Dutch King Willem-Alexander apologizes for the slave-owning past of the Netherlands

King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands officially apologized on Saturday for his country’s slave-owning past during colonial times, saying he felt “personally and intensely” affected.

“Today I am here in front of you as your king and as part of the government. Today I apologize,” Willem-Alexander declared at an event commemorating the 150th anniversary of the liberation of slaves in the Dutch colonies in Amsterdam.

Thousands of descendants of slaves from South American Suriname and the Caribbean islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao attended this traditional annual ceremony of “Keti Koti”, or “breaking the chains” in Sranan Tongo, one of the languages ​​of Suriname (formerly Dutch Guiana).

CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY

The Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, had already presented the government’s apology in December for his country’s role in practices that he described as a crime against humanity.

But they loomed over whether the monarch would take the same stand on the colonial slave trade that, according to one report, did much to amass the fortunes of the House of Orange-Nassau from which he is descended.

The king finally took that step and did so on the date demanded by organizations to commemorate the fight against slavery.

“The slave trade and slavery are recognized as crimes against humanity,” said Guillermo Alejandro, 56.

“The monarchs and rulers of the House of Orange did not take any action against” it, it added.

Repair

The attendees welcomed the king’s excuses.

“He has asked the people of Suriname for forgiveness,” said Abnema Ryssan, present at the ceremony. “Maybe now I can do something for black people,” added the 67-year-old man, dressed in a colorful tunic and traditional headdress emblazoned with the Surinamese flag.

Read Also:  Machete Attack on Farm Robbery Suspect Sparks Investigation in Paysandú

“He took responsibility, so I forgive him,” said Arnolda Vaal, 50, dressed in the traditional dress of slaves.

For Lulu Helder, a teacher and descendant of slaves who watched the king’s speech live on public television, his words are “a start”, although now “we need redress”, she told AFP.

Descendants of slaves had urged the king to take advantage of this ceremony to assert his position.

According to a report requested by the Dutch Ministry of the Interior and published in June, the colonies, where the slave economy was well established, between 1675 and 1770 contributed to the royal family the equivalent of about 545 million euros (595 million dollars).

King William III, William IV and William of Orange-Nassau, ancestors of the current monarch, are among the main beneficiaries of what the report defines as a “deliberate, structural and long-term involvement” of the Dutch crown in slavery.

The slave trade helped in particular to finance the Dutch “golden age”, a period of prosperity built on overseas trade in the 16th and 17th centuries.

600,000 AFRICANS TO THE COLONIES

The Dutch trade is believed to have brought as many as 600,000 Africans to the Dutch colonies in South America and the Caribbean.

The official abolition of slavery dates back 160 years, but the actual implementation of that measure came ten years later.

Guillermo Alejandro assumed the throne in 2013, after the abdication of his mother, Queen Beatrix.

He has been married since 2002 to the Argentine Máxima Zorreguieta, with whom he has three daughters: Princesses Catalina Amalia, Alexia and Ariane of Orange-Nassau.

Recent Articles

Related News

Leave A Reply

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here