Tula’s date of birth is unknown. He lived in slavery on Curaçao in the 18th century. The Dutch ruled the roost on the Caribbean island.
For years Tula worked as a slave on the Kenepa plantation west of Curaçao. On August 17, 1795, he stopped doing it in protest against slave life, along with about forty other slaves.
Tula and his supporters asked the plantation owner Caspar Lodewijk Van Uytrecht for their freedom. Led by Tula, among others, the uprising grew to around two thousand people demanding their freedom.
The freedom fighters went to the governor of Willemstad, the capital of Curaçao. It was the largest revolt of enslaved people in the Caribbean part of the Dutch kingdom.
Colonial rulers put down the slave revolt with brute force. Tula managed to escape, but she was still betrayed and captured.
Tula was murdered after a mock trial
The colonial rulers tortured Tula in a mock trial. Finally, he made a coerced confession. He got the death penalty.
The authorities brutally murdered Tula. The resistance hero died on October 3, 1795 after a public execution.
Tula’s head was displayed on a stake after his execution. Next to it, according to tradition, there was a sign with the inscription: “Tula, the leader of the murderers, insurgents, looters and arsonists.”
The documents of the Tula court have been preserved. “We’ve been abused too much. We try not to hurt anyone, but we seek our freedom,” his mouth recorded.
‘Tula Day’, a film and a museum
Every year on August 17, Curaçao commemorates the resistance against slavery with Dia Di Lucha Pa Libertat, also known as Tula Day. There is now a monument in Curaçao in memory of the resistance hero.
Tula was declared a national hero in Curaçao in 2010. He was later rehabilitated on the island as well.
The Canon of the Netherlands refers to Tula. “He has become a symbol of freedom, resistance and identity,” says the Overlegorgan Caribbean Dutch Foundation (OCAN) about the resistance hero.
‘First step towards recognition of other freedom fighters’
OCAN director Lionel Martijn points out to NU.nl that Tula was not the only freedom fighter. For example, some so-called “house slaves” tried to poison their “masters”.
The movie was released in 2013 Tula: The uprising out, with Obi Abili in the title role. Other roles in the film about the life of the resistance hero were played by Jeroen Krabbé, Danny Glover, Natalie Simpson and Derek de Lint, among others.
In Curaçao, a museum is named after Tula. It is dedicated to Afro-Curaçao heritage. The museum ran into financial difficulties due to the corona pandemic and eventually had to close its doors.
