Fragmenten visbot uit het wrak van de Oost-Indiëvaarder Hollandia before 1748

Here are fragments of a fish plate recovered from the wreckage of the Dutch East Indiaman Hollandia. The Hollandia sank in 1749. Imagine the hands that once held this plate, the mouths it fed. These fragments speak to the vast colonial project that fueled the Dutch Golden Age, a project built on the backs of exploited labor and the violent extraction of resources from distant lands. The Dutch East India Company, a powerful entity, symbolizes the intersection of trade, power, and cultural exchange—or rather, imposition. Consider the lives of sailors and merchants, whose journeys were fraught with danger. The smallest, most mundane objects are infused with a sense of history. The intimate act of sharing a meal becomes a poignant reminder of connection, loss, and the human cost of empire. These fragments ask us to reflect on the legacies of colonialism that continue to shape our world today.