Fort Dansborg

File:A view of Tranquebar - Google Art Project.jpg

Coramandel was an active international trading coast from the 3rd century BCE. The European colonial empires like British, French, Dutch, and Portuguese established maritime trade with India during the early 17th century. The Danish East India Company was established in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1616 and a mission was sent with Admiral Ove Gjedde (1594–1660 CE).Hamilton 1820, pp. 457–8{{cite web|title=Danish Fort|url=http://www.tnarch.gov.in/cons/forts/fort6.htm|publisher=Department of Archaeology, Government of Tamil Nadu|access-date=2013-07-07}} Ove Gjedde signed a deal with the Thanjavur ruler king Raghunatha Nayak (1600–34) in 1620 in spite of resistance from the Portuguese. The rent was fixed as {{INR}}3111 per annum and a total of {{convert|8|km|mi|abbr=on}} by {{convert|4|km|mi|abbr=on}} area was ceded to the Danish mission. The treaty signed during November 1620 also allowed the Danes to collect taxes from the neighbouring villages of Tranquebar. The treaty signed in a golden leaf manuscript is maintained in the Danish royal archives in Copenhagen.Danish National Archives 2012, p. 55{{cite book|title=The A to Z of Denmark|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=msxKvluMkh4C&q=fort+Dansborg&pg=PT254|last=Thomas|first=Alastair H. |page=254|year=2010|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=9781461671848}}{{cite book|title=From the Mediterranean to the China Sea: Miscellaneous Notes|first1=Claude|last1= Guillot|first2= Denys|last2= Lombard|first3= Roderich|last3= Ptak|page=215|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aSEJqSQS7wkC&q=fort+Dansborg&pg=PA215|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|year=1998|isbn=9783447040983}}{{cite book|title=European Commercial Enterprise in Pre-Colonial India, Volume 2|page=208|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hciTRYbE27gC&q=fort+Dansborg&pg=PA208|last=Prakash|first=Om|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1998|isbn=9780521257589}}{{cite book|title=The Maritime and Coastal Forts of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k59aVCIlFB8C&q=fort+Dansborg&pg=PA110|page=110|last=M.S.|first=Naravane|publisher=APH Publishing|year=1998|isbn=9788170249108}}{{cite book|title=Students' Britannica India: Select essays|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-xzljvnQ1vAC&q=fort+Dansborg&pg=PA407|last=Hoiberg|first=Dale|page=407|publisher=Popular Prakashan|year=2004|isbn=9780852297629}}{{cite book|title=The Political Economy of Commerce: Southern India 1500–1650|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jgSMPKVh7f8C&q=fort+Dansborg&pg=PA189|page=182|last=Subrahmanyam|first=Sanjay|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2002|isbn=9780521892261}}

