Arrest attempt of Jørgen Bjørn
Arrest attempt of Jørgen Bjørn
On 29 February 1688, off Ascension Island, a conflict aboard a Danish voyage home from Tranquebar led to an arrest attempt on Captain Jørgen Bjørn. The Danish India governor, Wolf Henrik von Kalnein, tried to bring Bjørn aboard his ship, Flyvende Ulv. Bjørn refused, and Kalnein sent two armed boats from Flyvende Ulv to Bjørn’s ship, the Antoinetta. After a brief exchange of fire, the two boats were driven away, and the Antoinetta sailed back to Copenhagen on its own.
Background: In 1685 Kalnein received royal permission to investigate governor Axel Juel for corruption. He sailed to India in 1685 with Flyvende Ulv and Antoinetta, reached Tranquebar in 1686, and left for Copenhagen in 1687 after fighting Bengalis. On the voyage home, Bjørn and Kalnein grew more hostile. They reached the Cape of Good Hope on 7 January 1688 and Ascension Island on 29 February. Earlier, Bjørn had tried to go ashore but was blocked by Kalnein.
After the incident, Antoinetta detached from the fleet on 5 March 1688 and sailed to Copenhagen, arriving on 19 June. Bjørn did not complain at first. Flyvende Ulv and the rest of the fleet reached Kinsale, Ireland, on 20 July after a storm damaged Flyvende Ulv and Kalnein fell overboard with a dislocated left arm. Danish frigates later escorted the sailors home to Denmark.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 04:48 (CET).