Netherlands To Officially Apologise For Role In Slavery

About 150 years after the end of slavery in its former colonies, the Netherlands on Monday said it will officially apologise for the injustice.

The Hague’s National Archives will host a speech on slavery by Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

The six Caribbean islands that are still part of the Dutch kingdom today as well as the former Dutch colony of Suriname in South America are all set to hear from the cabinet members.

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The Netherlands was once the third largest colonial power in the world and enslaved an estimated 500,000 people for over 200 years.

They were mostly abducted from West Africa, sold and forced to work on the plantations in Suriname and the Antilles.

The Dutch kingdom was one of the last countries in Europe to officially abolish slavery on July 1, 1863, but the actual end came only in 1873.

Descendants of slaves and inhabitants of the colonies especially, had at that time, campaigned for an apology for years but Prime Minister Rutte’s government refused to do so.

Meanwhile, the debate about coming to terms with the past was rekindled by the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States.

A government-appointed commission declared in July that the Netherlands had to apologise and actively work to combat the consequences, such as racism.

According to them “slavery is a crime against humanity and the state has to recognise for the historical injustice.’’