The Dutch Reckon with Their Slave Past

Abstract

The Dutch have a liberal reputation, but they have not been eager to confront their colonial past, especially slavery. Unlike in the United States, slavery took place not in the Dutch Republic itself but in faraway colonies. This has made it easier to deny forced labor’s foundational role in Dutch history. Priding themselves on their fabled tolerance, many white Dutch citizens consider racism an American phenomenon and slavery an artifact of deep history best left alone.1 But white complacency is beginning to change. Pressured by immigrant communities with ancestral ties to slavery and movements like Black Lives Matter, the Dutch are increasingly reckoning with colonialism and slavery. The city of Amsterdam sponsored research into its slave past and in July 2021, officially apologized for its role in slavery.2 Other major cities are following suit. Towns are renaming streets, and people are debating what to do about colonial monuments. King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands recently announced that until the Dutch collectively take account of their history, he will no longer ride in the recently restored “Golden Coach.” The carriage, donated to his great-grandmother in 1896 and used by the royal family for formal occasions, has become, the king acknowledged in a recent address, a source of pain. It features a panel, “Tribute to the Colonies,” that glorifies colonialism and white supremacy.