Tharangambadi, India
CNN
 — 

In the lengthy historical past of colonial rule in Asia, the shadow of Denmark doesn’t loom massive.

It can be honest to say that few Indians and even fewer Danes are conscious that this northern European nation had a foothold in India from 1620 to 1845. That foothold was Tranquebar, a small buying and selling outpost far down jap India’s Coromandel Coast.

Though it’s now a nondescript city in Tamil Nadu state known as Tharangambadi, simply 120 kilometers (72 miles) south of famed French outpost Puducherry, traces of Danish rule stay tantalizingly evident.

A major instance is the Bungalow on the Beach, a fantastically restored outdated colonial constructing on the Bay of Bengal seafront that was initially used as a courthouse throughout Danish instances. Years later, when the British arrived, it was transformed into an official residence.

Today, it’s a captivating lodge.

Restoration efforts started in 2004 and it opened to friends in 2006 underneath the stewardship of the Neemrana Group, which runs a sequence of luxurious boutique resorts in India.

The lodge has solely eight rooms, every named for a member of Danish royalty, and evokes a powerful feeling of nostalgia with excessive ceilings, picket flooring and vintage furnishings.

The prime suite – the Crown Prince of Denmark – gives a nod to its historical past. Accessible by way of a spiral staircase with extensive, picket steps, the comfy room options a big four-poster mattress with mosquito netting, a planter’s lounge chair, a picket writing desk and a slim however trendy rest room.

However, the lodge’s distinctive promoting level is the spacious balcony that runs proper across the constructing, providing a stupendous view of the ocean.

At night time, the Bungalow on the Beach lights up brightly, standing like a beacon on the shore. Meals are served downstairs on the patio adjoining to the massive backyard, together with a big selection of scrumptious regional South Indian and European specialties.

The ethos of the Neemrana Group has been to find and restore outdated buildings and constructions which, within the phrases of co-founder Aman Nath, “are uniquely located, to imagine the life and laughter within and to make the dead past come to life again.”

Historical buildings close to the lodge embody the outdated Dansborg Fort (extra on that later), and simply past the lodge’s personal swimming pool and proper on the rocks is the 700-year-old Masilamani Nathar temple, in-built 1306 by a king of the Pandya dynasty.

This colourful construction, which pre-dated the Danish arrival, combines components of Chinese architectural design with conventional constructing strategies, a sign of the affect of the Chinese retailers who had been frequent guests to India on the time.

Why did the Danes name their new settlement “Tranquebar?” According to historians, they had been unable to pronounce the tongue-twister native title of Tharangambadi, which interprets to “land of the singing waves.” (The city has since returned to utilizing Tharangambadi as its official title.)

But the truth that the Danes even set foot in India within the first place was a little bit of an accident.

It all began when 23-year-old naval commander Ove Gedde set out from Lisbon in November 1618 underneath the flag of the Danish East India Company, with the blessings (and financing) of King Christian IV.

His mission was to help the Emperor of Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka), who was underneath siege by the Portuguese, and in alternate safe buying and selling rights for Denmark.

But by the point Gedde arrived in early 1620, after an eventful journey across the Cape of Good Hope, throughout which he misplaced two-thirds of his 300 troopers in battle with pirates or illness, the Portuguese had been in full management.

Disappointed that his mission had failed, Gedde and his small fleet of three schooners and two frigates drifted up the Coromandel Coast till they dropped anchor at Tharangambadi.

He rapidly struck a cope with the Indian ruler on the time, the equally younger Raghunatha Nayak of Tanjore state, to lease a parcel of land and acquire unique buying and selling rights in alternate for a tribute of Rs 3,000 ($37) per yr.

And so, in November 1620, two years after Gedde had set sail from his homeland, the Danish outpost of Tranquebar was born.

The Dane instantly set about constructing a small fort proper on the seashore, dealing with out to sea. Called Dansborg, it was meant to deal with the primary Danish inhabitants.

By Indian requirements, the still-standing fort is unimpressive. Located subsequent to the Bungalow on the Beach, it’s solely two tales excessive and fairly weather-beaten by the wind and the waves.

But it’s an important landmark of Danish rule in India and at its peak was the second most necessary Danish citadel on the earth after Kronborg, which guarded the sound that separates Denmark and Sweden.

Dansborg was constructed within the Scandinavian army fashion with stone partitions and mounted cannons, taking the kind of a giant trapezoid containing a considerable landscaped backyard.

Today, one can get pleasure from a pleasing stroll alongside its ramparts, which provide very good views of the Coromandel seascape.

The most important constructing of the fort homes a small museum the place the barracks was once. On show are fascinating paperwork, together with a duplicate of the sale deed between the Danes and the British, outdated maps of the city and a set of miniature Danish ships that docked at Tranquebar.

Though the Danes had a signed treaty with Nayak, the latter proved to be a fickle ally. Constant waves of depredations from Nakak’s forces led them to fortify Tranquebar with a wall, a moat and several other cannon towers.

Feeling safer, the Danes moved out of the Dansborg Fort and constructed a number of stately properties within the European fashion to deal with officers and civil servants.

Gradually, the part of city nearest to the fort started to imagine a European character with a grid avenue plan, Protestant church buildings and colleges.

