Dutch and Indonesian Virgins

This political cartoon by Johan Braakensiek, published in The Amsterdammer shortly after Dirk Fock’s appointment as Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies in 1920, personifies the Netherlands and Indonesia as two female figures, the Dutch and Indonesian “virgins.” The imagery reflects the unequal colonial relationship between the two nations, symbolizing moral tension and the illusion of benevolence within colonial governance. Through satire, Braakensiek critiques the paternalistic attitude of Dutch colonial rule under Fock’s leadership.