Von Geld und Gewalt. Schweizer Söldner in der niederländischen Kolonialarmee

Contrary to widespread belief, many Swiss still served in foreign armies in the late 19th century. Between 1848 and 1914, around 5,800 of them joined the Dutch colonial army to fight in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). At times, they made up up to eleven percent of the European troop contingent, thus contributing significantly to the violent expansion of the Dutch colonial empire.

Using selected examples – such as the Graubünden captain Hans Christoffel, who was already sharply criticised by contemporaries for his brutality – historian Philipp Krauer will show in his lecture the motives behind these colonial mercenaries, how they lived locally and what social, financial and cultural traces their commitment left behind in Switzerland.

Dr. Philipp Krauer is a historian and senior assistant at ETH Zurich. His research focuses on global and colonial history as well as the history of knowledge. He is currently investigating the colonial entanglements of ETH in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Caption: Drawing of a Swiss mercenary for his relatives. Life in the colonies has rarely been as harmonious as it is conveyed here. Drawing, Malang 1893, SSA, Ar 201.303.