Iselin, Reinhard
Reinhard Iselin (born 1714 in Basel, Switzerland; died April 1781 in Copenhagen, Denmark) was a titan of the Danish commercial world, a baron, industrialist, and shipowner who served as a primary director for both the Danish African and Danish Asiatic companies while amassing one of the largest personal fortunes in the history of the Oldenburg Monarchy.
1714: Iselin, Reinhard was born in Basel, Switzerland, into a family with deep roots in the merchant and banking sectors. (Sørensen og Asmussen - Maleriets forbandelse - 2023.pdf)
1740: Iselin, Reinhard arrived in the capital city of Copenhagen to begin an apprenticeship at the merchant house of Fabritius, Michael and Wever, Johann Friederich, where he was trained in the complexities of long-distance maritime trade. (Sørensen og Asmussen - Maleriets forbandelse - 2023.pdf)
1745: Iselin, Reinhard established his legal standing in the capital by obtaining his official citizenship as a Grosserer (wholesale merchant). (Rasmussen - Afrikanske Kompagni - 1818.pdf)
1750-04-20: Iselin, Reinhard served as a godfather at the baptism of Friderica, the daughter of his business associate Wever, Johann Friederich, in the district of Christianshavn. (Asmussen - Networks and faces - 2018.pdf)
1750-04-20: Iselin, Reinhard attended the baptismal ceremony alongside the experienced Dutch merchant van Hurk, Pieter, further integrating himself into the inner circle of the city's commercial elite. (Asmussen - Networks and faces - 2018.pdf)
1755: Iselin, Reinhard acted as one of the primary founders and directors of the Danish African Company (Det Danske Afrikanske Kompagni), which was granted a royal monopoly on all trade between the monarchy and Morocco. (Sørensen og Asmussen - Maleriets forbandelse - 2023.pdf)
1755: Iselin, Reinhard established a lucrative industrial partnership with his brother-in-law Classen, Johann Friedrich, the owner of the Frederiksværk weapons factory, together supplying the Danish state with essential gunpowder and saltpeter. (Sørensen og Asmussen - Maleriets forbandelse - 2023.pdf)
1756: Iselin, Reinhard acted as a major financier for the Danish Asiatic Company, delivering a substantial quantity of silver worth 40,000 rigsdaler to fund its long-distance expeditions. (Rasch - Ryberg - 1964.pdf)
1758: Iselin, Reinhard provided another significant delivery of silver to the Danish Asiatic Company, this time worth 5,615 rigsdaler. (Rasch - Ryberg - 1964.pdf)
1759: Iselin, Reinhard supplied the Danish Asiatic Company with silver worth 10,317 rigsdaler as its demand for capital to trade in Canton and India continued to grow. (Rasch - Ryberg - 1964.pdf)
1760: Iselin, Reinhard was appointed to the prestigious rank of Justitsraad by the King in recognition of his service to the state's commercial interests. (Rasmussen - Afrikanske Kompagni - 1818.pdf)
1760: Iselin, Reinhard began an eight-year tenure as an elected director of the Danish Asiatic Company, a role he would use to represent the interests of the capital's grand merchants until 1768. (Asmussen - Networks and faces - 2018.pdf)
1760: Iselin, Reinhard delivered a massive sum of silver worth 48,000 rigsdaler to the Danish Asiatic Company, overshadowing the contributions of many contemporary merchant houses. (Rasch - Ryberg - 1964.pdf)
1762: Iselin, Reinhard partnered with the merchant von Hemert, Joost and the influential house of Fabritius, Michael and Wever, Johann Friederich to arm and equip the ship Elisabeth for a private trade mission. (Rasch - Ryberg - 1964.pdf)
1762: Iselin, Reinhard used his considerable influence to help his relative Passavant, Hans Ulrich secure a position as an oberassistent on the ship Kongen af Dannemark for an expedition to China. (Sørensen og Asmussen - Maleriets forbandelse - 2023.pdf)
1762: Iselin, Reinhard oversaw the dispatch of the Elisabeth on a combined trading voyage to the Guinea Coast and the Danish West Indies. (Rasch - Ryberg - 1964.pdf)
1763: Iselin, Reinhard acted as a mentor and master to the young Swiss immigrant Battier, Christophe, taking him into his prominent merchant house on Købmagergade as an apprentice. (Sørensen og Asmussen - Maleriets forbandelse - 2023.pdf)
1763: Iselin, Reinhard mentored another countryman, Schneider, Abraham, providing him with professional training in international commerce alongside Battier. (Sørensen og Asmussen - Maleriets forbandelse - 2023.pdf)
1765-11-04: Iselin, Reinhard attended a high-society baptism in Christianshavn to act as the godfather (fadder) for an enslaved man from the Danish West Indies who was renamed Reinhard in his honor. (Sørensen og Asmussen - Maleriets forbandelse - 2023.pdf)
