The Mauritshuis museum decided to remove a bust of Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen, governor of the Dutch colony in Brasil from 1637 to 1644, from the museums foyer. The decision stemmed from "the growing public debate about we deal with slavery in the Netherlands (and in museums)", the Mauritshuis explained, according to the Volkskrant. The removal of the bust sparked a storm of outrage and criticism from people feeling that the Netherlands' history is being destroyed.
slavery
Nov 23 '17 09:02
Dutch newspaper AD and a number of Dutch celebrities are calling for a 'Sinterklaas truce'. The newspaper wants to make a deal - no debating about the form of the Sinterklaas party or the appearance of Zwarte Piet as long as Sinterklaas is in the Netherlands - and a number of well known Dutch expressed similar sentiments in the newspaper.
Nov 10 '17 12:30
New costumes selected for Zwarte Piet at the Amsterdam Sinterklaas parade have sparked a new critique from activists in the Netherlands. The organizing committee, SSIA, dropped the decades-old Zwarte Piet costume because of its apparent connections to the 17th century child slave trade, replacing it instead with costumes inspired by Spanish nobility in the 16th century.
Nov 7 '17 12:30
The roughly 400 Pieten helping Sinterklaas in Amsterdam's celebration this year, will be decked out in brand new, specially designed suits, the foundation responsible for the Amsterdam Sinterklaas celebration, SSIA, announced on Monday night. The new costumes were specifically designed to remove all references to slavery from the controversial character, discovered in examinations of the history behind the Zwarte Piet costume.
Jul 14 '17 10:24
The Amsterdam police launched an investigation int racist and discriminatory comments on social media during and after the television broadcast of the commemoration for the abolition of slavery on July 1st, NOS reports.
Feb 16 '17 16:10
The PVV's legislative proposal to make municipalities only participate in Sinterklaas events in which Zwarte Piet is wearing blackface makeup, could count on almost no support from both the lower house of Dutch parliament and the Dutch government today. Most parties in parliament were against the law and Minister Ronald Plasterk of Home Affairs stated that the bill goes against the Dutch constitution.
Feb 16 '17 08:34
The lower house of Dutch parliament is discussing a PVV legislative proposal today that wants to ensure that Zwarte Piet keeps his blackface makeup. According to initiator Martin Bosma, "for years there's been a war against Zwarte Piet" and that has to stop, the Telegraaf reports.
Feb 14 '17 10:18
The Dutch police found a woman in Spain who they believe worked as a slave in a household in the Netherlands for three years, the Telegraaf reports.
The woman comes from a very poor part of Morocco. Her father sent her to the Netherlands to work as a slave for a family that also came from Morocco, according to the newspaper. She received no wages, does not have a residency permit and was not allowed out of the house alone. The family paid her father a small amount for her work.
Nov 2 '16 09:22
Anti-blackface group Kick Out Zwarte Piet (KOZP) plans to protest in Maassluis during Sinterklaas' national arrival on November 12th. "For us 2016 will be the last year that December has an aftertaste of colonialism, slavery and opression", the group said according to RTL Nieuws.
According to the KOZP, Zwarte Piet in his current form is a racist figure.
Jul 1 '16 08:16
Dozens of protesters disrupted the national commemoration of the abolition of slavery in Amsterdam's Oosterpark on Thursday evening. They protested against organizer NiNsee's decision to hold the commemoration on June 30th, instead of the usual July 1st
Oct 6 '15 16:02
VNL party leader Bram Moszkowicz is calling for the government to implement programs were asylum seekers have to perform manual labour in exchange for being granted refugee status. Moszkowicz, the disbarred former attorney of anti-Islamist Geert Wilders, suggested work programs for refugees like a park, ditch and garden cleaning service, reported AD.
Jan 27 '15 11:53
A few dozen people demonstrated against the film Michiel de Ruyter at the film's premier at the Maritime Museum in Amsterdam last night. The museum built a movie theater with 1,200 seats for the occasion.
Nov 10 '14 11:44
A gimmick of recruitment company that raffled Slovakian workers has been called tasteless and reeking of human trafficking.
Mar 29 '14 11:13
"There are no secret talks about the future of 'Zwarte Piet' or Black Peet," said Ineke Schouten of the Dutch Center for Folk Culture and Immaterial Heritage (VIE), in contrast to earlier reports on Friday in Algemeen Dagblad (AD).
Mar 3 '14 12:43
12 Years A Slave has won three Academy Awards at the Oscars this year.
Nov 19 '13 04:35
Seven Hungarian suspects of human trafficking heard a prison sentence of up to nine years. The men, aged between 24 and 36 years, exploited prostitutes, according to the Public Prosecutor in The Hague
Jul 19 '13 15:15
During the Amsterdam Heritage days on the 14th of July residents and visitors of the Dutch city had the opportunity to visit some of Amsterdam's finest and hidden treasures. Amongst the wide offering of landmarks opened to the public and various walking tours was one tour with a special character. A walk through the city center to explore the hidden signs that refer to the slavery history in Amsterdam, a tour that will be repeated in English on Saturday, July 21.
Jul 3 '13 07:53
During the ceremony commemorating the anniversary of the Netherlands' prohibition of slavery, Social Affairs Minister Lodewijk Asscher expressed a "deep regret," according to UPI.
Jul 2 '13 03:11
Many of the descendants of slavery victims had Monday probably like to hear excuses from Vice Premier Lodewijk Asscher. But those excuses could not be heard. However, he testified on behalf of the government 'deep regret and remorse. " He then received an applause from the people present, mostly dressed in colorful folk robes, at the commemoration in Amsterdam Oosterpark.
