Danish India - Wikipedia Danish India This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( January 2017 ) Danish India Dansk Østindien Danish East India Company ( 1620 -- 1777 ) Dano - Norwegian colonies ( 1777 -- 1814 ) Danish colonies ( 1814 -- 1869 ) 1620 -- 1869 Flag of Denmark Danish and other European settlements in India Capital Fort Dansborg Languages Danish, Tamil, Hindustani, Bengali, Telugu Political structure Colonies King of Denmark ( and Norway until 1814 ) 1588 -- 1648 Christian IV 1863 -- 1906 Christian IX Governor 1620 -- 1621 Ove Gjedde 1673 -- 1682 Sivert Cortsen Adeler 1759 -- 1760 Christian Frederik Høyer 1788 -- 1806 Peter Anker 1825 -- 1829 Hans de Brinck - Seidelin 1841 -- 1845 Peder Hansen Historical era Colonial period Established 1620 Disestablished 1869 Area 1,648.13 km ( 636.35 sq mi ) Currency Danish Indian Rupee Succeeded by Company rule in India British Raj Today part of India Danish India was the name given to the colonies of Denmark ( Denmark -- Norway before 1813 ) in India, forming part of the Danish colonial empire. Denmark -- Norway held colonial possessions in India for more than 200 years, including the town of Tharangambadi in present - day Tamil Nadu state, Serampore in present - day West Bengal, and the Nicobar Islands, currently part of India 's union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Danish presence in India was of little significance to the major European powers as they presented neither a military nor a mercantile threat. Dano - Norwegian ventures in India, as elsewhere, were typically undercapitalised and never able to dominate or monopolise trade routes in the same way that the companies of Portugal, the Netherlands and Britain could. Against all odds however they managed to cling to their colonial holdings, and at times, to carve out a valuable niche in international trade by taking advantage of wars between larger countries and offering foreign trade under a neutral flag. For this reason their presence was tolerated. During the mid-nineteenth century they sold their various possessions to the British, the key dates being 1839, 1845, and 1868. Contents 1 History 1.1 First expedition ( 1618 -- 1620 ) 1.2 Early years ( 1621 -- 1639 ) 1.3 Abandonment and isolation ( 1650 -- 1669 ) 1.4 The Second Danish East India Company ( 1670 -- 1772 ) 1.5 Trade Stabilizes under Danish Asiatic Company ( 1732 -- 1772 ) 1.6 The Golden Age of Danish India ( 1772 -- 1807 ) 1.7 Napoleonic Wars and decline 2 Legacy 3 See also 4 Notes and references History Outline of South Asian history Palaeolithic ( 2,500,000 -- 250,000 BCE ) Madrasian Culture Soanian Culture ( 500,000 -- 250,000 BCE ) Neolithic ( 10,800 -- 3300 BCE ) Bhirrana Culture ( 7570 -- 6200 BCE ) Mehrgarh Culture ( 7000 -- 3300 BCE ) Chalcolithic ( 3500 -- 1500 BCE ) Jorwe Culture ( 3500 -- 2000 BCE ) Ahar - Banas Culture ( 3000 -- 1500 BCE ) Pandu Culture ( 1600 -- 1500 BCE ) Bronze Age ( 3300 -- 1300 BCE ) Indus Valley Civilisation ( 3300 -- 1300 BCE ) -- Early Harappan Culture ( 3300 -- 2600 BCE ) -- Mature Harappan Culture ( 2600 -- 1900 BCE ) -- Late Harappan Culture ( 1900 -- 1300 BCE ) Vedic Civilisation ( 2000 -- 500 BCE ) -- Ochre Coloured Pottery culture ( 2000 -- 1600 BCE ) -- Swat culture ( 1600 -- 500 BCE ) Iron Age ( 1300 -- 230 BCE ) Vedic Civilisation ( 2000 -- 500 BCE ) -- Janapadas ( 1500 -- 600 BCE ) -- Black and Red ware culture ( 1300 -- 1000 BCE ) -- Painted Grey Ware culture ( 1200 -- 600 BCE ) -- Northern Black Polished Ware ( 700 -- 200 BCE ) Pradyota Dynasty ( 799 -- 684 BCE ) Haryanka Dynasty ( 684 -- 424 BCE ) Three Crowned Kingdoms ( c. 600 BCE -- 1600 CE ) Maha Janapadas ( c. 600 -- 300 BCE ) Achaemenid Empire ( 550 -- 330 BCE ) Ror Dynasty ( 450 BCE -- 489 CE ) Shishunaga Dynasty ( 424 -- 345 BCE ) Nanda Empire ( 380 -- 321 BCE ) Macedonian Empire ( 330 -- 323 BCE ) Maurya Empire ( 321 -- 184 BCE ) Seleucid India ( 312 -- 303 BCE ) Pandya Empire ( c. 300 BCE -- 1345 CE ) Chera Kingdom ( c. 300 BCE -- 1102 CE ) Chola Empire ( c. 300 BCE -- 1279 CE ) Pallava Empire ( c. 250 BCE -- 800 CE ) Maha - 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On March 17, 1616, Christian IV the King of Denmark - Norway, issued a charter creating a Danish East India Company with a monopoly on trade between Denmark - Norway and Asia for 