Gabriel Milan
| Gabriel Milan | |
|---|---|
| Factor | |
|
In office 1668 (promoted to General Factor in 1670) – 7 May 1684 |
|
| Governor of The Danish West Indies | |
|
In office 7 May 1684 – declared 22 February 1686 (effective July 5, 1686) |
|
| Preceded by | Adolph Esmit |
| Succeeded by | Mikkel Mikkelsen |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
c 1631 Glückstadt, Germany |
| Died | March 26, 1689 Nytorv, Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Spouse(s) | 1st wife: Da Costa 2nd wife: Juliane Regina von Breitenbach |
| Children | 7, see The children of Gabriel Milan |
| Religion | Jewish, from a former Iberian Converso family |
Gabriel Milan (or Gavrī’el Mil’ō (גבריאל מילאו), c 1631 – 26 March 1689) was governor of the Danish West Indies (now known as the U.S. Virgin Islands) from 7 May 1684 to 27 February 1686. Though he mainly went by the name of 'Gabriel Milan', he identified himself as Don Franco de Tebary Cordova in his correspondence with King Frederick III of Denmark. Like many of the early Danish West Indies governors, Milan's term was short and stormful, as he disagreed with the Danish management on several issues. He was called to Denmark after less than two years and executed after a lengthy trial.
Milan came from a reputable Sephardic Jewish family, likely from Spain, and had connections in Portugal, Flanders, and Hamburg. Some genealogists note that he is the son of Manuel Cardoso de Millao and Sara de Caceres. At some point, his family was forced into a Catholic baptism, however, they had re-assumed their Jewish identity by the time of Milan’s life.
Milan was first married to the daughter of Benjamin Musaphia, a Jewish scholar and author of a number of scientific works regarding archaeology, Semite philology, and alchemy. His wife's given name was not recorded in any sources, except that her last name was De Castro and her family's coat of arms depicted a negro head. Thus, his family was related by marriage to the well-known Portuguese-Jewish houses of da Costa. Among the people connected to this family was Emanuel Teixiera Cardosa de Milan (also known as Isaac Haim Senior Teixeira – d. 1705), a wealthy merchant of the Portuguese Jewish community in Hamburg who was Milan's uncle by marriage. Another of Milan's uncles was Moseh Abenzur, a shipowner and jeweller who was also known by the names, Paulo de Milao, Milan, and Poul Didricksen. Moseh's oldest son, Josua Abenzur, was the brother-in-law of Milan and in his early dealings, Milan often borrowed money from Josua.
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