Gezicht op de forten Nassau en Oranje op het eiland Gorée nabij Dakar 1668 - 1670

This print, depicting the forts Nassau and Oranje on Gorée Island near Dakar, was made anonymously, using engraving. As a process, engraving demands precision and control. The artist would have used a burin to cut lines into a metal plate, the depth of the lines dictating the darkness of the printed image. Notice the detailed rendering of the ships and the forts, which speaks to the engraver's skill. But let's also think about what this image represents: a vista of colonial power. The forts, the ships, the very act of visually mapping this territory – all speak to the mechanics of trade and empire. Prints like these were not just aesthetic objects; they were tools of knowledge and power, and were often made rapidly, in multiples. We should reflect on this image not just as a picture, but as a material artifact complicit in a much larger story of exploitation and extraction.