Danish India (Danish: Dansk Ostindien) was the name given to the colonies of Denmark (Denmark–Norway before 1814) in the Indian subcontinent, forming part of the Danish overseas colonies. 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 and Norwegian presence in India was of little significance to the major European powers as they presented neither a military nor a mercantile threat.[1] Dano-Norwegian ventures in India, as elsewhere, were typically undercapitalised and never able to dominate or monopolise trade routes in the same way that British, French, and Portuguese ventures could.[2][3]
Treaty signed between Christian IV of Denmark and Boshouwer (on behalf of Adahasin) in 1618. According to Adahasin, Boshouwer was not authorised to sign such a treaty on his behalf, hence it was null and void. Subsequently, the Danes demanded that the king honor the contract. The king failed to do so, and hence a new treaty was signed, granting Trincomalee to the Danish.[4]
Despite these disadvantages, the Danish-Norway concerns managed to cling to their colonial holdings and, at times, to carve out a valuable niche in international trade by exploiting wars between larger countries and offering foreign trade under a neutral flag.[5][6] For this reason their presence was tolerated for many years until the rise of British imperial power led to the sale of all Danish holdings in India to Britain during the nineteenth century.
The success of Dutch and English traders in the 17th-century spice trade was a source of envy among Danish and Norwegian merchants.[7][8] On 17 March 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.[9] 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 king of Kandy, Cenerat Adassin, seeking military assistance against the Portuguese and promising a monopoly on all trade with the island.[10][11] His appeal had been rejected by his countrymen, but it convinced the Danish King.[12][13]
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 king 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 king of Kandy the sole, or even the "most distinguished king in this land".[14]
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.[15]
Crappe had sailed on the scouting freighter Øresund one month before the main fleet. Øresund had attacked Portuguese vessels off the coast of Karaikal and was himself 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 had escaped the wreck, making it to shore where they were captured by Indians and taken to Raghunatha Nayak, the Nayak of Tanjore (now Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu).[16][17] The Nayak turned out to be interested in trading opportunities, and Crappe negotiated a treaty granting them the village of Tranquebar (or Tharangamabadi),[18] the right to construct a "stone house" (Fort Dansborg), and permission to levy taxes.[19] This was signed on 20 November 1620.[20]
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.[21] The ships that did return made a profit on their cargo, but total returns fell well short of the costs of the venture.[22] Moreover, the geographical location of the colony was vulnerable to high tidal waves that repeatedly destroyed what people built — roads, houses, administrative buildings, markets, etc.[23] 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 (present-day Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh), the most important emporium in the region. Lesser trading offices were established at Pipli and Balasore.[24][25][26] Despite this, by 1627 the colony was in such a poor financial state that it had just three ships left and was unable to pay the agreed-upon tribute to the Nayak, increasing local tensions.[27] The Danish-Norwegian presence was also unwanted by English and Dutch traders. They saw the Danes and Norwegians as benefitting from the protection of their navies, without bearing any of the cost. However, the English and Dutch could make no moves to decisively quash the Danish-Norwegian trade, owing to the entanglement of all these trading nations in wars in Europe—most notably, the Thirty Years' War; the consequent ramifications to each nation's foreign policy effectively muted the English and Dutch reactions.[28]
Dutch influence (1640-1649)
1640 – Denmark-Norway attempt to sell Fort Danesborg to the Dutch for a second time.
1642 – Danish-Norway 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.[29]
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.[31] Two years later his son, Frederick III, abolished the company.[32]
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-Norwegians declined through desertions and illness, Portuguese and Portuguese-Indian natives were hired to garrison the fort until eventually, by 1655, Eskild Anderson Kongsbakke was the commander and sole remaining Dane in Tranquebar.[1]
An illiterate commoner, Kongsbakke was loyal to his country and successfully held the fort under a Danish-Norwegian flag[33] against successive sieges by the Nayak for non-payment of tribute, whilst seizing ships in the Bay of Bengal. Using the proceeds of the sale of their goods to repair his defenses, he built a wall around the town and negotiated a settlement with the Nayak.[1][34]
Kongsbakke's reports, sent to Denmark via other European vessels, finally convinced the Danish-Norwegian 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 arrived May 1669 — ending 19 years of isolation.[1]
The Second Danish East India Company (1670–1732)
Trade between Denmark-Norway and Tranquebar now resumed, a new Danish East India Company was formed, and several new commercial outposts were established, governed from Tranquebar: Oddeway Torre on the Malabar coast in 1696,[35][36] and Dannemarksnagore,[37][38] 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 German Lutheran missionaries to India, Heinrich Plütschau and Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg – the first Protestant 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.[39]
Ziegenbalg gains converts among the Indians who, by royal decree, are freed to encourage further Christianisation amongst the Indians. Christianity becomes associated with lower caste people and rejected by upper caste Hindus.
