ANANSI and slavery

In November 2022 I wrote ‘not before time’, in view of the long-delayed announcement of slavery excuses by the Dutch government. The final date of these excuses, December 19, was subject of more controversy, both in the Netherlands and in our former colonies of Suriname and the Caribbean islands. July 1st, 2023, would have been more fitting - 160 years after slavery was formally abolished, and 150 years after the 10 year-long State supervision period ended.

source: national archive of Curaçao/Caribbean network

Whether December 19 was chosen out of political opportunism, with interim elections coming up soon, or because the Cabinet only wanted to clear away another agenda item before Christmas, we will never know. 

It takes empathy and modesty to make proper excuses, neither of which come easily to politicians. An ‘awareness fund’ was announced, but who will properly begin to address the still extant consequences of slavery in present-day society? I’d have thought that the most important issue.

Compensation for slave owners, not the victims

In 1863, the slave owners in Suriname received compensation for the ‘damages’ they incurred to the amount of 300 guilders for each released slave (if I remember correctly the amount paid on the Caribbean islands was 200 guilders), but the people themselves received nothing. Under State supervision, they had to continue working for their former masters for 10 more years, against minimal wages, and in addition the former owners’ duty of providing food, housing and medical care had been cancelled. As a result, those released sank back into dire poverty, and in some cases they are said to have begged for a return to slavery. Even then, there was no end to human exploitation in the colonies. Recently I wrote of the treatment of contract labourers, with the brutal suppression of the rising at the Mariënburg sugar works as a notorious example.

Text from the 1863 law abolishing slavery

ANANSI

Let us return to my new book ANANSI, an historical novel against the background of the slave trade. The Dutch manuscript was recently submitted to the publisher, following initial editing, re-reading and correcting the text many times. The planned publication date of the Dutch version is the middle of June, shortly before Keti Koti, the ‘broken chains’ celebration of Abolition on July 1st. The English edition of the book is in an advanced stage, and release of this is planned later in summer.

The book contains many historical elements, which were carefully researched and forged together to create the background for a gripping tale. One of these is the mutiny in the Paramaribo garrison in 1688, and the ensuing murder of Van Sommelsdijck, the governor. The story begins in what used to be the Gold Coast, the African headquarters of the Dutch West India Company (WIC). Evert Adriaansz is a rebellious sailor hailing from Amsterdam, who is sent to Elmina after a conflict over the daughter of one of the Directors of the WIC. Having arrived there, he is shocked by the horrible excesses of the slave trade. He is all alone there without friends or prospects, but after a time he meets the attractive slave girl Efua.

Elmina, Ghana

They feel irresistibly attracted to one another, but as the forbidden relationship comes to light, the girl is sold and put aboard a ship bound for Suriname. Evert manages to get aboard another ship and after many wanderings sets out to find her on the far side of the Atlantic Ocean, a search full of hardship in the interior of 17th Century Suriname.

The Suriname River, Gunsi

The ANANSI story revolves around the folk tales of the smart spider Anansi, which are handed down in West Africa from mother to daughter and travelled with the slave trade to Suriname and the Caribbean. Efua is a storyteller, who relates the tales she learned from her grandmother, and takes them with her to Suriname. Eventually, the Anansi tales also play a part in the ending of the story.

Writing and research

You may wonder how my books take shape. Naturally, each author has his or her own approach. My manuscripts develop like a tree or an organism, branching this way or that before I see my way forward. At the beginning of the project I have no idea where the tale takes me and how it will end, but often I have a hunch which leads to a string of new chapters. And sometimes I have a key scene in mind which must have a place in the story, such as the reunion between the main protagonists of The Batavian, Mark and Leila, who after several years encounter one another in a scruffy little health centre in Greece, where Mark also meets his daughter for the first time.

I do a great deal of research for my books, which generally keeps pace with writing. Not everything can be learned from books, so I often find inspiration and ideas in the actual places where a scene in the book is set, talking with people and so laying the foundation of an authentic story. It also works the other way round, when a story results from having visited a place when travelling.

slave dungeon, Elmina

Ten years ago Henriette and I visited Ghana, and the horror I felt in the slave dungeons of the former Dutch West India Company fortress of Elmina undoubtedly contributed to the theme of ANANSI. And last year we travelled in Suriname for three weeks, where we were immersed in the culture and I learned much that made its way into the book. I spoke with many people there, including several from the Maroon community, and they taught me a great deal about their culture. Who knows for instance, that many Surinamese consult their ancestors before taking an important decision? They have a strong bond with their ancestors, which they inherited from their African roots.

Our slavery history is a controversial topic in the Netherlands, which I have done much research into. Opinions about the subject are very divided and even among renowned historians there is a heated debate between those who regard slavery as just another historic detail, and those who think it is about time to face the unwelcome facts.

And how about my own opinion? We cannot measure the past against present-day norms and values, but even in the historical context the sheer scale of exploitation, humiliation and cruelty in the Colonies is astonishing. And although it is often disregarded, there was criticism of slavery even in the 17th and 18th Century, before the Abolition movement became established. There were Churchmen such as Justus Heurnius and Gisbertus Voetius who preached against slavery in no uncertain terms, and I found part of a letter written by an 18th Century sailor, who does not hide his horror at the living conditions in the slave quarters aboard a slave ship. So nobody should claim that slavery in those days was such a fact of life that no one cared. If you do, you haven’t understood a thing.

translated from a letter written on an 18th Century slave ship

When I was interviewed by the newspaper De Ware Tijd in Paramaribo, I was asked whether my novel wasn’t going to romanticise slavery too much. A valid concern especially if you wonder why a white Dutchman takes it into his head to write a book with such a controversial subject as its background. I gave the journalist a clear reply: in my book ANANSI, I am not going to mince words about slavery.

At this stage I won’t yet tell too much about my new book to avoid a spoiler, but in the weeks to come I will occasionally lift a tip of the veil still surrounding the book.