Book
Open Access
Slavery and The Dutch State
Dutch Colonial Slavery and Its Afterlives
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Leiden University Press
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Edited by:
Rose Mary Allen
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2025
About this book
It is the paradox at the heart of the Dutch Republic: how could a state emerge from resistance to political slavery and subjugation by a foreign power, only to become a colonial empire that promoted slavery all over the world? Slavery and the Dutch State shows how the modern Dutch state and its predecessors were complicit in colonial slavery. It describes the roles of various actors, such as enslaved people, administrators and merchants in the Netherlands and the colonized societies. More than thirty authors discuss the afterlives of slavery, the systematic nature of slavery in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the worldwide scope of slavery, and the various individuals, groups and organizations that had interests in slavery and colonialism starting in the sixteenth century. With chapters covering topics such as the Dutch Reformed Church's role in slavery, how the history of slavery is taught in schools, and the involvement of the Dutch parliament and royal family in colonial slavery, Slavery and the Dutch State is one of the main publications to appear between July 1, 2023 and July 1, 2024, the year when the Netherlands collectively commemorated the legacy of slavery.
Author / Editor information
Contributor: Rose Mary Allen
Rose Mary Allen (1950) is an anthropologist and extraordinary professor of Culture, Community and History at the University of Curaçao. In April 2024, Professor Allen became the first Thinker in Residence at the Faculty of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies, Radboud University, Nijmegen.
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Contributor: Esther Captain
Esther Captain (1969) is a historian and senior researcher at the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV) in Leiden. She is a member of the committee overseeing independent research into the role of the House of Orange-Nassau in Dutch colonial history and an author/editor on this research team. She is specialized in late colonial Indonesia, the Indonesian revolution, and postcolonial Netherlands in relation to the Dutch Caribbean islands, Indonesia and Suriname.
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Contributor: Matthias van Rossum
Matthias van Rossum (1984) is a historian and senior researcher at the International Institute of Social History (IISG) in Amsterdam. He focuses on the history of slavery in Asia and its links to the Atlantic slave trade.
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Contributor: Urwin Vyent
Urwin Vyent (1958) is the director of the National Institute for the Study of Dutch Slavery and its Legacy (NiNsee). In addition to his work for NiNsee, he is part of the team planning and developing the National Slavery Museum in Amsterdam.
Topics
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Frontmatter
1 -
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Contents
5 -
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Preface
9 -
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Dutch Colonial Slavery and Its Afterlives: Introduction
11 - Section 1 Current Issues
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1. Dutch Academia and Government on Slavery and Its Afterlives
23 -
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2. A Crime Against Humanity: Local Dutch Politicians and Mayors
37 -
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3. The Topic of Slavery in Dutch Education
51 -
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4. Colonialism and Slavery in Education: The Dutch Caribbean and Indonesia
65 -
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5. The Commemoration and Afterlives of Slavery in the Netherlands
85 -
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6. A Perspective on Reparations and Transformative Justice
99 - Section 2 Slavery & Its Abolitions and Afterlives
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Abstract
114 -
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7. The Winding Path from Slavery to “Free” Labor
115 -
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8. Dutch Atlantic Chattel Slavery and Its Legacies
131 -
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9. Dutch Politics and Slavery in the Nineteenth Century
139 -
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10. Forced Relocation and Illegal Slave Trading After Abolition
151 -
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11. Slavery, Colonialism, and the Financial Sector
165 -
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12. Colonial Unfree Labor in the Nineteenth-Century Dutch East Indies
175 -
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13. Languages and Literatures of the Former Dutch Colonies
189 -
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14. “Sometimes a Moor next to Virgins”: The Colonial World Order in Dutch Art
203 - Section 3 Dutch Colonial Slavery Worldwide
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Abstract
224 -
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15. Commodity, Forced Labor, and Rebellion: On Slavery and Post-Slavery in the Dutch Caribbean Islands
225 -
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16. From Suffering and Resistance to Resilience: Slavery in Suriname
237 -
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17. Colonialism, Slavery, and the Slave Trade in Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo
251 -
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18. Slavery in Dutch North America
263 -
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19. Dutch Brazil from 1630 to 1654
273 -
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20. “I do not want to be silent”: Slavery and Colonialism in South Africa and the Southwest Indian Ocean
291 -
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21. Dutch Slavery in South Asia
303 -
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22. Slavery in Colonial Indonesia
315 - Section 4 Early Formation of Slavery and Colonialism
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Abstract
328 -
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23. State-Sanctioned Slavery: The States General from 1581 to 1796
329 -
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24. A Forgotten Page in History? The Southern Netherlands’ Early Participation in Slavery
343 -
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25. Private Interests in the Policies of Slavery and Colonial Expansion
355 -
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26. The Entanglement of Colonialism and Local Society: The Sephardim in Curaçao
369 -
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27. “Clearly Counter to the Spirit of Christianity”? The Church in the History of Dutch Slavery
379 -
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28. The Economic and Social Impact of Dutch Colonial Slavery
393 -
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29. The Princes of Orange and Their Colonial Profits
409 -
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Dutch Colonial Slavery and Its Afterlives: Findings
423 -
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Acknowledgments
445 -
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Bibliography
447 -
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Archival Sources
467 -
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Illustration Credits
471 -
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About the Authors
473 -
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Index
483
Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
April 4, 2025
eBook ISBN:
9789400604971
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
Illustrations:
56
eBook ISBN:
9789400604971
Keywords for this book
Slavery; slave trading; colonialism; Dutch-Indies; Caribbean; abolition of slavery; debates on slavery; Dutch government; Dutch state
Audience(s) for this book
For an expert adult audience, including professional development and academic research
Creative Commons
BY-NC-ND 4.0
