Fredriksnagor

Surprised? I was too when I saw this painting of our dear Bengal. Inside the Marine Museum in Krongborg Castle (earlier called Elsinore) I saw this painting by one J. Hammer. It depicts an Indian village overlooking the river Hughli. The Danes seemed to have been there around the late 18the Century.

"During the course of the 18th century Bengali goods, especially cotton fabrics, became more and more important. The Danish Asiatic Company was therefore given permission to set up a trading station called Fredriksnagor by the town of Serampore on the west bank of the Hughli river just opposite the British trading station of Calcutta."

There are few more references to Calcutta and India. The Danes had a trading base in Travancore (for its spices). Below is a model of an Indian peon in the same museum.

I knew about the French (Chandannagar), Dutch (Bandel??) and ofcourse the British but to find that even the Danes had knocked on our doors was quite a surprise. I will be curious whether Fredriksnagor or its remnant is still there in Srirampur.