Switzerland’s Global Entanglements
Exhibition | accessibility.time_to
Swiss citizens and companies were heavily involved in the colonial system from the 16th century onwards. Some Swiss companies and private individuals took part in the transatlantic slave trade and earned a fortune from the trade in colonial goods and exploitation of slave labour. Swiss men and women travelled the globe as missionaries. Other Swiss, driven by poverty or a thirst for adventure, served as mercenaries in European armies sent to conquer colonial territory or crush uprisings by the indigenous population. Swiss experts also placed their knowledge at the disposal of the colonial powers. And the racial theories prevalent at the time, which were used to justify the colonial system, formed part of the curriculum at the universities of Zurich and Geneva.
The exhibition at the National Museum Zurich draws on the latest research findings and uses concrete examples, illustrated with objects, works of art, photographs and documents, to present the first-ever comprehensive overview of Switzerland's history of colonial entanglement. And by drawing parallels to contemporary issues, it also explores the question of what this colonial heritage means for present-day Switzerland.
The exhibition includes objects, images and terms, which are racist and discriminatory. They are historical testimonies to the then reigning Western notion of superiority. Captions featuring brackets offer additional information on the exhibits in question. If you have any queries, please go to info@nationalmuseum.ch
The exhibition will be on display in an adapted form at the Château de Prangins from 27 March to 11 October 2026.
Swiss society has become ever more globally connected since the 16th century. How was Switzerland involved in colonialism? Who took an active role in it and in what role? Viewed from a range of perspectives, eleven spheres of activity offer insights into Switzerland's colonial history.
Tour: 1 hour
Guided tours can be arranged outside opening hours: Mon between 9.30 am and 6 pm, Tue to Fri between 9.30 am and 7.45 pm. Sat and Sun between 10 am and 5 pm
| Registration: |
2 weeks in advance |
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Duration: |
60 minutes; special packages can be offered on request |
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Group size: |
max. 25 participants per tour |
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Languages: |
English, German, Italian, French. Other offers upon request. |
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Cost: |
CHF 180 for the guided tour + CHF 10 admission per person Children up to 16 years free. For groups of people with permit N, S, B, F (refugee) or F (foreigner), the guided tour and admission are free of charge. |
openinghours.days.long.monday Open till openinghours.days.long.friday openinghours.openfromto.long
The legacy of European colonialism continues to influence the world to this day. What does colonialism have to do with Switzerland and us as a people? What insights do the exhibits offer into the history of exploitation, racism, and resistance? In small groups, students discuss Swiss involvement, contemporary debates, and how colonialism relates to their own lives.
Interactive tour: 1.5 hours
Guided tours can be arranged outside opening hours: Mon between 9.30 am and 6 pm, Tue to Fri between 9.30 am and 7.45 pm. Sat and Sun between 10 am and 5 pm
| Registration: |
2 weeks in advance |
|
|
Duration: |
90 minutes; special packages can be offered on request |
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Group size: |
max. 25 participants per tour |
|
|
Languages: |
English, German, Italian, French. Other offers upon request. |
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|
Cost: |
CHF 270 for the guided tour + CHF 10 admission per person Children up to 16 years free. For groups of people with permit N, S, B, F (refugee) or F (foreigner), the guided tour and admission are free of charge. |
openinghours.days.long.monday Open till openinghours.days.long.friday openinghours.openfromto.long
Colonial history is defined by oppression, exploitation, and resistance. How can its story be told without further propagating a racist and discriminatory worldview? What challenges are involved in visualizing problematic content? Visitors are encouraged to view the exhibition through critical eyes and together to think about the limits of what can be shown.
Tour: 1 hour
This tour is bookable only outside of museum opening hours.
Guided tours can be arranged outside opening hours: Mon between 9.30 am and 6 pm, Tue to Fri between 9.30 am and 7.45 pm. Sat and Sun between 10 am and 5 pm
| Registration: |
2 weeks in advance |
|
|
Duration: |
60 minutes; special packages can be offered on request |
|
|
Group size: |
max. 25 participants per tour |
|
|
Languages: |
English, German, Italian, French. Other offers upon request. |
|
|
Cost: |
CHF 180 for the guided tour + CHF 10 admission per person Children up to 16 years free. For groups of people with permit N, S, B, F (refugee) or F (foreigner), the guided tour and admission are free of charge. |
openinghours.days.long.monday Open till openinghours.days.long.friday openinghours.openfromto.long
BOOKED UP!
