In November 2022, The Netherlands Cultural Heritage Agency, the Rijksmuseum, the Koninklijke Bibliotheek (Dutch Royal Library) and the Dutch National Archives launched the new version of the online database Atlas of Mutual Heritage, www.atlasofmutualheritage.nl . This growing database of images from the world in which the VOC and WIC operated has been completely updated. For the first time, the new version includes information and images about expeditions and other illustrated voyages.
Images were always accessible in the database by place, region and country. However, what remained obscured in the old website was the material pertaining to expeditions, embassies and other voyages. The illustrated accounts of such voyages, however, are invaluable. The earliest images of Maori can be found in Abel Tasman’s travel journal. Some of the most valuable descriptions and images of the original inhabitants of Tierra del Fuego and South Patagonia can be found in the travelogues of early Dutch expeditions. The only in situ drawings of living dodos are in the voyage log of the ship Gelderland. Dutch drawings and prints provide the first images of several regions in Indonesia. All in all, the descriptions and images of these voyages are valuable shared heritage with broader relevance than just the Dutch colonial past. The recent update included this material in the database, making these materials freely available worldwide.
Tasman and Maori, New Zealand
For the project, not only were 22 expeditions, 90 waypoints and 480 images digitised, described and made accessible; the Atlas of Mutual Heritage website was also completely updated and revamped in order to make this data accessible.
Drawings Dodo from Journal “Gelderland”