1765-11-04: Iselin, Reinhard met with the host of the baptism, de Windt, Geert, a wealthy planter and merchant from the Caribbean colonies. (Sørensen og Asmussen - Maleriets forbandelse - 2023.pdf)
1765-11-04: Iselin, Reinhard socialized with the prominent merchant and industrialist Tutein, Peter during the baptismal festivities on Christianshavn. (Sørensen og Asmussen - Maleriets forbandelse - 2023.pdf)
1765-11-04: Iselin, Reinhard was accompanied at the baptismal ceremony by his apprentice and protégé Battier, Christophe, as well as the merchant Bruckner, Friderich and the host de la Calmette, Bosch del. (Sørensen og Asmussen - Maleriets forbandelse - 2023.pdf)
1766: Iselin, Reinhard participated in management meetings for the Danish African Company where he consulted with the powerful statesman Moltke, Adam Gottlob to address the firm's financial crises. (Rasmussen - Afrikanske Kompagni - 1818.pdf)
1766: Iselin, Reinhard met with the foreign minister Bernstorff, Johan Hartvig Ernst during official deliberations regarding the company's monopoly trade in Morocco. (Rasmussen - Afrikanske Kompagni - 1818.pdf)
1766: Iselin, Reinhard consulted with the director Lucas, Jacob regarding the deteriorating financial state of the African Company and its operations in the Mediterranean. (Rasmussen - Afrikanske Kompagni - 1818.pdf)
1767: Iselin, Reinhard served as a director of the Danish Asiatic Company during a significant period of administrative reform and increased shipping to Canton. (Sørensen og Asmussen - Maleriets forbandelse - 2023.pdf)
1769: Iselin, Reinhard collaborated with directors Wever, Johann Friederich, Black, Oluf, Fabritius, Michael, and Ackeleye, Jens Werner to manage the mustering of large crews for Asian trade expeditions. (Asmussen - Networks and faces - 2018.pdf)
1770-06: Iselin, Reinhard was identified by government officials as the powerful patron ("créature") responsible for placing Battier, Christophe in a key bookkeeping position at the Danish Asiatic Company. (Sørensen og Asmussen - Maleriets forbandelse - 2023.pdf)
1773: Iselin, Reinhard expanded his landholdings by purchasing extensive "Ryttergods" lands in the Vordingborg District at a public auction. (Nyrop - Reisersen - 1896.pdf)
1773: Iselin, Reinhard became a major investor in the Froland ironworks in Norway, sharing ownership of the venture with his brother-in-law Classen, Johann Friedrich and his protégé Battier, Christophe. (Sørensen og Asmussen - Maleriets forbandelse - 2023.pdf)
1774: Iselin, Reinhard completed the purchase of the vast Vordingborg Slot estate and its associated lands from the Danish Crown for his personal use. (Rasmussen - Afrikanske Kompagni - 1818.pdf)
1774: Iselin, Reinhard commissioned the construction of a grand new manor house near Vordingborg, which he named Iselinge. (Rasmussen - Afrikanske Kompagni - 1818.pdf)
1774: Iselin, Reinhard established the manor estate of Rosenfeldt on the lands he had acquired during the crown land auctions. (Luxdorph II - 1925-30.pdf)
1776: Iselin, Reinhard used his significant political and commercial connections to assist le Beaume, Melchoir in obtaining citizenship in Copenhagen, after which le Beaume invested heavily in Iselin's house. (Asmussen - Networks and faces - 2018.pdf)
1776-09-04: Iselin, Reinhard was identified in the social records of the capital as possessing a staggering personal fortune estimated at "6 tons of gold" (6 tønder guld). (Luxdorph II - 1925-30.pdf)
1777-09-19: Iselin, Reinhard's wife, Iselin, Anna Elisabeth (born Fabritius, Anna Elisabeth), was forced to intervene in the family business after the associate Iselin, Carl Frid. misused the firm's name. (Luxdorph II - 1925-30.pdf)
1777-09-19: Iselin, Reinhard saw his wife issue a formal public "proklama" to protect the merchant house's reputation and financial integrity from further misuse. (Luxdorph II - 1925-30.pdf)
1781-04: Iselin, Reinhard died in Copenhagen, having established one of the most successful and powerful trading houses in the history of the Oldenburg Monarchy. (Luxdorph II - 1925-30.pdf)
1781: Following his passing, Iselin, Reinhard was buried in a prominent and ornate grave in Christians Kirke (the German Frederiks Church) in the Christianshavn district. (Asmussen - Networks and faces - 2018.pdf)
1783-08-16: Following his death, his widow Iselin, Anna Elisabeth was married to his long-time partner Classen, Johann Friedrich at the Frederiksværk estate. (Paludan-Müller - Classen - 1923.txt)