Het beëdigen van de Vrede van Munster, 1648 1782 - 1784

Simon Fokke created this engraving, “The Oath of the Peace of Münster, 1648,” sometime between his birth in 1712 and death in 1784. It commemorates the treaty signed in Münster that ended the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Dutch Republic. Consider the power dynamics embedded in this image: an assembly of men, mostly white, witnessing the sealing of a pivotal moment in European history. The Peace of Münster not only marked the formal recognition of the Dutch Republic's independence, but also reshaped the geopolitical landscape of Europe. But who is missing from this picture? Where are the voices of the colonized, the enslaved, and the marginalized? This treaty occurred during an era of burgeoning colonialism, and the wealth that fueled the Dutch Golden Age was built on the backs of exploited people and resources from overseas territories. Fokke’s engraving, while celebrating peace, invites us to reflect on the complexities of history and the stories that often remain untold. It is a reminder that every triumph has its shadows.