High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! In various forms, Denmark has had colonial possessions beginning in the 13th century, when it obtained possessions in Estonia. In 1536, Denmark entered into a personal union with Norway, and the new entity of Denmark-Norway took possession of the Norwegian holdings of Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and Iceland. Orkney and Shetland, then held by Scotland, had originally been ruled by Norway until the 15th century, and several later attempts were made to retake them. In the 17th century, following territorial losses on the Scandinavian Peninsula, Denmark-Norway began to develop colonies, forts, and trading posts in Africa, the Caribbean, and India. After 1814, when Norway was granted to Sweden following the Napoleonic Wars, Denmark retained the colonial holdings.