Poul Hansen Korsør

Poul Hansen (alternatively spelled Paul and Povl; later given the epithet Korsør; ) was a Danish governor of Tranquebar and colonial overhoved of Danish India from 1648 to his death in 1655. Korsør usurped the governorate from Willem Leyel by open mutiny, after accusing Leyel of purloining money from the Danish East India Company. During Korsør's tenure, the contact with Copenhagen was non-existent, and the Danes resorted to attempting to sell the colony to Brandenburg and the Dutch Republic.

Epithet In 17th-century Denmark, names were regularly patronymic, meaning one's surname was derived from one's father's name. This resulted in similar and sometimes identical names in Denmark, which other European colonists found confusing. Subsequently, when Poul Hansen arrived in India, his hometown would be added to his name per tradition. Poul Hansen, who came from Korsør in Zealand, consequently received the epithet of Korsør.

Factor of Makassar According to the governor of Danish India, Willem Leyel, in 1644, Poul Hansen Korsør was "old in India" , and Korsør presumably came to India on St. Anna or St. Jacob. On 20 October 1645, Leyel appointed Korsør as factor of the Danish factory in Makassar, and Johan Polman as assistant factor. Makassar was an important trade center for the Danes, as Leyel desired to expand the trade of valuable goods with Manila. Consequently, Leyel requested the Danish King, Christian IV, to initiate negotiations with the Spanish to establish a trade connection between the Spanish and the Danish East India Company. As such, Korsør was told to consult with broker Francisco Mendes in matters relating to the Manila trade.

On 4 February 1646, Leyel revisited Korsør in Makassar, arriving on the Christianshavn. Leyel stayed here well into June and deposited goods worth 2277 pardous, which he had been unable to sell.

When the interim governor, Poul Nielsen, died in late January 1647, Leyel sent Anders Nielsen to Makassar to request that Korsør be acting governor of Tranquebar. Nielsen had a letter with him to Korsør from Governor Leyel:

Before Korsør left, he was to look for a reliable man to look after the factory at Makassar. However, despite Leyel's order, Nielsen refused to make the voyage to Makassar, and it is possible that this finally sparked a revolt against Leyel. Nonetheless, Korsør still left for Tranquebar in June 1646.

Mutiny

Regardless of the unknown reasons for the revolt, there is no doubt that Korsør was the leader. Korsør maintained that Leyel had purloined money that rightfully belonged to the Danish Company. One day, when Leyel was absent, Korsør seized the opportunity to look through Leyel's papers and found a small account book. Korsør claimed that the book contained proof that Leyel had appropriated money belonging to the Company. He confronted Anders Nielsen and Jørgen Korsør with the account book, and as soon as Leyel returned from a voyage, they arrested him in the name of the King and declared that he had been relieved of his command at Fort Dansborg.

During the next few days, Korsør and other conspirators searched Leyel's room and papers to find enough evidence to incriminate him. When the evidence was secured, the conspirators drafted an indictment of Leyel and eventually sent him to Copenhagen.

Governor Korsør succeeded Leyel as governor of Tranquebar and would use unorthodox methods to preserve the colony. He began to capitalize on privateering expeditions, and many neutral ships were captured, as they were "presumed" to be hostile. During his tenure, the contact with Denmark was still weak, and the Company's ships and money became scarcer. In 1652, Tranquebar only had a couple of ships left, and the trade routes were almost completely interrupted.

In the same year that Korsør became governor, 1648, Christian IV died and was succeeded by Frederick III. The company was practically bankrupt, and there was no prospect of any economic improvement in the situation. The wars in Europe, and not least against the Swedish Empire, had emptied the Danish treasury, and there was no interest in sending year-long cargoes to Asia. In 1650, the Company was dissolved, and an attempt was made to sell Tranquebar to the Elector of Brandenburg. However, when the payment was not received, the deal fell through. Concurrently, Korsør unsuccessfully tried to transfer the colony to the Dutch, yet defensive walls were also being erected around Tranquebar. On 7 September 1655, Korsør died and was succeeded by Eskild Andersen Kongsbakke.