Paper for the International workshop: Europe in Asia during the Age of Revolutions, c. 1757 to c. 1858: Overview, Perspectives, Challenges. Held at Centre de la Méditerranée Moderne et Contemporaine, Université de Nice Sophia Antipolis, 23-24 September 2010 A country report on the present state of the historiography concerning the Danish East In- dies in the period ca. 1757-1858 By Niklas Thode Jensen, Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow, European University Institute, Florence, Italy. As the title indicates, the purpose of this article is to give an overview of the current state of the historiography relating to what is commonly known as the Danish East Indies, particularly in the period ca. 1757-1858. Accordingly, it is not the intention to present a comprehensive historiog- raphy or bibliography of the field, though both are greatly needed as the most recent attempts are more than 25 years old. 1 Instead, what the article will present is an introduction to the general history of these colonies, an introduction to the present state of not only the Danish historiog- raphy but also the German, and answers to a set of broad questions which facilitate comparison with the activities of other European colonial powers in Asia in the period. Historical introduction Since the very existence of Danish colonies is little known outside Denmark, it seems useful to begin with a short introduction of what can be termed the ‘Danish-Norwegian Colonial System.’ First, the term ‘Danish-Norwegian’ originates in the fact that for much of the lifespan of these colonies, from 1620 to 1814 to be exact, they belonged to a conglomerate state usually termed Denmark-Norway after its two main parts. In that period, this state also included a variety of de- pendencies in what is today northern Germany and in the North Atlantic. 2 Thus, the colonies in the East Indies and elsewhere belonging to this state were rightly Danish-Norwegian. In 1814 Norway became independent following the Napoleonic Wars, while the dependencies and colo- nies remained with Denmark. Because of this, later national historiographies (Danish and non- 1 Erik Gøbel, ’Danske oversøiske handelskompagnier i 17. og 18. århundrede. En forskningsoversigt.’ In Fortid og Nutid, vol. 28, 1980. pp. 535-569. Peter Hoxcer Jensen et al. (eds.), Dansk kolonihistorie: Indføring og studier. År- hus, Forlaget Historia, 1983. 2 On the Danish-Norwegian Conglomerate State see for instance: Ole Feldbæk, ‘Clash of Cultures in a Conglomer- ate State: Danes and Germans in 18 th Century Denmark.’ In Erling Ladewig Petersen, Jens Christian Vesterskov Johansen, Henrik Stevnsborg (eds.): Clashes of Cultures. Essays in Honour of Niels Steensgaard, Odense University Press 1992. pp. 80-93. 1