The fort is the second largest Danish fort after Kronborg, the inspiration for William Shakespeare's Hamlet.{{cite book|title=Brahmins and bungalows: travels through South Indian history|publisher=Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated|page=196|last=Watsa|first=Kavita|year=2004|isbn=9780143031468}}{{cite journal|title=India Today International| volume=3|year=2004|publisher=Living Media International Limited|page=344}}{{cite journal|title=The Economist|year=2003|publisher=Charles Reynell|page=356}} It was built by Ove Gjedde with the help of local laborers in Danish style. The lower compartment in the basement adjoining the fort was used as a store room, prison and a rest room for the soldiers, while the governor and priests resided in the second level.{{cite book|title=Changing South Asia, Volumes 1-5|publisher=Asian Research Service|year=1984|last1=Ballhatchet|first1=Kenneth|last2=Taylor|first2=David D.|last3=University of London|last4=Centre of South Asian Studies|page=13}} Fort Dansborg was the base for Danish settlement in the region during the early 17th century. Originally a fishing village, Tharangambadi (referred as Tranquebar) was fortified by the Danish, who used the port as the main trading post for the colony, with the major export of the colony being cotton textiles. During the middle of the 18th century, the commercial importance of the town declined and the centre of textile production moved to Serampore in the state of Bengal. But Tranquebar still remained the headquarters of the Colony. The fort and the town was sold to the British in 1845 and, along with Tharangambadi, the fort lost its significance as the town was not a trading post anymore.{{cite book|title=A Historical Companion to Postcolonial Literatures: Continental Europe and Its Empires|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ghah5S3usnsC&q=tranquebar+fort&pg=PA98|page=98|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|year=2008|last1=Poddar|first1=Prem|last2=Patke|first2= Rajeev Shridhar |last3=Jensen|first3=Lars|isbn=9780748623945}}{{cite book|title=Der dänische Gesamtstaat: ein unterschätztes Weltreich?|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FZQcjsSitEcC&q=fort+Dansborg&pg=PA76|pages=76–77|last=Gobel|first=Eric|isbn=9783937719016|publisher=www.verlag-ludwig.de|year=2006}}Gronseth 2007, pp. 68–69{{cite news|title=India's piece of Denmark|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2133655.stm|work=BBC News|last=Haviland |first=Charles |location=Tamil Nadu|access-date=2013-07-07}}{{cite journal|title=Danish flavour|url=http://www.frontline.in/static/html/fl2622/stories/20091106262211800.htm|journal=The Frontline|volume=26|series=22|date=6 November 2009|access-date=2013-07-07|last=P.V.|first=Srividya}}{{cite book|title=A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: From Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century|last1=Ahmed|first1=Farooqui Salma|last2=Farooqui|first2=Salma Ahmed|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sxhAtCflwOMC&q=fort+Dansborg&pg=PA361|page=361|isbn=9788131732021|publisher=Pearson Education India|year=2011}}{{cite book|title=Navies and State Formation: The Schumpeter Hypothesis Revisited and Reflected|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CDLwfJ2JYBcC&q=fort+Dansborg&pg=PA97|page=97|last=Backhaus|first=Jürgen G.|publisher=LIT Verlag Münster|year=2012|isbn=9783643902122}}

File:Tharangambadi (15).jpg

File:Dansborg Fort, Tranquebar.jpg

File:Fort Dansborg in Tharangambadi, Tamil Nadu.jpg

Fort Dansborg is located in the southern part of Tharangambadi, located {{convert|283|km|mi|abbr=on}} from the state capital Chennai. It is built in Danish style, characterized by large halls, columned structures, high ceilings and projecting drapery. The length of the fort in the side facing the sea is {{convert|60|m|ft|abbr=on}} and the width is about {{convert|11|m|ft|abbr=on}}. The fort is trapezoidal in shape with three rooms in the left wing, originally used as the governor's residence, a kitchen with an open fireplace and chimney in the top left hand corner, and a church room, now a museum, located in the centre of the building. The original rectory and the northern part of it, which are now the store rooms, are located in the right wing. The corner room on the right side was the residence of the commercial director. In modern times, it is used as a store room. The core of the building is made of brick. The main door of the fort faces north, while an additional door faces the east.{{cite book|title=Early Interactions Between South and Southeast Asia: Reflections on Cross-cultural Exchange Volume 2 of Nalanda-Sriwijaya series|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ni9AlOLTFZYC&q=tranquebar+fort&pg=PA226|page=226|last1=Manguin|first1=Pierre-Yves|last2=A.|first2=Mani|last3=Wade|first3=Geoff|publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian|year=2011|isbn=9789814345101}}Archaeological Survey of India 1903, p. 28{{cite journal|title=The Cauvery, a living museum: 16–17 September 1999, 5–6 March 2001, seminar proceedings|page=328|publisher=Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya|year=2001|last1=Britto|first1=S.John|last2=Som|first2=Sujit|last3= Indirā Gāndhī Rāshṭrīya Mānava Saṅgrahālaya|last4= St. Joseph's College (Tiruchchirāppalli, India)}} The second storey of the fort has a set of guard rooms.Archaeological Survey of India 1903, p. 42 The staircase leading to it are built with bricks.Archaeological Survey of India 1903, p. 54 The central part of the fort has four camel hump shaped domes. The central pillar of the hall holds the entire weight of the domes.