Tensions arise between Ziegenbalg, who came under the authority of the King, and the local governor, John Sigismund Hassius who eventually feels Ziegenbalg is undermining Tranquebar's slave trade and jails him for 4 months.[40]
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. He finds ways to create rifts in the local society in collusion with a few new converts to Christianity. He eventually writes the first Tamil glossary, Tamil-German dictionary, and translations of Hindu books. He translates parts of the Bible into Tamil. He completes 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 becomes a book printer in India and produces paper. He establishes a seminary for Indian priests in Tranquebar before his death in Tranquebar 1719.
This Tranquebar Mission leads to missionaries spreading outside the colony, despite opposition from the kings of Tranquebar.
1729 – Danish-Norwegian King forces the 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 stabilises under Danish Asiatic Company (1732–1772)
Colonial Merchant Ensign of DenmarkA view of the Danish colony of Tranquebar with the Dansborg fortress in south east India, 1658.
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."[41]
1730s — Denmark's Chinese and Indian trade stabilises, with cargo from India dominated by cotton fabrics from the Coromandel Coast and Bengal.
1752 – 1791 – Pepper procurement lodge established at Calicut.[42][43]
November 1754 – A meeting of Danish-Norwegian officials is held in Tranquebar. A decision is made to colonise the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to plant pepper, cinnamon, sugarcane, coffee and cotton.
December 1755 – Danish-Norwegian settlers arrive on Andaman Islands. The 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.[44]
1756–1760 – All colonisation efforts on the islands fail with settlers wiped out by malaria. Danish-Norwegian claims to the islands were later sold to the British.
1763- Danish factory at Balasore, which was first opened in 1636, reopens again after receiving a farman from the Marathas.[47]
The Golden Age of Danish India (1772–1808)
A map of the Nicobar Islands under Danish administration, in June 1845
Danish-Norwegian 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-Norwegian merchants. Administration of Tranquebar, Serampore, and factories in Bengal and along the Malabar Coast was taken over by the Crown in 1777.[48][49] 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 Norway 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 Norwegian competitors. This injected enormous amounts of capital into Danish Norwegian trade during the 1770s. The value of the trade, however, remained extremely volatile.
1799 – Dispute between Denmark-Norway 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 Britain was at war with. At the time Denmark-Norway 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.
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 defeated the Danish-Norwegian fleet, cut off the Danish East India Company's India trade, and occupied Dansborg, Balasore and Frederiksnagore from 1801 to 1802,[50][51] and again, from 1808 to 1815.
