In a historic move, Dutch King Willem-Alexander has apologised for the Netherlands’ involvement in slavery, declaring his personal and moral guilt in a speech at the annual “Keti Koti” celebration event in Amsterdam.
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This day marks the occasion of the abolition of slavery in Suriname and the Dutch Caribbean 150 years ago.
Thousands of descendants of slaves were in attendance, where the King offered his apology, stating that he felt “intensely” affected and that “Slave trading and slavery is recognised as a crime against humanity.
The monarchs and rulers of the House of Orange took no steps against it.”. The King’s distant ancestors, Willem III, Willem IV and Willem V, were significant beneficiaries of the vast sums of money which the Dutch state gained from slavery.
“Today I’m standing here in front of you as your king and as part of the government. Today I am apologising personally,” Willem-Alexander said to loud cheers from the crowd.
“I am intensely experiencing this with my heart and soul,” the monarch told those attending the event, held under a light drizzle in the capital’s Oosterpark gardens”, he said.
It was not certain whether the monarch would follow suit on behalf of the royals for a trade that researchers say brought vast riches to his ancestors in the House of Orange.
“Slave trading and slavery is recognised as a crime against humanity”.
“The monarchs and rulers of the House of Orange took no steps against it.”
“Today, I am asking for forgiveness for the crystal-clear lack of action, on this day when we are commemorating slavery in the Netherlands,” Willem-Alexander said in his speech, broadcast live on television.
Ahead of the ceremony descendants of slaves have called for the king to use the occasion to apologise.
“That is important, especially because the Afro-Dutch community considers it important,” Linda Nooitmeer, chairman of the National Institute of Dutch Slavery History and Legacy, told public broadcaster NOS.
“It is important for processing the history of slavery”, the King said.
‘Colonial Tributes’
The emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States has prompted the Netherlands to engage in a challenging debate about its colonial and slave trading past. This dark history contributed to the country’s immense wealth and left a lasting impact on its society. The Dutch royals have frequently been at the forefront of the discussions.
The current monarch has issued an apology following a comprehensive Dutch study that revealed the royal family had profited 545 million euros from the colonies between 1675 and 1770. This development echoes a growing global trend of reevaluating the legacy of colonialism and the slave trade, particularly in societies like the Netherlands, which played a significant role in the Atlantic slave trade.
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