Historical study influences policy of Dutch Central Bank

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A new book Dienstbaar aan de Keten? (Leiden University Press, 2022) studies the previously unknown relationship between slavery and the Dutch Central Bank (De Nederlandsche Bank) in the nineteenth century. The book was commissioned by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) and co-authored by Cambridge historian Joris van den Tol and two Leiden historians Karwan Fatah-Black and Lauren Lauret. On Wednesday 9 February, the book was presented to DNB president Klaas Knot, who said that he ‘deeply regretted’ the actions of his predecessors and was looking for ways to incorporate ‘this ugly part of DNB’ in the future of the bank.

The study demonstrates that De Nederlandsche Bank was involved in colonial slavery in three different ways. Firstly, a significant part of the Bank’s start-up capital came from merchants with direct involvement in the system of Atlantic slavery. Secondly, several prominent members of the DNB leadership were involved in colonial slavery and lobbied against abolition. Finally, as an institution, DNB was indirectly involved in slavery by providing credit using slave-based commodities and financial instruments as collateral.

Previously, there had been a five-volume history of DNB, but it did not mention slavery at all. Therefore, this study required thorough archival research in the archives of DNB and personal and business archives of its leadership. It transpired from the archives of DNB that from the establishment of the bank in 1814 to the abolition of slavery in the Netherlands in 1863, roughly 10% of the supplied credit was related to slavery. Moreover, it is very likely that DNB also supplied credit to people using Confederacy Bonds as collateral.

While there had been attention by historians to the abolitionist movement in the Netherlands, this is the first study that focuses on the lobby on the other side; the pro-slavery lobby. One the most prominent and powerful lobbyists was Jacobus Hermanus Insinger, who was a director of DNB between 1844 and 1871. He used every possible means to delay the abolition of slavery and to increase the financial compensation for slave-owners. In 1841, he – and several others of DNB leadership – succeeded to convince the Dutch King Willem II to prevent the creation of an Abolitionist Society because ‘affairs as important as emancipation require the care of the High Government of the Country’ and ought not to be left in the hands of private individuals or societies.

As a result of the book, De Nederlandsche Bank has started an internal and external dialogue to find a meaningful and appropriate response. DNB said it ‘plans to make a gesture of lasting value’.

Currently only available in Dutch, the book will be published in English later in the year. The Dutch language edition can be downloaded free of charge