Het fort Jaffnapatnam op Ceylon c. 1710

Cornelis Steiger created this watercolor of Het fort Jaffnapatnam op Ceylon. The image depicts Jaffna Fort in present-day Sri Lanka, a region with a history of colonial occupation by the Portuguese, Dutch, and British. Here we see a bird’s eye view of the fort and its grounds, a depiction that speaks to the need for defense. The work documents the built environment of a Dutch settlement, the architecture speaking to both European sensibilities and the realities of tropical life. The figures in the foreground, likely Dutch officials, cast long shadows. Though seemingly innocuous, they remind us of the uneven distribution of power during the colonial era. Historians of art and architecture can analyze images such as this for the visual evidence they provide about colonial life, using travel accounts and trade records to enrich our understanding.