Danish Empire - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

In various forms, Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

has had colonial possessions beginning in the 13th century, when it obtained possessions in Estonia

Danish Estonia

Danish Estonia refers to the territories of present-day Estonia that were ruled by Denmark firstly during the 13th–14th centuries and again in the 16th–17th centuries....

. In 1536, Denmark entered into a personal union

Personal union

A personal union is the combination by which two or more different states have the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state...

with Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

, and the new entity of Denmark-Norway took possession of the Norwegian holdings of Greenland

Greenland

Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...

, the Faroe Islands

Faroe Islands

The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...

, and Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

. Orkney and Shetland, then held by Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, had originally been ruled by Norway until the 15th century, and several later attempts were made to retake them. In the 17th century, following territorial losses on the Scandinavian Peninsula

Scandinavian Peninsula

The Scandinavian Peninsula is a peninsula in Northern Europe, which today covers Norway, Sweden, and most of northern Finland. Prior to the 17th and 18th centuries, large parts of the southern peninsula—including the core region of Scania from which the peninsula takes its name—were part of...

, Denmark-Norway began to develop colonies, forts, and trading posts in Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

, and India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. After 1814, when Norway was granted to Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

following the Napoleonic Wars

Napoleonic Wars

The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...

, Denmark retained the colonial holdings.

Christian IV

Christian IV of Denmark

Christian IV was the king of Denmark-Norway from 1588 until his death. With a reign of more than 59 years, he is the longest-reigning monarch of Denmark, and he is frequently remembered as one of the most popular, ambitious and proactive Danish kings, having initiated many reforms and projects...

first initiated the policy of expanding Denmark's overseas trade, as part of the mercantilist wave that was sweeping Europe. Denmark's first colony was established at Tranquebar

Tranquebar

Tharangambadi is a panchayat town in Nagapattinam district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, 15 km north of Karaikal, near the mouth of a distributary of the Kaveri River. Its name means "place of the singing waves"...

, or Trankebar, on India's southern coast in 1620. Admiral Ove Gjedde

Ove Gjedde

Ove Gjedde , born in Tommarp in Scania, Denmark , was a Danish admiral and member of the interim government, following the death of Christian IV and the harsh restrictions imposed on Frederick III due to his close ties to Germany.In 1618 he commanded an expedition to Ceylon and India by Christian...

led the expedition that established the colony. The only remaining vestiges of this empire are the Faroe Islands

Faroe Islands

and Greenland

Greenland

; the Faroes were a Danish county until 1948, while Greenland's colonial status ceased in 1953. They are now autonomous regions of the Kingdom of Denmark

Kingdom of Denmark

The Kingdom of Denmark or the Danish Realm , is a constitutional monarchy and sovereign state consisting of Denmark proper in northern Europe and two autonomous constituent countries, the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic and Greenland in North America. Denmark is the hegemonial part, where the...

(Danish Realm) with home rule

Home rule

Home rule is the power of a constituent part of a state to exercise such of the state's powers of governance within its own administrative area that have been devolved to it by the central government....

Greenland

Denmark-Norway inherited medieval Norwegian claims to Greenland

Greenland

as the successor state to Norway

Norway

. After the established Norse

Norsemen

Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who spoke what is now called the Old Norse language belonging to the North Germanic branch of Indo-European languages, especially Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, Swedish and Danish in their earlier forms.The meaning of Norseman was "people...

settlement in Greenland

Norse colonization of the Americas

The Norse colonization of the Americas began as early as the 10th century, when Norse sailors explored and settled areas of the North Atlantic, including the northeastern fringes of North America....

finally disappeared in the 15th century, Europeans did not settle the island again until 1721, when the Lutheran minister Hans Egede

Hans Egede

Hans Poulsen Egede was a Norwegian-Danish Lutheran missionary who launched mission efforts to Greenland, which led him to be styled the Apostle of Greenland. He established a successful mission among the Inuit and is credited with revitalizing Dano-Norwegian interest in the island after contact...

arrived and established the town now known as Nuuk

Nuuk

Nuuk, is the capital of Greenland, the northernmost capital in North America and the largest city in Greenland. Located in the Nuup Kangerlua fjord, the city lies on the eastern shore of the Labrador Sea and on the west coast of Sermersooq. Nuuk is the largest cultural and economic center in...

. After Norway was given to Sweden

Sweden

in 1814 following the Napoleonic Wars

Napoleonic Wars

, Denmark retained the old territorial claims as a condition of the Treaty of Kiel

Treaty of Kiel

The Treaty of Kiel or Peace of Kiel was concluded between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Kingdom of Sweden on one side and the Kingdoms of Denmark and Norway on the other side on 14 January 1814 in Kiel...

. Greenland's colonial status ceased in 1953, and it became an integral part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It gained home rule in 1979.

