The Klint Cronicle E-Book

Flemming Klint Harkjær

• Herausgeber: BoD - Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Serie: The Klint Chronicle
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Seitenzahl: 410

Beschreibung

This story is about the Klint family, which originates from Møgeltønder in Synderjylland, Denmark. The story is mainly about two sons of Hans Simonsen Klint and Karen Klint. Simon Klint, captain, and Jens Klint, mate. They both sailed on the Danish West Indies, from the Netherlands. There is good reason to believe that they sailed on slave ships. Captain Simon Klint was co-owner of a plantation in Suriname, and they both owned their own house in Møgeltønder. Which suggests they were making good money. Houses that stand there to this day.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

PREFACE

1. Daler Church 1718

2. Amsterdam 1702

3. North Atlantic 1704

4. The coast of Africa. 1703

5. Middle passage 1705

6. Amsterdam 1706

7. Østerby 1712

8. Møgeltønder 1725-1735

9. Flensburg 1735-1738

10. Mediterranean Sea 1739

11. Flensburg 1740

12. Møgeltønder 1740

13. North Atlantic 1741

14. St. Thomas 1740

15. Møgeltønder 1740

16. Flensburg 1742

17. Atlantic Ocean 1743

18. Flensburg 1744

19. Møgeltønder 1744

20. Amsterdam 1745

21. Møgeltønder 1745

22. Amsterdam 1746

23. Atlantic 1746

24. West Africa 1746

24. Suriname 1747

25. St. Croix 1747

26. Møgeltønder 1748

25. Paramaribo 1752

26. Curaçao 1754

27. Møgeltønder 1760

28. Paramaribo 1763

29. Møgeltønder 1765

30. Møgeltønder/Suriname 1772-1783

31. Møgeltønder 1783-1803

Postscript

Klint – the family

PREFACE

This story is about the Klint family, which originates from Møgeltønder in Synderjylland, Denmark.

The story is mainly about two sons of Hans Simonsen Klint and Karen Klint. Simon Klint, captain, and Jens Klint, mate.

They both sailed on the Danish West Indies, from the Netherlands. There is good reason to believe that they sailed on slave ships.

Captain Simon Klint was co-owner of a plantation in Suriname, and they both owned their own house in Møgeltønder. Which suggests they were making good money. Houses that stand there to this day.

Flemming Klint Harkjaer

1.

Daler Church 1718

Karen stood with her only eight-day-old boy in Daler Church. Hans Simonsen Klint, the proud father, stood opposite on the other side of the granite baptismal font, with the four human heads marked in the foot. His gaze also fell on the altar of Mary, where Mary carries the baby Jesus on her arm. It had always puzzled Hans that the baby Jesus was portrayed with an adult face. He stood and tilted his feet, as he had been used to on the sailing ships he had sailed with before, but that era in his life was over. Now it was family life. Hans' two sisters, Merred and Kiersten, were godparents. They both wanted to hold the boy, but when they couldn't agree, Karen cut through and decided to carry her baby son herself. She was a strong woman, and when she decided something, no one dared to speak out against her, not even her husband. Karen was a proud daughter of the merchant in Tønder, beautiful with her blonde hair and beautiful figure, which many women envied her. Her husband, Hans, loved her dearly and let her decide everything in the home, including how the children should be raised. Perhaps because she had chosen him, even though he had not behaved quite according to the norms of the time in his earlier youth, something that they never talked about again. The priest turned to the mother and asked. "What is the child's name"? "Simon Hansen Klint," Karen replied. The child was perfectly calm as the priest poured water over his dark hair and uttered the words; "Then I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen."

The couple already had two children. The son, Peder 4 years, and daughter Merred 2 years old. Karen's mother and father sat with the two children, and Hans' parents were also there, and of course his two brothers-inlaw. In addition, as usual, the church was filled with citizens from Østerby and the surrounding area. They were believers in this area and faithfully showed up for worship every Sunday. Most people's children also went to Sunday school, but today Peder and Merred were exempt, as a christening party was to be held at their home on Slotsgade in Møgeltønder. Hans Simonsen Klint, a few months earlier, had been given title deed JB no. 66, of a half of a property located with the façade facing Slotsgade. It was a ground-walled late classical longhouse in the street line. The house was four bays long and built together with the neighboring houses. There was 1 front door, two paned windows and 1 dormer facing the street. The house contained a living room with alcove and a long table where the day's funeral took place. In addition, a kitchen with an open fireplace and a small hallway with stairs to the attic floor, which contained a bedroom with the attic. Behind it a small barn with room for a cow and a few pigs. Chickens they had too. There were not many people at the christening party, only the immediate family, grandparents, a few aunts and uncles, and closest neighbors. Karen had a neighbor's wife cook, coffee, and a cake.

