On Tuesday, May 19 at 10:30am on the campus of Erasmus University in Rotterdam, Erasmus University PhD Candidate Pieter Zhao will present a seminar to students from Purdue University and guests on the topic of maritime trade, with an emphasis on the amazing history of the Dutch Golden Age, when the Dutch East India Company was the dominating force in the global supply chain. Upon completion of the lecture, students will eat lunch on campus. Anyone who is able to join is additionally invited to join as we take the historic Oude Lijn as they travel via light rail to the Mauritshuis Museum in the Hague, followed by dinner at the SS Rotterdam. Lectures notes from Pieter’s seminar is below:
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During the 17th century, Delft and other Dutch cities underwent profound political and economic transformations. The city of Delft, near Rotterdam, secured a degree of autonomy through its self-governing institutions, and its ruling classes were deeply intertwined with a rising merchant elite. Business innovation played a defining role in this shift. The Dutch East India Company (VOC)—often described as the world’s first multinational corporation and the first company to issue tradable shares—soon created unprecedented economic opportunities. Access to global maritime trade routes generated wealth, encouraged investment, and expanded the influence of merchant families who were motivated by emerging capitalist economic freedoms.
Within this environment, cultural expression also reflected new global connections. Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring is often noted as one of the earliest European portraits to feature non-European fashion, especially the oriental turban, which subtly highlights the Netherlands’ growing engagement with Asia and the broader world during the Golden Age.
One of the most iconic imported products of this era became Delftware, a blue-and-white tin-glazed pottery that became synonymous with Dutch artistic identity. Delftware originated in the early 17th century as a direct response to the enormous popularity of Chinese porcelain, which Dutch traders were importing via maritime vessels in large quantities. The technological advancements of Dutch shipbuilding, navigational expertise, and maritime finance made these imports possible. Local artisans in Delft soon developed their own imitative style, eventually creating a distinct art form that remains internationally recognized today.
A striking example of the 19th-century struggle to preserve Dutch cultural heritage is found in the story of Victor de Stuers. For many years, de Stuers—an early advocate for national heritage protection—worked tirelessly to prevent rare Dutch artworks, including the few surviving paintings by Vermeer, from being sold to foreign collectors. His efforts reflected a growing awareness in the Netherlands that national cultural assets were regularly being lost due to limited local purchasing power, inadequate museum funding, and the strong international demand for Dutch Golden Age art.
Changing economic conditions eventually weakened de Stuers’s ability to intervene. By the late 19th century, increasing private wealth among European collectors, the rise of new art markets, and the relatively modest budgets of Dutch museums made it more difficult to keep masterpieces within the country. This broader economic shift is illustrated by the 1881 auction in The Hague at which Girl with a Pearl Earring appeared. Arnoldus Andries des Tombe purchased the painting for only two guilders and thirty cents—roughly €24 in today’s purchasing power—a price so low partly because Vermeer’s reputation had not yet been “rediscovered.” Des Tombe later ensured the painting remained in the Netherlands by bequeathing it to the Mauritshuis Museum in the Hague.
Today, Girl with a Pearl Earring resides in the Mauritshuis, a city that holds a central position in the governance of the Netherlands. Although Amsterdam is the capital, The Hague is the seat of the Dutch government, the residence of the royal family, and home to several major international institutions. Its influence extends across the EU through its role in diplomacy, international law, and European governance networks, and a key cog in unleashing the prosperous Dutch economy.
A key cultural institution which showcases and archives this history is the KB — National Library of the Netherlands (Koninklijke Bibliotheek) in the Hague. Founded in 1798, during a period of political and economic reorganization following the Batavian Revolution, the KB reflected Enlightenment values that emphasized public knowledge, freedom of information access, and the preservation of national heritage such as old Dutch maritime routes to far corners of the earth. Its mission was intertwined with the Netherlands’ commercial and intellectual culture, which relied on strong information networks, printing, and archival practices. Truly, the Dutch Golden Age era is fully showcased in the KB.
Today, the KB continues to shape both national and international research landscapes. Its Research Department is internationally recognized for its innovative work in:
- Digital technology and preservation, ensuring long-term access to both paper and digital materials
- Sustainable archiving practices, particularly for large and complex born-digital collections
- Artificial intelligence, including applications for metadata extraction, digitization, and search
- Big-data analysis of cultural and historical materials
- Privacy and security, essential in an era of mass digitization
- Evolving publishing models, addressing the rapid transformation of the information economy
- The role of public libraries, especially as centers of digital inclusion, education, and social participation
This research positions the KB not only as a guardian of Dutch heritage but also as a forward-looking institution shaping Europe’s digital future.