We’re sorry to inform you that, due to the high demand, it is no longer possible for school classes to book guided tours or independent visits to the exhibition “colonial – Switzerland’s global entanglements”. Thank you for your understanding.
Swiss society has become ever more globally connected since the 16th century. How was Switzerland involved in colonialism? Who took an active role in it and in what role? Viewed from a range of perspectives, eleven spheres of activity offer insights into Switzerland's colonial history.
1 hour
Guided tours are free of charge for school classes from Switzerland.
Please note this exhibition contains images that visitors might find disturbing.
Guided tours in English can be arranged, even outside opening hours. Guided tours are free of charge for school classes from Switzerland.
| Booking: |
at least 2 weeks in advance |
|
|
Duration: |
1 hour guided tours, other services by prior arrangement |
|
|
Group size: |
max. 25 people |
|
|
Cost: |
Guided tours for school classes from Switzerland are free of charge. |
openinghours.days.long.monday Open till openinghours.days.long.friday openinghours.openfromto.long
The legacy of European colonialism continues to influence the world to this day. What does colonialism have to do with Switzerland and us as a people? What insights do the exhibits offer into the history of exploitation, racism, and resistance? In small groups, students discuss Swiss involvement, contemporary debates, and how colonialism relates to their own lives.
Interactive tour: 1.5 hours
Guided tours are free of charge for school classes from Switzerland.
Please note this exhibition contains images that visitors might find disturbing.
Guided tours in English can be arranged, even outside opening hours. Guided tours are free of charge for school classes from Switzerland.
| Booking: |
at least 2 weeks in advance |
|
|
Duration: |
1 hour guided tours, other services by prior arrangement |
|
|
Group size: |
max. 25 people |
|
|
Cost: |
Guided tours for school classes from Switzerland are free of charge. |
openinghours.days.long.monday Open till openinghours.days.long.friday openinghours.openfromto.long
Virtual tour of the exhibition with suggestions on working with students at secondary level I and above. Hosted by the exhibition's curator Marina Amstad, and Pia Regli of the museum's education service.
This virtual tour will run on Zoom. On registering, participants will receive an individual access code.
Mon 16.09.2024 | 16:30 - 18:00 h
Available to download once the exhibition opens, the pedagogical commentary for teachers will offer insight into the exhibition and suggestions on how to approach the subject in the classroom.
BOOKED UP!
We’re sorry to inform you that, due to the high demand, it is no longer possible for school classes to book independent visits to the exhibition “colonial – Switzerland’s global entanglements”.
Guided tours in English can be arranged, even outside opening hours. Guided tours are free of charge for school classes from Switzerland.
| Booking: |
at least 2 weeks in advance |
|
|
Duration: |
1 hour guided tours, other services by prior arrangement |
|
|
Group size: |
max. 25 people |
|
|
Cost: |
Guided tours for school classes from Switzerland are free of charge. |
openinghours.days.long.monday Open till openinghours.days.long.friday openinghours.openfromto.long
Switzerland has been globally connected and entangled with colonies established by the seafaring European nations in Africa, the Americas, and Asia since the 16th century. colonial—Switzerland’s Global Entanglements offers a timely overview of this highly topical matter, placing a wide range of aspects in historical context and addressing as well questions of colonial continuities.
Contributions by distinguished scholars and experts from various disciplines investigate questions such as the involvement of Swiss companies in the trade with enslaved people, Swiss mercenaries in the service of colonial powers, the colonial legacy of the country’s missionary societies, and the research and collection of artefacts by Swiss scientists in former colonies. Light is shed also on the involvement of anthropological institutes at the universities of Zurich and Geneva in scientific racism.
Conceived as an illustrated reader, this volume is both an invitation and a stimulus to explore and to engage critically with Switzerland’s history of global interdependence.
