Willem V neemt zitting als bewindhebber bij de VOC, 1768 1772

In this etching by Simon Fokke, dating to 1768, Willem V is shown taking a seat as governor of the Dutch East India Company, or VOC. The image gives us insight into the gendered and racialized power structures of the 18th century. The VOC was the most important trading company of the Netherlands. It was practically a state within a state, with the power to wage war, imprison and execute convicts, negotiate treaties, and coin money. By the time this print was made, the VOC was notorious for its ruthless exploitation and enslavement of people in the East Indies. The print depicts an all-male, all-white assembly, embodying the concentration of economic and political power at the time. This image, in its detailed depiction of a single event, obscures the violence upon which this wealth was generated. While seemingly documenting an historical event, Fokke’s etching reveals the cultural and historical contexts of inequality.