Overlijden van Joan Bax, genaamd van Heerentals, gouverneur van Kaap de Goede Hoop en Mauritius 1678

This is a silver commemorative medal, its maker and date unknown, honoring Joan Bax, the 17th-century governor of the Dutch Cape Colony. The ornate, engraved imagery gives us a sense of the Dutch Republic's global reach through the Dutch East India Company. On one side, Bax’s coat of arms is surrounded by swirling foliage. The other side features an inscription detailing his life and death. These medals were produced within a specific political and economic environment. The Dutch East India Company was a powerful entity, and its governors held significant authority in the colonies they administered. Objects like these played a role in shaping historical narratives of colonialism and empire by documenting significant events, celebrating individual accomplishments and reinforcing power structures. By studying the medal's design, inscriptions, and context, we can better understand the complex history of Dutch colonialism and its impact on both the colonizers and the colonized. Resources such as archival documents, company records, and genealogical databases can shed light on the medal's purpose.