The citadel encloses a set of buildings, the notable ones being the fort built in 1620, the Masilamaninathar Temple built in the 13th century, the Zion Church built in 1701, the New Jerusalem Church built in 1718, the town gateway built in 1792, the Danish governor's bungalow built in 1784, and a series of tomb stones built during the 17th and 18th centuries. The settlement inside the citadel is modeled like a small European town with a land gate and wooden doors leading to the main street, namely, the King's Street. Some of the notable buildings in the King's Street are the gate house, Muhldorff's house, port master's bungalow and Rehling's house.{{cite web|title=Town of the singing waves|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-2429835321.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140610085925/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-2429835321.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 June 2014|location=New Delhi|date=20 August 2011|publisher=Mint|access-date=30 November 2013}} There were originally citadel walls towards the sea, which eroded with time on account of the salty nature of the environment. The fortification could not withstand an attack by regular military forces, but acted as a protection for the citizens of the settlement against predatory cavalry raids. The bastions of the fort are constructed with black stone.{{cite book|title=The Oriental herald and journal of general literature, Volume 23|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SLS68Xjjz7oC&q=tranquebar+fort&pg=PA373|last=Buckingham|first=James Silk |year=1829|publisher=J. M. Richardson|page=373}}

File:A Cell inside Fort Dansborg.JPG

The Tranquebar Association, formed in 2001, with the help of the Tamil Nadu State Archaeological Department and the Danish Royal family, restored the South end of the fort with the same kind of material like brick and black stone, used during the original construction. The renovation was completed in 2005, with contributions from local artisans, Danish volunteers, and Danish and Indian experts.{{cite news|title=Capturing the lost magic|url=http://www.hindu.com/fr/2009/04/10/stories/2009041050840100.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090414150717/http://www.hindu.com/fr/2009/04/10/stories/2009041050840100.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 April 2009|last=Chari|first=Pushpa|date=10 April 2009|work=The Hindu|access-date=2013-07-07}} In 2001, chemists from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) restored the portrait of Raja Ragunatha Naik, Tranquebar site map, pottery, portrait of Christian IV, the Danish king.{{cite web|title=Tharangambadi|url=http://www.nagapattinam.tn.nic.in/tara.html|publisher=Nagapattinam District Administration|access-date=2013-07-07}}

There was a project planned by the government of Tamil Nadu to lay stones along the shores to protect the fort and the Masilamaninathar Temple in Tharangambadi from erosion. While the project was planned much before the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, it was implemented only in 2007. Before the tsunami, there was stiff resistance from the local villages citing impact to fishery in the region. After the tsunami, the resistance from the locals receded and the project was extended to accommodate additional areas of the shore.{{cite book|last=Hatsrup|first=Frida|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fTc7BFVYpl0C&q=fort+Dansborg&pg=PA24|title=Weathering the World: Recovery in the Wake of the Tsunami in a Tamil Fishing Village|date=August 2011|publisher=Berghahn Books|isbn=9780857452009|page=24}}

The Department of Tourism Development of Tamil Nadu initiated a project named "Destination Development of Tranquebar". The project was started in 2011, with an estimated budget of {{INRConvert|3730800}} and planned a phased re-creation of the fort and the environs around it. As a part of the first phase of the project, cobble-stoned pathways were laid and ornamental cast iron street lamps were installed in the path around the fort. The cobble-stone pathways were laid for a total of {{convert|350|m|ft|abbr=on}} around the facade and for {{convert|100|m|ft|abbr=on}} on Goldsmith street. The first phase was completed at an expense of {{INRConvert|2430000}}. The second phase of the project involved the laying of cobble-stone pathways from the Tranquebar Arch to the river promenade. The second phase was completed at an expense of {{INRConvert|1300000}}. Environmental protection measures, like restraining movement of heavy vehicles around the fort to maintain the highest atmospheric ozone concentration, were also implemented.{{cite news|last=P.V.|first=Srividya|date=16 July 2011|title=Dansborg Fort set to get a facelift|work=The Hindu|location=Nagapattinam|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-editorialfeatures/dansborg-fort-set-to-get-a-facelift/article2231696.ece|access-date=7 July 2013}}{{cite journal|date=December 2011|title=Auroville Today|url=http://www.auroville.org/journals&media/avtoday/archive/2010-2011/AVToday-269-dec_2011.pdf|url-status=dead|publisher=Carel Thieme, Auroville Foundation|issue=260|pages=1–3|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055512/http://www.auroville.org/journals%26media/avtoday/archive/2010-2011/AVToday-269-dec_2011.pdf|archive-date=2013-09-21|access-date=2013-07-07}}

