Figure 1.--This drawing depicts a scene in Dutch Guiana during the 1830s. The individuals at the left are freed blacks who are artisans. The man at the right is a barber with his assistant. His earnings go to his owner who presumably allows him to keep a share. Both the barber and the assistant are slaves. A indicator is footwear because the slaves were forbidden to wear shoes. So probably the footwear became a staus symbol and bare feet a indicator of slavery, at least for adults. We think that free children also went barefoot. As we can see also in other drawings, slave boys commonly went without clothing. Put your cursor on the image to see the rest of the drawing. Source: P.J. Benoît, "Voyage à Surinam" (Trip to Suriname) published in 1839. Plate 19.

The Dutch like other European powers did not at first cooperate with British after the end of the Napoleonic Wars to end the slave trade. The abolition movement was not as strong in other European countries and many believed the British effort was a disguised attempt to weaken their economies. The British pursued a long term diplmatic effort and backed it up with the Royal Navy. Thus slavery continued for decades in Suriname, even after the British ended slavery within their Empire (1833-34). The British Royal Navy interdiction of slavers, however, meant that new shipments of slaves wee reduced and finally ended. We are not sure just when the Netherlands officially agreed to end the slave trade. The Dutch add an article to their treary with Britain affirming that vessels condemned for slave trading should be broken up before sale. We note some books published in Europe about slavery in Suriname. We do not have much information, however, about living and working conditions. We noite scenes with freed Africans, but we don't think they were extended civil rights. Not have we been able to find much information about the Dutch abolotioinist movement. Colonial officials and planters seeing that slavery was ending, decided to look for other sources of labor. They began importing workers from other areas. As they were not slaves, this was permitted. Some Dutch farmers from Groningen were brouht to Surinamne with the idea of founding small farms thus diversifying away from plantation agriculture. Tragically, half of these farmers died within a year. The plannters recruited contract labor. The first group were etnic Chinese living in the Dutch East Indies (modern Indonesia). The Chinese workers, however, left the plantations en masse after their 5-year contractual work period.

Created: 4:09 AM 2/12/2012
Last updated: 4:09 AM 2/12/2012