KLM-bemanningen en routeschema Amsterdam-Batavia c. 1925 - 1930

This composite photograph, "KLM-bemanningen en routeschema Amsterdam-Batavia," captures the Dutch colonial gaze and the ambition of intercontinental air travel. It reflects a time of technological optimism intertwined with the complex politics of colonialism. The images showcase KLM personnel and the planned route from Amsterdam to Batavia, now Jakarta. This route wasn't just a feat of engineering; it symbolized the reach of Dutch power into the East Indies, which were rich in resources. Aviation enabled a different kind of access, one that shrank distances but maintained hierarchies. The staged photographs of uniformed men and planes evoke notions of progress and order, obscuring the labor and resources extracted from the colonies to fuel this progress. As we consider this image, we must recognize its embedded colonial perspective. It invites us to reflect on the uneven distribution of technology and progress, prompting us to contemplate whose stories are elevated and whose are marginalized in narratives of exploration and advancement.