, conventional_long_name = Danish overseas colonies , status = Empire , status_text = , life_span = 1536–1953 (Denmark)
1536–1814 (Norway) , government_type =

Constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

, event_start = , date_start = , year_start = 1536 , event_end = , date_end = , year_end = 1953 , event1 = , date_event1 = , event2 = , date_event2 = , event3 = , date_event3 = , event4 = , date_event4 = , event5 = , date_event5 = , event6 = , date_event6 = , event_pre = , date_pre = , event_post = , date_post = , p1 = Kingdom of Norway (872–1397)Old Kingdom of Norway , flag_p1 = Kongeflagget.svg , p2 = Kalmar Union , flag_p2 = Flag of the Kalmar Union.svg , s1 = Danish RealmKingdom of Denmark , flag_s1 = Flag of Denmark (state).svg , image_flag = Flag of Denmark.svg , flag_alt = , image_flag2 = , flag_alt2 = , flag = Flag of Denmark , image_coat = Royal Arms of Denmark & Norway (1699–1819).svg , coa_size = , coat_alt = , symbol_type_article = Coat of arms of Denmark , image_map = DanishColonialEmpire(FIX).png , image_map_alt = , image_map_caption = All territories ever owned by

Denmark–Norway Denmark–Norway ( Danish and Norwegian: ) was an early modern multi-national and multi-lingual real unionFeldbæk 1998:11 consisting of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Norway (including the then Norwegian overseas possessions: the Faroe ...

, capital =

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...

, national_motto = '' Ske Herrens vilje''
, national_anthem = ''

Der er et yndigt land "" (; "There is a lovely country") is one of the two national anthems of Denmark. History The lyrics were written in 1819 by Adam Oehlenschläger and bore the motto in la, Ille terrarum mihi praeter omnes angulus ridet ( Horace: "This corner ...

''
()
(1835–1953) ---- ''

Kong Christian stod ved højen mast ''Kong Christian stod ved højen mast'' (; "King Christian stood by the lofty mast"), commonly shortened to ''Kong Christian'', is the unofficial royal anthem of the Kingdom of Denmark that officially has equal status of national anthem togethe ...

''
() , common_languages = Official language:
Danish
Regional languages:
Norwegian,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, Icelandic, Greenlandic, Faroese , religion = Evangelical Lutheranism , demonym = , currency = Rigsdaler , leader1 = Christian III , leader2 = Frederick IX , year_leader1 = 1535–1559 , year_leader2 = 1947–1952 , title_leader =

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...

, deputy1 =

Adam Wilhelm Moltke Adam Wilhelm Moltke, 3rd Count of Bregentved (25 August 178515 February 1864) was a Danish nobleman, landowner, civil servant and politician, who in 1848-1852 was the first Prime Minister of Denmark under the new constitutional monarchy outline ...

, deputy2 =

Erik Eriksen Erik Eriksen (20 November 1902 – 7 October 1972) was a Danish politician, who served as Prime Minister of Denmark from 1950 to 1953 and as the fourth President of the Nordic Council in 1956. Eriksen was leader of the Danish Liberal party ...

, year_deputy1 = 1848–1852 , year_deputy2 = 1950–1953 , title_deputy =

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

, legislature =

Rigsdagen Rigsdagen () was the name of the national legislature of Denmark from 1849 to 1953. ''Rigsdagen'' was Denmark's first parliament, and it was incorporated in the Constitution of 1849. It was a bicameral legislature, consisting of two houses, the ...

, house1 = Landstinget , house2 =

Folketing The Folketing ( da, Folketinget, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature ( parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark—Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands ...

, stat_year1 = , stat_area1 = , stat_pop1 = , stat_year2 = , stat_area2 = , stat_pop2 = Danish overseas colonies and Dano-Norwegian colonies ( da, De danske kolonier) were the colonies that

(

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

after 1814) possessed from 1536 until 1953. At its apex, the colonies spanned four continents: Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. The period of colonial expansion marked a rise in the status and power of

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

and

Norwegians Norwegians ( no, nordmenn) are a North Germanic peoples, North Germanic ethnic group and nation native to Norway, where they form the vast majority of the population. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegians a ...

in the

Kalmar Union The Kalmar Union ( Danish, Norwegian, and sv, Kalmarunionen; fi, Kalmarin unioni; la, Unio Calmariensis) was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden, that from 1397 to 1523 joined under a single monarch the three kingdo ...

