Vijf gezichten op de kusten van de Kerguelen 1801

This undated engraving, titled ‘Vijf gezichten op de kusten van de Kerguelen’ or ‘Five views of the coasts of Kerguelen’, offers a glimpse into a world both remote and contested. The Kerguelen Islands, a desolate archipelago in the southern Indian Ocean, became a site of interest during the era of colonial exploration. With its stark depiction of rocky coastlines, this print invokes questions about the representation of land and the power dynamics inherent in claiming territory. There is a tension between the detailed rendering of the landscape and the absence of human figures, which raises questions about whose perspective is privileged in this depiction. These landscapes, while seemingly neutral, became implicated in narratives of discovery, possession, and exploitation, reflecting the broader patterns of colonial expansion and the erasure of indigenous histories. In this way, the image offers a window into the complex relationship between exploration, representation, and the assertion of sovereignty in a contested world.