WILLEMSTAD - The Slave Revolt of 1795 led by Tula is commemorated on Curaçao. It was at his initiative that some fifty enslaved people stopped working, leading to a major slave revolt on the island.  

This year, for the first time, a delegation from the Dutch House of Representatives attended the commemoration. A wreath was also laid.  

The ceremony was attended by thousands of people who had turned up at a government appeal. The story of Tula was told in Papiamento to those present at the monument.  

During the commemoration hardly any attention was paid to the presence of the Dutch delegation. But in the run-up to it, it was often named, because Curaçao hopes for recognition, apologies and possible reparations from the Netherlands.  

The parliamentary delegation started a nine-day working visit to Suriname, Curaçao and Bonaire on 13 August. The research trip is intended as preparation for the commemorative year 2023. Then it will be 150 years ago that the Netherlands ended slavery. Slavery was formally abolished in 1863, but in 1873 it also ceased to exist in practice.  

In Curaçao, the MPs talk to residents of different neighborhoods about the impact of the slavery past. The delegation consists of nine MPs and is led by Kiki Hagen (D66). Among the participants are also faction leaders Klaver from GroenLinks and Simons from Bij1.  

Hagen said afterwards that the visit will lead to a travel report that may also contain recommendations for the Dutch government. She did not yet say which message will be in the report, except that it will be sharply formulated.  

On Curaçao, people wonder what the Netherlands is waiting for. At the commemoration there was also a small group of demonstrators who accuse the Netherlands of a VOC/WIC mentality (West India Company), which meant that there would be no apologies for the slavery past. 

Tula's Struggle for Freedom on August 17, 1795  

Tula worked as a slave on the Kenepa plantation in the late 18th century. Discontent among the enslaved grew: they received little to eat and worked long hours in the heat. Inspired by the French Revolution, Tula, together with fifty fellow sufferers, revolted for their right to freedom.  

The colonial administration tried to suppress the uprising, but failed. An army attacked the insurgents, after which a bloody battle began for almost a month. In the end, the insurgents lost the battle and Tula was brutally executed.