Danish overseas colonies and Dano-Norwegian colonies () were the colonies that

Denmark–Norway Denmark–Norway (Danish language, Danish and Norwegian language, Norwegian: ) is a term for the 16th-to-19th-century multi-national and multi-lingual real unionFeldbæk 1998:11 consisting of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Norway (includ ...

(

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

after 1814) possessed from 1537 until 1953. At its apex, the colonies spanned four continents: Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America.Prem Poddar, and Lars Jensen, eds., ''A historical companion to postcolonial literatures: Continental Europe and Its Empires'' (Edinburgh UP, 2008), "Denmark and its colonies" pp 58-105. The period of colonial expansion marked a rise in the status and power of

Danes Danes (, ), or Danish people, are an 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. History Early history Denmark ...

and

Norwegians Norwegians () are an 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 are descended from the Norsemen, Norse of the Early ...

in the

Kalmar Union The Kalmar Union was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden as designed by Queen Margaret I of Denmark, Margaret of Denmark. From 1397 to 1523, it joined under a single monarch the three kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden (then in ...

. 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, Denmark–Norway began to develop forts with trading posts in

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

, and colonies in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

, and the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

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

mercantilist Mercantilism is a nationalist economic policy that is designed to maximize the exports and minimize the imports of an economy. It seeks to maximize the accumulation of resources within the country and use those resources for one-sided trade. ...

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 {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, 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, officially the Kingdom of Denmark, or simply Denmark, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united by the Constitution of Denmark, Constitutional Act, which applies to the entire territor ...

, the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...

and

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

; 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 the 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 governan ...

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

Overview

Africa

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

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

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

Fort Christiansborg Osu Castle (also known as Fort Christiansborg or the Castle) is a castle located in Osu, Accra, 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 chan ...

near

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) 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, , had a population of ...

in 1661, which was purchased from Sweden; and Frederiksberg. The forts were Fort Fredensborg (1734), Fort Kongenstein (1783), Fort Prinzenstein (1784), and Fort Augustaborg (1787), several of which exist as ruins today. Of these, only one is still in existence, the Osu Castle, 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 Ashanti, which led to the abandonment of all trading stations. Denmark sold its forts to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 1850.

List

* Fort Fredensborg (Ningo: 1734 – March 1850) *

(

/Osu: 1658 – April 1659, 1661 – Dec 1680, February 1683 – 1693, 1694–1850) * Fort Augustaborg ( Teshie: 1787 – March 1850) * Fort Prinzenstein ( Keta: 1780 – 12 March 1850) * Fort Kongenstein ( Ada: 1784 – March 1850) * Fort Carlsborg (February 1658 – 16 April 1659, 22 April 1663 – 3 May 1664) * 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 ea ...

(1657–1659) * Small base near Ningo from 1784 to 1850 Danish trade route India

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 The spice trade involved historical civilizations in Asia, Northeast Africa and Europe. Spices, such as cinnamon, cassia, cardamom, ginger, pepper, nutmeg, star anise, clove, and turmeric, were known and used in antiquity and traded in t ...

and access to the east Asian area, including

Imperial China The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the Y ...

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 archipelago, 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 t ...

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

Europe

Iceland (1537/1814–1944)

As with Greenland and the Faroe Islands, Norwegian claims to

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

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", in

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

with Denmark. During

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

occupation of Denmark At the outset of World War II in September 1939, Denmark declared itself Neutral countries in World War II, neutral, but that neutrality did not prevent Nazi Germany from Military occupation, occupying the country soon after the outbreak of ...

from 1940 to 1945, the Republic of Iceland was declared on 17 June 1944 after the result of a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

Faroe Islands (1537/1814–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 located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

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 Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

. These islands were known as the Danish West Indies and were eventually sold to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and a territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located ...

Greenland (1814–present)

Greenland was settled by immigrants from

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

in the

Viking Age The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...

after the arrival of

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 European settlement in Greenland. Erik most likely earned the epithet "the Red" due to the color o ...

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 cent ...

. In 1261, the Greenlanders became subjects of the

Kingdom of Norway (872–1397) The term Norwegian Realm (, , ) 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 era in Norway, civil war before 1240. The kingdom was a loosely unified nation includi ...

. With the ratification of the

in 1397,

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 a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

minister

Hans Egede Hans Poulsen Egede (31 January 1686 – 5 November 1758) was a Denmark–Norway, Danish-Norwegian Lutheran missionary priest who launched mission efforts to Greenland, which led him to be styled the Apostle of Greenland. He established a succes ...

arrived and established the town now known as

Nuuk Nuuk (; , formerly ) is the capital and most populous city of Greenland, an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark. Nuuk is the seat of government and the territory's largest cultural and economic center. It is also the seat of gove ...

. After Norway was ceded to the king of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

in 1814 following the

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

Treaty of Kiel The Treaty of Kiel () or Peace of Kiel ( Swedish and 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 the other side on 14 January 1814 ...

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

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

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, officially the Kingdom of Denmark, or simply Denmark, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united by the Constitution of Denmark, Constitutional Act, which applies to the entire territor ...

. It gained

in 1979 and further autonomy, including

self-determination Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...

, 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 Overseas Historical transcontinental empires Former monarchies of Europe States and territories disestablished in 1953