Only one month old, Niels Juel was at sea for the first time. With his mother, brothers and sisters he sailed home to Nørtorp.
When he was 18 he was enrolled at Sorø Academy where future state administrators were educated. From morning till night the best Danish and foreign teachers educated these young noblemen. Thereafter he was sent to Holland where he went to sea under the command of admiral Martin Tromp – the most renowned admiral of his time. He took part in naval battles off the coast of Holland and England. Later he was given the command of a frigate in the Mediterranean.
Denmark seriously needed well-educated mariners and Niels Juel was recalled to Denmark. In May 1655 he was commissioned and took command of his first Danish battleship "Den Sorte Rytter" (The Black Knight) with a crew of 195 officers and men. In 1657 he was appointed admiral – 28 years old.
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