New Book Estimates 3.3–5.3 Million Enslaved Under Broader Definition of Dutch Rule

Research published in a new book estimates that at least 3.3 million people were enslaved under Dutch rule, more than five times the 600,000 figure used in prior official statements. The Guardian reported that the calculation by investigative journalist Leendert van der Valk ranges up to 5.3 million victims when accounting for additional territories and a longer period.

Van der Valk's book, titled Forgotten places, Forgotten People – an Atlas of the Dutch History of Slavery, draws on demographic research primarily from Radboud University.

It incorporates colonies such as South Africa, India, Sri Lanka, Guyana and Tobago, and extends the examined period from 1595 to 1914 rather than the narrower window of 1630 to 1863. King Willem-Alexander referred to more than 600,000 people brought from Africa on Dutch ships when he apologized three years ago for the Netherlands' role in the transatlantic slave trade.

In 2022, then-Prime Minister Mark Rutte cited the same figure when apologizing for the past actions of the Dutch state.

Coen van Galen, an associate professor in colonial history at Radboud University, described the calculation as a rough estimate that provides the first indication of the total number of victims of slavery in all Dutch colonies combined. Matthias van Rossum, a colonialism professor at Radboud University and the International Institute of Social History, said the figures shift focus to include people born into slavery or enslaved through regional practices.

Peggy Brandon, a curator of the Netherlands' National Museum of Slavery, said accurate numbers matter for recognizing people who lived generation after generation within the system.