Colonial history

Jul 01, 2023 at 2:38 PMUpdate: 11 minutes ago

King Willem-Alexander has apologized for the Dutch slavery past. The king did so on Saturday afternoon in a speech during the National Remembrance Day of Slavery in Amsterdam. “For this crime against humanity, I ask forgiveness,” the king said.

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The king said that “in the records we read the facts through the eyes of the bookkeeper. The voice of the enslaved people is blown in the wind”

In his speech Willem-Alexander explicitly mentioned the Dutch who think it is “exaggerated” to make excuses for things that are so far in the past. “However, they do in large majority support the struggle for equality of all people,” said the king. “Open your heart to the people who are not here, but who do want to work towards a society in which everyone can fully participate. Respect that there are differences in background and experience.”

The king quoted sentences from conversations he had with the Dutch over the past year. “We have to get rid of that crampedness: making mistakes is allowed,” said the king. “We need to embrace discomfort.”

His apology was met with loud applause and cheers. The king ended his speech in Papiamento. Translated, he said, “The chains are broken, brothers and sisters.” A special moment was when the guests hummed along with the music as the king laid the first wreath.

The government already apologized in December

Officially, Willem-Alexander has already apologized for the slavery past. In December, Prime Minister Rutte issued these apologies on behalf of the Dutch State. The king is also part of it.

But many people really wanted Willem-Alexander to apologize himself. This was especially true for descendants of enslaved people and residents of former Dutch colonies. They see the king as the symbol of the Dutch State.

On Saturday, the apologies also came from the mouth of the king. He spoke the words at the National Monument to the History of Slavery in Amsterdam’s Oosterpark.

Every year on July 1, the national commemoration of the slavery past of the Netherlands and former Dutch colonies takes place at the National Slavery History Monument. This year on July 1, it is exactly 150 years ago that slavery was abolished in practice in Suriname.

That historical Surinamese event is known as Ketikoti. In the former Netherlands Antilles, the end of slavery is called Dia di Abolishon.

Afran Groenewoud is a reporter on society and inclusion

Afran writes about inequality in society and colonial history. Read more stories from Afran here.

Koning found excuses from his mouth rather double

In conversation with NU.nl, Willem-Alexander said in February that excuses would not come from his mouth. Because those apologies had already been offered on behalf of the Dutch State. On the podcast Through the eyes of the king the king reiterated this point of view.

On King’s Day, Willem-Alexander said that he first wanted to await an ongoing independent investigation into the role of the House of Orange-Nassau in colonial history. Last year, the king himself ordered that investigation, which would take three years.

During Rutte’s speech in December, cabinet members were present in eight former colonies where our country practiced slavery. Some descendants of enslaved people believe that even Willem-Alexander visiting these “crime scenes” should apologize.

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Cabinet gives money for awareness of slavery past

The cabinet concluded earlier after research that racism and discrimination in the present are partly the result of the slavery past. Therefore, it promises to ensure that society becomes aware of this connection.

To this end, the government is making money available for (history) education, research, art and social debate. There will also be a National Slavery Museum in Amsterdam, to which the cabinet will contribute 29 million euros. This should supplement the until recently one-sided stories about the slavery past from the colonial rulers with the perspective of the enslaved.

The Netherlands has promoted prejudices and untruths about people of color for centuries. It did it to justify slavery.

2023-07-01 12:38:16


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