‘Neocolonial belch’: what can Britain learn from backlash to Dutch slavery apology?

Britain’s plans for a formal state apology for slavery could learn from the Netherlands, where apologies were welcomed by many but did not resolve disagreements over justice or present-day inequality. The Dutch experience shows that sincere words can recognise the humanity of enslaved people and their descendants, while leaving questions about lasting change unanswered.

Dutch merchants trafficked an estimated 600,000 Africans across the Atlantic and between 660,000 and one million across the Indian Ocean and East Indies; slavery-derived wealth accounted for more than 10% of Holland’s GDP in the 1770s. After decades of campaigning and protests, several cities apologised, followed by Prime Minister Mark Rutte in 2022, who acknowledged the state’s role over more than 250 years. Slavery was abolished in the Dutch colonies in 1863, but freedom came in 1873; Britain abolished it 30 years earlier.