Dutch King Willem-Alexander delivered a historic speech on Saturday, apologizing for the Netherlands’ role in slavery and seeking forgiveness.
The king’s apology follows Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s apology last year, marking a growing reckoning with colonial histories in the West, influenced by the Black Lives Matter movement.
Speaking emotionally to a crowd of invited guests and onlookers, Willem-Alexander acknowledged Prime Minister Rutte’s previous apology and expressed the weight of his own words.
He announced the commissioning of a study to determine the exact involvement of the royal House of Orange-Nassau in Dutch slavery. Furthermore, he asked for forgiveness for the failure to act against this “crime against humanity.”
The king’s voice broke with emotion as he concluded his speech and laid a wreath at the national slavery monument in Amsterdam. While some people, like 28-year-old Doelja Refos, appreciated the apology, they also expressed the need for further action, such as reparations. Refos stated, “I don’t feel like we’re done. We’re definitely not there yet.”
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Former lawmaker John Leerdam described the king’s apology as a historic moment, expressing his own emotional reaction to the speech. The commemoration and speech marked the beginning of a year-long series of events to honor the 150th anniversary of the abolition of slavery on July 1, 1873.
Research published recently revealed that the king’s ancestors earned approximately 545 million euros from slavery, including profits from gifted shares. Despite this, Prime Minister Rutte did not offer compensation to descendants of enslaved people. Instead, the government established a 200 million-euro fund to address the legacy of slavery and improve education on the issue.
However, for some in the Netherlands, this is not sufficient. Protesters organized a march prior to the king’s speech, advocating for reparations and emphasizing that apologies should be accompanied by forms of repair and reparatory justice. The marchers wore colorful traditional clothing, symbolizing freedom and celebrating the abolition of slavery.
The Netherlands’ colonial history has faced increased scrutiny following the killing of George Floyd and the global Black Lives Matter movement.
In 2021, a groundbreaking exhibition at the national museum shed light on Dutch slavery, while a report described the Dutch involvement in slavery as a crime against humanity and connected it to ongoing institutional racism in the country.
The Dutch became involved in the trans-Atlantic slave trade in the late 1500s and eventually became a major player in the mid-1600s. The Dutch West India Company became the largest trans-Atlantic slave trader, highlighting the extent of the country’s involvement in this dark chapter of history.
