Textbook
Our Pasts I, II & III (Classes 6–8)
The simplest possible start: short, illustrated and the base of countless exam questions.
Danish India
Colonial power
Level 2
1620 – 1869
Danish trading posts, sold to Britain in 1845 and 1869.
- Capital
- Tranquebar
- Region
- Coastal
- Duration
- 249 years
- Main period
- European Maritime Powers
Approximate extent over time (solid = latest, dashed = earlier).
Constituent & related polities
📚 Recommended reading on the Danish India
Textbook
Themes in Indian History, Parts I–III (Class 12)
Source-based chapters on Harappa, Vijayanagara, the Mughal court and 1857 — essential for UPSC.
Reference
The Marathas 1600–1818
How the Maratha state rose from Shivaji's swarajya to a subcontinental power.
Reference
A History of Assam
The classic history of Assam and the Ahom kingdom.
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Contemporaries
Powers that coexisted with the Danish India for a significant part of its history. The bar shows when, within its own span.
Sultanate of the Maldives ★
Islands · c. 1153 – 1968
Overlap: 249 years
Malla Dynasty of Nepal ★
Himalaya · 1201 – 1769
Overlap: 149 years
Ahom Kingdom ★
Northeast · 1228 – 1826
Overlap: 206 years
Mewar (Sisodia) ★
West · 1326 – 1949
Overlap: 249 years
Vijayanagara Empire ★
South · 1336 – 1646
Overlap: 26 years
Kingdom of Mysore ★
South · 1399 – 1950
Overlap: 249 years
Kingdom of Kandy ★
Sri Lanka · c. 1469 – 1815
Overlap: 195 years
Portuguese Estado da Índia ★
Coastal · 1505 – 1961
Overlap: 249 years
Mughal Empire ★
North · 1526 – 1857
Overlap: 237 years
British East India Company ★
Pan-Indian · 1600 – 1858
Overlap: 238 years
Maratha Empire ★
Deccan · 1674 – 1818
Overlap: 144 years
Nawabs of Bengal ★
East · 1717 – 1765
Overlap: 48 years
Hyderabad State (Nizams) ★
Deccan · 1724 – 1948
Overlap: 145 years
Sikh Empire ★
North · 1799 – 1849
Overlap: 50 years
Kingdom of Nepal ★
Himalaya · 1816 – 2008
Overlap: 53 years
Zamorins of Calicut
South · c. 1124 – 1766
Overlap: 146 years
Kachwahas of Amber (Jaipur)
West · c. 1128 – 1949
Overlap: 249 years
Marwar (Rathore)
West · c. 1226 – 1949
Overlap: 249 years
Bijapur Sultanate (Adil Shahi)
Deccan · 1490 – 1686
Overlap: 66 years
Portuguese Cochin
Coastal · 1503 – 1663
Overlap: 43 years
Koch Kingdom (Kamata / Cooch Behar)
Northeast · 1515 – 1949
Overlap: 249 years
Golconda Sultanate (Qutb Shahi)
Deccan · 1518 – 1687
Overlap: 67 years
Madurai Nayaks
South · 1529 – 1736
Overlap: 116 years
Portuguese Bassein & Bombay
Coastal · 1534 – 1739
Overlap: 119 years
Portuguese Diu
Coastal · 1535 – 1961
Overlap: 249 years
Portuguese Daman
Coastal · 1559 – 1961
Overlap: 249 years
Gorkha Kingdom
Himalaya · 1559 – 1768
Overlap: 148 years
Portuguese Ceylon
Sri Lanka · 1597 – 1658
Overlap: 38 years
Dutch East India Company (VOC) in India
Coastal · 1605 – 1825
Overlap: 205 years
Dutch Coromandel (Pulicat)
Coastal · 1610 – 1825
Overlap: 205 years
Bhutan under the Zhabdrung (Druk Desi)
Himalaya · 1616 – 1907
Overlap: 249 years
Fort St George, Madras
Coastal · 1639 – 1858
Overlap: 219 years
Dutch Chinsurah
Coastal · 1656 – 1825
Overlap: 169 years
Dutch Ceylon
Sri Lanka · 1658 – 1796
Overlap: 138 years
Dutch Malabar (Cochin)
Coastal · 1663 – 1795
Overlap: 132 years
French India
Coastal · 1668 – 1954
Overlap: 201 years
Bombay (English East India Company)
Coastal · 1668 – 1858
Overlap: 190 years
Chandernagore
Coastal · 1673 – 1950
Overlap: 196 years
Pondichéry
Coastal · 1674 – 1954
Overlap: 195 years
Carnatic (Nawabs of Arcot)
South · 1692 – 1855
Overlap: 163 years