Danish East Indies
| Danish Colonial Empire | ||||||||||||
| Danske kolonier (Danish) | ||||||||||||
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Motto Ske Herrens vilje "The Lord's will be done" |
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Anthem Royal and National anthem Kong Christian stod ved højen mast "King Christian stood by the lofty mast" |
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 Danish colonial empire at its apex in the mid-eighteenth century.
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| Capital | Copenhagen | |||||||||||
| Languages | Official language: Danish Regional languages: Norwegian, German, Icelandic, Greenlandic, Faroese |
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| Religion | Church of Denmark | |||||||||||
| Government | Absolute monarchy by divine right | |||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||
| • | Established | 1536 | ||||||||||
| • | Disestablished | 1953 | ||||||||||
| Area | 2,655,564.76 km2 (1,025,319.29 sq mi) | |||||||||||
| Currency | Riksdaler | |||||||||||
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| Today part of |
Countries today
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The Danish colonial empire (Danish: danske kolonier) and pre Dano-Norwegian empire (Norwegian: Danmark-Norges kolonier) denotes the colonies that Denmark-Norway (Denmark alone after 1814) possessed from 1536 until 1953. At its apex the colonial empire spanned four continents (Europe, North America, Africa and Asia). The period of colonial expansion marked a rise in the status and power of Danes and Norwegians in the union. Being the hegemon of Denmark-Norway or the Statsfædrelandet (lit. State Fatherland), Denmark is where the union's monumental palaces are now located and Copenhagen, today the capital of Denmark, was the city which both Norway and Denmark came to establish as their capital. Much of the Norwegian population moved to find work in Copenhagen, attend the University, or join the Royal Fleet. At its height the empire had an area of 2,655,564.76 km2.
In the 17th century, following territorial losses on the Scandinavian Peninsula, Denmark-Norway began to develop colonies, forts, and trading posts in West Africa, the Caribbean, and the Indian subcontinent. After 1814, when Norway was ceded to Sweden following the Napoleonic Wars, Denmark retained what remained of Norway's great medieval colonial holdings. Christian IV first initiated the policy of expanding Denmark-Norway's overseas trade, as part of the mercantilist wave that was sweeping Europe. Denmark-Norway's first colony was established at Tranquebar (Trankebar) on India's southern coast in 1620. Admiral Ove Gjedde led the expedition that established the colony.
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