| Dano-Mughal War | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Danish ship,Najaden in India | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
 Christian IV #Christian V Von Kalnein Poul Nielsen #Willem Leyel #Bernt PessartClaus Rytter #Carsten Ludvigsen # |  Shah Jahan #Aurangzeb Mirza Mumin # Mohammed Ajumadi Malik Kasim Abdul Gany (POW) Merse Meliquebek | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 5 ships (1647–1648)[1] | Unknown | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 30 ships[1] | 30 ships[2] | ||||||||
TheDano-Mughal War, formally theDanish East India Company's War against the Mughal Empire, was acolonial andmaritime conflict between theMughal Empire and theDanish East India Company over trade commerce in theBay of Bengal. Lasting from 1642 to 1698, the conflict has also been referred to by historians as theDano-Bengali Thirty Years' War.[3][4]
At the start of the 17th centuryEuropean colonialism started to expand.Christian IV, an ambitious king who wanted to show offDenmark–Norway on the international stage, sought to increase Denmark-Norway'ssphere of influence and its financial andeconomic independence,[5] so he founded the firstDanish East India Company in 1616. Nevertheless, he stimulated the establishment of trading companies for Greenland,Iceland, and the West and East Indies. The company was initially weak. It had had a roughFirst expedition and wanted to expand itsMercantilism.
In 1642 the Danish East India Company declared war on theMughal Empire. This may sound unreasonable, by comparing the two nations. The Mughals were a vast Asiatic Empire, whileDenmark–Norway was a declining power. For instance, the Mughal Empire's army was perhaps fifty times larger than Denmark's entire population.[6][7]
The reason why theDanish East India Company declared war on theMughal Empire lay in the nature of EuropeanMaritime trade. Violence was used to ensure the safe transport ofgoods and was key to the success ofcommercial enterprise inmedieval Europe.[8] Another mean,mercantilism, the dominanteconomic theory in sixteenth and seventeenth-century Europe was also contributing to the competition and conflict in the area. It associated states' strength with their economic dominance. It also emphasized commercial competition. Such competition was used by various EuropeanCharter companies like theDanish East India Company.[citation needed]
In 1640, On a voyage fromMakassar toMasulipatnam, theSt. Jacob was seized and wrecked by Bengali local authorities, theDanes could not negotiate the release of the cargo.[9] Dutch records claim that theSt. Jacob's cargo was seized because of Danish debts, but the Danes viewed the seizure as a tyrannous act and in 1642 made a formaldeclaration of war.[10]
Shortly after declaring war,Denmark–Norway swiftly dispatched two ofTranquebar's finest vessels towardsBengal, where they successfully captured a ship that they later renamedDen Bengalske Prise.[11]
For the Dano-Norwegians, the war served as a means to finance their company, a vital source ofrevenue during the period from 1639 to 1668, when the company faceddissolution andresurrection, with noreinforcements arriving from Denmark to assist in Asia.[12] The Danes exhibited a clear inclination towards financial gain, with their primary focus lying on maximizing profits rather than directly attacking theMughals. They particularly targeted ships returning from Southeast Asia due to their immensely valuable cargoes.[13]
Danish seizures of Bengali ships became alarmingly frequent for the Mughals, and a letter fromWillem Leyel states " they were doing their best to cause theBengalis as much harm as possible,"[14] The repercussions of these seizures took a severe toll on the businesses and professional lives of Bengali individual merchants, instilling a deep fear that discouraged them from venturing to sea, fearful of potential capture by the Danes.[15]Resistance against the Danish sailors was scarce. According to Danish colonial historianGunnar Olsen, the Bengalis exhibited a sense of resignation, as described in his writings. "the Bengalis seem to have given up in advance on any form of resistance against theDanish ships."[16]
Although resistance was rare, it was not entirely absent. In a notable incident off the Gingeli coast in 1644, theyachtWalby intercepted two sizable Bengali ships carrying elephants, resulting in a skirmish where some of the elephants tragically perished,[13] documenting the use of violent resistance by Bengalis. The overall lack of efficacy in resisting the Danish forces can be attributed to the stark contrast innaval warfare capabilities between theEuropeans and theMughals.[17]
Recorded landconfrontations were rare, with only two notable instances.
