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Recovered records of Dutch slave forts in West-Africa, 1793-1803

This project aims to preserve and present the recovered records of Dutch slave forts in West Africa. It explores the history of the Dutch slave trade, the conditions of the slaves, and the administration of the forts. The project includes digitization and online presentation of the documents.

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Recovered records of Dutch slave forts in West-Africa, 1793-1803

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  1. PRIZE PAPERS EUROPEAN NETWORK Recovered records of Dutch slave forts in West-Africa, 1793-1803 A Metamorfoze project for preservation and presentation The National Archives Kew, 6-8 October 2014 Erik van der Doe A new sapphire

  2. 2014 Commemoration abolishment Dutch slave trade 1814

  3. Slave trade and slavery in the Prize Papers

  4. West-India: Suriname, Essequibo, Demerara, Berbice, Antilles Records of slave plantations send to the Netherlands, but taken by British privateers

  5. In the instructions on board the captured slave ship Aurora of the Middelburg Commercie Company, 1780 … mark the slaves with the silver mark CC A on the right upper arm - first grease the skin with a candlestick or with oil - the mark must be so hot that when put on paper it turns red This way the slaves will not have discomfort …

  6. What to do with 100 slaves? The Aurora was first brought to Cape Coast, then the ship was taken to Bristol

  7. Mutiny on the slave ship of the Middelburg Commercie Company Vigilance, 1781 Found floating on the coast of Demerara, with the remaining living 267 slaves free on board and the crew had left the ship Ship and slaves are recovered salvage and sold Letter from the one who saves ship and cargo: … had the wild blacks taken us, we would not have time to make out our will … All slaves were taken in and sold for 98.000 guilders

  8. Ship’s journal of a private slave trader from Flushing, 1794-1795 Only 4 of 228 slaves died during the journey The slaves were well taken care off: good and plenty drinking water and in the evening in Suriname taken out to walk The only known journal of a Dutch private slave trader

  9. Elmina castle, Gold Coast (Ghana) Headquarters Dutch West-India Company (1637) 1730 end monopoly slave trade Private slave traders take over, increase in numbers of slaves

  10. Dutch West-Africa, 1637-1872 Gouvernor Nagtglas of Elmina He arranged the exchange of British and Dutch forts in Ghana (1868) and the final departure of the Dutch from Africa (1872) All forts and goods were transferred to the British (with a compensation of £3.700) His official and his private archives are kept

  11. Triangular trade 12 million Africans went through the doors of no return - mainly to Portugese, British and French ships - 600.000 to Dutch slave traders

  12. Elmina and the other forts and castles in Ghana are Unesco World Heritage (1979)

  13. UNESCO Memory of the World Archives slave trade and slavery (2011) - Dutch West-India Company - Middelburg Commercie Company

  14. METAMORFOZE National programmefor the preservation of paper heritage (1997) Ministry of Education, Culture andScience Koninklijke Bibliotheek, National Library of the Netherlands, (in cooperation with the Dutch National Archives)

  15. National importance Intrinsic decay, such as ink corrosion and acidification Paper: Books, Newspapers, Archives and Manuscripts

  16. 2007 - Project Sailing Letters 7 boxes HCA with letters -> the beginning of a expanding project

  17. 2013-2014 – Metamorfoze Theme Archives on slave trade and slavery National Archives - Gouvernors of West-Africa - Dutch West-India Company - Administration of Berbice - Administration of Essequibo and Demerara - Administration of Suriname Zeeland Library - Private archive of gouvernor Nagtglas State Archives of Zeeland - Middelburg Commercie Company TNA - Administrations Essequibo, Demerara, Berbice -> transferred 1818-1819 (CO) - Records Dutch slave forts West-Africa -> captured 1803 (HCA)

  18. New Metamorfoze project - 2014: 10 boxes recovered records of Dutch slave forts in West-Africa, 1793-1803 - Preservation documents and make them camera ready (TNA), - Complete digitisation high standards Metamorfoze (MicroFormat) - Presentation online in context (Netherlands National Archives) - Projectmanagement by the Dutch National Archives

  19. 1802 Amsterdam ship Jacobina, with goods to Elmina Embarkes 313 slaves for Suriname (and the Dutch archives) From Suriname back to Amsterdam with sugar, cotton and coffee (and the archives) taken by the privateer Goodwill of Guernsey (July 27, 1803) July 30 taken by the French navyship l’Aventure, and the same day retaken by HMS Rosario and with the archives taken to Cork

  20. Even the wrapping papers are still kept in HCA

  21. Records missing in the Netherlands Important period – late 18th century, the last phase of slave trade: - fewer Dutch traders - less slaves from Angola - Dutch also selling to other nations

  22. Financial administration of the Dutch slave forts: headquarters Elmina and the smaller forts (with names as Amsterdam, Hollandia, Orange, Nassau, Good Hope, Patience) Registration of goods and services, income and expenses, in detail, as: - sold gold, bought liquor and tabacco - meals on new years’ day - salaries rowing to and from the waiting ships

  23. Muster-roll’s and pay-roll’s of staff, soldiers and slaves; with noted their origin, age and physical well-being: old and worn out, lame arm, sometimes crazy, young and strong, etc. Inventories of goods and victuals on the forts, including canons and ammunition, medicine and instruments, books and papers

  24. Property inventories of the deceased without last will and testament on the forts and whose belongings were sold, varying from well-to-do people (many pages, with mention of private slaves, even which books and what kind of paintings) to the fusilier whose only possessions were: a pair of shoes, leather hat, sewing-box, comb, knife and a fork

  25. The testaments show details about daily life of the inhabitants of the people on the forts In 1793 surgeon Gottlieb Kuhn in Elmina is a German. And when he dies, he leaves his bed and other belongings to the slave girl Abba

  26. As has been said before these days: It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good - yesterday’s bad luck is today’s good fortune Thanks to British privateers and a British legal system, it is now kept in TNA, and would otherwise in most cases have been lost, and we wouldn’t even have known And there’s so much more to discover, possibly more sapphires …

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