US EditionIndigenous Surinamese Accept Dutch Monarch’s Apology over Colonial Slavery
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima visited Suriname, where descendants accepted a royal apology for slavery; a 2023 study valued Dutch royal earnings from colonies at €545 million.
- On Monday, representatives of descendants of African slaves, Suriname, and Indigenous peoples of Suriname formally accepted King Willem-Alexander, King of the Netherlands' apology in a closed-door meeting in Paramaribo, Suriname.
- The Netherlands had already apologised and King Willem-Alexander, King of the Netherlands, followed the next year, vowing `We will not shy away from history, nor from its painful elements, such as slavery`.
- Historical records show the scale of the trade as the Dutch royal family earned 545 million euros between 1675 and 1770, shipping about 600,000 Africans in the transatlantic slave trade.
- A group of Afro-Surinamese criticised the programme for omitting a wreath-laying at the Paramaribo abolition monument, while the three-day visit is the first by Dutch royals in nearly five decades, with King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima arriving on Sunday.
- The Netherlands intends to deepen ties with Suriname 'based on equality and mutual respect' and engage in dialogue, while vast offshore oil reserves could transform Suriname's future.
11 Articles
11 Articles
William Alexander of the Netherlands and his wife, Queen Maxima, are on a state trip to Suriname on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the country’s independence. A key visit, and to some extent uncomfortable, considering that half a century ago a Dutch monarch visited this Latin American region that one day was part of its colonies. As early as 2023 King William publicly asked forgiveness from Amsterdam, on the National Day of the Memory o…
Indigenous Surinamese accept Dutch king's apology for colonial slavery
PARAMARIBO, Suriname — Representatives of the descendants of African slaves and Indigenous peoples of Suriname on Monday formally accepted an apology from visiting King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands for widespread slavery during Dutch colonial rule.
Indigenous Surinamese accept Dutch monarch’s apology over colonial slavery
The monarch made the apology back in 2023 but it was accepted during a meeting and ceremony behind closed doors Monday in Paramaribo, the Surinamese capital, according to the state-run Suriname Communication Services (CDS)
The descendants of slaves and the indigenous communities of Suriname, the former colony of the Netherlands in South America, accepted on Monday the apologies of King William of Orange for the slave past. They have also forgiven him, in their personal capacity, since their ancestors profited from the slave trade, which was legal until 1863, and they never showed themselves against it. In July 2023, William officially apologized, in Amsterdam, for…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 43% of the sources lean Right
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
