The Dutch Slave Trade: Amsterdam's Darkest Commerce

Episode 158 of The Story of the Netherlands examines the Dutch involvement in the transatlantic slave trade. Lucas and Luna trace the rise of the Dutch West India Company as a purveyor of enslaved Africans, from the capture of Curaçao in 1634 to the massive profits generated by the Middle Passage. They discuss the role of Amsterdam's Wisselbank in financing slaving voyages, the brutal conditions aboard slave ships, and the resistance of enslaved people. The episode also covers the Dutch East India Company's slave trade in the Indian Ocean, including the infamous slave market in Batavia. Finally, they explore the moral debates of the time—from the Mennonite protest of 1664 to the late abolition movement—and the economic legacy of slavery in Dutch Golden Age prosperity. #DutchSlaveTrade #WIC #Curaçao #MiddlePassage #Amsterdam #Batavia #VOC #Slavery #Abolition #Mennonite #Wisselbank #Suriname #Elmina #17thCentury #GoldenAge #AtlanticHistory #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo