Church Slavery in Dutch Colonial History

What is it about?

Recent research of banks, municipalities, the government and the royal family of the Netherlands has shown their deep and long-term involvement with slavery. Remarkably, slaveownership by Dutch churches, ecclesiastical organizations and individual ministers has never been researched before as a separate subject. This paper makes a first exploration of ecclesial ownership (churches, ecclesiastical institutes and ministers) in one former Dutch colony—Suriname. With respect to Suriname the present paper focuses on two churches, the Evangelical Lutheran Church (Evangelisch-Lutherse Kerk) and the Dutch Reformed Church (Nederduitse Gereformeerde/Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk), which was the public church of the Netherlands. On the basis of the material found, it is argued that the investigated Dutch churches were completely and wholeheartedly part of the slavery system. Finally, the article formulates a number of questions for future research on church slavery in the Dutch colonial empire.

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Photo by Mateus Campos Felipe on Unsplash

Photo by Mateus Campos Felipe on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Because of the “extra” moral responsibility that the church has, its involvement with slavery is a burning question. Moreover, the church was a influential institute in colonial societies, and by setting - or not setting - an example with regard to slaveownership it could have influenced the way normal church members operated.