. Danes and Norwegians during this time increasingly saw themselves as citizens of the same "State Fatherland" (), the realm of the Oldenburg monarchs. In the 17th century, following territorial losses on the

Scandinavian Peninsula The Scandinavian Peninsula ( sv, Skandinaviska halvön; no, Den skandinaviske halvøy (Bokmål) or nn, Den skandinaviske halvøya; fi, Skandinavian niemimaa) is a peninsula located in Northern Europe, which roughly comprises the mainland ...

, Denmark-Norway began to develop forts with trading posts in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali ...

, and colonies in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...

, and the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, In ...

. Christian IV first initiated the policy of expanding Denmark-Norway's overseas trade, as part of the

mercantilist Mercantilism is an economic policy that is designed to maximize the exports and minimize the imports for an economy. It promotes imperialism, colonialism, tariffs and subsidies on traded goods to achieve that goal. The policy aims to reduc ...

wave that was sweeping Europe. Denmark-Norway's first colony was established at Tranquebar () on India's southern coast in 1620. Admiral Ove Gjedde led the expedition that established the colony. After 1814, when Norway was ceded to Sweden following the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

, Denmark retained what remained of Norway's great medieval colonial holdings. Today, the only remaining vestiges are two originally Norwegian dependencies that are currently within the

Danish Realm The Danish Realm ( da, Danmarks Rige; fo, Danmarkar Ríki; kl, Danmarkip Naalagaaffik), officially the Kingdom of Denmark (; ; ), is a sovereign state located in Northern Europe and Northern North America. It consists of metropolitan Denma ...

, the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

and

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland ...

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

home rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wi ...

, in a relationship referred to as the " Unity of the Realm".

Overview

Africa

Denmark maintained several trading stations and four forts along the Gold Coast in West Africa, especially around modern day

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...

. Three trading stations were built: Fort Frederiksborg, Kpompo; Osu Castle near

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

in 1661, which was purchased from Sweden; and Frederiksberg. The forts were

Fort Prinsensten Fort Prinzenstein ( da, Fort Prinsensten) is a fort located at Keta, Ghana which was used in the slave trade. Many such forts were built in Africa, but Prinzenstein is one of the few that lie east of the Volta River. Keta served as an open por ...

built in 1784, Fort Augustaborg from 1787,

Fort Fredensborg Fort Fredensborg is situated along the Gulf of Guinea, in the Greater Accra Region in Old Ningo and was built in 1734. Because of its testimony to the Atlantic slave trade and the European colonial influence on West Africa, the fort was inscribed ...

and Fort Kongensten, several of which exist as ruins today. Of these, only two are still in existence, the Osu Castle, and the Christiansborg Castle, the latter of which used to be the residence of Ghanaian presidents. Plantations were established near Frederiksborg, but they failed. Fort Christiansborg became the base for Danish power in West Africa, and the centre for the slave trade to the Danish West Indies. In 1807, Denmark's African business partners were suppressed by the

Akan people The Akan () people live primarily in present-day Ghana and Ivory Coast in West Africa. The Akan language (also known as ''Twi/Fante'') are a group of dialects within the Central Tano branch of the Potou–Tano subfamily of the Niger–Con ...

subgroup- Ashanti, which led to the abandonment of all trading stations. Denmark sold its forts to the United Kingdom in 1850.

List

(Ningo: 1734 – March 1850) *

Fort Christiansborg Osu Castle (also known as Fort Christiansborg or the Castle) is a castle located in Osu, Ghana on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea in Africa. A substantial fort was built by Denmark-Norway in the 1660s, thereafter the fort changed ownersh ...

