Sloepen varen van het ene zeilschip naar het andere 1847

Jean Baptiste Henri Durand-Brager made this print, Sloepen varen van het ene zeilschip naar het andere, sometime in the 19th century. Its serene depiction of naval activity belies the complicated social and political structures propping up such scenes. Consider the ships depicted here: the technologies, resources, labor, and political will required to create these instruments of trade and warfare. These were the vessels of colonial expansion and resource extraction. Now consider the figures in the boats, moving between ships. This was an era when even the idea of ‘free’ labor rested on the exploitation of subjugated peoples. What are these figures carrying? What are they trading? And at what cost? Historical interpretation asks us to investigate the social conditions that made this image, and the scenes it depicts, possible. To understand this print, you might start with the artist’s biography, the history of naval power in 19th century Europe, and the economic structures of colonialism.