12 years. It would take an additional two years before sufficient capital had been raised to finance the expedition, perhaps due to lack of confidence on the part of Danish investors. It took the arrival of the Dutch merchant and colonial administrator, Marchelis de Boshouwer, in 1618 to provide the impetus for the first voyage. Marcelis arrived as an envoy ( or at least claimed to do so ) for the emperor of Ceylon, Cenerat Adassin, seeking military assistance against the Portuguese and promising a monopoly on all trade with the island. His appeal had been rejected by his countrymen, but it convinced the Danish King. First expedition ( 1618 -- 1620 ) The first expedition set sail in 1618 under Admiral Ove Gjedde, taking two years to reach Ceylon and losing more than half their crew on the way. Upon arriving in May 1620, they found the emperor no longer desiring any foreign assistance having made a peace agreement with the Portuguese three years earlier. Nor, to the dismay of the Admiral, was the Emperor the sole, or even the `` most distinguished king in this land ''. Failing to get the Dano - Norwegian - Ceylonese trade contract confirmed, the Dano - Norwegians briefly occupied the Koneswaram temple before receiving word from their Trade Director, Robert Crappe. Fort Dansborg at Tranquebar was established in 1620. Crappe had sailed on the scouting freighter Øresund one month prior to the main fleet. Øresund had encountered Portuguese vessels off the Karaikkal coast and was sunk, with most of the crew killed, or taken prisoner. The heads of two crew members were placed on spikes on the beach as a warning to the Dano - Norwegians. Crappe and 13 of the crew however had escaped the wreck, making it to shore where they were captured by Indians and taken to the Nayak of Tanjore ( now Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu ). The Nayak turned out to be interested in trading opportunities and Crappe managed to negotiate a treaty granting them the village of Tranquebar ( or Tharangamabadi ) and the right to construct a `` stone house '' ( Fort Dansborg ) and levy taxes. This was signed on 20 November 1620. Early years ( 1621 -- 1639 ) The early years of the colony were arduous, with poor administration and investment, coupled with the loss of almost two - thirds of all the trading vessels dispatched from Denmark. The ships that did return made a profit on their cargo, but total returns fell well short of the costs of the entire venture. Moreover, the geographical location of the colony was vulnerable to high tidal waves which repeatedly destroyed what people built -- roads, houses, administrative buildings, markets, etc. Although the intention had been to create an alternative to the English and Dutch traders, the dire financial state of the company and the redirection of national resources towards the Thirty Years ' War led the colony to abandon efforts to trade directly for themselves, and instead to become neutral third party carriers for goods in the Bay of Bengal. By 1625 a factory had been established at Masulipatnam in present - day Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh, the most important emporium in the region, and lesser trading offices were established at Pipli and Balasore. Despite this, by 1627 the colony was in such a poor financial state that it had just three ships left in its possession and was unable to pay the agreed - upon tribute to the Nayak, increasing local tensions. The Danish presence was also unwanted by English and Dutch traders who believed them to be operating under the protection of their navies without bearing any of the costs. Despite this, they could not crush Danish trade, due to diplomatic implications related to their respective nations ' involvement in the European wars. 1640 -- Danes attempt to sell Fort Danesborg to the Dutch for a second time. 1642 -- Danish colony declares war on Mogul Empire and commences raiding ships in the Bay of Bengal. Within a few months they had captured one of the Mogul emperor 's vessels, incorporated it into their fleet ( renamed Bengali Prize ) and sold the goods in Tranquebar for a substantial profit. 1643 -- Willem Leyel, designated the new leader of the colony by the company directors in Copenhagen arrives aboard the Christianshavn. Holland and Sweden declare war on Denmark. 