The Dutch and the culture in the Atlantic world 1670-1870

The main focus of this project is on providing access tohistorical sources relating to the establishment and developmentof multicultural societies. The Dutch have been active in thenon-European area of the Atlantic Ocean since the end of the 16thcentury; to be specific, in the Americas and on the West Coast ofAfrica. For a considerable period of time during the 17thcentury, the Atlantic world was the backdrop for battles betweendifferent European powers. The Dutch Republic also stood itsground and took part in this struggle with varying degrees ofsuccess. Territories were won and lost again in quick succession.The Peace of Breda (1667) initially ushered in a more tranquilperiod. The Dutch West India Company was as good as bankrupt atthe time as a result of the war effort; a fresh start was neededin the shape of the second West India Company (1674) whichmanaged to survive until 1791. After this, the territories cameunder the direct rule of the Dutch government.

G.W.C. Voorduin (1860-1862):'Waaigat and city rampart, Willemstad.’

From the 1670s onwards relations became more stable in theareas controlled by the Dutch, namely the Antilles(Curaçao, Aruba, Bonaire, St. Maarten, St. Eustatius andSaba), the Wild Coast (Suriname, Berbice, Essequibo and Demerara)and the Gold Coast. Here, the phenomenon of slavery played acentral role. Slavery itself was not abolished until 1863,although the former slaves in Suriname still had to carry outpaid work for a period of ten years on their former plantations.The period dating from 1670 to 1870 can be called the 'classicera' of the Dutch colonial presence in the Atlantic world. Theproject 'The Dutch and the culture in the Atlantic region'focuses on the Netherlands Antilles and the colonies on the WildCoast during this period. The fortifications on the Gold Coast(Ghana) have not been included in this project as the NationalArchives of the Netherlands has had a special project for thisarea: Michel R. Doortmont and Jinna Smit, Sources for the Mutual History of Ghana and the Netherlands, (Leiden, 2007).

P.J. Benoit (1839):‘A tailor in Suriname (accompanied by various population groups)’.

In the colonies of the Dutch West Indies, Europeans fromseveral countries and with divergent religious backgrounds cameinto contact with African slaves and indigenous (American) Indians. Amulticultural society took shape fairly quickly. Ethnic mixingbegan to occur quite spontaneously to a lesser or greater extentbetween different segments of the population. All the same,society continued to be very layered and within thisstratification there was a distinct correlation between socialstatus (class) and colour. A formal classification of status wasimposed from above upon this variegated whole: civil servants,citizens, free coloured people and black people, and slaves.

P.W.M. Trap (1856):‘Maroons at a tea-party (given by the Dutch authorities)’.

The project aims to deliver a guide to archival material for historicaland social research into the region for the benefit ofresearchers and other interested parties in the Netherlands andabroad. It is partially implemented based on cooperation betweenthe Huygens ING and the KITLV (Royal Netherlands Institute for SoutheastAsian and Caribbean Studies). The archival material is deliveredin three different ways: in the form of an English-language onlinearchive guide, a database with the the most relevant legislation and as an analytical study that is partly linked tothe guide. A digital publication of the "Plakkaatboek" on Berbice, Essequibo and Demarara is being made, in conjunction with the database on legislation. The emphasis will be on locallygenerated archivalia, particularly those of an administrative orjudicial and notarial nature. These archive materials are kept inthe Netherlands, England, as well as in the former colonies. The projectcooperates with the Repertorium of Dutch Catholic and Protestant MissionaryArchives as far as consultations with archives associatedwith religious organisations are concerned.