Slavery in New Netherland & the Dutch Atlantic World

About This Event:
**SOLD OUT**

The Schomburg Center hosts the first day of a two-day conference that extends the call for increased historical research on slavery in the Atlantic World. It will convene academic scholars, researchers, public historians, archivists, and librarians from the Netherlands and the U.S. Together, they will weigh the history and legacy of slavery, the slave trade, and colonialism in New Netherland, the Netherlands, and the Americas.

Produced by the Lapidus Center for the Historical Analysis of Transatlantic Slavery at the Schomburg Center in collaboration with the New-York Historical Society and the New Netherland Institute.

Image: Laurens Block. "Novum Amsterodamum" (New Amsterdam, New Netherlands) 1650. Watercolor and brown and black ink over black chalk on ivory paper, laid on four other layered sheets.5 13/16 x 19 1/16 in. (14.8 x 48.4 cm) New-York Historical Society. 1881

Conference Schedule

Friday, May 3, 2024 – Schomburg Center

8:30 – 9 AM: Coffee & Tea

9–9:15 AM: Welcome Remarks
Joy L. Bivins, Director, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
Deborah Hamer, Director, New Netherland Institute

9:15–11 AM: Panel 1: The Slave Trade in New Netherland and the Dutch Atlantic World

Dennis Maika, The New Netherland Institute
In Search of New York’s Enslavers: Assessing the Impact of Private Entrepreneurs on Slavery, the Slave Trade, and the Enslaved in late 17th century New York

Jeroen Puttevils, University of Antwerp
A Forgotten Chapter in the History of the Golden Sixteenth Century: the Early Participation of the Southern Low Countries in the Slave Trade (until c. 1600)

Nancy Jouwe, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
The Dutch Interconnectedness of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and Indian Ocean Slavery

Valika Smeulders, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
‘… placing a Moor next to young girls’: the Colonial World Order in Dutch Art

Moderator: Christopher L. Brown, Columbia University

11– 11:15 AM: Break

11:15 AM- 12:45 PM: Panel 2: Foundations
Michiel van Groesen, Leiden University
Slavery in Dutch Brazil

Matthias van Rossum, International Institute of Social History
Colonial Slavery in the Dutch Empire: Exploring Early Connections and Transfers from VOC Asia

Oscar Hefting, The New Holland Foundation
The Atlas of Dutch West Africa: New Research on 17th century WIC Fortifications in West Africa

Moderator: Wim Klooster, Clark University

12:45– 2:15 PM: Lunch Break

2:15 –3:45 PM Panel 3: Dutch Slavery in North America  

Evan Haefeli, Texas A&M University
New Netherland and Indigenous Slavery

Jeroen Dewulf, University of California, Berkeley
The Captives of the Bruynvisch: New Insights into the Origins and Identity of Manhattan’s First Enslaved Africans

Jennifer Tosch, Black Heritage Tours
Black Heritage Tours: New York State & Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Transatlantic narratives connecting Dutch, African and Native American Histories

Moderator: Andrew Lipman, Barnard College

3:45– 4 PM: Break

4 – 5:30 PM Panel 4: Negotiating Slavery and Freedom
Myra Armstead, Bard College
Deconstructing Manumission

Karwan Fatah-Black, Leiden University
Repent and Reappraisal: Historicizing Slavery’s Defenders in the Netherlands

Marjoleine Kars, MIT
Negotiating Slavery and Freedom in the Dutch Atlantic: A Berbice Slave Rebel in Suriname

Moderator: Jared Hardesty, Western Washington University

__________________________________

FIRST COME, FIRST SEATED Events are free and open to all, but due to space constraints registration is requested. Registered guests are given priority check-in 15 to 30 minutes before start time. After the event starts all registered seats are released regardless of registration, so we recommend that you arrive early.

GUESTS Please note that holding seats in the Langston Hughes Auditorium is strictly prohibited and there is no food or drinks allowed anywhere in the Schomburg Center.

E-TRANSPORTATION NYPL policy prohibits electric transportation devices (e.g., motorbikes, e-bikes, e-scooters, e-skateboards) from being brought into or stored at library sites for any length of time, as this is the best way to keep our spaces & people safe.

AUDIO/VIDEO RECORDING Programs are photographed and recorded by the Schomburg Center. Attending this event indicates your consent to being filmed/photographed and your consent to the use of your recorded image for any all purposes of the New York Public Library.

Please note that professional video recordings are prohibited without expressed consent.
PUBLIC NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER

IN-PERSON | By registering for this event, you are acknowledging that an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present. By attending an in-person program at The New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, you voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19 and agree not to hold The New York Public Library, its Trustees, officers, agent and employees liable for any illness or injury. If you have symptoms consistent with COVID-19 or suspect you have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive, please stay home.