1645 -- Danish factory holdings fall increasingly under Dutch control. The Nayak sends small bands to raid Tranquebar. 1648 -- Christian IV, patron of the colony dies. Danish East India Company bankrupt. Abandonment and isolation ( 1650 -- 1669 ) The lack of financial return led to repeated efforts by the major stockholders of the company to have it dissolved. The King, Christian IV, resisted these efforts until his death in 1648. Two years later his son, Frederick II, abolished the company. Although the company had been abolished, the colony was a royal property, and still held by a garrison unaware of court developments back at home. As the number of Danes declined through desertions and illness, Portuguese and Portuguese - Indian natives where hired to garrison the fort until eventually, by 1655, Eskild Anderson Kongsbakke, was the commander and sole remaining Dane in Tranquebar. An illiterate commoner, Kongsbakke was loyal to his country, and successfully held the fort under a Danish flag against successive sieges by the Nayak for non-payment of tribute, whilst seizing ships in the Bay of Bengal and using the proceeds of the sale of their goods to repair his defenses, build a wall around the town, and negotiate a settlement with the Nayak. Kongsbakke 's reports, sent back to Denmark via other European vessels, finally convinced the Danish government to relieve him. The frigate Færø was dispatched to India, commanded by Capt Sivardt Adelaer, with an official confirmation of his appointment as colony leader. It arrives May 1669 ending 29 years of isolation. The second Danish East India Company ( 1670 -- 1772 ) Trade between Denmark and Tranquebar now resumed, a new Danish East India Company was formed, and several new commercial outposts where established, governed from Tranquebar : Oddeway Torre on the Malabar coast in 1696, and Dannemarksnagore at Gondalpara, southeast of Chandernagore in 1698. The settlement with the Nayak was confirmed and Tranquebar was permitted to expand to include three surrounding villages. 9 June 1706 -- Frederick IV, king of Denmark - Norway sends two Danish missionaries land in India, Heinrich Plütcshau and Bartholomeus Ziegenbalg -- the first Protestant ( Lutheran ) missionaries in India. Previously priests had not attempted to convert and Indians denied entry to European churches. Arriving in 1707, they were not welcomed by their countrymen who suspected them of being spies. Ziegenbalg gains converts from among Indian who, by royal decree, are freed to encourage Christianisation amongst Indians. Christianity becomes associated with lower caste people, and rejected by upper caste Hindus. This unverified story is essential to propagate deception and central part of inculturation of native people into christianity. Tensions arise between Ziegenbalg, who came under the authority of the King, and the local governor, John Sigismund Hassius who eventually felt Ziegenbalg was undermining Tranquebar 's slave trade and jailed him for 4 months. Ziegenbalg attempts to learn as much as possible of the language of the inhabitants of Tranquebar, hiring tutors to learn Portuguese and Tamil, and buying Hindu texts and finds out ways to create rifts in the local society in cohesion with few new converts of christianity. He eventually writes the first Tamil glossary, Tamil - German dictionary and translations of Hindu books. He also translates parts of the Bible into Tamil. He complete the New Testament in prison, and the Old Testament later. Receiving funds from Europe he sets up a printing press and prints Tamil Bibles and books. He became the first book printer in India, also producing paper. He also established a seminary for Indian priests in Tranquebar before his death in Tranquebar 1719. This mission leads to missionaries spreading outside the colony, despite opposition from the kings of Tranquebar. The mission succeeds in creating schims and rifts in the local society and local population falls into deception, thus succeeding in the quest for inculturation. 