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Surrender of Tranquebar
	Part of the English Wars
	; Tranquebar, by former governor, Peter Anker
Date	12 February 1808
Location	Tranquebar, Danish India; (present-day India)11°1′45″N 79°50′58″E / 11.02917°N 79.84944°E
Result	British victory
Territorial; changes	Tranquebar occupied by the British
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Denmark-Norway
Commanders and leaders
James Watson; Thomas Caulfield	Peter Hermanson
Units involved
14th Foot Regiment; EIC's artillery; HMS Russell; HMS Monmouth	Dansborg garrison; HDMS Nancy; HDMS Charlotte; HDMS Sophia
Strength
8 merchantmen; 2 ships; 74 cannons	3 ships
Casualties and losses
None	None

The Surrender of Tranquebar (Danish: Overgivelsen af Trankebar) or the Capture of Tranquebar (Danish: Overtagelsen af Trankebar) was a surrender of the capital of Danish India, Tranquebar, in 1808 to the British East India Company as a result of the English Wars. The capital surrendered almost immediately after the arrival of a British force.

Background

In 1801, hostilities between Denmark–Norway spread to their colonial holdings, including India. On 12 May 1801, Tranquebar, the capital of Danish India, surrendered to the British under Richard Wellesley.^[1] Similar events would happen to Serampore and the Danish West Indies, however, hostilities ended after the Treaty of Amiens, where it was decided Britain was to embark from the Danish possessions in 1802.^[2]^[1]

Surrender

In early 1808, hostilities broke out again, and as a response, the British sent HMS Russell and HMS Monmouth with a detachment of the 14th Regiment of Foot and 74 cannons to Tranquebar.^[1]^[3] Upon anchoring off Tranquebar on 12 February 1808,^[1] the British recommended the Danish governor, Peter Hermanson,^[4] to surrender, which he quickly did.^[1]^[3] At 10 PM, articles of capitulation were signed, between Colonel James Watson and Captain Thomas Caulfield, on behalf of the British, and Governor Hermanson on behalf of the Danish.^[4]^[3]

Aftermath

Tranquebar and the other Danish possessions in India were occupied by Britain until 1815, however, the damage to the trade never recovered, and in 1845 Denmark sold its Indian holdings to Britain for 1.125.000 Danish Rigsdaler.^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Liisberg 2020.
^ Glover 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c Gold 2014.
^ ^a ^b Larsen 1940, p. 76.
^ "Tranquebar, 1620-1845". danmarkshistorien.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 21 June 2024.

Works cited

Glover, Gareth (30 September 2018). "10". The Two Battles of Copenhagen, 1801 and 1807: Britain and Denmark in the Napoleonic Wars. Casemate Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4738-9833-2.
Liisberg, H. C. Bering (13 January 2020). Danmarks søfart og søhandel. Bind 1 (in Danish). Lindhardt og Ringhof. ISBN 978-87-26-30660-6.
Larsen, Kay (1940). Guvernører, Residenter, Kommandanter og Chefer (PDF) (in Danish). Copenhagen: Arthur Jensens Forlag.
Gold, Joyce (2014). The Naval Chronicle. Vol. 20. Joyce Gold. p. 145.