Danish India () was the name given to the forts and factories of Denmark–Norway (Denmark after 1814) in the Indian subcontinent, forming part of the Danish overseas colonies. Denmark 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. Danish ventures in India, as elsewhere, were typically undercapitalized and never able to dominate or monopolize trade routes in the same way that British, French, and Portuguese ventures could.
Despite these disadvantages, the Danish 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. 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.
History
The success of Dutch and English traders in the 17th-century spice trade was a source of envy among Danish merchants.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. p. 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 Crappéstøttede 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.]" 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. It would take an additional two years before sufficient capital had been raised to finance the expedition, perhaps due to a 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.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. p. 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."] His appeal had been rejected by his countrymen, but it convinced the Danish King.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. p. 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.]"
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 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".Esther Fihl (2009). "Shipwrecked on the Coromandel:cThe first Indo–Danish contact, 1620". Review of Development and Change 14 (1&2): 19–40
Failing to get the Dano-Ceylonese trade contract confirmed, the Danes briefly occupied the Koneswaram Temple before receiving word from their trade director, Robert Crappe.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."
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 Danes. 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). The Nayak turned out to be interested in trading opportunities, and Crappe negotiated a treaty granting them the village of Tranquebar (or Tharangamabadi), the right to construct a "stone house" (Fort Dansborg), and permission to 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.Of the 18 ships that departed from Denmark between 1622 and 1637, only seven returned. Kay Larsen: Trankebar, op.cit., pp. 30–31. The ships that did return made a profit on their cargo, but total returns fell well short of the costs of the venture. 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. 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.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. p. 217. . 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. 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. The Danish presence was also unwanted by English and Dutch traders. They saw the Danes as benefiting 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 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.
Dutch influence (1640–1649) 1640 – Denmark–Norway attempt to sell Fort Danesborg to the Dutch for a second time. 1642 – Danish colony declares war on the Mughal Empire and commences raiding ships in the Bay of Bengal. Within a few months they had captured one of the Mughal 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 and besieges Dansborg to insure his succession. (see Conflict between Willem Leyel and Bernt Pessart)... Sweden declare war on Denmark-Norway. 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 III, abolished the company.