This new theme, Tordenskjold Pirates, is a series of blogs about some cloudy sides of the Nordic cultural heritages. Historically, this is inspired by the fact that the legendary Tordenskjold started out as a ship’s boy in the Caribbean in the golden age of Nordic trade and piracy. The suggestion of such pirates originated from an idea of eight different drinks of rum and Caribbean fruits, - each representing different captains’ personalities and circumstances. Further intriguing is that Tordenskjold is regarded as a naval hero in Denmark, a pirate in Sweden and an amusing conman in Norway. These weekly blogs for 3 months will thereby attempt to investigate that further - and the idea will develop along with multimedia inspirations. Nonetheless, the naive and childlike amusements of pirates’ tales, like Sabertooth, Pippi and Tordenskjold, will set the mode, - rather in British Monty Python style though.
Some historical facts from Wikipedia sets some basic scenes to this UU theme. “Explorers (mainly Norwegians), scientists, merchants (mainly Danish) and settlers from Denmark–Norway took possession of the Danish West Indies (present-day U.S. Virgin Islands) in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Denmark started colonies on St. Thomas in 1665 and St. John in 1683 (though control of the latter was disputed with Great Britain until 1718), and purchased St. Croix from France in 1733. During the 18th century, the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean Sea were divided into two territorial units, one British and the other Dano-Norwegian. The Dano-Norwegian islands were run by the Danish West India and Guinea Company until 1755, when the Dano-Norwegian king bought them out.” These provincial Dane-Nor cultures are almost forgotten since the islands were sold to USA as a conclusion for the 1st World War. Even though, 350 years of Nordic-Caribbean cultural heritages do exist on both in Scandinavia and America. More about that in the next UU Captain Mango.
“Born in Trondhjem in Norway, Peter Wessel was a wild, unruly lad who gave his pious parents much trouble, eventually stowing away on a ship heading for Copenhagen in 1704. In Copenhagen, he unsuccessfully sought to become a navy cadet. He befriended the king's chaplain Dr Peder Jespersen who sent Wessel on a voyage to the West Indies, and finally procured for him a vacant cadetship. After further voyages, this time to the East Indies, Wessel was appointed Second Lieutenant in the Royal Danish-Norwegian Navy on July 7, 1711, and went on to serve on the frigate Postillion. While on Postillion, he befriended Norwegian admiral baron Waldemar Løvendal, who was the first to recognize the young man's potential as a naval officer. Løvendal soon made Peter Wessel the captain of the 4-gun sloop Ormen (HMS Serpent).” ”His greatest exploit came later that year, as he destroyed the supply fleet of Charles XII of Sweden at the Battle of Dynekilen. In 1720, he was killed in a duel. In Denmark and Norway he is among the most famous national naval heroes. He experienced an unusually rapid rise in rank and died when he was only 30 years old.” It will be interesting to see the upcoming movie ‘Tordenskjold and Kold’ and how the Danes now portraits the character and the events. (See the Extra UU3.)
“The classic era of piracy in the Caribbean lasted from circa 1650 until the mid-1720s. By 1650, France, England and the United Provinces began to develop their colonial empires. This involved considerable seaborne trade, and a general economic improvement: there was money to be made—or stolen—and much of it traveled by ship. Shipping traffic between Africa, the Caribbean, and Europe began to soar in the 18th century, a model that was known as triangular trade, and was a rich target for piracy.” “Trade ships sailed from Europe to the African coast, trading manufactured goods and weapons in exchange for slaves. The traders would then sail to the Caribbean to sell the slaves, and return to Europe with goods such as sugar, tobacco and cocoa. Another triangular trade saw ships carry raw materials, preserved cod, and rum to Europe, where a portion of the cargo would be sold for manufactured goods, which (along with the remainder of the original load) were transported to the Caribbean, where they were exchanged for sugar and molasses, which (with some manufactured articles) were borne to New England. Ships in the triangular trade made money at each stop.” This trade will be talked through in the two UUs Captain Banana and Captain Coca.