The initial occurrence took place in the early 1640s, prior to the official declaration of war. The Danes, stationed atPipli under the leadership ofPoul Nielsen, encountered significant financial troubles. APersian merchant, who owed a substantial amount to the Danes, adamantly refused to settle hisdebts. In response, the Danes resorted toimprisoning him within his own residence. However, when this approach proved ineffective, they proceeded to seize one of his slaves and impound a portion of his goods at the Danishtrading post. TheMughals, considering this a violation of theirsovereignty, promptly dispatched a force of 300 men to seize and set ablaze the Danish trading station. All the confiscatedgoods were taken and the Danish factors were imprisoned, although Nielsen and several others managed to escape toTranquebar.[18]
The second encounter occurred during the mid-1640s, following the formaldeclaration of war. A Danish vessel, carrying a crew of six, waswrecked along theBengali coast. The surviving crew members were subsequently detained by the Bengalis, prompting the initiation of a Danishrescue operation. Led by Nielsen, a group of 16 men set out towards the Mughal governor's residence inPipli, where the captured crew was rumored to be held captive. They confronted the guards, causing the governor to hastily flee. However, their search yielded no sign of thecastaways. Nielsen then proposed investigating thetown hall, which was vigilantly guarded by soldiers who had already been informed of the ongoing mission. Despite the guards' alertness, theDanes managed to overpower several of them, forcing the others to flee. Subsequently, they gained access to the town hall, where they discovered the castaways confined in formidable iron chains. Remarkably, the Danish rescue mission achieved its objective with minimalcasualties and zero fatalities.[citation needed]
A Portuguese-writtenmanifesto wascrafted to justify the Danish stance. Bearing the date August 24, 1644, this concisedocument spans five pages and serves to outline the grievances the Danes sought to address. Commencing with the Danish loss ofJupiter, avessel carrying valuable cargo, as well as the subsequent imprisonment of its crew in1625. Additionally, it recounts the distressing incident involving theabduction of a young Danish boy, who was forcefullyconverted to Islam and disappeared without a trace. The documents blame theMughal governor for both instances. Then it explains how the Danes stopped trading in Bengal because of these "robberies, offenses andtyrannies."
It also describes several other instances of Mughal aggression like the Mughal governor's obstruction of commerce, the assault on Danish factors atPipli, and the poisoning of shipwrecked Danish servants. Some of these instances are rejected by scholars.[19][a]
The manifesto, in its essence, appears as trying to portray their enemy's lack ofmorality andshame, while simultaneously underscoring the Danish continuedwillingness tonegotiate.[citation needed]
Because of the lack ofnaval power, the Mughals sought to put an end to the war by instead negotiating and making compromises with the Danes. First in 1645, where they offered 80,000rupees in compensation for peace. Yet Danish governor, Willem Leyel, rejected the offer, hoping to instead receive 436,500rix-dollars. Leyel instead intensified the fighting.
The Mughals again tried to compromise with Denmark in 1647 or early 1648 but did not result in any significantpeace.[20]
In 1647, the Danish instructions stated that for peace to be established with the Bengalis, three conditions had to be met.[citation needed]
Having themselves failed to negotiate with the Danes, the Mughals instead tried to pressure otherEuropean colonial powers to intervene. After a Danish seizure of two large Bengali ships, the Mughals were enraged[15] Yet they could not revenge the Danes because theDanish East India Company no longer had any territory inside of the Mughal Empire.[21] ThereforeShah Shuja, Mughal Prince, made an ultimatum for theDutch East India Company to either stop Danish aggression or leaveBengal, However, after discussions, he was persuaded against pursuing the ultimatum.[22]
In 1649,local authorities attempted a similar action by refusing favorable trading terms from the VOC, if the Dutch could not assure the protection of their merchants against the Danes. The Dutch, deeming this proposition as ridiculous, rejected it.[15] VOC eventually accepted the protections of merchants withMuslim backgrounds, against Danish aggression.[23]
Theloyalty of certain Danish Company servants added complexity to thepeace negotiations.Christian IV had a strong bond with the Danish East India Company, so much so that he became the "Head and Lord of the whole Company" in 1629.[24] He had consistently declined to dissolve the Company, even though it was not profitable, due to concerns about losing his reputation inDenmark and abroad.[25] The company was eventually dissolved[b] after Christian's death[26] when informed about its dissolution, the Danish factors stationed in Asia had no choice but to continue operating the Asian settlements as they were the property of theCrown.[27]
After the dissolution of the first company andconflicts at home, relations between Denmark-Norway andTranquebar were re-established in 1669 after a successful expedition by thefrigateFærø in 1668, which resulted in the renewal of Danish interests in the region. In 1672Christian V wrote a letter to the Mughals, asking for compensation for Danish vessels during the conflict.[4] The compensation was never fulfilled, and the Danes became increasingly frustrated and even chased and blew up two greater vessels nearHughli.[10] The incidents and skirmishes continued, until eventually, the Danes felt the absence of the Bengali market and decided to resume negotiations.[citation needed]
A provisional peace was agreed upon in 1674.[1] However, this period of peace was short-lived as the Danes continued to pillage Bengali merchants for their own financial benefit. Danish hostilities were renewed against Bengal after the vesselChristianshavn was wrecked by the localfaujdar (commander responsible for administeringsub-districts) according to the Danish claims.[9] Danish harassment of both hostile but also peaceful Bengali merchants went on until the late seventeenth century. The Danes wished to regain their influence in Bengal by re-establishing their presence in the region. They yet again tried to negotiate peace with the Mughals, this time succeeding.[citation needed]
In 1698,Andreas Andræ, along withThomas Schmertz, was dispatched to Bengal by the Danish government. They arrived with ships, Indian servants, money, goods, and Danish settlers with the intention of establishing a trading presence in the region. Andræ successfully negotiated apeace agreement with the Bengali governor,Mohammed Ajumadi, wherein both parties agreed to set aside their claims over previously confiscated ships. The Danish delegates also gifted 15,000rupees and four cannons to the prince.[10] Moreover, Andræ secured a lease for a plot of land atGondalapara close to the French settlement ofChandernagore for 30,000 rupees to be paid over a period of ten years. This area eventually became known asDannemarksnagore, where the Danes established a trading post that served as the foundation for their operations in Bengal.[28]