Little Simon went on laps with the aunts until he had to be put to sleep in his cradle.

The men sat in the drawing-room after eating, smoking their long pipes and discussing the Count of Schackenborg's excessively high taxes, among other things. The hart grain taxes as well as the tithe to priest and gentry. In addition, mill compulsion to Lindskov mill and costs and work of maintaining dikes and roads. Furthermore, the large military deliveries could be extremely burdensome. All this gave rise to discontent among the tenant farmers.

"But I guess you can't complain Hans. You've got tax exemption, and your wife has opened a grocery store, so you'll be fine," said one of the brothers-in-law.

Hans nodded, looking quite satisfied. It was true that the gentry had granted tax exemption to those who built a house in Slotsgade, and Hans and Karen had just reached it. In addition, they had to engage in grocery trade and crafts. Hans worked as a builder and Karen had borrowed money from her father to open a grocery store. So, the future looked bright, for the little family, in their new home, in Slotsgade in Møgeltønder.

The money to build the house for, (Today No. 32) Hans had served on his voyages between Holland and the West Indies. In the years 1702-1712 he had participated in three trips on the triangular route with slave ships for Dutch shipping companies. It had been quite lucrative for the young sailor. And incidentally, also for several others on the ships.

Slotsgade 32, later became Jens Klint's property.

The eldest son, Willem Jacobz Klint, whom Hans had fathered out of wedlock with a young Dutch woman, was never mentioned. Not that Karen didn't know, but the boy had always lived with his mother, who was now married to a shipowner and living in Amsterdam. Willem Jacobz was 15 years old and had been confirmed the year before, but Hans had not been involved in that, he never heard from either the boy or the mother, and everyone was fine with that. Hans was only 18 when he impregnated the Dutch girl of 16, who was the daughter of a small shipowner in Amsterdam.

3.

North Atlantic 1704

A week after Hans was hired, the ship docked in Amsterdam. Ahead was a month's sailing, if the weather turned out to be good. They were to sail down through the English Channel, once clear of England and able to fall off from the prevailing westerly wind blowing year-round in the Atlantic, they could set all sails and go south for half wind. The further south they went, the more force the wind contained, the more they could relax their sheets and the more they increased their speed. They reached Portugal in a few days, and captured the Portuguese north and at the same time they were able to catch the southbound Portuguese current, so wind and current worked together to lead the ship quickly towards the target, the Gulf of Guinea and the fort Elmina.

Hans enjoyed the work on board setting sail and being a helmsman, which were the most common things a sailor did. The food was decent, especially he came to love sauerkraut and fried salted pork, something he had not tasted before. But it was evidently the food of the rank and file that he learned that the captain and mates were given different and better diets. They were also given rum for their food, while the sailors had to make do with brandy, beer and water.

One day when the wind was blowing up, Hans and another sailor were sent down to the lower deck to lash some iron bars, and here he saw for the first time all the iron shackles that were ready to chain the slaves together two by two. It was as if it was only now that he really realized what he had said yes to. And all the boards for the shelves were also there. The carpenter would be busy when they arrived. Hans had heard from another sailor that they would have about 400 slaves on board, if it was possible to buy that many. They could not expect to buy them all in Elmina, but probably had to sail further down the coast to the Danish forts to fill up. How they were going to fit 400 slaves, Hans could not understand at all. But he would see that in 6 months.

They made landfall with Madeira. They passed close by it, and saw the lovely vineyards, plantations and many houses, as well as a few monasteries. The wind was warm and powerful, but here ended the Portuguese north and was replaced by the northeast trade. The only thing that happened was that the ship boomed once and now continued sailing on starboard necks. So, the changing of the wind was over, mild and strong, it came sweeping over them and made white foam peaks on the blue Ocean. Hans did not think here and now that the wind that drove them forward was the same as a few days later would sweep over the fields of the West Indies, where the slaves he was to help sail across the Middle Passage would toil and enslave to the whites until they once fell, and felt dead of either disease, hunger or the hard work.

