Empire in Disarray: The making of the Danish Atlantic world of the late seventeenth century

The project Empire in Disarray aims to decenter the history of the making of the Danish transatlantic empire in the late seventeenth century. By closely studying the experiences and actions of “marginal” or “subaltern” actors such as convicts, pirates and common sailors, the project will al- low for a new understanding of the social disarray that continually frustrated company efforts at constituting itself as a centre. It will be argued that these groups radically shaped the early years of the Danish Atlantic. From the conflicts and disarray surrounding them, it becomes obvious how em- pire-building was never a unified or continuous practice. Instead, it was the workings of many in- terlocking, but often mutually antagonistic networks. The actions of these hitherto little studied groups brought the company to the brink of destruction, but also integrated the Danish colony of St. Thomas into regional maritime circuits.