Hark Olufs’s place of
origin
Amrum is one of the Northfrisian
islands, situated in the wadden sea. In the 18. century it was a part of the
kingdom of Denmark (today it is belonging to Germany).
The island
was very poor, and most of the about 600 inhabitants lived from seafaring,
often employed by the Dutch. One of them was Oluf Jensen, Hark Olufs’s
father. In the beginnings of the 18. century he sailed as a captain from
Trondhjem in Norway, later from the Netherlands, and finally he lived as a
shipowner on Amrum.
His son
was to become a sailor and a captain, too.
The Barbary States
In the 18. century Morocco,
Algiers, Tunis and Tripolis were known as the “Barbary States”. These Moslem states
considered themselves in war with the Christian world. So they captured
Christian ships and sold the sailors as slaves. In fact they were
economically depend on this piracy.
The
families of the captured sailors had to collect money for the ransom. From
the 17. century insurances were established (in Denmark 1716), but they never
had enough money. Because the crews were very multinational, often the
insurance did not feel responsible - with the result, that many slaves were
not ransomed.
Finally several
states made contracts with the Barbary States. So they paid an amount of
money directly to them, for their ships should no more be captured. Denmark
made a first contract with Algiers in 1746.
 A selected bibliography of the Barbary States
Hark Olufs’s curriculum
vitae
1708 july 17/19 born in Süddorf on the island of
Amrum, father: Oluf Jensen
1708
aug. 16 death of
his mother Marret Harken (born 1680)
1713
nov. 26
remarriage of the father with Marret Jürgens (born 1693, dead 1779)
1715
aug. 12 birth of
the stepsister Marret (dead 1786)
1717
nov. 18 death of
the elder brother Peter (born 1705)
1721 sailor
1724
mar. 10 (?) on
the way from Nantes to Hamburg captured by the Algerians at the Scilly
islands, later on sold at Algiers as a slave, and finally bought by the bey
of Constantine
Did
he become a Moslem?
1724-1727/28
lackey of the bey
of Constantine
1727/28-1735
gasnadal
(treasurer) of the bey
1732
june/july visit
of a Saxonian expedition under the direction of dr. J. Hebenstreit
between
1728 and 1732
appointed commander of the bey’s bodyguard
1732-1735
agha ed-deira
(commander-in-chief of the cavalry)
1732
sep. participation
in the siege of Oran (?)
1732/33
pilgrimage to
Mecca
1734 journey to Marrakech
1734 attempt for ransom by Oluf Jensen
1735
sep. 04 battle of
Smendja and later on conquest of Tunis
1735
oct. 31 release
and return via Algiers, Marseille, Lyon, Paris and Hamburg
1736 apr. 25 arrival at Amrum
Hark
Olufs’s house at Süddorf (left side)
1737
summer marriage
with Antje Lorentzen (dead1798)
1737
sep. 20 birth of
the daughter Crassen (dead 1762)
1739
feb. 11 birth of
the son Lorenz (dead 1811)
1741
oct. 13/14 birth
of the daughter Marret (dead 1808)
1742
may 25/26 (?)
reception by king Christian VI. at Tønder
1744
mar. 24/26 birth
of the daughter Ehlen (dead 1796)
1747 publication of his autobiography
in danish
1748
june 11 birth of
the daughter Marret (dead 1828)
1750
may 19 death of
the father Oluf Jensen
1751 german translation of the
autobiography
1754
oct. 13 death at
Süddorf on the island of Amrum
1761 confirmation of the contents of
the autobiography by Hark Nickelsen
Source texts
Hark Olufs’s autobiography in danish, 1747
Hark Olufs’s autobiography in german, 1751
The official text of the treaty
between Denmark and Algiers, 1746 (in
danish)
You will
find more informations in:
Martin
Rheinheimer, Der
fremde Sohn. Hark Olufs’ Wiederkehr aus der Sklaverei. Neumünster 2001.
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