After Madeira, the ship fell into the Canaria Stream, which runs south along the west coast of Africa, again providing wind and current to carry the ship forward. Quickly, the Canary Islands lay behind like green pearls and merged into a distant mountain range. The people could enjoy seeing both dolphins, flying fish, and morild at night.

The crew often sat late into the night, the officers on the after deck, the sailors on the foredeck, enjoying the warm weather and the billions of stars that appeared in the sky.

Seasickness was a thing of the past at these latitudes and Hans, who had only sailed across the North Atlantic where they had struggled with storms and seasickness, enjoyed the trip to the fullest. Now, however, he felt that he had made the right choice. There was singing and ferocious antics on board as the ship reached the Tropic of Cancer and slid into the equatorial belt. Up in the mainmast appeared a sinister figure, painted black on his face and wearing goat teddy bears. The "Man of the Line" came howling and screaming crawling down, subjecting the people who for the first time passed the Turning Circle to the worst trials, but no one was hurt. However, there were some who thought it was too much. Dr. Klaus Volke and the First Mate did not think it appropriate that a private sailor should be allowed to submit to superiors such abuses, but here the captain was adamant. It was an old tradition and he wanted to uphold it. Hans thought it was quite funny, and it was also a break in the daily routine. Afterwards, a little better food was served than usual, and a little more brandy and rum was drunk. Yes, you could have fun on board when everything was going well.

At the same time, the passage of the Turning Circle became the occasion to change the flag. The trade flag was replaced by the split flag, which was otherwise only allowed to be used by naval vessels. But the captains felt that the split flag gave the ship more authority when anchoring at foreign anchorages.

After they had passed the Cape Verdean Islands, the trade began to run out and it became quieter and more humid day by day. It was only when they left the west coast of Africa and entered the Gulf of Guinea that the powerful Guinea Current running east took hold of the ship's keel and gently led them towards the white Fort Elmina.

Fort ELMINA

4.

The coast of Africa. 1703

Fort Elmina was built by the Portuguese in 1482 and conquered by the Dutch in 1637, said the second mate, Hans. It was the first fort the Europeans built on the Gold Coast.

The slave ship dropped anchor on the nest off Fort Elmina, and fired three cannon shots, the fort retaliating by doing the same. Then the dinghy was put into the water, the captain and a few soldiers boarded, six sailors rowed the boat to shore, and lay down next to the many canoes owned by the African traders.

It was quite normal for the captain to be dragged into the banquet hall of the fort, together with the commandant of the fort and the governor of the Dutch possessions, who was one and the same man. The captain was naturally interested to know how many slaves the fort had in the slave yard that he could buy and ship over for sale in Suriname. But first it was to be celebrated that a ship had arrived at all. Not many ships docked at the fort a year. And sometimes it was foreign ships, English and Danish, who wanted to buy slaves. So, when finally, a Dutch ship came, and like this from here Dutch West India Company, abbreviated WIC, well, of course there should be a party.

The day after the ship dropped anchor, the unloading of the many goods to be sailed to shore and carried onto the fort began. There was a lively traffic with the African canoes, rowed by strong black men who had their livelihoods outside and out of the fort. They were free Africans who stood on good terms with the whites and who lived with their families in the city. The two horses also had to be delivered to the fort, and the only way to get them ashore was to let them jump into the water and swim ashore, the same with the two oxen. It took many days to empty the large ship, and as the lower deck was emptied, the carpenter and his helpers could begin building shelves for the slaves. Later, they would also build the redoubt on the upper deck. Here they first had to remove some of the tire.

"You can help the carpenter and take the ship's boys with you," the boatman told Hans.

"Sure! I'll find the boys," Hans replied. He was pleased with that. Then he also had the opportunity to learn some craft. Hans wanted to be a craftsman when he returned to Denmark.

The carpenter, Fritz, ordered Hans and the boys down to the lower deck.