1729 -- Danish King forces Danish East India Company to loan him money. His failure to repay the loan, and inconsistency of Indian trade forces the company into liquidation. Trade stabilizes under Danish Asiatic Company ( 1732 -- 1772 ) 12 April 1732 -- King Christian VI signs charter of new Asiatic Company with 40 year monopoly on Asian trade with India and China. Both previous companies had failed due to the lack of continuity in trade. This time the intention of the investors was `` to place this Asiatic Trade in Our Realms and Territories on a more constant footing in time to come. '' 1730s -- Denmarks Chinese and Indian trade stabilizes, with cargoes from India dominated by cotton fabrics from the Coromandel Coast and Bengal. 1752 -- 1791 Calicut. November 1754 -- Meeting of Danish officials in Tranquebar. Decision made to colonise the Andaman and Nicobar Islands for the purpose of planting pepper, cinnamon, sugarcane, coffee and cotton. December 1755 -- Danish settlers arrive on Andaman Islands. Colony experiences outbreaks of Malaria that saw the settlement abandoned periodically until 1848, when it was abandoned for good. This sporadic occupation led to encroachments of other colonial powers onto the islands including Austria and Britain. October 1755 Frederiksnagore in Serampore, in present - day West Bengal. 1 January 1756 -- The Nicobar Islands declared Danish property under the name Frederiksøerne ( Frederick 's Islands ) 1756 - 1760 - All colonisation efforts on the islands fail with settlers wiped out by malaria, and the Danish claims to the islands were later sold to the British. 1763 Balasore ( already occupied 1636 -- 1643 ). The golden age of Danish India ( 1772 -- 1807 ) Danish trade grew substantially during these decades due to three key factors The loss of the Danish Asiatic Company 's monopoly on trade with India in 1772, opening up the trade to all Danish merchants. Administration of Tranquebar, Serampore, and factories in Bengal and along the Malabar Coast was taken over by the Crown in 1777. This freed the Company from the colonial expenses, but did not change the conditions of trade with India leaving it in a better financial position. The growth in both international trade AND the increase in wars between the trading nations of England, France and Holland. This meant that during these wars, trade from the warring nations would be carried by neutral nations like Denmark to avoid seizure by the warring parties. The expansion of the British East India Company in India, particularly after the Battle of Plassey in 1757. After this victory many employees of the company acquired vast private fortunes at the expense of the company itself. Both the Company and the British Government made considerable effort to prevent these fortunes from being transported back to England on British vessels, leading to massive laundering through French, Dutch and Danish competitors. This injected enormous amounts of capital into Danish trade during the 1770s. The value of the trade however, remained extremely volatile. 1799, dispute between Denmark and Britain over the rights of a neutral nation to carry out trade with foreign colonies to which it did not normally have access during peacetime. Essentially, Britain was trying to prevent Denmark from carrying out the trade of countries with which Britain was at war. At the time Denmark was able to make exorbitant profits from fetching colonial products from French and Dutch possessions in the Indian Ocean and discharging them into the European market through Copenhagen. In 1777, it was turned over to the government by the chartered company and became a Danish crown colony. In 1789, the Andaman Islands became a British possession. Napoleonic wars and decline This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( July 2016 ) During the Napoleonic Wars, Denmark - Norway practiced a policy of armed neutrality whilst carrying French and Dutch goods from the Dutch East Indies to Copenhagen. This led to the English Wars during which Britain destroyed the Danish fleet, devastated the Danish East India Company 's India trade, and occupied Dansborg and Frederiksnagore from 1801 to 1802, and again, from 1808 to 1815. The Danish colonies went into decline, and the British ultimately took possession of them, making them part of British India : Serampore was sold to the British in 1839, and Tranquebar and most minor settlements in 1845 ( 11 October 1845 Frederiksnagore sold ; 7 November 1845 other continental Danish India settlements sold ) ; on 16 October 1868 all Danish rights to the Nicobar Islands, which