There are reasons why rum was vital to the Caribbean pirates – and there still are expressions like “drink to your health”. “… the Plague included a series of religious, social and economic upheavals, which had profound effects on the course of European history. The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1347 and 1350 with 30–95 percent of the entire population killed. It reduced world population from an estimated 450 million to between 350 and 375 million in the 14th century. It took 150 and in some areas more than 250 years for Europe's population to recover.” “From the perspective of the survivors, however, the impact was much more benign, for their labor was in higher demand. Hilton has argued that those English peasants who survived found their situation to be much improved. For English peasants the fifteenth century was a golden age of prosperity and new opportunities. Land was plentiful, wages high, and serfdom had all but disappeared. A century later, as population growth resumed, the peasants again faced deprivation and famine.” A novel about this period is drafted and has the work title NFL2. See the Extra UU about the novel Newfound Land (NFL1).
“The practice of alchemy as medicine, previously considered to be normal for most doctors, slowly began to wane as the citizenry began to realise that it seldom affected the progress of the epidemic and that some of the potions and ‘cures’ used by many alchemists only served to worsen the condition of the sick. Distilled spirit, originally made by alchemists, was commonly applied as a remedy for the Black Death, and, as a result, the consumption of spirits in Europe rose dramatically after the plague.” No doubt, the Mesoamerican vegetation is rich and provide numerous exotic plants that provides vital vitamins and natural health products. There might even be potential cures and remedies to discover. More about that in the UU Captain Guanabana.
The Rum’s high trade-value was because it was a remedy to the plagues. “Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane byproducts, such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels. The majority of the world's rum production occurs in the Caribbean and Latin America.” “Rum plays a part in the culture of most islands of the West Indies as well as in The Maritimes and Newfoundland. This beverage has famous associations with the Royal Navy (where it was mixed with water or beer to make grog) and piracy (where it was consumed as bumbo). Rum has also served as a popular medium of economic exchange, used to help fund enterprises such as slavery (see Triangular trade), organized crime, and military insurgencies (e.g., the American Revolution and Australia's Rum Rebellion).” Most likely, the Nordic people made rum at that time too, - or at least it should be a production of Nordic rum today. More about that in the UU Captain Karsk.
“The precursors to rum date back to antiquity. Development of fermented drinks produced from sugarcane juice is believed to have first occurred either in ancient India or in China, and to have spread from there. An example of such an early drink is brum. Produced by the Malay people, brum dates back thousands of years. Marco Polo also recorded a 14th-century account of a "very good wine of sugar" that was offered to him in the area that became modern-day Iran.“ “The first distillation of rum took place on the sugarcane plantations of the Caribbean in the 17th century. Plantation slaves first discovered molasses, a byproduct of the sugar refining process, could be fermented into alcohol. Later, distillation of these alcoholic byproducts concentrated the alcohol and removed impurities, producing the first true rums. Tradition suggests rum first originated on the island of Barbados. However, in the decade of the 1620s, rum production was recorded in Brazil. A liquid identified as rum has been found in a tin bottle found on the Swedish warship Vasa, which sank in 1628.” “A 1651 document from Barbados stated, "The chief fuddling they make in the island is Rumbullion, alias Kill-Divil, and this is made of sugar canes distilled, a hot, hellish, and terrible liquor." Some historical piracy roots will be talked through in UU Captain Chaos (multi-juice).
All the exotic Caribbean fruits provided natural vitamins and nourishments that pirates missed at sea. Therefore, the Tordenskjold Pirates, i.e. the drinks, combined with the alchemists’ rum, do provide a large variety of health beverages, - much more healthy than beers, grape wines and simple liquor. The eight captain drinks will be presented in the eight following UUs. Hopefully, they will be a welcoming substitute to the present dominating and dull beverage cultures.
As mentioned in the introduction, this idea will develop with by further readings and writings about historical, present and future outlaw influences to on the Nordic cultures. There is a red thread linking history to present cultures that we do not seem recognize ourselves. For example, the fact that the Danes recently rejected future cooperation with the European police and legal systems indicates that there is such an ancient cultural heritage at a collective OverConcience level that set in by intuition. In order to investigate such phenomena, the theme will be influenced by the models of LQ (LifeQuality), 3^3 psychosocial analysis, 5D scenarios and the ethical system of GCR (good/constructive/right).
