The Natuurkundige Commissie in the Netherlands Indies consisted of thirty naturalists and was active for thirty years (1820–1850). This book shows how its stakeholders had different objectives that evolved over time: what started as a collection vehicle to showcase the glory of the Dutch empire and fill ‘s Rijks Museum van Natuurlijke Historie (present-day Naturalis) with specimens became a useful surveying tool for the Indies government.

A noteworthy contribution of this book is the voice it gives to the countless indigenous people who worked alongside the Commissie as knowledge brokers, hunters, preparators, and porters. This volume shows that indigenous contribution to European knowledge was both substantial and fundamental.