The House of Orange-Nassau supported Dutch colonialism and slavery for centuries and financially benefited from colonial activities. However, the influence of the Oranjes on colonial policy was usually limited. This is the conclusion of a research committee that examined the colonial history of King Willem-Alexander’s family at his request, reports NOS.
According to lead researcher Gert Oostindie, the stadtholders, kings and queens up to and including Queen Wilhelmina were convinced of the legitimacy of colonialism. They regarded colonial wars and the violent suppression of uprisings as justified. Until Queen Juliana ascended the throne in 1948, no criticism of the colonial system came from the royal household, nor was there any call for a different course.
The researchers state that the Oranjes were therefore co-responsible for colonialism. Even when they had little direct authority, they contributed to its acceptance and justification, both in the Netherlands and in the colonies.
Willem I had major influence
King Willem I was an exception to the family’s generally limited influence on policy. During his reign, from 1813 to 1840, he determined colonial policy almost independently, according to the committee. In 1828, he also actively sought ways to circumvent existing legislation on the slave trade.
The stadtholders before him had to take account of the Staten-Generaal and the powerful Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC). Under later monarchs, influence over colonial policy steadily diminished due to the growing power of parliament.
Hundreds of millions in colonial income
The financial benefits for the Oranjes came mainly from the VOC and later from Nederlands-Indië. According to the researchers, the family earned the equivalent of approximately half a billion euros from colonialism in the nineteenth century.
In addition, stadtholders received allowances from colonial enterprises because of their position. Over a period of two centuries, this amounted to the equivalent of approximately 86 million euros. According to the study, this income contributed little to the current royal wealth. Stadtholder Willem V left the Netherlands in 1795 in impoverished circumstances.
According to the committee, the Oranjes earned virtually nothing from the trans-Atlantic slave trade and slavery in the Caribbean. This did not stem from principled objections, but from disappointing financial results. The West-Indische Compagnie mainly brought losses to the family.
Apology for slavery justified
Oostindie calls the apology offered by Willem-Alexander on 1 July 2023 for the failure of his ancestors to resist Atlantic slavery justified. According to the research conclusions, the limited financial returns from that slavery do not detract from the family’s support for the colonial system.
The study outlines a history in which self-interest, violence, racism and the damage caused by colonialism are inextricably linked to the Dutch past. According to the committee, the House of Orange-Nassau played its own role in this.
Willem-Alexander commissioned the independent study in December 2022, funded it and granted access to the royal archives. More than sixty researchers took part. The results comprise five books totalling more than two thousand pages, which the King received at the Academiegebouw in Leiden.
Alongside Oostindie, historian Esther Captain, former politician Kathleen Ferrier and professor Henk te Velde were members of the research committee.
Source: NOS