since 1848 had been gradually abandoned, were sold to Britain. Legacy After the Danish colony of Tranquebar was ceded to the British it subsequently lost its special trading status and had its administrative roles transferred to Nagapattinam. The town rapidly dwindled in importance, although the expansion of the British into South India led to Tranquebar becoming a hub for missionary activity for some time, and a place particularly known for training native priests. By the end of the nineteenth century, the mission established by Ziegenbalg was functioning entirely independently and lives on today as the Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church. Now primarily a fishing village, the legacy of the Dano - Norwegian colonial presence is entirely local, but can be seen in the architecture of the small town that lies within the boundares of the old ( and long gone ) city walls. In fact, journalist Sam Miller describes the town as the most recognisably European of the former colonial settlements. Although only a handful of colonial buildings can be definitely dated to the Danish era, many of the town 's residential buildings are in classical styles that would not be dissimilar to those of the era, and which contribute to the historic atmosphere. The remaining Danish buildings include a gateway inscribed with a Danish Royal Seal, a number of colonial bungalows, two churches and principally -- the Dansborg Fort, constructed in 1620. The Dansburg Fort was declared a protected monument by the Government of Tamil Nadu in 1977 and now houses a museum dedicated to the Danes in India. There are no known descendants of the Danish settlers in or around the town. Since 2001, Danes have been active in mobilising volunteers and government agencies to both purchase and restore Danish colonial buildings in Tranquebar. St. Olav 's Church, Serampore still stands. See also Denmark portal Norway portal India portal Danish East India Company Danish Asiatic Company Danish Mission College Notes and references Jump up ^ Rasmussen, Peter Ravn ( 1996 ). `` Tranquebar : The Danish East India Company 1616 -- 1669 ''. University of Copenhagen. Jump up ^ Felbæk, Ole ( 1990 ). Den danske Asienhandel 1616 -- 1807 : Værdi og Volumen. pp. 320 -- 324. Jump up ^ Magdalena, Naum ; Nordin, Jonas, eds. ( 2013 ). Scandinavian Colonialism and the Rise of Modernity. Contributions To Global Historical Archaeology. 37. Springer. p. 8. ISBN 978 - 1 - 4614 - 6201 - 9 -- via SpringerLink. Denmark and particularly Sweden struggled with upholding overseas colonies and recruiting settlers and staff willing to relocate. Jump up ^ Poddar, Prem ( 2008 ). A Historical Companion to Postcolonial Literatures : Continental Europe and Its Empires. Edinburgh University Press. p. 99. ISBN 978 - 0 - 7486 - 2394 - 5. Jump up ^ FeldbæK, Ole ( 1986 ). `` The Danish trading companies of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Scandinavian Economic History Review ''. Scandinavian Economic History Review. 34 ( 3 ) : 204 -- 218. doi : 10.1080 / 03585522.1986. 10408070. Jump up ^ Bredscdorff, Asta ( 2009 ). The Trials and Travels of Willem Leyel : An Account of the Danish East India Company in TRanquebar, 1639 -- 49. Copenhagen : Museum Tusculuanum Press. p. 10. ISBN 978 - 87 - 635 - 3023 - 1. In 1616 Danish merchants began to speculate on how they might get a share of some of the huge profits to be made out of the East India trade. Jump up ^ `` The Coromandel Trade of the Danish East India Company, 1618 -- 1649 ''. Scandinavian Economic History Review. 37 ( 1 ) : 43 -- 44. 1989. Jump up ^ Esther Fihl ( 2009 ). `` Shipwrecked on the Coromandel : The first Indo -- Danish contact, 1620 ''. Review of Development and Change 14 ( 1&2 ) : 19 -- 40 Jump up ^ Larsen, Kay ( 1907 ). Volume 1 of Dansk - Ostindiske Koloniers historie : Trankebar. Jørgensen. pp. 167 -- 169. Jump up ^ Bredsdorff, Asta ( 2009 ). The Trials and Travels of Willem Leyel : An Account of the Danish East India Company in Tranquebar, 1639 -- 48. Museum Tusculanum Press. p. 13. ISBN 978 - 87 - 635 - 3023 - 1. Jump up ^ Of the 18 ships that departed from Denmark between 1622 and 1637, only 7 returned. Kay Larsen : Trankebar, op. cit., p. 30 - 31. Jump up ^ Brdsgaard, Kjeld Erik ( 2001 ). China and Denmark : Relations Since 1674. NIAS Press. pp. 