[5][6] For this reason, their presence was tolerated for many years until the rise of British imperial power led to the sale of all Danish holdings in India to Britain during the nineteenth century.

[9] It would take an additional two years before sufficient capital had been raised to finance the expedition, perhaps due to a lack of confidence on the part of Danish investors.

Marcelis arrived as an envoy (or at least claimed to do so) for the king of Kandy, Cenerat Adassin, seeking military assistance against the Portuguese and promising a monopoly on all trade with the island.

[16][17] The Nayak turned out to be interested in trading opportunities, and Crappe negotiated a treaty granting them the village of Tranquebar (or Tharangamabadi),[18] the right to construct a "stone house" (Fort Dansborg), and permission to levy taxes.

[20] The early years of the colony were arduous, with poor administration and investment, coupled with the loss of almost two-thirds of all the trading vessels dispatched from Denmark.

[22] Moreover, the geographical location of the colony was vulnerable to high tidal waves that repeatedly destroyed what people built – roads, houses, administrative buildings, markets, etc.

[23] Although the intention had been to create an alternative to the English and Dutch traders, the dire financial state of the company and the redirection of national resources towards the Thirty Years' War led the colony to abandon efforts to trade directly for themselves and, instead, to become neutral third-party carriers for goods in the Bay of Bengal.

[24][25][26] Despite this, by 1627 the colony was in such a poor financial state that it had just three ships left and was unable to pay the agreed-upon tribute to the Nayak, increasing local tensions.

As the number of Danes-Norwegians declined through desertions and illness, Portuguese and Portuguese-Indian natives were hired to garrison the fort until eventually, by 1655, Eskild Anderson Kongsbakke was the commander and sole remaining Dane in Tranquebar.

Torelli started a negotiation that looked promising, but failed due to the fall of the Second La Marmora government and his resulting departure from office.

The town rapidly dwindled in importance,[59] although the expansion of the British into South India led to Tranquebar becoming a hub for missionary activity for some time and a place particularly known for training native priests.

[16] Now primarily a fishing village, the legacy of the Dano-Norwegian colonial presence is entirely local but can be seen in the architecture of the small town that lies within the boundaries of the old (and long gone) city walls.

The remaining Dano-Norwegian buildings include a gateway inscribed with a Danish royal seal, a number of colonial bungalows, two churches and principally – Fort Dansborg, constructed in 1620.