Amsterdam Black Heritage Tour

The Black Heritage Tour in Amsterdam

This week I took a Black Heritage Tour in Amsterdam led by Jennifer Tosch.  This tour experience was well researched and uniquely presented with a combination of a walking presentation, a canal boat ride, a museum visit, and a theatrical presentation.  The theatrical presentation is not a regular part of the weekly tour, but I found it to add depth and creative thought to the tour as a whole. 

We began with a simple premise: Black history DOES NOT begin with slavery.  This is an important premise all over the world.  People who have historically been enslaved were significant to this world PRIOR to the time when Europeans saw them as commodities.  We toured a section of Amsterdam where Blacks lived.  We began outside of the home of legendary artist Rembrandt, and were shown an example of Rembrandt's work in which he painted his black neighbors. 

The connection between the Dutch and the slave trade was largely highlighted during this tour.  While this is not something that is highlighted within Dutch education or well known amongst Dutch people, The Dutch held a monopoly controlling the slave trade for over 100 years until the 18th century.  The Netherlands is not commonly thought of for its participation in slavery.  After all, you will not find huge tobacco farm or plantations where the enslaved labored and lived in this country as you will in Southern American states.  Slavery was outlawed in The Netherlands much earlier than within the US, although this was not strictly enforced. We were shown examples of artwork and portraits from the 17th century in Amsterdam.  

the presence of this black servant in the portrait is symbolic of wealth 

Having a Black servant was such a powerful sign of wealth, that the servants can be seen in several portraits and paintings of that time.  It should also be noted that many of these “servants” were actually enslaved men and women. It is also noteworthy that slave labor was practiced abroad in Dutch Colonies such as South Africa, Madagascar, and Surinam. The biggest impact of the slave industry on the Dutch may be in the tremendous wealth that it brought to the wealthy people of Amsterdam and the Dutch economy.  This wealth came in the form of profits for plantation ownership abroad, the shipmaking industry, and money acquired directly from the sale of Africans to slave owners in the Americas.  

During my free walking tour of Amsterdam (a separate tour than the BHT), our group stopped by a large building that was the former home of the West Indian Company (WIC).  Our tour guide informed us of the impressive spice trade that both the East and West Indian Trade Companies conducted.  We were told of how the WIC became one of the first stock markets allowing individuals to buy shares of their companies.  We were NOT told of how the company acquired great wealth selling slaves. In fact, I learned that the spices and colonial goods such as sugar, cotton, and textiles where used by the WIC to trade with African countries for human laborers.  In addition to cargo ships full of spices, the Dutch found the demand for human cargo in the form of enslaved Africans was also a lucrative business.  We learned that the Dutch began to convert the ships that were originally designed to carry spices and other cargo into slave ships.  Other countries such as Spain and Portugal turned to the Dutch to purchase these cargo ships for their own participation in slave trade as well.  

This is model of a cargo ship in Amsterdam. Ships like this were converted into slave ships 

During the Black Heritage Tour, we visited Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.  Within the art collections, you may find several symbolic references to the Dutch influence on the slave trade.  The symbolism included Elmina castle, a massive fort in Ghana, West Africa where captured individuals were held before being transported to the Americas to be enslaved.  Additionally, some pieces include slave ships or crest and building gables with lions to show the power and influence in African countries.  

the African figures on top of this historic building in Amsterdam is symbolic of the slave trade 

Connecting the Pieces

Why is this topic significant to me?  This is a significant part of my own heritage.  As an African American woman, it is likely that my ancestors arrived in America as a result of the slave trade.  In the 1990s as a teen, I visited Ghana in West Africa and the country of South Africa.  In Ghana, we went to a castle where captured men and women where held in cramped rooms in captivity before exiting the “door of no return” on the way to a life of enslavement beyond the Atlantic.   Although the castle was built by the Portuguese, the Dutch also owned this castle for a period of time and profited from the slave trade conducted here.  In South Africa, I learned a few words in one of the countries main languages “Afrikaans”.  Afrikaans is a language closely related to Dutch and is a remnant of Dutch colonialism in South Africa.  The Dutch are responsible for bringing thousands of enslaved people to this part of the world.  Therefore, I can see the racial tension of present day South Africa as an additional remnant of Dutch influence.  

Elmina Castle, a slave castle in Ghana, West Africa 

I am glad to have taken the Black Heritage Tour.  In every society, there are parts of history that people proclaim proudly as a badge of honor and parts that people sweep under the carpet.  It seems to me that the tremendous impact that the Dutch had on the slave industry falls into the latter category.  The profits and wealth acquired due to participation in this industry are undeniable.  Amsterdam is a really beautiful city.  The canals and historic buildings are picturesque and mesmerizing.  However, this tour reminded me that much of the beauty of the city was indirectly built upon the backs of unappreciated human laborers. Be sure to check out Black heritage tours when visiting Amsterdam, Brussels, or New York City. Visithttp://www.blackheritagetours.com  for more information 

built on the backs of human laborers

A photo from the beautiful city of Amsterdam