Hatin' on the VOC

To those of you who are super history buffs, you might recognize this engraving. It's the sign of the the most hated bad guys in Pirates of the Caribbean II - The Dutch East India Company. They built the Castle of Good Hope here in Cape Town which funny enough never fired a shot in anger nor was it ever attacked. That being said, the VOC knew how to torture people, as I found out on a tour today. They have a room at the castle known as the "Dark Hole" that was usually used for storing stuff. We were told that the room has no air holes and as a result, if one person was locked in there, they'd run out of air in 12 hours. How come anyone knows that? Well, the VOC used to stick people in that room. Yikes. And on top that, they have a prison and a "whipping wall" at the castle as well. Good times! Glad I don't live in the mercantilistic 1700's.