Vuursteen gordelpistool c. 1780

This is a flintlock belt pistol, likely made by the Koninklijke Geweerfabriek Culemborg, a Dutch arms manufacturer. Without a date, it is difficult to place, but we can still consider the pistol's wider social and cultural context. Consider the Dutch Republic's position as a major maritime power in the 17th and 18th centuries. This little pistol embodies that commercial empire. A compact weapon like this would have been standard equipment for merchants, privateers, and naval officers, those on the front line of the Dutch expansion. Flintlock pistols were expensive items and therefore symbols of wealth and power. Surviving business documents and company records can help us determine the economic forces behind its manufacture and the trade networks that distributed such weapons. With further research into the archives, we can better understand how this object reflects the social structures of its time.