The Economist Article About
Tranquebar.
An article from 2003, February 15th.
Abstract: Focuses on restoration plans of Danes and Indians for
the Tranquebar fort in Tamil Nadu, India. The Danes maintained
sizeable possessions in the Caribbean, and for more than 200 years a
trading post in south-eastern India, Tranquebar. The settlement was sold to
Britain in 1845, but over the years Tranquebar became derelict. One wing of the
fort and the town's old entrance gate have now been renovated, paid for by the
association and the Indian and Tamil Nadu governments. Supervised
by Indian government archaeologists, the original Danish construction
techniques have been replicated. Sudeep Jain, the local representative of Tamil
Nadu's government, believes tourism can boost Tranquebar's economy.
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Memories of colonialism
A Danish gem gets a polish in India
The fort that rivalled Hamlet's
Dateline: TRANQUEBAR
The Danes are Europe's forgotten colonial power. They did not
confine themselves to the chilly territories of the North Atlantic,
Greenland, Iceland and the Faroes. They also maintained sizeable possessions
in the Caribbean, and for more than 200 years a trading post in
south-eastern India, Tranquebar.
This part of the Indian seaboard, the Coromandel coast in
present-day Tamil Nadu, is dotted with forts, warehouses, cemeteries and other
relics left by the European colonial powers from the 16th century onwards. The
British Raj began in Madras. French India was based in Pondicherry. There are
also
surprising numbers of Dutch and Portuguese sites.
The Danish one is quite unexpected. Old Tranquebar has the neatly
planned King Street and Queen Street, stuccoed churches and pillared
colonial buildings. Fort Dansborg, sitting on the Bay of Bengal, was second
only in size to Elsinore, Hamlet's castle, in the Danish canon. It was
built in 1620 by a Danish admiral whose main aim was to secure pepper imports
for his kingdom. The settlement was sold to Britain in 1845, but over the
years Tranquebar became derelict. Now Danes and Indians have an
ambitious restoration plan.
Poul Petersen, an amiable, bearded headmaster from the Danish
island of Funen, has been visiting Tranquebar for 13 years. With a group of
friends, he formed the Tranquebar Association. One wing of the fort and the
town's old entrance gate have now been renovated, paid for by the
association and the Indian and Tamil Nadu governments. Supervised by Indian
government archaeologists, the original Danish construction techniques have
been replicated.
This could be a major fillip for modern Tranquebar, called
Tarangambadi in Tamil. The district in which it lies has 1.5m people. Farming
provides most jobs, but it is mainly reliant on the monsoon rains, which
frequently give the region a miss.
Sudeep Jain, the local representative of Tamil Nadu's government,
believes tourism can boost Tranquebar's economy. He visualises a future for
the place in which "people will sell handicrafts and open small
restaurants and entertainment areas". Hoteliers have been eyeing the
Governor's House, another building ripe for restoration.
MAP: INDIA
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