Created by RobbyAyres
Last edited November 12, 2025


Tranquebar Treaty of 1620
Treaty between Raghunatha Nayak and Christian IV
ContextDanish East India Company tries to establish a colony in India
Signed19 November 1620
LocationTanjore
NegotiatorsTemplate:Country data Denmark-NorwayTemplate:Preview warning Roland Crappé
Template:Country data Denmark-NorwayTemplate:Preview warning Ove Gjedde
Raghunatha Nayak
SignatoriesTemplate:Country data Denmark-NorwayTemplate:Preview warning Christian IV
Raghunatha Nayak
PartiesTemplate:Country data Denmark-Norway
Thanjavur Nayak kingdom

The Tranquebar Treaty of 1620 (Script error: The function "langx" does not exist.) formally the Treaty between Raghunatha Nayak and Christian IV, was a treaty of friendship between the Thanjavur Nayak kingdom and Denmark–Norway in 1620. The treaty would establish Danish Tranquebar: a base that would be the headquarters of Danish India for the next 200 years.

Background[edit | edit source]

in 1618 Christian IV of Denmark and the newly established Danish East India Company sent an expedition under the leadership of Ove Gjedde to Ceylon, with the intention of securing the Danish Monarchy as a part of the Asiatic trade.[1] The negotiations on Ceylon proved to be unsuccessful and the expedition tried their luck on the Coromandel Coast.[1] Roland Crappé, a member of the expedition who had former ties to the Thanjavur Nayak kingdom, got an audience with the Nayak of Thanjavur Raghunatha through some of his friends.[2] The Nayak had seen a benefit in bonding with another European power in the hopes of weakening the Portuguese influence in his realm.[2] The Nayak were willing to give the local fishing village of Tharangambadi to the Danes, and after Ove Gjedde met with the Nayak a treaty was signed.[2]

Treaty[edit | edit source]

The treaty had 15 statements including:[3]

  • Danes were given the right to trade in Thanjavur
  • The Nayak were to defend the members of the Church of Denmark
  • The village of Tharangambadi is to be ceded to the Danes for two years
  • The Danes are to be given the right to erect a fort in Tharangambadi

Aftermath[edit | edit source]

Tharangambadi (meaning the village with the singing waves) was too hard for the Danes to pronounce, and the village was therefore renamed Tranquebar (Script error: The function "langx" does not exist.).[4] Tranquebar would thus be ceded to the Danes, and Gjedde would erect Fort Dansborg in its place. Tranquebar would be the headquarters of Danish trade in India for the next 225 years.[1]

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Brimnes 2018.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Svane 2020.
  3. Knudsen 2017.
  4. Jakobsen 2020.

Works cited[edit | edit source]

  • Brimnes, Niels (2018). Tranquebar, 1620-1845 (in Danish). danmarkshistorien.dk.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  • Asgar, Svane (2020). Christian IV drømte om guld og krydderier fra Indien: Sådan blev Tranquebar en dansk koloni (in Danish). videnskab.dk.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  • Karin, Knudsen (2017). Traktat (in Danish). foreningen-trankebar.dk.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  • Jakobsen, Johnny (2020). Tranquebar – Danmarks første tropekoloni og dens navne (in Danish). Københavns universitet.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)