Between 1771 and 1777, the Dutch colonies of Essequibo and Demerara stood at a pivotal crossroads, economically buoyed by an influx of Amsterdam capital, politically reorganised under the influence of the West India Company (WIC), and socially strained under the weight of plantation violence and contested legality. The expansion of Dutch credit marked this period, … Read more
Archive: Month: <span>June 2025</span>
AI Doesn’t Understand Truth. It Only Sounds Like It Does.
A funny thing happens when you talk to an AI. It doesn’t matter how sophisticated the system is—ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, whatever—the same uncanny feeling returns. It sounds smart. Sometimes astonishingly so. It can mimic a scientist, a seventh grader, a therapist, or a pirate. It tells jokes, follows instructions, and writes sonnets. But push it … Read more
Jacob Bogman: Maroon Hunter, Cartographer, and Colonial Patriarch
In the humid twilight of the Dutch colonial empire, where the boundaries between civilisation and wilderness blurred like watercolours in tropical rain, Jacob Bogman carved his name into history through violence, ambition, and relentless pursuit of status. His life, spanning the middle decades of the 18th century, illuminates the brutal mechanics of colonial expansion and … Read more