Is it common knowledge in Denmark that there was a Danish colony in India? In India, next to no one has ever heard of Danes ever being here. I suppose it's due to the fact that it was a small colony but even then it was there for almost 200 years so one would expect that it would at least be mentioned somewhere.
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Street_Soft7957
7 comments
I don’t know if it’s common knowledge, but I at least learned about it in school, when learning about colonialism and putting it in context
If you asked a random person to name a Danish colony, Trankebar likely wouldn’t be the first to come to mind, but if you mention the name they would probably recognize it. I learned about it in school and I would guess that kids today still do
It was a trading colony leased from the local lord. I have been there an then later went to Pondicherry which is an old French trading post to get a steak (one of the few places in India were eating beef is legal).
Fortunately our questionable past as a colonial power isn’t swept under the rug, so most people should know about it, as well as the former Danish West Indies.
And, well… Greenland.
Actually, we had three (well, more trade stations than colonies). In addition to Tranquebar there was Serampore, where one of India’s oldest universities was founded under the Danish rule, and the Nicobar islands.
They tend to not get as prominent a spot as the colonies that stayed under Danish rule up into the 20th century, but they do come up.
Yes, learned about it in school. I don’t remember much more than the name.
Yes, but only superficially. I bet most people can’t say anything interesting about it.