Willem Leyel's Travel to India 1639-1643

On 8 November 1639, Willem Leyel leaves Denmark as commander of the ship "Christianshavn". The destination is the Danish possession Tranquebar with the fortress Dansborg on the south-western coast of India from which he is to manage the trading activities of the first Danish East India Company. The journey is a nightmare of obstacles and it ends up lasting several years. When he finally arrives at Dansborg on 5 September 1643, everything is in a state of decay and the relieved manager bolts with the last items of value. Leyel has to reconstruct everything from scratch and proves to be equal to the occasion. There are too few men, too little money, and hardly any connection to the management in Copenhagen. But Leyel knows how to stay friends with the local princes, he earns money through trading in their kingdoms -- and gradually through piracy too! -- so that Dansborg can remain Danish territory. The story of Willem Leyel builds primarily on his own records which are kept in the public record office. It paints a picture of a unique and fantastic piece of Danish history, of the conditions in Tranquebar, of life during the perilous voyages -- several dramatic events have been reconstructed down to the last detail.