Introduction to the expedition routes

What travel route did the expedition members follow and which destinations did they actually visit?

This digital exhibition offers an overview of both the expedition route as a whole and the individual journeys of its members. This reconstruction is based on archival records such as diary entries, personal letters, official reports, publications, and maps. Due to gaps and ambiguities in the material, some segments remain more fragmentary than others. Further details and reflections on the process of reconstructing the expedition routes can be found in this accompanying blog post.

Markus Mailopu's role in parts of the expedition was invaluable to its success—for example during an excursion on Buru, where he guided Deninger and Stresemann. Yet, the available records on Mailopu's movements remain too scarce to recontruct his individual route. It also remains unclear how he first came in contact with the German travelers. For technical and accessibility reasons, the visualizations are based on contemporary maps. Please note that some of place names have changed over time or may now refer to different localities. Based on historical records, these visualizations aim to trace the travel routes while not only engaging with the available information, but also drawing attention to the gaps that remain to be explored.

Before moving on to the general expedition route, find out more about the individual members:

The visualizations have been created with StoryMapJS, a tool provided by Northwestern University's Knight Lab.