Sisters at sea: Travel experiences of missionary sisters to the Dutch East Indies and Indonesia in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries

Abstract

This article compares three travel reports of missionary sisters to the Dutch East Indies. The oldest travelogue was written by Mère Stanislas. In 1872 she travels with the SS Conrad of the Stoomvaart Maatschappij ‘Nederland’. The second travelogue was written by Sister Leonie Wilbers. She travels in 1900 on board the SS Bromo of the Rotterdamsche Lloyd. Finally, the third travelogue dates from the years 1955–1956. Sister Jeanne Marie (‘Jo’) Oomen travels with the MS Oranje of the Stoomvaart Maatschappij ‘Nederland’. These travelogues offer a fascinating look at life on board, seen through the eyes of three mission sisters over a period of about 80 years. What do the mission sisters write about the departure, the ship's journey and life on board, the view of other cultures and the arrival at the mission post? What did they notice on board and what did they write about? Does this include a gender aspect?