"Right now, it's about shelves for the slaves. In the man's department, they should be 6 feet long, 2 1/2 feet wide, and 2 1/2 feet height between shelves. You can start with them, it is foreship and amidships, then we will see how many male slaves we get on board. It's possible that we need to do more," Fritz said and got to work.

It was hard work, the air was bad, even though the hatches were open, and then it was stifling hot. They sweated like pigs during the work, and Hans couldn't help but think about what it would be like for the slaves to have to stay down there for months until they arrived at their destination in Suriname. The height from the deck on the lower deck to the second deck was so that an adult man could stand upright, and here couchettes had to be made for three layers of slaves, which meant that there was so little space between the layers that an adult man could not sit in an upright position without hitting his head against the one above. They were forced to lie down on the rough boards for the entire trip, except when they got up to get some fresh air, and food. This is where the redoubt came in. By removing the upper deck between the foremast and the mainmast, a (courtyard) was created for the slaves to stay in, and which could be kept under the control of the crew. It was only the male slaves who came up into the yard, women and children were largely allowed to stay on the foredeck as they pleased, however, they were watched, but the female slaves were not considered dangerous. However, slaves regularly threw themselves into the water, either to try to swim ashore while the ship was at anchor, or to drown themselves once out on the high seas. Especially women who had had their small babies, who were sometimes just thrown on the beach, were very keen to jump into the water and swim in. Therefore, they had also invented a 6 feet wide net that was stretched out from the ship's side, so it was more difficult to jump into the water. It was taken down when the ship had reached the open sea, and the slaves could no longer see land.

When the purchased provisions had come on board and the carpenter and his assistants had built the redoubt, the canoes began to sail the purchased slaves out to the ship. Hans and the other sailors could not see what was going on inside the slave farm of the fort, where some of the slaves had stayed for months.

It was the slave traders and various African tribes who supplied the slaves to the fort. When the African tribes fought each other, the ruler took prisoners and kept them as slaves. This had been done long before Europeans came to Africa, but after the white men, built forts on the coast of Africa and began to trade with the African tribes, flint guns and brandy became a very good commodity. The tribes that had flint guns had a much greater chance of winning their wars and could thus obtain even more slaves for the whites. The white Europeans also bought gold and ivory from the Africans. An extraordinarily lucrative trade for the whites. A captain and his officers could make a lot of money from such deals. However, the Company's profits should not be affected. However, many ship captains ignored it and took care of themselves. There was so much that could go wrong on the long voyage that the company could not control, so it was largely up to the captains to bend the rules, more, or less.

In the slave yard of the fort, trade took place between the ship's captain and the slave traders. The slaves were naked so that the ship's doctor could examine them for diseases. No captain wanted sick Negroes on board, as mortality was already high among the slaves when they had to embark on the long and often dangerous voyage across the Atlantic. Once the doctor had approved a slave, he or she was branded with WIC's stamp. It could be made of iron, or silver. The silver piston made a finer mark and that was how a WIC used. The slaves were branded on the chest when they were company property, while the captain's own purchases, 5 male slaves, were branded on the front of the thigh. In this way, you could keep track of whose slaves died along the way. The ship's doctor bought three slaves, which were then branded on the back of the thigh. The 1st mate kept a careful account of the purchases, 67 male slaves, 38 female slaves, 12 boys and 10 girls. Women with small babies were not taken with them, they took up too much space, made noise, and most would die along the way anyway. If the mothers of these babies were young, healthy and strong, the children were often taken from them and either given away to people in the city, or as happened in most cases, the slave traders had already disposed of the babies on the trip from the land, it could be Akwapim which was over a hundred kilometers away. It was not uncommon to simply kill them, or just throw them into a river for the crocodiles. The slaves walked in long lines, chained together, the men had a large heavy wooden block tied on their right arm, which was fastened with an iron brace with a lock on it, so that they had to walk with the wooden block resting on their heads, while the women were chained only two by two with a fork branch that sat at their necks, also with an iron brace around their necks. In this way, they had secured themselves against escape. Moreover, the slave traders had both rifles and whips, which were used extensively if the Negroes did not comply. It happened that a woman gave birth while waiting in the courtyard of the fort, and sometimes women managed to hide their newborns until they sat in the canoe on the way out to the ship. If the whites, usually soldiers, who were always in the canoes noticed it, and they always did, then they simply took the child and threw it into the water. There were always many sharks in the water around a slave ship at anchor. Slaves who fell ill while waiting, and whom the ship's doctor did not expect to survive the trip across the Middle Passage, were simply thrown overboard.