Italy made an attempt at buying the Nicobar Islands from Denmark between 1864 and 1868. In an attempt to gain colonies for the nascent kingdom, the Nicobar Islands were a prospect since it was about to be vacated by the Danes anyway.[54] Biago Caranti, subordinate to the Italian Minister of Agriculture and Commerce Luigi Torelli, first proposed the idea in his report to Torelli in 1865, where he mentioned that apart from establishing a penal colony, the islands were also valuable due to their location and potential for growing tobacco plantations.[55] Such a distant outpost would also bring prestige to the Italian state. Torelli started a negotiation that looked promising, but failed due to the fall of the Second La Marmora government and his resulting departure from office. The negotiations were interrupted and never brought up again.[56]
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);[57] on 16 October 1868 all Danish rights to the Nicobar Islands, which since 1848 had been gradually abandoned, were sold to Britain. The islands were formally annexed by Britain in 1869.[58]
Legacy
After the Danish colony of Tranquebar was ceded to the British, it lost its special trading status and had its administrative roles transferred to Nagapattinam. The town rapidly dwindled in importance,[59] 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 19th century, the mission established by Ziegenbalg was functioning entirely independently and lives on today as the Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church.[16]
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 boundaries of the old (and long gone) city walls.[60] Journalist Sam Miller describes the town as the most recognisably European of the former colonial settlements.[61]
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 that contribute to the historic atmosphere. The remaining Dano-Norwegian buildings include a gateway inscribed with a Danish royal seal, a number of colonial bungalows, two churches and principally – Fort Dansborg, constructed in 1620. The fort was declared a protected monument by the Government of Tamil Nadu in 1977 and now houses a museum dedicated to the Dano-Norwegians in India.[16]
There are no known descendants of the Dano-Norwegian settlers in or around the town. Since 2001, Danes have been active in mobilising volunteers and government agencies to purchase and restore Danish colonial buildings in Tranquebar.
^Magdalena, Naum; Nordin, Jonas, eds. (2013). Scandinavian Colonialism and the Rise of Modernity. Contributions To Global Historical Archaeology. Vol. 37. Springer. p. 8. ISBN978-1-4614-6201-9 – via SpringerLink. Denmark and particularly Sweden struggled with upholding overseas colonies and recruiting settlers and staff willing to relocate.
^Olafsson, Jon (1907). "Indledning" [Introduction]. Jon Olafssons oplevelser som Ostindiefarer under Christian IV, medskrevne of ham selv [Jon Olafsson's experiences as an East Indiaman under Christian IV, written by himself] (in Danish). Copenhagen: Glydensalske boghandel, Nordisk forlag. pp. I. "Danmark-Norges Handel og Søfart var under den foretagsomme Christian IV i mægtig Opkomst, og de Efterretninger, der kom Kongen for Øre om de euro- pæiske Expeditioner til Ostindien, — vel ikke mindst gennem de Fortællinger, som de mangfoldige danske og norske Søfolk, der i hollandsk Tjeneste havde deltaget i Sejladsen paa Indien, bragte hjem med sig — bevægede ham til, nu da Krigen med Sverrig var endt, ogsaa at gøre et Forsøg paa at faa et dansk-ostindisk Kompagni oprettet. Flere hollandske Købmænd, der var bosatte i Kjøbenhavn, først og fremmest Roland Crappe støttede Kongen i disse Bestræbelser. [During the reign of Christian IV, Denmark-Norway's Trade and Shipping was in mighty rise, and the intelligence which came to the King's ear about the European expeditions to the East Indies, not least about the tales which the diverse Danes and Norwegian Seamen, who in Dutch Service had partaken on the voyage to India, moved him to, now that the War with Sweden had ended, also to make an attempt to get a Danish East-Indian Company created. Several Dutch merchants who were residents of Copenhagen, first and foremost Roland Crappe supported the King in these endeavors.]"
^Olafsson, Jon (1907). "Indledning" [Introduction]. Jon Olafssons oplevelser som Ostindiefarer under Christian IV, medskrevne of ham selv [Jon Olafsson's experiences as an East Indiaman under Christian IV, written by himself] (in Danish). Copenhagen: Glydensalske boghandel, Nordisk forlag. pp. I. Ved Oktroj af 16. Marts 1616 blev det dansk-ostindiske Handels-Kompagni oprettet med det hollandske Kompagni som Forbillede. [By 16 October 1616, the Danish-East India Trade Company was established with the Dutch Company as a Model.]
