Galeischip redt schipbreukelingen 1708 - 1780

Jacob Houbraken made this print, titled "Galeischip redt schipbreukelingen", with etching around the 18th century. It depicts a ship rescuing shipwrecked people at night. This imagery speaks to the Netherlands's prominence in maritime activities during the Dutch Golden Age. The Dutch East India Company dominated global trade. Shipwrecks were a common peril, making rescue operations a celebrated virtue, almost a business. Here, the print serves a social function, reinforcing the values of bravery and humanitarianism, which were important for the Dutch identity. To truly understand this print, we need to look at the institutional history of Dutch printmaking, the role of the guilds, and the market for such images. Studying maritime history and the records of the Dutch East India Company might give us a deeper understanding of this image as a product of its time.