Africa Denmark-Norway maintained several trading stations and four forts along the
Gold Coast in West Africa, especially around modern day
Ghana. Three trading stations were built:
Fort Frederiksborg, Kpompo;
Fort Christiansborg near
Accra 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 in 1850.
List •
Fort Fredensborg (Ningo: 1734 – March 1850) •
Fort Christiansborg (
Accra/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 (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 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, called ("Frederik Islands") or ("New Denmark") by the Danes between 1754 and 1868.
Europe Iceland (1537/1814–1944) in 1835 As with Greenland and the Faroe Islands, Norwegian claims to
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, titled the "
Kingdom of Iceland", in
personal union with Denmark. During
Nazi Germany's
occupation of Denmark from 1940 to 1945, the
Republic of Iceland was declared on 17 June 1944 after the result of a
referendum.
Faroe Islands (1537/1814–1851) As with Greenland, Denmark–Norway inherited the medieval Norwegian claims to the
Faroe Islands as the successor state to Norway. The Faroes had become part of the Kingdom of Norway in 1035. After Denmark-Norway was dissolved, Norway was given to Sweden after the Napoleonic Wars; Denmark however retained the dependencies of the Norwegian crown, and the Faroes were retained as a condition of the
Treaty of Kiel in 1814. In 1816, the islands were officially established as a Danish county (
amt), and the local parliament (
løgting) was abolished. The Faroe Islands were fully incorporated into Denmark in 1851 with the implementation of the Danish constitution, where the islands were given equal voting rights and were treated as any other province in the country, removing its colonial status.
North America in the Danish West Indies, 1831
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 in 1733. All of the islands' economies were based primarily on
sugar. These islands were known as the
Danish West Indies and were eventually sold to the
United States 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.
Greenland (1814–1953) in Greenland, Greenland was settled by immigrants from
Iceland and
Norway in the
Viking Age after the arrival of
Erik the Red in 995 or 996. Medieval Greenland was a
bishopric with 22 churches and 2 convents under the
archdiocese of Nidaros. In 1261, the Greenlanders became subjects of the
Kingdom of Norway (872–1397). With the ratification of the
Kalmar Union in 1397,
Denmark–Norway inherited
Greenland. After the
Norse settlement in Greenland finally disappeared in the 15th century, Europeans did not settle the island again until 1721, when the
Lutheran minister
Hans Egede arrived and established the town now known as
Nuuk. After Norway was ceded to the king of
Sweden in 1814 following the
Napoleonic Wars, Denmark retained the old territorial claims as a condition of the
Treaty of Kiel. The development and settlement of Greenland accelerated in 1945, instigated by the region's geostrategic importance in the
Cold War 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
icebreakers 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==