^Olafsson, Jon (1907). "Indledning" [Introduction]. Jon Olafssons oplevelser som Ostindiefarer under Christian IV, medskrevne of ham selv [Jon Olafsson's experiences as an East Indiaman under Christian IV, written by himself] (in Danish). Copenhagen: Glydensalske boghandel, Nordisk forlag. pp. II. "Der skulde nu udrustes et Togt til Ostindien, og Kongen fik end mere Blod paa Tanden, da der til Kjø- benhavn ankom en Gesandt fra selve Kejser Ceneradt Adassin paa Ceylon. Gesandten var en Hollænder ved Navn Marcelis Boshonwerj der i flere Aar havde været den ceylonske Kejsers Yndling og Raadgiver i hans mange Stridigheder med Portugiserne. Kejseren havde udnævnt ham til Admiral og Prins af Migomme og nu sendt ham afsted til Europa for at søge Bistand mod Portugiserne. Efter at være bleven afvist i Holland, begav Boshouwer sig til Danmark, hvor han opholdt sig et Aars Tid, og afsluttede en Handels- og Venskabs- Traktat mellem Kejseren af Ceylon og Kongen af Danmark-Norge". ["A voyage to the East Indies was now to be made, and the king got even more blood on his teeth when an envoy from the emperor Ceneradt Adassin himself arrived in Copenhagen. The envoy was a Dutchman by the name of Marcelis Boshonwerj, who for several years had been the favorite adviser of the Ceylonese emperor in his many disputes with the Portuguese. The emperor had appointed him Admiral and Prince of Migomme and now sent him off to Europe to seek assistance against the Portuguese. After being rejected in the Netherlands, Boshouwer went to Denmark, where he stayed for a year, concluding a Treaty of Trade and Friendship between the King of Kandy and the King of Denmark-Norway."]
^Larsen, Kay (1940). Guvernører, Residenter, Kommandanter og Chefer samt enkele andre fremtraedende personer i de tidligere Danske Tropekolonier [Governors, Residents, Commanders and Managers as well as some other significant persons in the former Danish Tropical Colonies] (PDF) (in Danish). Copenhagen: Arthur Jensens Forlag. p. 15. OCLC1629536. Efter Kontrakten med Kejseren skulde Danmark have Monopol paa Ceylonhandelen i 12 Aar [According to the contract with the king, Denmark was to have a monopoly on the Ceylon trade for 12 years]
^Olafsson, Jon (1907). "Indledning" [Introduction]. Jon Olafssons oplevelser som Ostindiefarer under Christian IV, medskrevne of ham selv [Jon Olafsson's experiences as an East Indiaman under Christian IV, written by himself] (in Danish). Copenhagen: Glydensalske boghandel, Nordisk forlag. pp. II. "Senere viste det sig jo rigtignok, at han havde handlet vel meget paa egen Haand, og den nævnte Traktat fik ingen Betydning. [Later it turned out that he had acted very much on his own, and the said treaty had no significance.]"
^Esther Fihl (2009). "Shipwrecked on the Coromandel:cThe first Indo–Danish contact, 1620". Review of Development and Change 14 (1&2): 19–40
^Barner Jensen, U. "Danish East India. Trade coins and the coins of Tranquebar, 1620–1845", pp. 11–12; Holden Furber "Imperi rivali nei mercati d'oriente, 1600–1800", note n° 66, p. 326: "Senarat of Kandy sent to Trincomalee 60 Sinhala men in order to help the Danes in the construction of their fort. During their permanence in Trincomalee, the Danesh coined also some "Larins", on which were recorded the words 'Don Erich Grubbe', of these coins, today do not remain trace, if not in the diary of Ove Giedde."
^Foster, William (1906). "Introduction". The English Factories in India (1618–1621). Vol. 1. Oxford, United Kingdom: Clarendon Press. pp. xlv. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
^Larsen, Kay (1907). Volume 1 of Dansk-Ostindiske Koloniers historie: Trankebar. Jørgensen. pp. 167–169.
^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. ISBN978-87-635-3023-1.
^Laursen, L. (1916). "1620. 19. Nov. (Tanjore). Traktat mellem Admiral Ove Gjedde paa Kong Christian IVs Vegne og Kongen af Tanjore." [1620. 19. Nov. (Tanjore). Treaty between Admiral Ove Gjedde on behalf of King Christian IV and the King of Tanjore.]. Traites du Danemark et de la Norvege. Danmark-Norges Traktater 1523—1750 Med dertil horende aktstykker: Tredie Bind (1589–1625) [Treaties of Denmark-Norway (1523–1750) with Associated Acts- Volume 3 (1589–1625)] (in Danish). Vol. 3. Copenhagen: L. Laursen, Calsberg Foundation. pp. 360–366. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
^Of the 18 ships that departed from Denmark between 1622 and 1637, only seven returned. Kay Larsen: Trankebar, op.cit., p.30-31.