When the 127 slaves had boarded and were chained to their sleeping quarters in the belly of the ship on the lower deck, the captain prepared for departure. He was to have more slaves on board and wanted to sail further down the coast to the Danish Fort Christiansborg, which was only a few cannon shots from Elmina on the Cape Coast. The chance to buy more slaves there was pretty good, he had been told on Elmina that it had been a long time since a slave ship had been over, so if he was lucky, the slave farm at Christiansborg was full.

They dropped anchor when it was dark, and the next morning they lay on the nest next to the white fort, with the Danish flag flying from the top. The guns pointed dangerously out over the bay and would be able to keep any ship at bay.

The dinghy was put into the water, and the sailors fought their way through the surf and to shore, where hundreds of canoes lay ready to ferry slaves and supplies to the slave ships.

A week later, the captain of St. George had purchased another 102 male slaves, 89 female slaves, 25 boys, and 22 girls. He now had a total of 365 slaves crammed into the ship's hold. He was satisfied and prepared to sail further south, to the Spanish island of Sáo Tomé, where they believed they could get better and cleaner fresh water than elsewhere. They were afraid of the Guinea worm, a parasitic wireworm that sailors got when they drank contaminated water. The houseworm could develop into a worm up to 1m in length and 1mm in diameter long, which through intestinal breakthroughs found its way to the skin, where it caused abscesses and enormous discomfort for those who got it. There are examples of sailors who have jumped into the sea because they were going insane from the tingling of the worm under the skin where they could see it. The only way to get rid of it was to cut a hole in the skin and roll it up on a stick quite slowly, by one cm a day. Finally, it should not break, as it would rot and cause infection that could be lifethreatening.

5.

Middle passage 1705

From Sào Tomè they could catch the trade wind and sail for good wind and tailcurrent across the intermediate passage to the West Indies and Suriname. Their final destinations.

They took fresh water on board during the day, as well as some fresh fruit, and dropped anchor when it got dark, and headed west. The wind was light and came aft, so the captain ordered all sails set, and the ship shot at a nice speed. It was calm on board, and the captain handed the ship over to the 1st mate, Hans was at the helm, the sea was black and calm, the sky clear and sparkled with its billions of lit stars.

Hans was thinking about the family back home in Østerby, wondering how they were doing. He had written them a letter and sent it from Amsterdam, and again one here in Elmina. It would be months before they got the letter from Africa. If the sailing, went well he might be back in Holland sooner. Well, it was probably wishful thinking, he had heard many stories of hurricanes on the middle passage, rebellion among the slaves, illness and death among the crew. Yes, even the captain and mates could get sick and die, it had happened before, and when the sailors had taken over the ship, and got off course, or stranded. Certainly not all slave ships appeared.

But right now, he was enjoying his work and hoping for the best. He felt fit and healthy and would make it, he was convinced. His impression of the captain was indeed good. They had not crowded the ship with slaves, as some captains did. An overcrowded ship could easily cause a shortage of food and water, and then the risk of rebellion was greater. The captain had also intentionally bought slaves in two different places, for a different reason, namely that they came from different tribes and did not speak the same language, making it more difficult to plan a rebellion. Another problem besides hurricanes was calm wind, which could easily occur on the middle passage. And it could be weeks, also taking a toll on supplies.

But everything was quiet for the time being, yes, he could hear some coughing, a little rattling of the chains and a child crying from the bottom where the slaves lay chained to their couches. It made him think again about the conditions of the slaves. The meagre space and the rough boards they lay naked on. He could just imagine what it would be like if they got just a small storm and high waves. Then the slaves would be thrown up and down on their rough bearings, and the leg locks would gnaw tremendously at their black skin. Admittedly, they were said to be very thick-skinned, and could tolerate much more than the whites, but Hans doubted, and hoped that it would not come to the point where he saw the matter. No, a fast and calm voyage, so that they could get rid of their cargo of blacks, and bring coffee, sugar and rum to Holland, and raise their hire, that would be nice. If they could manage to be back in Amsterdam within two years, there would be a handsome bonus, also for Hans. Until now, he had not withdrawn any of his monthly salary, and it had now been seven months since they left Amsterdam, so there were already 70 Gylden in his account, so much money he had never owned before.

