Tharangambadi

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Tharangambadi
State
 - District(s)		 Tamil Nadu
 - Nagapattinam
Area
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
Population (2001)
 - Density		 20,841
 - 
Danish and other colonial settlements in India
Danish and other colonial settlements in India

Tharangambadi (or Tranquebar) is a panchayat town in Nagapattinam district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It was a Danish colony in India from 1620-1845. It is spelled Trankebar or Tranquebar in Danish, which came from the native Tamil, Tarangambadi, meaning "place of the singing waves".

It is located in Nagapattinam district, about 100 km south of Pondicherry, near the mouth of a distributary of Kaveri river.

Contents

[edit] History

Tranquebar, about 1600.
Tranquebar, about 1600.

It was founded by the Danish East India Company in 1620 when the main fort in Trankebar city, known as Fort Dansborg, was built by a Danish captain named Ove Gedde as the residence of the governor and other officials for about 150 years. It is now a museum hosting a collection of artefacts from the time of Danish presence in the region. A Danish factory (commercial settlement) was opened here as early as 1620.

Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg monument in Tranquebar.
Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg monument in Tranquebar.

The first Protestant missionaries to set foot in India were two Lutherans from Germany, Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg and Heinrich Pluetschau, who began work in 1705 in the Danish settlement of Tranquebar. Their first step was to translate the Bible into local Tamil language, and afterwards into Hindustani. They made little progress at first, but gradually spread to Madras, Cuddalore and Tanjore on the subcontinent.

Tranquebar was taken by the British in 1801, but restored in 1814, and finally purchased, along with the other Danish settlements in India, in 1845.

In Danish times Tranquebar was a busy port, but it lost its importance when the railway was opened to Nagapattinam. It was the first settlement of Protestant missionaries in India, founded by Ziegenbalg and Pluetschau (Lutherans) in 1706. The churches as well as the fort and the city gates are being restored for tourism. The Catholic Father Beschi, who worked from 1711 to 1740, found himself in conflict with the Lutheran pioneers of Protestant missionary enterprise at Tranquebar, against whom he wrote several controversial works.

[edit] Marine archaeology and underwater exploration

A joint project between the National Institute of Oceanography, Chennai and the Scientific Exploration Society, UK have explored the Mahabalipuram coast to the edge of the Kaveri delta. The studies have indicated the presence of a seaward sea-wall protecting the fort and a Siva temple. Evidence has also been obtained regarding the advance of the shoreline towards the ruins of the fort.

[edit] Sources, references and external links

This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913. passim

[edit] Demographics

As of 2001 India censusGRIndia, Tharangambadi had a population of 20,841. Males constitute 48% of the population and females 52%. Tharangambadi has an average literacy rate of 74%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 79%, and female literacy is 69%. In Tharangambadi, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

[edit] See also

Coordinates: 11°01′57″N, 79°51′11″E

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