Historical story

More protest against slavery than expected

The Netherlands was late with the abolition of slavery. Especially compared to other countries. Maartje Janse explains that this was not due to the lack of resistance from the population. The researcher contributed to the NTR series 'De Slavernij' and provides additional background information on the subject on Kennislink.

Archive investigation uncovers evidence

In 1863 the Netherlands abolished slavery in Suriname. That is relatively late compared to England and France, where slavery ended in 1833 and 1848.

The late abolition has long been explained by pointing out that there was hardly any anti-slavery movement in the Netherlands. The nineteenth-century people here – in contrast to, for example, England and America – would not have really been interested in the issue.

However, archival research shows that in the nineteenth century there was more protest against the continued existence of slavery than previously thought. Liberals and anti-revolutionaries, men, women, youth and even children, were moved by the horrors of slavery. Some protested in a practical way by raising money to buy slaves free, others by founding anti-slavery associations and organizing signature campaigns.

England as a shining example

There was already discussion about slavery at the end of the eighteenth century. Enlightened minds such as Betje Wolff spoke out against it, but there was no question of an organized anti-slavery movement. After the revolution, the Dutch citizens had turned away from politics for a long time. Only around 1840 did that slowly start to change. The fledgling anti-slavery movement that arose at the time was one of the first citizen protests against government policy.

This also explains the cautious, almost unaccustomed approach of the first anti-slavery activists. The British example consisted of a broad collaboration of people from different political and religious backgrounds, who made a clear statement through their mass petitions with hundreds of thousands of signatures.

A comparable attempt in 1841 to forge a broad coalition of liberals and anti-revolutionaries ended in a fiasco in the Netherlands. Both groups even temporarily competed with each other:they both wanted as many signatures as possible for their own anti-slavery petition. Most of the signatures were eventually collected by a third party:the women of the ‘Rotterdam Ladies Anti-Slavery Committee’ (namely 128). Their petition was the first to be signed by only women.

During the 1840s and 1850s, several anti-slavery associations became active. The enormous archive of Jan Ackersdijck, one of the liberal initiators, turned out to contain the complete archive of one of the first active Dutch anti-slavery associations. That was probably also the association with the longest name ever:'the association for the publication of the magazine Contributions to the knowledge of the Dutch and foreign colonies, particularly relative to the release of slaves' (1843-1848).

The creation of the publishing association was a smart move, as the government had spoken out against civilian interference in the abolition issue. By jointly publishing a magazine (about 150 people linked their names to this initiative) they were stronger and the issue came to the attention of the public. They demanded transparency in colonial politics, which at the time was a matter for the king.

When the Liberals came to power in 1848 and the House of Representatives gained more say over the colonies, they considered abolishing slavery but without compensation to the owners (the treasury was empty). However, they themselves rejected this idea as contrary to the liberal principles that the citizen and his property should be protected from the state.

Uncle Tom's Negro Cabin

In 1853 the book 'Uncle Tom's Negerhut' was published, a translation of 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' by Harriet Beecher Stowe. This book became a bestseller and was widely discussed. Touched by the suffering of slaves, people wanted to protest against the continued existence of slavery more than before.

The Dutch Society for the Promotion of the Abolition of Slavery became the most important anti-slavery association. Women were not allowed to join this association; mainly because it was a political issue in which women were not allowed to interfere. Women therefore expressed their outrage about slavery in separate initiatives.

Women especially identified with the fate of slaves. In 1855, 733 Amsterdam women presented an anti-slavery petition to the king. It is remarkable that these were women with a lower socio-economic background, among them were, for example, a domestic servant and barkeeper from the Jordaan.

But women from the well-to-do middle class also spoke out against slavery. From 1855 onwards, the women of the 'Amsterdam Ladies Committee for the Promotion of the Proclamation of the Gospel and the Abolition of Slavery in Suriname' collected money to buy slaves free. They expected that the good behavior of freed slaves would cause the Dutch to lose their cold feet for the abolition of slavery.

They raised money in a way that was also common in America and England:by organizing anti-slavery craft bazaars or raffles. Each week they gathered in a craft wreath where they made luxury items that could be raffled or sold, such as embroidered slippers, pillows and even an armchair. Meanwhile, one of them was reading articles on the state of play of the abolition of slavery. Many hundreds of people, including members of the royal family and even slaves, sent items to the bazaars or bought lottery tickets. The anti-slavery cup and saucer seen in the clip were most likely made especially for this raffle.

There is even evidence that children raised money to free slave children. Young people also set up special “youth associations” against slavery. There was also a special anti-slavery student association in Utrecht. The fascinating thing is that the women and young people chose more radical means and terms to protest. They also made much more active contact with the British and American anti-slavery movement, which they regarded as an example. For example, the young people tried to bring the writer of the Negerhut to the Netherlands – which failed by the way – and they invited British anti-slavery activists for lecture tours.

Harmony between citizens and politics

The liberal and anti-revolutionary opponents of slavery were much more cautious and constantly emphasized that protests against slavery should have a Dutch character. They meant that it should have a not too radical and emotional tone. They were convinced that protest would otherwise be counterproductive in the Dutch political culture, which focused more than the British and American on a harmonious relationship between citizens and politics.

The Dutch anti-slavery movement has not become a 'popular movement' as a result of this strategy. In any case, the protest took place in the period before mass politics. The hundreds, sometimes thousands of people that were mobilized may seem few in retrospect, but before that they were large numbers and the anti-slavery movement was a pioneer in the participation of citizens in politics.

In particular, the remarkable role of women and young people in this movement has been neglected in older historiography. The relatively late abolition of slavery therefore does not seem to be due to the lack of protest. It was the result of the treasury being empty while the government wanted to compensate the slave owners by abolishing slavery. It was not until the end of the 1850s that large sums again flowed into the treasury, originating from the culture system in the Dutch East Indies. In fact, the Javanese bent over in order to be able to pay the slave owners.

Fragment about the abolition of slavery in the Netherlands from the NTR series De Slavernij, part 5 (2011). The entire series can be seen on Broadcast Missed.


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