(

/Osu: 1658 – April 1659, 1661 – Dec 1680, February 1683 – 1693, 1694–1850) * Fort Augustaborg (

Teshie Teshie is a coastal town in the Ledzokuku Municipal District, a district in the Greater Accra Region of southeastern Ghana. Teshie is the ninth most populous settlement in Ghana, with a population of 171,875 people. Politics Teshie is in th ...

: 1787 – March 1850) * Fort Prinsenstein (

Keta Keta is a coastal town in the Volta Region of Ghana. It is the capital of the Keta Municipal District. Keta was an important trading post between the 14th and the late 20th centuries. The town attracted the interest of the Danish, because they ...

: 1780 – 12 March 1850) * Fort Kongensten (

Ada Ada may refer to: Places Africa * Ada Foah, a town in Ghana * Ada (Ghana parliament constituency) * Ada, Osun, a town in Nigeria Asia * Ada, Urmia, a village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Ada, Karaman, a village in Karaman Province, T ...

: 1784 – March 1850) * Fort Carlsborg (February 1658 – 16 April 1659, 22 April 1663 – 3 May 1664) *

Cape Coast Castle Cape Coast Castle ( sv, Carolusborg) is one of about forty "slave castles", or large commercial forts, built on the Gold Coast of West Africa (now Ghana) by European traders. It was originally a Portuguese "feitoria" or trading post, establish ...

(Cong) (

Cape Coast Cape Coast is a city, fishing port, and the capital of Cape Coast Metropolitan District and Central Region of Ghana. It is one of the country's most historic cities, a World Heritage Site, home to the Cape Coast Castle, with the Gulf of Guine ...

: 1659 – 24 April 1661) * Fort Frederiksborg (Amanful or Amanfro: 1659 – 16 April 1685) * Fort William (Ghana) in

Anomabu Anomabu, also spelled Anomabo and formerly as Annamaboe, is a town on the coast of the Mfantsiman Municipal District of the Central Region of South Ghana. Anomabu has a settlement population of 14,389 people. Anomabu is located 12 km east ...

(1657–1659) * Small base near Ningo from 1784 to 1850

Asia

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 most important economic aspect was spice trade and access to the east Asian area, including

Imperial China The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapt ...

situated farther to the east.

Tranquebar (1620–1845)

The colony at (modern day: Tharangambadi) was kept for over 200 years, with a few interruptions, until it was sold to the British in 1845.

Serampore (1755–1845)

In 1755, Denmark acquired the (now Serampore), and later the towns of Achne and Pirapur. They are located about north of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta). In 1818, Serampore College was established in Serampore, which still exists today. These towns were also sold to Britain in 1845.

Nicobar Islands (1756–1848/1868)

There were also colonization attempts of the

Nicobar Islands The Nicobar Islands are an archipelagic island chain in the eastern Indian Ocean. They are located in Southeast Asia, northwest of Aceh on Sumatra, and separated from Thailand to the east by the Andaman Sea. Located southeast of the Indian ...

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

Europe

Iceland (1536/1814–1944)

As with Greenland and the Faroe Islands, Norwegian claims to

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

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, titled the "

Kingdom of Iceland The Kingdom of Iceland ( is, Konungsríkið Ísland; da, Kongeriget Island) was a sovereign and independent country under a constitutional and hereditary monarchy that was established by the Act of Union with Denmark signed on 1 December 1918 ...

", in

personal union A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interli ...

with Denmark. During

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

occupation of Denmark At the outset of World War II in September 1939, Denmark declared itself neutral. For most of the war, the country was a protectorate and then an occupied territory of Germany. The decision to occupy Denmark was taken in Berlin on 17 Decem ...

from 1940 to 1945, the

Republic of Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

was declared on 17 June 1944 after the result of a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a Representative democr ...

Faroe Islands (1536/1814–present)

As with Greenland, Denmark-Norway inherited the medieval Norwegian claims to the

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. The Faroe Islands were incorporated into Denmark in 1851 with the implementation of the Danish constitution.

North America

Danish West Indies (1666–1917)

Denmark-Norway acquired the island of St. Thomas in 1671 and St. Jan (now St. John) in 1718, and bought St. Croix from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

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

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or do ...

