India: The Trading Post of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in Hooghly, Bengal. Oil on canvas, Hendrik van Schuylenburgh, 1665

This canvas was commissioned by Pieter Sterthemius, director of the Hooghly trading post. The scene bustles with activity. Dutch East Indiamen navigate the Ganges River, the director of the trading post visits an Indian dignitary, and at the upper right an act of religious self-castigation is taking place: a man is suspended from a hook in his ribs and spun around a pole.

The Dutch East India Company (VOC) was set up in 1602 to gain a foothold in the East Indies (Indonesia) for the Dutch in the lucrative spice trade, which until that point was dominated by the Portuguese.

It was a chartered company granted a monopoly by the Dutch government to carry out colonial activities in Asia, including establishing colonies in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and India.

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Supplier: CPA Media Co. Ltd.

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Pictures From History