In a historic development, Dutch King Willem-Alexander has offered an apology for his country’s involvement in slavery during the colonial era. The apology came on Saturday, as the Netherlands begins an official event to mark 150 years since the end of slavery in Dutch colonies.
“Today I’m standing here in front of you as your king and as part of the government. Today I am apologising myself,” Willem-Alexander said, during the start of the event, being dubbed as “Keti Koti,” meaning “breaking chains” in Sranan Togo, a Creole language spoken in Suriname. DW reported that thousands of descendants from the former Dutch colony of Suriname and the Dutch overseas territories of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao are participating in the event.
Dutch PM offered apologies last year
The apology by the Dutch king follows the apology made by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte last year for the Netherlands’ role in past atrocities. This was part of a broader reflection on colonial histories in the Western world, a debate fueled in recent years by the Black Lives Matter movement.
Watch: Gravitas: How the royals profited from slavery
Although slavery was officially abolished in Suriname and the Dutch colonies in the Caribbean on July 1, 1863, many enslaved individuals were compelled to continue working on plantations for an additional 10 years. The commemoration and the king’s speech on Saturday marked the beginning of a series of events planned to commemorate the 150th anniversary of July 1, 1873.
King’s ancestors made millions off slavery
Recent research revealed that the king’s ancestors amassed wealth worth 545 million euros (USD 595 million) from slavery, including profits from shares that were essentially gifted to them. According to a DW report, a total of 600,000 people were transported from Africa to Dutch colonies in the Americans. Also, many Javanese and Balinese people were enslaved and taken to South Africa under Dutch colonial rule.
While Prime Minister Rutte apologised last December, acknowledging the involvement of the royal house in slavery and the slave trade, no compensation was offered to the descendants of the enslaved individuals.
Instead, the government has established a 200 million euro (USD 217 million) fund aimed at initiatives addressing the legacy of slavery in the Netherlands and its former colonies, as well as improving education on the subject.
Reparations demanded
However, this has not satisfied some individuals in the Netherlands. Two groups, namely Black Manifesto and The Black Archives, organised a protest march before the king’s speech on Saturday, under the banner “No healing without reparations.”