9 -- 11. ISBN 978 - 87 - 87062 - 71 - 8. Jump up ^ Jeyaraj, Daniel ( 2006 ). `` Trancquebar Colony : Indo - Danish Settlement ''. Bartholomus Ziegenbalg, the Father of Modern Protestant Mission : An Indian Assessment. ISPCK. pp. 10 -- 27. ISBN 978 - 81 - 7214 - 920 - 8. Jump up ^ Lach, Donald ( 1993 ). Trade, missions, literature, Volume 3. University of Chicago Press. p. 92. ISBN 978 - 0 - 226 - 46753 - 5. Jump up ^ Feldbæk, Ole ( 1981 ). The Organization and Structure of the Danish East India, West India and Guinea Companies in the 17th and 18th Centuries. Leiden University Press. p. 140. Jump up ^ Feldboek, Ole ( 1991 ). `` The Danish Asia trade 1620 -- 1807 ''. Scandinavian Economic History Review. 39 ( 1 ) : 3 -- 27. Jump up ^ Sharma, Suresh K. ( 2004 ). Leiden University Press. Mittal Publications. ISBN 978 - 81 - 7099 - 959 - 1. Jump up ^ Feldbæk, O ( 1986 ). `` Danske handelskompagnier 1616 -- 1843 ''. Oktrojer og interne ledelsesregler : 91 -- 92. Jump up ^ Kukreja, Dhiraj ( 1 September 2013 ). `` Andaman and Nicobar Islands : A Security Challenge for India ''. Indian Defence Review. Jump up ^ Grønseth, Kristian ( 2007 ). `` A Little Piece of Denmark in India '', The Space And Places Of A South Indian Town, And The Narratives Of Its Peoples. Norway : University of Oslo. p. 4. After becoming part of British India Tranquebar ( renamed by the British ) lost its special trade privileges and rapidly dwindled in importance. Today it is mainly a fishing village surrounding a small town with historical buildings and ruins from the Danish era. Jump up ^ Grønseth, Kristian ( 2007 ). `` A Little Piece of Denmark in India '', The Space And Places Of A South Indian Town, And The Narratives Of Its Peoples. Norway : University of Oslo. p. 10. Tranquebar is different from Tarangambadi in almost every detail : Architecturally it resembles a European colony more than an Indian fishing village, the population is demographically different ( the majority inside the city walls are Christian, and no fishermen live here ) and the soundscape is less Indian than museum - like : Compared to Main Street a couple of hundred meters away, King Street is nearly silent. Jump up ^ Miller, Sam ( 2014 ). A Strange Kind of Paradise. India : Hamish Hamilton. p. 203. ISBN 978 - 0 - 670 - 08538 - 5. Indeed, the coastal village of Tranquebar is the most recognisably European of the former colonial settlements built by five nations : the British, the French, the Portuguese, the Dutch and the Danes. Danish overseas territories Current overseas territories Faroe Islands Greenland Former colonies Danish Gold Coast ( Ghana ) Danish West Indies ( U.S. Virgin Islands ) Danish India Tranquebar ( Tharangambadi ) Balasore Frederiksnagore ( Serampore ) Danmarksnagore ( Gondalpara ) Calicut ( Kozhikode ) Oddeway Torre ( Malabar Coast ) Frederiksøerne ( Nicobar Islands ) See also : Danish East India Company Danish West India Company Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Danish_India&oldid=806900934 '' Categories : Former countries in South Asia States and territories established in 1620 States and territories disestablished in 1869 Former Danish colonies Danish India Colonial India Former colonies in Asia 1620 establishments in Danish India 1869 disestablishments in Danish India Hidden categories : Articles needing additional references from January 2017 All articles needing additional references Use Indian English from September 2013 All Wikipedia articles written in Indian English Use dmy dates from January 2015 Former country articles requiring maintenance Pages using infobox former country with unknown parameters Pages using infobox country or infobox former country with the flag caption or type parameters All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from July 2016 Articles needing additional references from July 2016 Unclassified articles missing geocoordinate data All articles needing coordinates Talk Contents About Wikipedia Languages বাংলা Български Čeština Dansk Español Français Հայերեն हिन्दी Bahasa Indonesia Italiano Magyar Norsk Português Русский Suomi தமிழ் اردو Edit links This page was last edited on 24 October 2017, at 21 : 04. 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Question: in which place the danish started the trading centre in india
Answer: Tranquebar