Aanleg van een rubberplantage van de Deli Maatschappij bij Soengei Tassik op Sumatra c. 1900 - 1920

This photograph shows the establishment of a rubber plantation by the Deli Company near Soengei Tassik in Sumatra. Though the photographer is anonymous, the image speaks volumes about the social and economic forces at play during its time. The black and white tones starkly capture the clearing of land, the rows of nascent rubber trees hinting at the imposition of a new order on the landscape. Made in a period of intense colonial activity in the Dutch East Indies, this image is inseparable from the history of Dutch economic expansion into Southeast Asia. The Deli Company, a major player in this expansion, established extensive plantations for tobacco, coffee, tea, and, as seen here, rubber. To understand the photograph fully, archival research into the company's history, colonial policies, and the social impact on the local populations would be invaluable. This image serves as a reminder that even seemingly straightforward photographs are enmeshed in complex social and institutional histories.