^Brdsgaard, Kjeld Erik (2001). China and Denmark: Relations Since 1674. NIAS Press. pp. 9–11. ISBN978-87-87062-71-8.
^Diller, Stephan (1999). "Faktoreien, Kronkolonien oder Europäische Freihandelsplätze?: Malabarküste" [Factories, crown colonies or European free trade centers?: Malabar Coast]. Die Dänen in Indien, Südostasien und China (1620–1845) [The Danes in India, South-East Asia and China (1620–1845)] (in German). Wiesbaden: Harassowitz Verlag. pp. 217. ISBN978-3-447-04123-2. Retrieved 27 May 2022. "Nachdem erste Verhandlungen 1633 zunächst fehlgeschlagen waren, wurde um 1636 die erste danische Faktorei in Balasore gegrundet. [After initial negotiations in 1633 initially failed, the first Danish trading post was founded in Balasore around 1636.]"
^Wellen, Kathryn (2015). "The Danish East India Company's War against the Mughal Empire, 1642–1698" (PDF). Journal of Early Modern History. 19: 448 – via Brill. "Despite unfulfilled requests for compensation for these losses, the Danes established a manned factory at Pipli in 1626 which, according to Dutch reports, did well during its first year.
^Wanner, Michael (2012). "Tranquebar – Economic, Culture and Power Centre of Danish India 1620–1845". Prague Papers on the History of International Relations. Institute of World History, Faculty of Arts, Charles University in Prague: 41. Yet still the dissatisfaction with the gifts and paying the tariffs resulted in two attacks on Tranquebar led by the Nayak's troops between 1645 and 1648.
^Feldbæk, Ole (1981). "The Organization and Structure of the Danish East India, West India and Guinea Companies in the 17th and 18th Centuries". In Blussé, Leonard; Gaastra, Femme (eds.). Companies and Trade: Essays on Overseas Trading Companies During the Ancien Regime. Leiden: Leiden University Press. p. 140. ISBN978-94-009-8617-6.
^Larsen, Kay (1940). Guvernører, Residenter, Kommadanter og Chefer samt enkele andre fremtradende personer i de tidligere Danske Tropokolonier [Governors, Residents, Commanders and Managers as well as some other significant persons in the former Danish Tropical Colonies] (PDF) (in Danish). Copenhagen: Arthur Jensens Forlag. p. 19. Retrieved 27 May 2022. "Da ophørte Besejlingen af Trankebar aldeles en Aarrække; dog holdt Kolonien sig ved egne Kræfter under dansk. Flag, takket være den jævne, brave Guvernør Eskild Andersen Kongsbakke, indtil en dansk Hjælpeekspedition naaede ud i 1669. [Then the sailing of Trankebar ceased for a number of years; However, the colony maintained its own forces under Danish Flag, thanks to the smooth, brave Governor Eskild Andersen Kongsbakke, until a Danish Auxiliary Expedition reached out in 1669.]"