. These islands were known as the

Danish West Indies The Danish West Indies ( da, Dansk Vestindien) or Danish Antilles or Danish Virgin Islands were a Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas with ; Saint John ( da, St. Jan) with ; and Saint Croix with . The ...

and were eventually sold to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

in 1917 for 25 million dollars. Several Danish-American succession talks had been made since 1870 due to a rising number of riots and unrest from the poorer English-speaking population. The Zahle Government (1914-1920) held a heavily boycotted election for Danish mainland constituencies, which produced a minority for the sale of the islands. The United States hoped to use them as naval bases. Since 1917, the islands have been known as the

United States Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...

Greenland (1814–present)

Greenland was settled by immigrants from

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

in the

Viking Age The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Germ ...

after its discovery by

Erik the Red Erik Thorvaldsson (), known as Erik the Red, was a Norse explorer, described in medieval and Icelandic saga sources as having founded the first settlement in Greenland. He most likely earned the epithet "the Red" due to the color of his hair ...

in 995 or 996. Medieval Greenland was a

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

with 22 churches and 2 convents under the

archdiocese of Nidaros The Archdiocese of Nidaros (or Niðaróss) was the metropolitan see covering Norway in the later Middle Ages. The see was the Nidaros Cathedral, in the city of Nidaros (now Trondheim). The archdiocese existed from the middle of the twelfth cen ...

. In 1261, the Greenlanders became subjects of the

Kingdom of Norway (872–1397) The term Norwegian Realm (Old Norse: ''*Noregsveldi'', Bokmål: ''Norgesveldet'', Nynorsk: ''Noregsveldet'') and Old Kingdom of Norway refer to the Kingdom of Norway's peak of power at the 13th century after a long period of civil war before 12 ...

. With the ratification of the

in 1397, Denmark-Norway inherited

. After the Norse settlement in Greenland finally disappeared in the 15th century, Europeans did not settle the island again until 1721, when the

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

minister

Hans Egede Hans Poulsen Egede (31 January 1686 – 5 November 1758) was a Dano-Norwegian 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 Inui ...

arrived and established the town now known as

Nuuk Nuuk (; da, Nuuk, formerly ) is the capital and largest city of Greenland, a constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark. Nuuk is the seat of government and the country's largest cultural and economic centre. The major cities from other coun ...

. After Norway was ceded to the king of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

in 1814 following the

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

Treaty of Kiel The Treaty of Kiel ( da, Kieltraktaten) or Peace of Kiel ( Swedish and no, Kielfreden or ') 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 t ...

. The development and settlement of Greenland accelerated in 1945, instigated by the region's geostrategic importance in the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

era, itself exemplified and manifested by the U.S. Air Base of Thule from 1943. Another reason and driving force was the emergence of fundamental technical abilities, such as aircraft and

icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...

s at Greenland's disposition, giving the otherwise remote island a supply situation somewhat similar to Europe. Following a period of increasing integration in the 19th century, Greenland was incorporated into Denmark in 1953 with the implementation of the Danish constitution.

Legacy

and the

were the last vestiges of the colonial empire. Greenland's colonial status ceased in 1953, becoming an integral part of the

Kingdom of Denmark The Danish Realm ( da, Danmarks Rige; fo, Danmarkar Ríki; kl, Danmarkip Naalagaaffik), officially the Kingdom of Denmark (; ; ), is a sovereign state located in Northern Europe and Northern North America. It consists of metropolitan Denma ...

. It gained

in 1979 and further autonomy, including

self-determination The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a '' jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It sta ...

, in 2009. Likewise, the Faroes were incorporated into the Kingdom in 1816, with the status of a county, and then given home rule in 1948.

References

External links

* {{Historic administrative divisions of Denmark History of European colonialism Overseas empires Former Norwegian colonies Former empires in Europe

Overseas Overseas may refer to: * ''Overseas'' (album), a 1957 album by pianist Tommy Flanagan and his trio *Overseas (band), an American indie rock band * "Overseas" (song), a 2018 song by American rappers Desiigner and Lil Pump * "Overseas" (Tee Grizzley ...

Danish-speaking countries and territories Historical transcontinental empires