| Conflict: | Tranquebar Rebellion |
| Place: | Tranquebar, Danish India (present-day Tharangambadi, India) |
| Coordinates: | 11.0292°N 79.8494°W |
| Date: | 15 May 1648 |
| Result: | Mutineer victory |
| Commander1: | Willem Leyel Claus Rytter Herman Clausen |
| Commander2: | Poul Hansen Frantz Erkmand Anders Nielsen |
| Combatant1: | Leyel loyalist |
| Combatant2: | Mutineers |
| Units1: | Christianshavn |
| Units2: | Dansborg garrison |
| Strength1: | Minor |
| Strength2: | Majority of Danish officials |
| Casualties1: | None |
| Casualties2: | None |
| Width: | 315px |
| Partof: | the Shipless Times |
| Territory: | Willem Leyel is replaced by Poul Hansen as governor of Tranquebar |
The Tranquebar Rebellion also known as the Tranquebar Mutiny was a bloodless mutiny and uprising against the governor of Tranquebar, Willem Leyel, at Tranquebar in 1648. The mutineers succeeded in arresting Leyel, and he would be replaced by the leader of the rebellion, Paul Hansen Korsør.
In 1639, experienced seafarer, Willem Leyel, was sent to Tranquebar on the order of Christian IV of Denmark to inspect the Danish East India Company's troublesome financial conditions, which had been caused by the current governor, Bernt Pessart. When Leyel arrived at Tranquebar, he would assume the title of overhoved after a brief siege on Fort Dansborg and began administering the Company's finances.Despite his seemingly positive regime, the inhabitants of Tranquebar were dissatisfied. However, there seems to be no clear explanation for this. The rebellion may have started as a result of the dissatisfaction with a peace treaty Leyel had signed with the Mughals. The treaty effetively ended the Danish privateers lucrative activities,[1] perhaps the mutineers wanted the freedom to commit open piracy. It is possible that Leyel's attempt to force the acting governor of Tranquebar, Anders Nielsen, to go on a voyage to Makassar finally sparked the revolt.
At any rate, soon after Leyel returned from a voyage, the rebels arrested him in the name of the King. The rebels were all men who had depended on Leyel, and it must be distressing for him to see his most trusted men go against him.
The conspirators searched his home and gathered all incriminating evidence in a small chest, in which they made they covering document that said:The document goes further to assert places and merchants to whom Leyel owed money, and despite Leyel defending his actions, the mutineers would not listen. The arrest must have been a terrible personal blow to Leyel, who had spent the last five years trying to make Denmark a commercial power in Asia. However, Leyel could not protest, and he would be sent home to Copenhagen on a Dutch ship.
When arriving at Copenhagen, Leyel saw it necessary to clear his name and reputation. A case against Leyel was quickly abandoned for lack of evidence, and the new King Frederick III listened to Leyel's account of the conditions at Tranquebar.
In Tranquebar, Poul Hansen Korsør took command and resumed the lucrative privateering.