debes and the bailiff johannes heidemann. although an official war manifesto was never declared, denmark and sweden were at war. therefore, in mid-journey the ship was taken over by the swedes. debes now became a prisoner in gothenburg. luckily, through his fine knowledge and preaching, debes managed to win the trust of the commandant. this meant that debes was released the following year. after his release he successfully reached copenhagen according with his original plans. after his returned to the faroe islands, he was made a deputy rural dean.