T H E F L O U R I S H I N G P E R I O D O F C O M M E R C E

The Danish W est Indian and Guinea Company was — at least as far as Christians­ havn was concerned — short lived. The planters in the colonies of the West Indies objected to the Company’s methods and eventually the Crown took over both its administrative functions and the plantations (ill. p. 121). The »factories« or trading stations in Africa were abandoned. The Company’s shipyard and harbour were acquired by the merchant-prince W ever, later com ­ ing into the possession of his widow’ (ill. p. 123). The Company’s plantations in the Indies together with its sugar refinery on Christianshavn were acquired by Count H. C. Schimmelmann (ill. p. i2y) — a German merchant who was ennobled by the Danish Crown for his services in reorganizing the economic system of the country. His son, Count H. E. Schimmelmann (ill. p. 126), who succeeded to his father’s possessions both in Denmark and in its colonies, is famed for the initiative he took in the suppressions of slavery. As a result of his humane political activities, Denmark was first among the nations of the world to set a date after which all trading in slave labour within its colonies would become illegal (ill. p. 129). In the latter years of the century, shipbuilding declined on Christianshavn and the Napoleonic Campaigns in which Denmark evinced friendship with the French, resulted in the virtual stoppage of Danish overseas commerce and navigation. Several hundred Danish merchantmen were captured or destroyed by the British and it was many years before the Danish Merchant Marine regained its former strength. During the middle years of the 18th century, numerous merchant ships were built in the yards of Christianshavn. During this period one flourishing yard was that owned by C. Fabritius de Tengnagel (ill. p. i 31), knight and merchant, the site of which, like that owned by Jan van Osten mentioned earlier, is now covered bv B &W machine shops. In 1770’s the Danish Government did much to encourage shipbuilding for over­ seas trade, and even for whaling, (ill. pp. 132, 133, 135-, 137). For more than a hundred years after the death of Peter Applebye his par­ ticular area was, in fact, still officially known as the Englishman’s Place (ill. P- 139).

188