Kaart van Afrika 1669 - 1733

Curator: This engraving, simply titled "Kaart van Afrika"—or "Map of Africa"—dates from somewhere between 1669 and 1733. It's unsigned, so we don’t know who the artist was. The detail is remarkable for its time. Editor: It feels…incomplete, somehow. Look at the coastlines, so meticulously rendered, and then the interior just… fading away into speculation. Almost as if what they didn't know, they didn't care to imagine accurately. It is not a pretty picture! Curator: Indeed. That's the shadow of colonialism, isn't it? The known world edges carefully onto the map, claiming territories. Editor: Territories represented here in pen strokes and paper; reduced to lines, latitude and longitude. One cannot read a sense of place here at all; let alone all of the cultures crushed under those claiming lines. What do you see beyond that history? Curator: The engraver had real skill! I imagine them hunched over a table, light dim, etching these minuscule details with focused precision. The little flourishes, like the compass rose and even the elephants in the top corner... I love how they use decorative elements! Editor: Decoration masking the true purpose: ownership. Control. Maps aren't neutral. This image reflects a worldview and represents an ambition—the artist just did their job and rendered what they knew about the "Dark Continent." Curator: And there's the question—what did the artist *know*? What was considered relevant to communicate through such an artifact, the result of which is that you now see what colonizing forces wished you to. I suspect the goal was far removed from something we today would even recognize as historical integrity. Editor: Agreed. This “Kaart van Afrika” isn’t simply a depiction. It is a story that whispers a biased narrative of discovery, inquisition, and land that never was for the taking. I now have even greater context of how land continues to be seized from its rightful owners. Curator: The layers keep unfurling with further thought. Well, for a "simple map," this print holds a world of meaning, no?