At which one of the following places did the Danes establish their settlement in India?
- (a)Chinsura
- (b)Karaikal
- (c)Mahe
- (d)Tranquebar
Correct — D, Tranquebar. The Danish East India Company set up its first Indian settlement at Tranquebar (Tharangambadi) on the Coromandel coast of Tamil Nadu in 1620, where it built Fort Dansborg. The Danes later held Serampore in Bengal, before selling all their Indian possessions to the British in 1845.
- (a)Chinsura — Chinsura, on the Hooghly in Bengal, was a Dutch settlement, not a Danish one.
- (b)Karaikal — Karaikal, on the Tamil Nadu coast, was a French possession (part of French India, now in the Puducherry union territory), not Danish.
- (c)Mahe — Mahe, on the Malabar coast, was also a French settlement (now in the Puducherry union territory) — not a Danish one.
Several European powers built trading enclaves in India: the Portuguese, Dutch, English, French and Danish. The Danish East India Company was a minor player whose principal base was Tranquebar (from 1620), supplemented by Serampore in Bengal. Its footprint stayed small, and Denmark eventually sold its Indian holdings to Britain in 1845.
The options are all small colonial enclaves, so the task is to match nationality to place. Karaikal and Mahe were French, Chinsura was Dutch; only Tranquebar, with its Fort Dansborg and the New Jerusalem Church, was Danish.
- The Danes founded Tranquebar (Tharangambadi) on the Coromandel coast in 1620 and built Fort Dansborg there.
- Serampore (Frederiksnagore) in Bengal was their other notable settlement.
- Denmark sold its Indian possessions to the British in 1845.
- Distinguish the enclaves by power: Chinsura (Dutch), Karaikal and Mahe (French), Tranquebar (Danish).
- Assuming any small Tamil Nadu enclave (like Karaikal) was Danish — Karaikal and Mahe were French.
- Confusing Dutch Chinsura with the Danish settlements in Bengal (Serampore).
Asked as a match-the-power-to-the-place item on European settlements in India.
“You might see a few curious Danes around, but that is because …… used to be Danish outpost. This quaint town with its fort and a beautiful church, the New Jerusalem, empty streets and deserted beach front is a quaint gem.” The place referred to in this quotation lies on the
- (a) Tamil Nadu coast
- (b) Kerala coast
- (c) Karnataka coast
- (d) Goa coast
Answer(a) Tamil Nadu coast
The same Danish outpost — UPSC's passage describes Tranquebar (its fort and the New Jerusalem Church) and asks which coast it lies on (Tamil Nadu), matching this NDA item precisely.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Fort Dansborg, built in 1620, is associated with which European power in India?
- (a)The French
- (b)The Dutch
- (c)The Danes
- (d)The Portuguese
Answer(c) The Danes — at Tranquebar.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which of the following was a French, not Danish, settlement in India?
- (a)Tranquebar
- (b)Serampore
- (c)Mahe
- (d)Fort Dansborg
Answer(c) Mahe — a French possession on the Malabar coast.