Slavery and Amsterdam

Openresearch editorial board

The city of Amsterdam was involved in the slave trade and slavery from the end of the sixteenth century until the nineteenth century.

As the main seat of the West India Company (WIC) and co-owner of the Suriname Society, Amsterdam was directly involved in the transatlantic slave trade. In addition, countless Amsterdammers were directly or indirectly involved in slavery and slave trade in East and West.

In this collection we dive deeper into the history of Amsterdam's slavery, in particular the disaster of the slave ship Leusden in 1738. Below you will find the original thesis on which the expedition is based. You can also find the AT5 broadcasts on slavery and a collection with links for more information on slavery and the postcolonial history of Amsterdam.