06/08/2016
Cont. Did you know...
African wax print fabrics tell a story about global politics, culture, and economy that's as colorful as the prints themselves. The short version of its history goes like this:
The Dutch learned about batik from the Indonesians and imitated this process, hoping to factory-produce similar fabric at a cheaper price. Like a mid-1800s version of Walmart, their success would have run the local, traditional artisans out of business, but the Indonesians turned up their noses at the Dutch copies, preventing such a fate.
Then, laden with unsold fabrics, Dutch ships found a market for their product in another portion of their trade route: the African "gold coast" (Ghana). The rest is Euro-African history.
Keeping follow for great African fabric discoveries :-)
