The Danish West India Company () or Danish West IndiaGuinea Company (') was a

Dano-Norwegian Dano-Norwegian (Danish and no, dansk-norsk) was a koiné/mixed language that evolved among the urban elite in Norwegian cities during the later years of the union between the Kingdoms of Denmark and Norway (1536/1537–1814). It is from this ...

chartered company A chartered company is an association with investors or shareholders that is incorporated and granted rights (often exclusive rights) by royal charter (or similar instrument of government) for the purpose of trade, exploration, and/or coloniz ...

that operated out of the colonies in the

Danish West Indies The Danish West Indies ( da, Dansk Vestindien) or Danish Antilles or Danish Virgin Islands were a Danish colonization of the Americas, Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Saint Thomas ...

. It is estimated that 120,000

enslaved Africans The Atlantic slave trade, transatlantic slave trade, or Euro-American slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and i ...

were transported on the company's ships. Founded as the Danish Africa Company () in 1659, it was incorporated into the Danish West India Company in 1671.

History

In March 1659 the Danish Africa Company was started in

Glückstadt Glückstadt (; da, Lykstad) is a town in the Steinburg district of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is located on the right bank of the Lower Elbe at the confluence of the small Rhin river, about northwest of Altona. Glückstadt is part of the ...

by the originally Finnish

Hendrik Carloff Hendrik Carloff (died after 1677) was an adventurer active in the 17th century. Carloff began his career as a cabin boy but rose to become the Commander and Director of the Dutch West India Company. He later joined the Swedish Africa Company and ...

; two Dutchmen, Isaac Coymans and Nicolaes Pancras; and two German merchants, Vincent Klingenberg and Jacob del Boe. Their mandate included trade with the

Danish Gold Coast The Danish Gold Coast ( da, Danske Guldkyst or ''Dansk Guinea'') comprised the colonies that Denmark–Norway controlled in Africa as a part of the Gold Coast (roughly present-day southeast Ghana), which is on the Gulf of Guinea. It was coloniz ...

in present-day

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. In 1671 the Africa Company was incorporated in the Danish West India Company. The West India Company was organized on November 20, 1670, and formally chartered by King

Christian V Christian V (15 April 1646 25 August 1699) was king of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699. Well-regarded by the common people, he was the first king anointed at Frederiksborg Castle chapel as absolute monarch since the decree ...

on March 11, 1671.Westergaard, Waldemar.
The Danish West Indies under Company Rule
'. The Danes settled in St. Thomas in 1668.Dookhan, Isaac.
A History of the Virgin Islands of the United States
'. Canoe Press, 1974. . The first successful colonization of Sankt Thomas employed ships of the

Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy The history of the Danish navy began with the founding of a joint Dano-Norwegian navy on 10 August 1510, when King John appointed his vassal Henrik Krummedige to become "chief captain and head of all our captains, men and servants whom we now h ...

, the yacht and the frigate '' Færøe'' (referring to

the islands The Islands was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It first appeared on the hustings in the 1890 British Columbia general election, 1890 provincial election and lasted until it was integrated into the new ...

, but often erroneously translated as ''Pharaoh''), but the company quickly began employing ships of their own, while occasionally relying on the royal navy for escorts and protection. From August 30, 1680, it became known as the West IndiaGuinea Company. At first, the company had difficulties being profitable, but eventually it began to increase revenue by raising taxes and bringing all colonial exports into

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

directly. St. John was purchased in 1718 and

St. Croix Saint Croix; nl, Sint-Kruis; french: link=no, Sainte-Croix; Danish and no, Sankt Croix, Taino: ''Ay Ay'' ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincor ...

from the French in 1733. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the company flourished from the North Atlantic

triangular trade Triangular trade or triangle trade is trade between three ports or regions. Triangular trade usually evolves when a region has export commodities that are not required in the region from which its major imports come. It has been used to offset t ...

routes. Slaves from the Gold Coast of Africa were traded for molasses and rum in the West Indies.

Closure and revival

The company administered the colonies until 1754, when the Danish government's "Chamber of Revenues" took control. From 1760 to 1848, the governing body was known as .

Frederik Bargum Henning Frederik Bargum (1733- 1813) was a Danish merchant and slave trader. The Yellow Mansion, his former home at Amaliegade 18 in Copenhagen, is now home to the Lord Chamberlain's Office. Early life Bargum was born in Copenhagen, the son of te ...

revived the company as via Royal resolution of March 18, 1765, to maintain the trade with the Danish Gold Coast colonies. In November, they received the forts of Christiansborg and Fredensborg for 20 years. The company, however, never enjoyed a trade monopoly like the

Dutch West India Company The Dutch West India Company ( nl, Geoctrooieerde Westindische Compagnie, ''WIC'' or ''GWC''; ; en, Chartered West India Company) was a chartered company of Dutch merchants as well as foreign investors. Among its founders was Willem Usselincx ( ...

. Competition for trade remained among all Danish,

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ...

and

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...

companies. The financially troubled company was liquidated on November 22, 1776. In anticipation of this, the Dano-Norwegian government took control of the granted forts from August–September 1775. Bargum had fled the country to escape his creditors in 1774.

Company ships

* ''Charlotte Amelie'' (1680s) * ''Den Unge Tobias'' (''Young Tobias'', 1687) * ''Røde Hane'' (''Red Cock'', 1687) * ''Maria'' (1687) * ''Pelicanen'' (''The Pelican'') * ''Unity'' (1700s) * ''Caroline'' (1750). * ''William'' (1750).

Bibliography

References

{{Authority control Chartered companies Danish West Indies Defunct companies of Denmark Trading companies established in the 17th century . . Companies established in 1671 Companies disestablished in 1776 1671 establishments in Europe 1776 disestablishments in Europe 1670s establishments in Denmark 1770s disestablishments in Denmark 17th-century establishments in the Danish colonial empire 18th-century disestablishments in the Danish colonial empire 1671 establishments in North America 1776 disestablishments in North America Former Danish colonies

History

Closure and revival

Company ships

Bibliography

See also

References