The history of slavery in the Netherlands is often told through the lens of the transatlantic slave trade, during which approximately 600,000 Africans were enslaved by the Dutch. But that story is only part of the history.
Across the globe, from Asia to Africa and the Americas, the Dutch kept millions of other people in slavery. In this lecture, journalist Leendert van der Valk takes you on a journey through the forgotten chapters of this past, drawing on his new book *Forgotten Places, Forgotten People*. He takes you to unknown regions where the Dutch enslaved people and gives a voice to those who remained out of the spotlight for centuries: a Moluccan boy in Japan, indigenous children on Aruba, Lourens, and Madagascar, and the first two African boys to be enslaved by the Dutch—all at the hands of the Gouda brothers Cornelis and Frederik de Houtman. Their stories form a poignant journey through the lesser-known aspects of Dutch slavery history and reveal just how global and far-reaching this past truly was.
This event is organized by the “Shared Past, Shared Future: Gouda and Surrounding Areas” Foundation and the Midden-Holland Regional Archives.
This activity is part of “Interwoven Stories,” an in-depth thematic program centered on the exhibition *Threads of Our Dutch History of Slavery*, on view from Sept. 19 through Oct. 25 at the Chocoladefabriek.
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End: 21:30p.m.
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