Faroe Islands

As with Greenland and Iceland, Denmark-Norway inherited the medieval Norwegian claims to the Faroe Islands

Faroe Islands

as the successor state to Norway. The Faroes had become part of the Kingdom of Norway in 1035. After Norway was given to Sweden after the Napoleonic Wars, Denmark retained the Faroes as a condition of the Treaty of Kiel. Status as a Danish county ended in 1948, and the Faroes were given a large degree of independence within the Kingdom of Denmark.

Iceland

As with Greenland and the Faroe Islands, Norwegian claims to Iceland

Iceland

were inherited by Denmark-Norway. Also like those possessions, Iceland was retained by Denmark at the Treaty of Kiel. A growing independence movement in Iceland led to Denmark granting it home rule in 1874 and expanding that home rule in 1904. In 1918 Iceland became a fully sovereign kingdom, sharing its king with Denmark. During Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

's Occupation of Denmark

Occupation of Denmark

Nazi Germany's occupation of Denmark began with Operation Weserübung on 9 April 1940, and lasted until German forces withdrew at the end of World War II following their surrender to the Allies on 5 May 1945. Contrary to the situation in other countries under German occupation, most Danish...

(1940) the Republic of Iceland was declared on June 17, 1944.

Danish Estonia

In the 13th-14th and in the 16th-17th centuries, Denmark and Denmark-Norway, respectively, ruled parts of what is now Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

, called Danish Estonia

Danish Estonia

Danish Estonia refers to the territories of present-day Estonia that were ruled by Denmark firstly during the 13th–14th centuries and again in the 16th–17th centuries....

India

Denmark maintained a scattering of small colonies and trading posts throughout the Indian sub-continent from the 17th to 19th centuries, after which most were sold or ceded to Britain which had become the dominant power there.

The colony at Trankebar was kept for over 200 years, with a few interruptions, until it was sold to the British in 1845.

In 1755 Denmark acquired the village of Serampore

Serampore

Serampore is a city and a municipality in Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority. It is a pre-colonial town on the right bank of the Hoogli River...

(Frederiksnagore), and later the towns of Achne and Pirapur. They are located about 25 kilometres north of Calcutta. In 1818 Serampore College

Serampore College

Serampore College is located in Serampore Town, in Hooghly District, West Bengal, India.The college consists of two entities:*The theological faculty*A separate college with faculties of arts, science, commerce...

was established at Serampore, which still exists today. These towns were also sold to Britain in 1845. Other colonial ventures include colonization attempts of the Nicobar Islands

Nicobar Islands

The Nicobar Islands are an archipelagic island chain in the eastern Indian Ocean...

, called Frederiksøerne ("Frederik Islands") or Ny Danmark ("New Denmark") by the Danes between 1754 and 1868.

Caribbean

Denmark-Norway acquired the island of St. Thomas in 1671, St. Jan

Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands

Saint John is an island in the Caribbean Sea and a constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States. St...

(now St. John) in 1718, and bought St. Croix from France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

in 1733. All of the islands' economies were based primarily on sugar

Sugar

Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...

. These islands were known as the Danish West Indies

Danish West Indies

The Danish West Indies or "Danish Antilles", were a colony of Denmark-Norway and later Denmark in the Caribbean. They were sold to the United States in 1916 in the Treaty of the Danish West Indies and became the United States Virgin Islands in 1917...

and were eventually sold to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

in 1917 for 25 million dollars. The Danes had been looking to get rid of the islands for some decades as the economies of the islands had been declining. The United States hoped to use them as naval bases. Since 1917, the islands have been known as the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Africa

Denmark maintained a number of tradings stations and four forts on the Gold Coast

Gold Coast (British colony)

The Gold Coast was a British colony on the Gulf of Guinea in west Africa that became the independent nation of Ghana in 1957.-Overview:The first Europeans to arrive at the coast were the Portuguese in 1471. They encountered a variety of African kingdoms, some of which controlled substantial...

in west Africa, especially around modern day Ghana

Ghana

Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

. The three trading stations were Fort Frederiksborg (Kpompo), Fort Christiansborg, (by Accra

Accra

Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...

in 1661) that was purchased from Sweden, and Frederiksberg. The forts were Fort Prinsensten built in 1784, Fort Augustaborg from 1787, Fort Friedensborg and Fort Kongensten, several of which are ruins today. Of these, only one is still used today, Fort Christiansborg, which is the Ghanaian president's residence in Ghana. Plantations were established by Frederiksborg, but they failed. Fort Christiansborg became the base for Danish power in west Africa, and the centre for slave trade to the Danish West Indies. In 1807, Denmark's African business partners were suppressed by the Ashanti, which led the abandonment of all trading stations. Denmark sold its forts to the United Kingdom in 1850.

External links

List of Danish colonial possessions List of Danish colonial possessions

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Greenland

Faroe Islands

Iceland

Danish Estonia

India

Caribbean

Africa

See also

External links