Decolonisation

The Swiss geologist and ETH lecturer Arnold Heim with the geometrician Suriadi on a research expedition through Sumatra
The Swiss geologist and ETH lecturer Arnold Heim with the geometrician Suriadi on a research expedition through Sumatra, 1928. ETH Library, Image Archive, DOI: 10.3932/ethz-a-001244727

Although Switzerland was never a colonial power, its past and present are intertwined with the colonial era in many ways. Swiss companies were active in the colonial commodities trade, and banks and insurance companies were involved in the transatlantic slave trade. Scientists from Switzerland, many of them from ETH Zurich, also used the infrastructures and asymmetrical power relations of the neighbouring colonial powers to advance their research careers and collect comparative material from all over the world.

This is reflected not least in the monuments on display at ETH Zurich and in its collections and archives. Written and photographic legacies of individual explorers as well as botanical, geological or entomological specimens from colonial contexts bear witness to Swiss participation in colonial knowledge production. The collections and archives aim to contribute to current debates on decolonisation and to develop an active attitude and role in dealing with their colonial holdings.

Ongoing projects

Contact

Michael Gasser
Head Collections and Archives
  • +41 44 632 21 82
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