Fort Dansborg

Fort Dansborg
Part of Tamil Nadu
Tharangambadi, Tamil Nadu, India
Fort Dansborg at Tharangambadi
Fort Dansborg
Coordinates	11°02′N 79°50′E / 11.03°N 79.84°E / 11.03; 79.84
Type	Forts
Site information
Controlled by	State Department of Archaeology, Government of Tamil Nadu
Site history
Built	1620
Built by	Danish

Fort Dansborg, locally called Danish Fort, is a Danish fort located in the shores of Bay of Bengal in Tharangambadi in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Fort Dansborg was built in the land ceded by Thanjavur king Ragunatha Nayak in an agreement with Danish Admiral Ove Gjedde in 1620 and acted as the base for Danish settlement in the region during the early 17th century. The fort is the second largest Danish fort after Kronborg. The fort was sold to the British in 1845 and along with Tharangambadi, the fort lost its significance as the town was not an active trading post for the British. After India's independence in 1947, the fort was used as an inspection bungalow by the state government till 1978 when the Department of Archaeology, Government of Tamil Nadu took over the control of the fort. The fort is now used as a museum where the major artifacts of the fort and the Danish empire are displayed.

The fort was renovated twice in modern times, once by Tranquebar Association with the help of the Danish royal family and the State Archaeology Department in 2001 and secondly by a project named Destination Development of Tranquebar by the Department of Tourism of the Government of Tamil Nadu in 2011. The fort is one of the prominent tourist destinations in the region.

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 the capital of Denmark, Copenhagen in 1616 and a mission was sent with Admiral Ove Gjedde (1594–1660 CE). 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 ₹3111 per annum and a total of 8 km (5.0 mi) by 4 km (2.5 mi) 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.