De vijf schepen voor Praia, 1598 1617 - 1619

This engraving, "De vijf schepen voor Praia," was created in 1598 by an anonymous artist. It depicts five ships off the coast of Praia, now part of Cape Verde, during a period marked by expanding European maritime activity. Consider the gaze inherent in this image: the Western perspective, casting a distant eye upon a landscape and a people being drawn into global trade networks. These ships weren't merely vessels of commerce; they were agents of cultural exchange, colonial expansion, and the transatlantic slave trade. The print invites us to reflect on the complexities of globalization. While it presents a picture of exploration and discovery, it simultaneously obscures the violence and exploitation that accompanied this era. It serves as a potent reminder of the unequal power dynamics that shaped the world we inhabit today. It encourages us to consider the human costs associated with the pursuit of economic and political dominance.