Learning about your country’s colonial past and present Feat. Sasha Dees

There was an era in the history of Taiwan that every student receiving education here would for sure learn about: the so-called “Dutch Formosa Era” in the 17th century. The Dutch Republic in the 17th century was a global superpower and occupied numerous spots all around the world, Taiwan included. The Dutch left traces of their presence and some still exist in modern day Taiwan, such as Fort Zeelandia in Tainan (southern Taiwan). Those were times of big changes, exchanges, and violence. I’m curious, how do students in the Netherlands nowadays learn about their country’s Colonial past and present? Do they learn about the dark side of their history? What about for students in Taiwan? Join me today with our guest, Sasha Dees, Dutch independent writer, researcher, and curator, whose work focuses much on decolonization discourse.