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Dutch King Willem-Alexander apologised for his country’s role in slavery and asked for forgiveness in a historic speech.
Dutch King Willem-Alexander apologised for his country’s role in slavery and asked for forgiveness in a historic speech.The king’s speech followed Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s apology late last year for the country’s role in the slave trade and slavery. It is part of a wider reckoning with colonial histories in the West that have been spurred in recent years by the Black Lives Matter movement.
In an emotional speech, Willem-Alexander referred back to that apology as he told a crowd of invited guests and onlookers. The King said he has commissioned a study into the exact role of the royal House of Orange-Nassau in slavery in the Netherlands.
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Willem-Alexander’s voice appeared to break with emotion as he completed his speech before laying a wreath at the country’s national slavery monument in an Amsterdam park. Some people want action to back up the words. Of late, there has been a spate of apologies from the erstwhile colonisers, particularly from the West for the misdeeds that they had committed during their colonial rule.