The solely entry to the city was managed by the Land’s Gate, an unpretentious white stone construction bearing the coat of arms and insignia of the King of Denmark, which is the very first thing one sees when getting into Tharangambadi now.

The Danes additionally realized that they wanted an industrial hinterland to make their buying and selling publish viable so, once they renegotiated the treaty in 1670, they acquired extra villages and minor districts for a complete land space of 32 sq. kilometers.

The workshops on this expanded territory churned out cotton textiles for export to the European market along with the normal cargo of pepper, cardamom, cloves and different unique spices, in addition to saltpeter, espresso, sugar, teak and bamboo.

On their return to India, the Danish ships introduced silver cash and bars in addition to ballast items comparable to lead, copper and iron; initially, European client items had extraordinarily restricted attraction within the colonies.

Among the points of interest providing extra insights into this period is the Ziegenbalg Museum. Opened to the general public in 2017, it sits within the former residence of German-born Danish missionary Bartholomaus Ziegenbalg.

Ziegenbalg was despatched to Tranquebar in 1706 by Lutheran monarch Frederick IV to plant the flag of Protestantism on Indian soil.

He was a rarity in these instances, eschewing the quarters assigned to him inside the Danish commune and as an alternative immersing himself in native life and turning into fluent in Tamil, the native language.

He raised cash for church buildings and colleges, and shipped over a printing press from Denmark (which may now be seen within the Ziegenbalg Museum). He used it to print a Tamil model of the Bible – the very first Indian-language translation of the Holy Book.

Unfortunately, the passionate younger missionary’s frequent clashes with the native Danish institution took a extreme toll on his well being.

He died on the very younger age of 36 in Denmark. His stays had been introduced again to his beloved India and he lies buried in Tharangambadi’s New Jerusalem Church, which may nonetheless be visited in the present day.

In the early years, Tranquebar did effectively and the inhabitants of the territory grew to fifteen,000 folks by 1730 of which about 3,000 lived within the city, with about 10% of the latter being European.

Over the long term, nevertheless, the Danes struggled to make their new colony within the East work.

The fortunes of Tranquebar waxed and waned like the nice waves that lashed the shores of the little city.

Back dwelling, the seventeenth century was characterised by a sequence of wars between the nice powers of Europe as they scrambled to divide up the continent.

When the Danes weren’t concerned, their buying and selling firms prospered by advantage of their impartial flag underneath which they may conduct commerce unimpeded, fairly often in secret preparations signed with the combatants.  But once they had been concerned, their firms suffered as their maritime commerce was straight hit by the tensions.

Three Danish buying and selling firms had been given the correct to handle the administration, protection and operations of Tranquebar and to cowl their bills via the gathering of land taxes and overland and maritime commerce duties.

However, revenue from maritime duties was extremely unstable, main on to the chapter of the primary two firms. The Danish authorities needed to step in and take over from one of many firms in 1777.

The textile factories and warehouses shut down, the Danes started to go away because the dominant British moved in and the significance of Tranquebar continued to wither into the nineteenth century.

Finally, Denmark struck a cope with the British in 1845 to promote their former possession for Rs 1.25 million ($15,033), thus bringing to an finish this distinctive chapter in Danish-Indian historical past.

Fast ahead to the twenty first century and the revival of Danish curiosity of their cultural heritage and legacy in Asia. The Danish Tranquebar Association (DTA), based in 2002, has been a driving power in renovating and remodeling Tharangambadi’s historic landmarks.

Its president, Poul Petersen, prefers to take the Ziegenbalg strategy: “We are here as friends and not invaders – we wish to build on our common heritage with India in a peaceful and cooperative way.”

The DTA earned the belief of the locals following the horrific tsunami of 2004 as they stepped as much as rebuild properties, purchase new boats and assemble a 300-meter granite safety wall alongside the coast.

Since then, cooperation between the DTA, the Danish National Museum (DNM), INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) and the Tamil Nadu Tourism Department has resulted within the renovation of Dansborg Fort, the Land’s Gate, the outdated Danish cemetery and the Governor’s Bungalow. Meanwhile, work has began on the Danish Commander’s House.

The Governor’s Bungalow is a stately constructing with a big, central veranda and a double entrance colonnade, which was restored in 2011, however nonetheless stays underneath lock and key whereas the Commander’s House hosts the Danish-Indian Cultural Centre and presently consists of a maritime museum and a library.

View this interactive content on CNN.com

But work nonetheless must be finished to spice up the city’s tourism choices. Though the Tamil Nadu authorities designated Tranquebar a heritage city in 1992, there’s a obtrusive lack of any respectable lodge lodging in addition to the Bungalow on The Beach.

Meanwhile, fundamental vacationer infrastructure, whether or not bodily like a vacationer info heart, eating places, cafes and public restrooms or digital like a correct web site and social media presence are missing.

“If Tranquebar is to realize its potential as a historic tourist destination then a coordinated strategic plan involving all stakeholders including local residents is absolutely essential,” says Prabhakar Rao, Danish Vice-Consul for South India.

Indeed it pales compared to vibrant and full of life Puducherry, and in addition to visiting the outdated Danish buildings and museums, there may be little else to do.

Nevertheless, this Danish chapter within the wealthy and various historical past of India’s colonial rule is a quick however fascinating one, making Tharangambadi/Tranquebar effectively price a go to for any historical past buff.