NETHERLANDS — Dutch investigative journalist Leendert van der Valk has published a book asserting that between 3.3 million and 5.3 million people were victims of Dutch enslavement. This figure is higher than the widely cited estimate of 600,000, which has been used in historical accounts and apologies by Dutch leaders.

Van der Valk, author of "Forgotten places, Forgotten People – an Atlas of the Dutch History of Slavery," stated that the 600,000 figure did not account for all locations of Dutch colonization, the full period of involvement, people born into enslavement, or Indigenous people enslaved by the Dutch. His research incorporates demographic studies and calculations primarily from Radboud University.

The journalist's calculation includes countries such as South Africa, India, Sri Lanka, and parts of the Caribbean like Guyana and Tobago. Van der Valk argues the period examined should commence from 1595 instead of 1630. He also contended that the end date for Dutch enslavement should be 1914, when it concluded in parts of Indonesia, rather than July 1, 1863.

Matthias van Rossum, a colonialism professor at Radboud University and the International Institute of Social History, commented on the new figures. "The new figures … rightfully shift the question from its narrow focus on the numbers of enslaved people displaced directly through long-distance slave trade to including those enslaved who were born in slavery or enslaved in other ways in regional contexts, such as through the enslavement of Indigenous communities," Van Rossum said.

Peggy Brandon, a Surinamese-born cultural leader and a curator of the Netherlands' National Museum of Slavery, spoke about the historical perspective. "What upsets me is that we never talk about the people who lived generation after generation within that system of enslavement," Brandon said. She added, "We don't talk about the people who sometimes killed their young children because they didn't want them to grow up in enslavement."

Brandon emphasized the lack of recognition for individuals within the system. "It's going back to the fact that these were human beings. And every person has a right to be seen and to be known. We don't know their names. And we didn't count them for the longest time," she said. The Netherlands' National Museum of Slavery is currently under development.

King Willem-Alexander apologized for the Netherlands' role in the transatlantic slave trade three years prior to the book's publication. Former Prime Minister Mark Rutte also apologized for "the past actions of the Dutch state" in 2022.

Why It Matters

The revised figures presented in Leendert van der Valk's book expand the estimated scope of Dutch enslavement, broadening its geographical and temporal boundaries and including previously uncounted groups. This re-evaluation could influence ongoing historical discussions and official acknowledgments of the Netherlands' involvement in slavery, following prior apologies by the King and former Prime Minister. The inclusion of Indigenous and locally-born enslaved people, as well as an extended timeline and additional Dutch colonies, provides a more comprehensive perspective on the historical practice.