Paperback
284 pages, 49 color and 12 b/w illustrations
16 x 23 cm
664 g
ISBN 978-3-03942-211-1
The National Museum Zurich is presenting its first ever comprehensive and multi-perspectival overview of Switzerland’s colonial past. It takes the form of an exhibition based on the latest research, and draws on biographies as well as using objects, artworks, photographs and written documents for illustration.
The exhibition comprises two parts. The first part defines eleven themes, with many examples of how Swiss people, businesses and communities were involved in colonialism from the 16th century. The geographical scope covers North and South America through Africa to Asia. A number of Swiss companies and private individuals participated in the transatlantic slave trade and amassed a fortune from trading in colonial products and exploiting enslaved people. Swiss missionaries travelled the world and left Switzerland to found settlement colonies and cultivate supposedly unpopulated land. Others, driven by poverty or a thirst for adventure, served as mercenaries in European armies, undertook colonial conquests and crushed uprisings by indigenous populations. Back home, science played its part in shaping the perception of people in the colonies, in addition to the letters and reports sent from colonial lands. Scientists at the universities of Zurich and Geneva formulated race theories that gained international credence and helped legitimise the colonial system.
The second part of the exhibition addresses the legacy of colonialism and its impact on present-day Switzerland. It reveals the effects of colonialism that still persist – such as global wealth inequality and environmental issues. The main emphasis, however, is on debates of direct relevance to the Swiss people: for example, should street names or monuments to people who were involved in colonialism be altered or knocked down or is that erasing history? Visitors are invited to join the discussion and leave their thoughts at the exhibition.
Researchers from different disciplines have released publications on Switzerland’s colonial entanglements in recent years. Museums have also recognised the significance of the issue, as shown in the exhibitions on display this autumn, for example.
The exhibition at the National Museum Zurich is the first to offer featuring a multi-thematic overview of Switzerland’s history of colonial entanglement. It features numerous voices and considers the issue from the perspective of different regions, action areas and positions. Contributions from artists including Denise Bertschi, Sasha Huber, Chris Pappan, Mathias C. Pfund, Deneth Piumakshi Veda Arachchige and Dom Smaz add valuable insights. The exhibition also incorporates extracts from exchanges with the public and with various experts and actors. An international scientific advisory board oversaw the conceptualisation.
Besides a comprehensive educational programme for schools created with historian Ashkira Darman, the exhibition offers an extensive supporting programme with interactive tours, meetings, panel discussions and focus events in cooperation with ETH Zurich and the Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
The exhibition will be on display in an adapted form at the Château de Prangins from 27 March to 11 October 2026.
Numerous other exhibitions are organised on the subject of colonialism.
Gianni D'Amato, Samuel Bachmann, Tomás Bartoletti, Nicole Baur, Debjani Bhattacharyya, Martine Brunschwig Graf, Claudia Buess, Khady Camara, Sarah Csernay, Céline Eidenbenz, Rahel El-Maawi, Hans Fässler, Matthieu Gillabert, Priska Gisler, Anja Glover, Alec von Graffenried, Mischa Hedinger, Aline Helg, Stefan Hertwig, Rachel Huber, Rita Kesselring, Philipp Krauer, Mukesh Kumar, Dimitri Lab, Stefan Leins, Monique Ligtenberg, Naomi Lubrich, Rachel M’Bon, Patrick Minder, Patrick Moser, Kanyana Mutombo, Tarek Naguib, El Hadji Malick Ndiaye, Carin Oberhänsli, Andrea Rhyn, Davide Rodogno, Fabio Rossinelli, Hannan Salamat, Jovita dos Santos Pinto, Henri-Michel Yéré, Andreas Zangger, Marcel Zünd, Lukas Zürcher
Teilnehmende der Runden Tische in Zürich und Lausanne, 2022, Studierende des Departements Geschichte Universität Basel, der ZHdK Zürich, der Universität Fribourg, der Universität Bern
The Swiss National Museum would like to thank the Willy G. S. Hirzel Foundation and the Ernst Göhner Foundation for their support.
