The Hague has joined a number of other Dutch cities that have apologized for their role in facilitating and profiting from the slave trade over the centuries before the Netherlands abolished slavery in 1863.
This time, the apology came from Jan van Zanen, Mayor of the capital city, The Hague. The apology came with the presentation of a study into the city’s role in profiting from colonialism and slavery. It pointed out that it did not benefit as much as large commercial cities such as Amsterdam did, but that as the national capital it is where the laws were passed that permitted and encouraged it.
Apologies have also come over the past year from the mayors of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht, as well as from the head of the Dutch Central Bank who acknowledged that it had not only financed the trade, but had paid compensation to plantation owners when their slaves were freed.
The Dutch national government has been called on by its own reports to issue an apology on behalf of the entire country and to set aside some funds for reparations; while reports have surfaced several times in the past few months that an apology would come soon, so far there has been no action.
