Introductions database

A brief introduction to the Archives and Creators
A brief introduction to the Legislation

A brief introduction to the Archives and Creators parts of the database

The Dutch possessions in the Caribbean region consisted of six islands of the Lesser Antilles (Curaçao, Aruba, Bonaire, St. Eustatius, Saba, and half of St. Martin) and four settlements on the Wild Coast, named after the principal rivers: Suriname, Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo (see map).

The database roughly covers the 200-year period between 1670 and 1870, i.e. the period between the consolidation and stabilization of the Dutch possessions in the Caribbean around 1670, and the abolition of slavery in 1863 and the arrival in Suriname of large groups of indentured labourers from Asia after 1870. After almost continuous British occupation from 1796 onwards, the colonies of Berbice, Demerara and Essequibo were finally ceded to Great Britain by treaty in 1814. 1814 is therefore the end year in the database regarding these three colonies.

The database offers references to archival sources containing information in particular about slavery, the slave trade, and multicultural relations. These references were selected during our research, conducted between 2007 and 2012, into collections in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Curaçao, Suriname and Guyana (see the ‘Repository code’ in the panel on the left side of the screen). Unfortunately, there was insufficient time to research archival collections in France and Spain.

Collections were checked at random, on location or via the website of the repository, after which no further research was done. No account could therefore be taken of any subsequent changes in inventories or finding aid numbers, names, etc. Collections which were not already accessible at the time the research was carried out could not be incorporated.

The Creators part of the database contains short descriptions of the main corporate bodies, families and individuals that formed relatively extensive, and sometimes scattered, archival collections of an administrative, judicial, notarial, or religious nature.

Horizontal and vertical links have been inserted both within and between the Archives and Creators parts, elucidating the related structures of the records.

All the records in this web application are accessible through facets (keywords) listed in the panel on the left side of the screen. The facets for the Archives part are ‘Geography’, ’Subject’, ‘Person’ and ‘Repository code’, and for the Creators part ‘Identity type’, ’Geography’, ‘Subject’ and ‘Person’. Keywords yielding the most results are ranked at the top of each list. Obviously, by using the ‘Period’ option, the number of results can be increased or reduced.

Please note the arrows to the right of each facet heading (such as ‘Geography’ or ‘Subject’). These arrows open an extra menu for the facet, allowing the user to filter the frequently long lists of options by entering text or selecting or deselecting options. In other facet types, the menus provide extra facet configuration possibilities.

It is not possible to search in more than one part of the database simultaneously.

A brief introduction to the Legislation part of the database

The summary does not present a complete survey of laws and regulations but offers a selection of publications relative to, and representative of, cultural diversity and interaction between different sections of the population in the Dutch Caribbean world.

West-Indisch Plakaatboek, Publicatiebladen Curaçao and Gouvernementsbladen Suriname are the main sources. A random sample of the included publications has been checked in the original archival sources.

The presentation is restricted to an English translation of the relevant parts of the picked publications. A few publications from the Windward Islands that do not figure in the abovementioned reference works are given in more detail.

All the records in this web application are accessible through facets (keywords) listed at the panel on the left side of the screen. The facets for the Legislation are ‘Geography’, ’Subject’ and  ‘Person’. Keywords yielding the most results, are ranked on the top of the facet lists. Obviously, by using the ‘Period’ option, the number of results can be increased or reduced.

Please note the arrows to the right of each facet heading (such as ‘Geography’ or ‘Subject’). These arrows open an extra menu for the facet, allowing the user to filter the frequently long lists of options by entering text or selecting or deselecting options. In other facet types, the menus provide extra facet configuration possibilities.

It is not possible to search in more than one part of the database simultaneously.

Archives

Literature