Bibliography of Danish Colonial History: 17th-20th centuries

Written by Marco Ramerini. English text revision by Dietrich Köster.

DANISH EMPIRE

GENERAL:

– Various Authors “Vore gamle tropekolonier” 2 volumes, Hassing Publishers Ltd. 1954, A work in Danish, devoted to the East and West Indies as well as the Guinea coast possessions of Denmark.

– Feldbaek, O. “The Danish Trading Companies of the Seventeenth and the Eighteenth Centuries” Scandinavian Economic History Review, Vol. XXXIV, No. 3, pp. 204-218 1986.

– Feldbaek, O. “The Organization and Structure of the Danish East India, West Indies and Guinea Companies in the 17th and 18th Centuries” In: Blussé, L. and Gaastra, F. “Companies and Trade” pp. 135-158 Martinus Nijhoff , Leiden 1981.

– de Lannoy, C. & van der Linden, H. “Histoire de l’expansion coloniale des peuples européens. Néerlande et Danemark (XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles)” VI, 487p., with folding maps, 1911, Bruxelles

AFRICA:

-Decorse, Chr. R. “The Danes on the Gold Coast: culture change and the European presence” In: “African Arch. Rev.” n° 11, 1993, pp. 149-173

– Kea, R. A. “Some Danish accounts of the 1815-16 Ashanti military expedition on the Gold Coast” In: “Ghana Studies Council Newsletter: Notes and Queries” n°10, spring/summer 1997

– Larsen, Kay “De Danske in Guinea” 147 pp. 1918, København, Denmark.

– Nørregård, G. “Danish settlements in West Africa 1658-1850” 287 pp. 9 illustrations, Boston University Press. 1966, Boston, USA. The only specific book that deals with this subject. The Gold Coast, the Danish-Swedish rivalry, the Glückstadt Company, Fort Frederiksberg, the Fetu, Accra and Fort Christiansborg, the West Indies and Guinea Company, Nikolaj Jansen Arf, Ado and Aquando, Dutch intrigues and the rise of Akim, the slave trade, the Eastern districts and Fort Fredensborg, the rise of Ashanti, the Crown takes over, Bargum’s trading society, at war with the Dutch, the Baltic-Guinea trading company and the Forts Kongensten and Prinsesten, life at the forts, plantations and the abolition of the slave trade, the Ashanti war, quarrels with the British, the sale.

– Olsen, P. E. & Reindorf, J. & Simensen, J. “Scandinavians in Africa: guide to materials relating to Ghana in the Danish national archives ” 140 pp. Universitetsforlaget 1980 Oslo

AMERICA:

– Gutierrez de Arce, Manuel “La colonización danesa en las Islas Vírgenes” viii + 161 págs. Escuela de Estudios Hispano-Americanos, 1945, Sevilla, Espana.

– Lawaetz, F. “Seven flags: the history of St. Croix” Internet article.

– Lewisohn, Florence “St. Croix Under Seven Flags” 432 pp. map, Dukane Press, 1970, Hollywood, FL, USA.

– Westergaard, W. “Danish West Indies under company rule 1671-1754” The Macmillan Company, 1917, New York, USA. The establishment of the company, the critical period, the Brandenburgers at St. Thomas, the leasing of Guinea and St. Thomas, the governorship of John Lorentz, St. Thomas and St. John as plantation colonies 1688-1733, the slave trade in the Danish West Indies, the slave and the planters, the planter and the company, the acquisition of St. Croix, the company under the new charter.

ASIA:

– Barner Jensen, Uno “Danish East India trade coins and the coins of Tranquebar 1620-1845” 48 pp. Uno Barner Jensen 1997 Brovst, Denmark. A complete study on the Danish coins of Tranquebar.

– Brijraj Singh “The First Protestant Missionary to India Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg (1683-1719)” 195 pp. 1999, Contents: 1. Introduction. 2. Ziegenbalg’s life. 3. Tranquebar. 4. Ziegenbalg and language. 5. Ziegenbalg, educator. 6. Ziegenbalg and Hinduism. 7. Ziegenbalg in inter-faith dialogue. 8. The missionary enterprise and colonialism; or, was Ziegenbalg a colonialist? Appendix: 1. Partial checklist of Ziegenbalg’s works: prepared from secondary sources. 2. Tamil: texts mentioned in the genealogy of the South-Indian Gods. Works cited. Index. By focusing upon aspects of the life and work of Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg, the first protestant missionary to India, this book offers an insight into a little-known corner of South India’s cultural history. The author reflects on the nature of south Indian society when Ziegenbalg arrived there and the way and extent to which his work changed it.

– Feldbaek, O. “India trade under the Danish flag 1772-1808” 359 pp. Monograph Series n° 2 Scandinavian Institute of Asian Studies 1969

– Feldbaek, O. “The Danish Asia trade, 1620-1807: value and volume” In: “An Expanding World” Vol. n° 10; Prakash, Om “European commercial expansion in early modern Asia” pp. 293-317 Also in: “The Scandinavian Economic History review” Vol. 39, n° 1 Odense, 1991, pp. 3-27

– Fenger “History of Tranquebar Mission” 1863, London, UK. – Glamman, K. “The Danish East India Company” In: “Actes du 8ème Colloque Intern. d’Histoire Maritime” 1966, Beirut, Lebanon.

– Gray, J. C. F. “Tranquebar: A Guide to the Coins of Danish India, Circa 1620 to 1845” 83 pp. Quarterman Publications Incorporated, 1974

– Rasmussen, Peter Ravn “Tranquebar: the Danish East India Company 1616-1669” Internet article Peter Ravn Rasmussen, 1996, Denmark.

– Subrahmanyam, S. “The Coromandel Trade of the Danish East India Company, 1618-1649” Scandinavian Economic History Review, Vol. XXXVII, No. 1, 1989. pp. 41-56

About Marco Ramerini

I am passionate about history, especially the history of geographical explorations and colonialism.