Blood On Four Flags

Made by R.M. Chapin Jr. for Time magazine in 1945, this pictorial wall map depicts the Netherlands East Indies, centred on Sumatra and Java. The map features flags associated with the powers involved in the region, alongside red “blood” dripping from the flags and from cities including Batavia, Bandung, Semarang and Surabaya. Inscriptions note the region’s population and resources, from rubber and oil to quinine and coal. Produced shortly after the end of World War II, the map reflects the contest over the archipelago following the Japanese occupation.