Jørgen Thormøhlen
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Jørgen Thormøhlen ({{circa|1640}} – 25 December 1708) was a German-born Norwegian merchant, shipowner, slave trader and industrialist.
Biography
Image:Kronstad Hovedgård.jpg, which was Thormøhlen's residence from 1685 to 1693]]
Thormøhlen was born {{circa|1640}} in the Duchy of Holstein, at that time a hereditary possession of the King of Denmark as Duke of Holstein-Glückstadt.{{cite encyclopedia|title=Jørgen Thor Møhlen |first= |last= |encyclopedia=Great Norwegian Encyclopedia|editor-last=Godal | editor-first=Anne Marit | editor-link=Anne Marit Godal |publisher=Norsk nettleksikon |location=Oslo |url=https://snl.no/Jørgen_thor_Møhlen |language=Norwegian |accessdate=21 October 2014}} He was the son of Jürgen ther Möhlen, a German wine trader from Hamburg. In 1664, he settled in Bergen, where he married Giertrud Magers. She was the daughter of naturalized citizen Hendrich Magers, who was regarded as the wealthiest merchant in Bergen.{{cite encyclopedia|title=Jørgen Thormøhlen |encyclopedia=Norsk biografisk leksikon|first=Anders Bjarne |last=Fossen |authorlink= |editor=Helle, Knut |publisher=Kunnskapsforlaget|location=Oslo|url=https://nbl.snl.no/Jørgen_Thormøhlen |language=Norwegian|accessdate=21 October 2014}} Thormøhlen became the largest ship-owner in Norway, trading fish from Northern Norway and being involved in a number of other businesses. He made his fortune through overseas and domestic trade (including the Danish slave trade) and owning ships. He also developed an industrial site located at Vestre Sydnes. The property included a salt refinery, packing sheds, a deep-water harbour, and employee homes.
Thormøhlen was the main owner of the Norwegian slave ship Cornelia, which in 1673 sailed to West Africa transporting a cargo of liquor and trinkets which it exchanged for a number of enslaved Africans; 103 slaves were transported to the island of Saint Thomas in the Danish West Indies by the Cornelia. In the next year, the Cornelia made another triangular trade voyage, again delivering 103 slaves to Saint Thomas.{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GKEyiOrI8H0C&dq=Cornelia+1673&pg=PA65 | title=Language Contact in the Danish West Indies: Giving Jack His Jacket | isbn=978-9004225404 | last1=Sabino | first1=Robin | date=7 May 2012 }} In 1682, King Christian V proclaimed him trade director. in 1695, he received royal permission to issue banknotes supported by a loan from the king. From 1685 to 1693, Thormøhlen owned the Kronstad Hovedgård manor house, which was located in the borough of Årstad (on the southern shore of the bay of Store Lungegårdsvannet) south of the city. However, heavy financial losses in overseas trade along with a major series of structure fires at Bryggen in 1702 created difficulties for Thormøhlen, who eventually went bankrupt.{{cite web
|url= http://www.danskmoent.dk/thormohl.htm|title= Jørgen Thormøhlen|publisher = danskmoent.dk|accessdate= July 15, 2016}}{{cite web|url= http://kunsthistorie.com/fagwiki/M%C3%B8hlenpris|title=Møhlenpris|publisher= kunsthistorie|accessdate= July 15, 2016}}{{cite web|url= http://kronstadhovedgaard.no/om-kronstad-hovedgaard.html|title=Kronstad Hovedgård- historien kort fortalt|publisher= Kronstad Hovedgård |date= February 25, 2013|accessdate= July 15, 2016}}{{cite web|url=https://snl.no/Bryggen_i_Bergen|title=Bryggen i Bergen|publisher=Great Norwegian Encyclopedia|accessdate= July 15, 2016}} Fossen, Anders Bjarne (1978) Jørgen Thormøhlen: Forretningsmann, storreder, finansgeni (Einar Blaauw) {{ISBN|978-8271290191}}
Personal life and legacy
He was married to Giertrud Magers, daughter of Hendrich Magers and Mægtele Lorentzen; the couple were the parents of a number of children. Thormøhlen was the great-grandfather of playwright, literary critic, editor and civil servant Claus Fasting.{{cite encyclopedia |title=Claus Fasting – norsk journalist|encyclopedia=Great Norwegian Encyclopedia|editor-last=Godal |editor-first=Anne Marit |editor-link=Anne Marit Godal |url=http://snl.no/Claus_Fasting/norsk%20journalist |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130413222048/http://snl.no/Claus_Fasting/norsk%20journalist |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 13, 2013 |accessdate=July 15, 2016 }} After his death, Thormøhlen's involvement in the Atlantic slave trade had come under controversy. During the 2020 George Floyd protests, there were calls to remove a statue of him in Bergen. A neighbourhood of the city, Møhlenpris, which was named after Thormøhlen has faced calls to be renamed. https://www.nrk.no/vestland/meiner-maleriet-i-bystyresalen-minner-om-drapet-pa-george-floyd-1.15045563
References
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Category:17th-century Norwegian businesspeople
Category:18th-century Norwegian businesspeople
Category:Businesspeople from Schleswig-Holstein
Category:Norwegian people of German descent