VOC Data Experience

The Dutch East India Company (VOC) is a crucial part of Dutch history and for a long time the Dutch took pride in this part of their history. But in recent years criticism grew louder and Dutch colonial legends came under scrutiny from those whose ancestors experienced the nation's inglorious side. Faced with a polarized debate, the Dutch are being asked to take a more impartial and inclusive look at their history.

To provide a more inclusive understanding of the VOC history, Huygens ING - a leading research institute in the field of history and culture - wanted to make a treasure of information accessible to a broad audience. The VOC kept record of all crew members, their salaries, the size of the cargo, from spices to enslaved people. This data not only provides a glimpse behind the scenes of a world-scale economic machine, it also tells the stories of people of flesh and blood. To present the data and its stories in an accessible, relevant and unforgettable way, Huygens ING teamed up with Studio Bertels. With decades of practice in creating visitor experiences at the cutting edge of content, design and innovative technologies, Studio Bertels was the perfect match to do the job.

The “VOC Data Experience” unlocks what data reveals about the acclaimed and infamous history of the VOC in six Augmented Reality data-experiences. During each experience a leading historian or inclusivity expert answers a question about the VOC, based on the data. Spectacular life-size data-visualizations bring the raw data to life and create a truly immersive and engaging visitor experience. The experiences are based on the questions: Were there women aboard of VOC ships? What was the chance for a sailor to ever return to Europe? How many sailors actually did come back? How Dutch was the VOC? Were there enslaved people aboard of the ships? In the last experience the experts nominate a underexposed person or a group of persons who -in their opinion- deserve a statue. With emerging technologies, history is unraveled in unexpected ways.