In 1594, the first Dutch ships sailed to ‘the East’. Throughout the seventeenth

and eighteenth century, almost five thousand ships were sent to the Dutch East

Indies, attracting a growing number of travellers, with trade as one of the major

incentives. In addition to Dutch missionary ambitions, progress and technological

innovations not only fed the growing hunger for expansion, but also

stirred an appetite for adventure. The hope for a life in welfare is mirrored in

the growing numbers of passengers travelling ‘East’ in the nineteenth century

and the first half of the twentieth century. At the same time, Javanese travellers

started to explore their homeland as well. Travelling the Dutch East Indies not

only offers a diverse picture of travel and a critical perspective on the colonial

ideology with which it is associated, but also shows how the collections of Leiden

University Libraries can serve as a rich source for all kinds of historical

research.