File:Dansborg Image 4.png

File:Dansborg Image 2.png

File:Dansborg Image 3.png

A factory was established soon after the fort was constructed and it minted coins that bore the initials TB or DB, indicating Dansborg.{{cite book|title=The Madras Presidency with Mysore, Coorg and the Associated States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O4VLY1KcltcC&q=fort+Dansborg&pg=PA169|page=169|last=Thurston|first=Edgar |author-link = Edgar Thurston|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2011|isbn=9781107600683}} The fort acted as the important gateway in the trade route from Europe to Coramandel. Protestant missionaries were sent from Denmark by King Frederick IV, who was also the head of Lutheran Church of Denmark. Two of them, namely, Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg and Heinrich Plütschau came to Tranquebar on 9 July 1706, established the Tranquebar Mission, learnt Tamil in a few years and were the first to translate and print The New Testament of the Bible in Tamil in the printing press inside the fort. The Danish mission was the first Protestant mission in India and from its inception, was staffed by German missionaries trained at Pietist schools and seminary founded by Francke at the end of 17th century.{{cite book|title=Christians and Missionaries in India: Cross-cultural Communication Since 1500|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z3CfIl2v8PYC&q=tranquebar+fort&pg=PA72|page=96|last1=Frykenberg|first1=Robert Eric|last2=Low|first2=Alaine M.|publisher=Psychology Press|year=2003|isbn=9780700716005}} A Tamil-Latin dictionary containing 9,000 words was compiled there by a medical missionary named Friedrich Koenig in 1778, whose source letters are stored in the royal archives.Danish National Archives 2012, p. 158 The fort is featured in a large number of videos, films and commercials.Gronseth 2007, p. 11 After India's independence in 1947, the fort was used as an inspection bungalow by the state government till 1978 when the State Department of Archaeology of the Government of Tamil Nadu took over the control of the fort. The fort is now used as a museum, housing a collection of major artifacts of the fort and the Danish empire. The fort is one of the most visited tourist landmarks in the region.{{cite magazine|title=Escape velocity; As the torrid summer gets underway, pack your bags for some weekend relaxation|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-25245964.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140610085932/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-25245964.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 June 2014|last=Parthib|first=Nandhini|magazine=India Today|date=21 June 2010|access-date=30 November 2013}}

{{Portal bar|Denmark|India|History}}

• {{Note|a}} Fort Dansborg, in modern times, is indicative of the fort alone, but the historical texts refer the citadel at large encompassing other buildings within the fortification.

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• {{cite book|title=Annual Report of the Archaeological Department, Southern Circle, Madras|last=Archaeological Survey of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=umc_AAAAIAAJ&q=tranquebar+fort&pg=RA2-PA88|ref=arch|year=1903|location=Madras}}
• {{cite book|title=Sources of the History of North Africa, Asia and Oceania in Denmark|last=Danish National Archives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EL77Dk9jyaQC&q=tranquebar+fort&pg=PA469|ref=archive|year=2012|isbn=9783110970364|publisher=Walter de Gruyter}}
• {{cite web|title=A Little Piece of Denmark in India|url=https://www.duo.uio.no/bitstream/handle/10852/16719/Completexxversionx6.1xxmedxinnholdsfortegnelse.pdf?sequence=1|format=PDF|publisher=Department of Social Anthropology, University of Oslo|year=2007|last=Gronseth|first=Kristian|ref=Gronseth|access-date=2013-07-07}}
• {{cite book|title=A Geographical, Statistical, and Historical Description of Hindostan, and the Adjacent Counties, Volume 2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lOI-AAAAYAAJ&q=tranquebar+fort&pg=PA458|publisher=Murray|year=1820|ref=Hamilton|last=Hamilton |first=Walter}}

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{{Danish overseas empire}}

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Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1620

Dansborg

Category:Museums in Tamil Nadu

Fort

Category:1620 establishments in India

Category:17th-century establishments in Danish India

Category:Tranquebar

Category:Buildings and structures in Danish India

Category:Buildings and structures in Mayiladuthurai district