Danish India

State · 1659–1852 CE · at its largest around 1757 CE

Denmark's small trading colonies in India, centred on Tranquebar (Tharangambadi) on the Coromandel Coast and Serampore in Bengal, which were eventually sold to Britain.

On its lands while it lasted

Kingdom of Dahomey (c. 1600–1904 CE): Fon kingdom centred on Abomey in present-day Benin, known for its female soldiers and its role in the Atlantic slave trade; conquered by France in 1894.
Oyo Empire (c. 1600–1836 CE): Yoruba state that rose to dominate much of present-day western Nigeria and Benin from the 17th century using cavalry, before collapsing in the 1830s.
Aurangzeb (1618 CE – 1707 CE): Sixth Mughal emperor under whom the empire reached its greatest extent; his long Deccan wars strained its resources.
Shivaji (1630 CE – 1680 CE): Founder of the Maratha state who fought the Bijapur Sultanate and the Mughals and was crowned Chhatrapati at Raigad in 1674.
Pondicherry (c. 1673 CE): Capital of French India (1673–1847).
Maratha Empire (1674–1818 CE): Maratha state founded by Shivaji's coronation in 1674, which became the dominant power in India in the 18th century before defeat by the British.
Raigad Fort (c. 1677 CE): Capital of Maratha Empire (1677–1818).
Calcutta (Kolkata) (1690 CE): English East India Company trading post established in 1690 that became the capital of British India until 1911.
Tipu Sultan (1751 CE – 1799 CE): Ruler of Mysore who fought the East India Company in several wars and pioneered the military use of iron-cased rockets.
Ram Mohan Roy (1772 CE – 1833 CE): Bengali reformer who founded the Brahmo Samaj and campaigned against sati.
Colombo (c. 1796 CE): Capital of British Ceylon (1796–1814), Sri Lanka (1972–today).
Sokoto Caliphate (1804–1903 CE): Islamic state founded after Usman dan Fodio's jihad against the Hausa kingdoms, one of the largest states in 19th-century Africa until British conquest in 1903.
First cholera pandemic (1817–1824 CE): The first cholera pandemic began in the Ganges delta of Bengal and spread across Asia to the Middle East and East Africa.
Abuja (1828 CE): Capital of Federal Republic of Nigeria (1991–today).
Menelik II (1844 CE – 1913 CE): Emperor of Ethiopia from 1889 who expanded the empire, founded Addis Ababa and defeated Italy at Adwa in 1896.