In the colonial race for trade and control in India, the French and Danish arrived later than their European counterparts but still played significant roles. The French East India Company was established in 1664 and made notable political and commercial inroads before being eclipsed by the British. The Danish East India Company, started in 1616, focused more on missionary work than trade and eventually ceded its territories to the British.

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• French East India Company founded in 1664 with royal backing and monopoly on East Indian trade
• Established factories in Surat (1667), Masulipatnam (1669), Chandernagore (1673), and shifted focus to Pondicherry by 1683
• Faced Dutch aggression; Pondicherry briefly seized in 1693, returned in 1697 (Treaty of Ryswick)
• War of Spanish Succession, internal mismanagement led to financial decline
• Lost key trading posts in early 1700s; briefly revived but weakened again during Seven Years’ War
• Treaty of Paris (1763) restored French possessions but failed to reverse long-term decline
• Disbanded in 1794 after failed reforms and growing competition
• Danish East India Company founded in 1616; established Tranquebar (1620), Serampore as key posts
• Danish trade declined due to weak supply chains and British pressure during Napoleonic Wars
• Denmark sold remaining Indian territories to British in 1845