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Captain Sabertooth seems to be more representative for Tordenskjold Pirates than most official Tordenskiold play. “Captain Sabertooth (in Norwegian Kaptein Sabeltann) is the name of a long running series that centers around the eponymous pirate Captain Sabertooth. The series comprises several stage plays, theatrical films, a television series, cartoons, and books, all of which are aimed at small children. The first play, Captain Sabertooth and the Treasure in Luna Bay, was first performed in Kristiansand Zoo and Amusement Park in Norway. The play's success was so great that was followed up with another stage plays. The music of which won Formoe a national Spellemann prize. The film Captain Sabertooth and the Treasure of Lama Rama cost USD 6,600,000, the most expensive children's film.”
Kaptein Sabeltann - Sjørøverne kommer + Lyrics
https://youtu.be/a-rcrmF89Bs
http://artists.letssingit.com/kaptein-sabeltann-lyrics-sjoroverne-kommer-g4d4ddv#axzz3wMp12yiQ
Kaptein Sabeltann - The pirates are comming (Sjørøverne kommer engelsk versjon)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kQgiTV9Fkg
The amusement park
http://www.dyreparken.no/KapteinSabeltann/
Wikipedia links to related articles
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_colonization_of_the_Americas#West_Indies
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Tordenskjold
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piracy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rum
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plague_(disease)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piracy#The_Caribbean
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consequences_of_the_Black_Death#Medicine
A new Dane movie ‘Tordenskjold & Kold’ has premiere in 2016.jan.28. The trailer indicates that it basically is like the old movies, but more up to today’s Dane trends with modern wit and social-realism. The plot seems to mainly concern his final days in Scandinavia and not related to the Caribbean though. Anyways, we will see in February.
Tordenskjold & Kold (2016) - Official Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZb_IuJGwG4
Songs:
Gerda og Ulrik Neumann - Tordenskjold
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sex6-J_1f6w
Barnesang – Tordenskjold
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKGvwo271C4
Laura Moe - Tordenskiold Siste Galei
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch25YVyQdfs
‘Pippi in the South Seas’ is a 1948 sequel to Astrid Lindgren's classic children's books, Pippi Longstocking and Pippi Goes on Board. It is set sometime after the events of the original book and centers around Pippi's further misadventures and experiences, and the main protagonist's theory that the reason for her father's mysterious disappearance that he was hailed as king of an island of natives is confirmed as true. It made a Swedish movie in 1970 and was released in the USA in 1975.”
Pirates vs Pippi caribbean
https://youtu.be/HZ1i-FCMFI0?t=10
Grandfather Fabian - Pippi in the South Seas (1974)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XiGf4VCfLc
Pippi in the South Seas - Original Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52qHCL-w9QQ
Sjörövar-Fabbe (med text)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4h_qVSJ-SI
A novel about plagues in America in the 900’s was called NewFound Land (NFL). It is published on the internet, - free for anyone to read. The introduction explains the setting like this. “Greenland is the world's largest island. It is sited in the North Atlantic Ocean between Iceland and Canada. Iceland is geologically a part of both Europe and America. It is where the continental plates meet. They are drifting apart though, sometimes causing dramatic events. - Greenland was settled by Scandinavian and British people. There were colonies with thousands of individuals. A thousand years ago, they suddenly disappeared. It is unknown what happened. - In this fictional story, they go west and find more than imaginable.”
A follow-up is drafted and has the work-title NFL2. It is about a voyage from Iceland, via France to America about the year 1350. However, the mission changes dramatically and extends to the Mongolian occupied Beijing in order to stop the European invasion and the plague-wars. NFL2 is not finished since NFL1 was no commercial success. However, this UU theme ‘Tordenskjolds Pirates’ might be the basis for another follow-up, a NFL3, a prelude to the constitution of USA.
The novel NewFound Land.
