Hendrik Swaardecroon (1718-1725)

The highest-ranking Dutch East India Company (VOC) official in Asia was the governor-general. He presided in the Castle of Batavia (now Jakarta, Indonesia), a fort built by the Dutch. The assembly hall in the Castle of Batavia was the centre of Dutch power in Asia. The walls were hung with portraits of all of the governors-general. Most of the 18th-century examples shown here were painted in Asia, often by anony¬mous artists.