When the sun rose, Hans was asleep. His shift had ended at 24, and now it was the captain who stood on the aft deck and controlled the ship's position with his sextant and the ship's clock hanging in front of the rudder on the galley wall. The chef and assistants were well underway with breakfast for the crew. The black slave women were making breakfast for their own up on the deck of the foreship. The soldiers were loosening some of the male slaves so they could get up and get some fresh air and exercise in the yard, and they also ate their meals here. Care was taken to ensure that the male slaves were not too many gathered in the yard at once. On the four corners, the canister cannons were loaded and manned by a soldier, ready to shoot down the crowd if trouble broke out that could not be dealt with the whips, which the soldiers always had close at hand. But for now, everything breathed peace and quiet. All the slaves behaved like gentle lambs, and that made the captain happy, he envisioned a handsome reward ahead. If he could get there with all the slaves alive, which was probably unlikely, he and his crew would make quite a large amount of money on this trip. But he could only hope. The ship's doctor had finished his round on the slave deck and came up to report to the captain.

"No sick slaves are reported, but a little extra attention must be paid to one of the women. I think she's with kid she had thrown up last night."

"Good, make sure she gets some extra food and drink. We must take good care of our cargo, don't we, Doctor?"

Well, finally, she is your property," laughed the doctor. The captain did not prefer a mine. He knew what that meant, and of course wanted to take extra care of his own slaves.

Four glasses were struck, which meant a change of guard, it was now 8.00 and breakfast was served in Captain Piet van Hoofen's beautiful cabin. Here the two mates, the doctor and the captain, gathered every morning to discuss the day's work. And how the night had gone. The rest of the crew had eaten and were engaged in looking after the slaves together with the soldiers. Of course, there was always a helmsman and a lookout on duty. But the twice a day when the slaves came up, there was enough to do with keeping track of them, especially when they were going from the lower deck up to the next, where the guns also stood. It was here, from this deck, that the women came up on the foredeck, and here there was no separation as on the lower deck where they slept. So, it was extremely important that the male slaves did not have the opportunity to get up on the foredeck, which meant that the crew would not be able to use the small guns if rebellion or other skirmishes broke out.

"There is not much to report from the night, it has been quiet and calm," began the 1st mate.

"Someone sick among the crew"? The captain looked at the doctor, who merely shook his head, and replied, "No one has come forward."

"Let's hope it continues like this."

"Yes, but it hardly does," the 2nd mate grumbled, reaching for the rum bottle.

The captain looked at him sternly. "Aren't you the one on duty now?"

"Yes," said the 2nd mate, slightly irritated, and put the bottle back down.

"I'll go for a round and check the sails," said the 1st mate, standing up. The 2nd mate also stood up and together they went up to the aft deck. 2. The helmsman looked at the compass, noted the course, and looked up at the sails which were well filled with wind, the ship was shooting at a good speed, the sky was clear and blue, however, he could see that some cloud formations were building up to the north, but he did not expect them to cause problems. But one should always be vigilant. The weather could change quickly, and just a strong windy weather was of great importance, especially for the slaves, who quickly had to be chained up in such a situation.

"The sails look fine from here, but I'll go for a round," said the 1st mate, and began to walk towards the railing on the starboard side. He glanced down into the courtyard, where the male slaves stood like herring in a barrel and ate their millet porridge that the female slaves had prepared. They were given about half a liter of water and a sip of brandy afterwards, which made them more docile, they were easier to get down on the couches once they had received the brandy. The helmsman shook his head slightly at them and continued his walk along the railing. He shook his mittens a little to check that they were tightened up. He noticed a cast iron which was very worn, it needed replacing. He called the boatman and ordered him to get it sorted.

Suddenly, there was a scream and then someone yelling from outside the front deck. The helmsman rushed out there, and quickly saw what caused the trouble. It was a couple of sailors who tried to drag two young women downstairs, where they were likely to rape them. It was quite common for white sailors to take the Negro women when it suited them. They spent many months at sea, and men had their lusts and desires to be redeemed, either in port, with the, or, as here on the slave ships, with the black women. It was not that either the captain or the mate had