Daniel Jacob Danielsen (born Ludvig Daniel Jacob Danielsen; 25 June 1871 – 16 October 1916), nicknamed Dollin, was a Faroese missionary, marine engineer, and humanitarian.[1]

Early life

Danielsen was born Ludvig Daniel Jacob Danielsen on 25 June, 1871 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Born out of wedlock to Sigrid Frederikke Angelica Danielsen and Ludvig Jørgensen, he was named after his father despite never knowing him; Danielsen himself never used his first name, and it does not appear on his gravestone. His mother had moved to Copenhagen in her youth to work as a domestic servant, and moved back to the Faroe Islands with the young Danielsen shortly after his birth. Her paternal nephew, Victor Danielsen, was also a missionary for the Open Brethren, additionally translated the Bible into Faroese for the first time.[2][3]

At the age of 18, Danielsen moved to Scotland to train as a marine engineer. His job brought him around the world, ranging all the way from South Africa to the United States. After attending an open-air service in Glasgow in 1897, Danielsen experienced a religious awakening and subsequently became involved with the Seamen's Mission in Glasgow, additionally travelling to South Africa in his desire to do missionary work.[2][3]

Missionary and humanitarian work

After responding to a job posting in South Africa, Danielsen worked for the Congo-Balolo Mission in the Congo Free State from 1901 to 1903, primarily in Bonginda. He mainly worked as an engineer on the missionary boat that sailed up and down the Congo River, occasionally working as a missionary himself.[2]

2014 Faroe Islands stamp honouring Casement and Danielsen

After being accused by one of his colleagues of using corporal punishment against the native Congolese, he was recalled from the mission in 1903. On his way back to the shore, he met then-British Consul in the Congo Roger Casement. Casement had been anointed to write a report on the atrocities enacted against the natives by Belgian soldiers. In desperate need of an engineer for his boat, Casement hired Danielsen on 17 July. Alongside his duties as engineer, Danielsen also acted as Casement's interpreter, translator and principal photographer, being the man responsible for photographing the report's most prominent atrocities. Then a personal property of King Leopold II of Belgium, the local Congolese population was being used for forced labour in the rubber industry, and stories of their abuse caught the attention of the British press. The locals were coerced into the rubber trade through a variety of violent methods: these included whipping, hostage-taking, rape, murder, amputation of limbs, as well as the immolation of gardens and villages. Following the report's conclusion, he exhibited the photographs in meetings in England and the Faroe Islands.[4]

In 1904 Danielsen moved to the Faroe Islands with his wife, Lina, where he became one of the most prolific evangelists for the Brethren movement in the Faroes.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Maye, Brian (14 December 2014). "Daniel J Danielsen – a pioneering humanitarian who helped Roger Casement expose the horror of Belgian rule in the Congo". The Irish Times. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Jacobsen, Óli (2014). Daniel J. Danielsen and the Congo: Missionary Campaigns and Atrocity Photographs (PDF). Brethren Archivists and Historians Network. ISBN 978-0-9570177-4-0.
  3. 1 2 Jacobsen, Óli. "Daniel J. Danielsen (1871–1916): The Faeroese who Changed History in the Congo". Brethrenhistory.org. Archived from the original on 5 January 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  4. ↑ Petersen, Anker Eli (24 September 2014). "The Casement Report 1904 and Daniel J. Danielsen". Stamps.fo. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.