^Larsen, Kay; Green-Pedersen, Sv. E. (18 July 2011). "Eskild Andersen Kongsbakke". Danish Biographical Lexicon. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
^Diller, Stephan (1999). "Faktoreien, Kronkolonien oder Europäische Freihandelsplätze?: Malabarküste" [Factories, crown colonies or European free trade centers?: Malabar Coast]. Die Dänen in Indien, Südostasien und China (1620–1845) [The Danes in India, South-East Asia and China (1620-1845)] (in German). Wiesbaden: Harassowitz Verlag. pp. 236–237. ISBN978-3-447-04123-2. Retrieved 27 May 2022. Der Danische Gouverneur Tranquebars, Claus Voigt (1694–1701), grundete gegen 1695/6 in Eddowa, an der Malabarkuste zwischen Quilon und Anjengo gelegen, auf einem stuck land, das der zweiten Danischen Ostindien-Kompanie von der Konigin von Attingal uberlassen worden war, eine faktorei, die 1721/2 nach einem streit zwischen dem Danischen opperhoved und dem lokalen machthaber aufgegeben werden musste [The Danish governor of Tranquebar, Claus Voigt (1694–1701), founded a factory around 1695/6 in Eddowa, located on the Malabar coast between Quilon and Anjengo, on a piece of land that had been given to the second Danish East India Company by the Queen of Attingal, a trading post that had to be abandoned in 1721/2 after a dispute between the Danish Chief and the local ruler]
^Hamilton, Alexander (1744). "26. Gives an account of Couchin its Government and Strength, its ancient and present State, its Produce and Commerce, with some account of the Jews inhabiting there." A New Account of the East Indies. Vol. 1. London: C. Hitch, A. Millar. p. 333. Erwa lies two Leagues to the Southward of Coiloan where the Danes have a small Factory standing on the Sea Side. It is a thatch'd House of a very mean Aspect, and their Trade answers, every Way, to the Figure their Factory makes.
^Larsen, Kay (1940). Guvernører, Residenter, Kommadanter og Chefer samt enkele andre fremtradende personer i de tidligere Danske Tropokolonier [Governors, Residents, Commanders and Managers as well as some other significant persons in the former Danish Tropical Colonies] (PDF) (in Danish). Copenhagen: Arthur Jensens Forlag. p. 19. Retrieved 27 May 2022. Guvernementet i Trankebar købte 1698 et Stykke Land ved Hugli Floden i Bengalen for 30.000 Rupier [In 1698, the government of Trankebar bought a piece of land by the Hugli River in Bengal for 30,000 Rupees]
^Wellen, Kathryn (2015). "The Danish East India Company's War against the Mughal Empire, 1642–1698" (PDF). Journal of Early Modern History. 19: 448 – via Brill. "Furthermore, Andræ signed a lease to a piece of land at Gondalapara near French Chandernagore for 30,000 rupees to be paid over ten years. This became Dannemarksnagore where the Danes established a factory which served as the basis for their presence in Bengal."
^Logan, William (2010). Malabar Manual. Vol. 1. New Delhi: Asian Education Services. p. 505. But in 1788, when Tippu began his religious persecutions in Malabar, the Danish Factor (Manuel Bernardes) under the orders of Tippu's Fouzdar Arsad Beg Khan precipitately fled from the place, abandoning his trust. The Governor-General, to whom the matter was referred, expressed in 1795 an opinion adverse to the Danish interests, as it was clear that the Danish Factor had voluntarily abandoned the possession in 1788 in Tippu's time.
^Baggesen, August (1840). "De Nikobarske eller Der Frederiksoerne" [The Nicobar Islands or Frederiksoerne]. Den danske stat eller kongeriget danmark med tilhørende ilande, samt hertugdommerne slesvig, holsteen og lauenborg betragtet geographik og statistisk, ifaer fra et militairt standpunst [The Danish state or the kingdom of Denmark with associated islands, as well as the duchies of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg considered geographically and statistically, from a military standpoint] (PDF) (in Danish). Copenhagen: Bianco Luno. p. 476 – via Royal Danish Library. Vel har det danske Flag vajer paa disse Der siden 1756, da Gouverneuren i Trankebar tog dem i Besiddelse ved kieutcnant Lhanck, men koloniseringen har aldrig havt nogen Fremgang paa samme. [Well, the Danish flag has been waving there since 1756, when the governor of Trankebar took them in possession by Lieutenant Lhanck, but colonization has never had any progress on the same.]
^Diller, Stephan (1999). "Faktoreien, Kronkolonien oder Europäische Freihandelsplätze?: Malabarküste" [Factories, crown colonies or European free trade centers?: Malabar Coast]. Die Dänen in Indien, Südostasien und China (1620–1845) [The Danes in India, South-East Asia and China (1620–1845)] (in German). Wiesbaden: Harassowitz Verlag. pp. 217. ISBN978-3-447-04123-2. Retrieved 27 May 2022. "Obwohl der geheime rat Gert Kohlendahl aus Tranquebar am 13. mai 1684 eine bestatigung des Parwanas von 1676 erlangte, blieb die Danische faktorei bis zum erhalt eines neuen Farmans durch die das Mogulreich ablosenden Marathen am 4. mai 1762 geschlossen. [Although the privy councilor Gert Kohlendahl from Tranquebar obtained confirmation of the Parwana of 1676 on 13 May 1684, the Danish factory remained closed until the receipt of a new farman by the Maratha, who replaced the Mughal empire, on 4 May 1762.]
^Hansen, C. Rise (2011). "List of Danish Governors in the Colonial Territories of Asia". Sources of the History of North Africa, Asia and Oceania in Denmark. Munich, Germany: K. G. Saur Verlag. p. 703. ISBN978-3-11-097036-4. Retrieved 25 May 2022. The fortress Dansborg at Tranquebar established in 1620. In 1777 the Danish crown took possession of the colony. 1801—02 and 1808—1815 occupied by British forces.
^Strandberg, Elisabeth (1983). "Letter from Raja Simvharaja Narasimha Pamdita to Hermann Abbestee". The Modi Documents from Tanjore in Danish Collections. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag GmbH. p. 303 fn#3. Retrieved 26 May 2022. "In 1777 was signed the royal ordinance about the take over by the Danish crown of the administration of the Danish possessions and factories in India. In 1779, the actual take over was effected and Hermann Abbestee was installed as the new Company's first governor."
^Strandberg, Elisabeth (1983). "Letter from Raja Serfoji II Bhonsle to Peter Anker". The Modi Documents from Tanjore in Danish Collections. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag GmbH. p. 332. Retrieved 26 May 2022. Further, it was a great pleasure for us to hear that on the 17th August A. D. 1802, the Danish flag was (again) hoisted on the fort of Tranquebar.
^Gani, Shahabuddin M. (1959). "Danish Settlement of Balasore". Proceedings of the Indian Historical Congress. 22: 356. JSTOR44304322 – via JSTOR. Mr. N. B. Edmonstone, Secretary to Govt. in the Political Govt. Dept., Fort William also sent orders on 27 January 1808, to the Magistrate of Cuttack, 'to issue orders to the officer commanding at Balasore to take possession in the name of His Majesty of all factories and buildings, all property and also all papers, accounts and records belonging to His Danish Majesty or the Danish East India Company situated in or near Balasore.
^Rasten, Simon (2009). "The Tranquebar tribute during the reign of Rajah Serfoji II"(PDF). Review of Development and Change. 14 (1 ed.): 44. doi:10.1177/0972266120090104. S2CID199933051. On 14 January 1814, the peace treaty was signed in Kiel, and in June 1815 the British Government in Madras received orders to surrender Tranquebar to the Danes. Subsequently, a special commission was appointed to take care of the formalities. The official transfer of sovereignty took place on 20 September when the newly arrived Danish Governor, Gerhard Sievers Bille took command of Tranquebar.
^Caranti, Biago (1879). "Relazione a S. E. il Ministro di Agricoltura, Industria e Commercio Commendatore Luigi Torelli: Sulla Convenienza Della Colonizzazione Penitenziera" [Report to S. E. the Minister of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce Commander Luigi Torelli: On the Convenience of a Penal colony]. Pagine Raccolte [Collected Works] (in Italian). Via Ospendale, Torino: Tip. e. lit. Camilla e Bertolero. pp. 37–61. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
^Khan, Sirdar Mahomed Ismail (1869). "Annexation of the Nicobar Islands". India Office Records: Abstract of Letters from India 1869. London: Government of India. p. 191. Retrieved 26 May 2022 – via Qatar Digital Library. Under the authority of your Despatch of 20th January last, we have given directions that one of Her Majesty's Vessels should at once proceed to the Nicobar Islands, in order formally to take possession of them in the name of the Government of India.
^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 (Master's). University of Oslo. p. 10. OCLC761236629. Retrieved 29 May 2022. 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.
^Miller, Sam (2014). A Strange Kind of Paradise. India: Hamish Hamilton. p. 203. ISBN978-0-670-08538-5. 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.
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