We Slaves of Suriname

Anton de Kom's We Slaves of Suriname is a literary masterpiece as well as a fierce indictment of racism and colonialism. In this classic book, published here in English for the first time, the Surinamese writer and resistance leader recounts the history of his homeland, from the first settlements by Europeans in search of gold through the era of the slave trade and the period of Dutch colonial rule, when the old slave mentality persisted, long after slavery had been formally abolished.

159 years after the abolition of slavery in Suriname and 88 years after its initial publication, We Slaves of Suriname has lost none of its brilliance and power.

Auteur

Anton de Kom was a leading advocate of Surinamese independence from Dutch colonial rule. Born in Paramaribo, Suriname, on February 22, 1898, he was banished by the colonial authorities in 1933; he wrote We Slaves of Suriname from exile in the Netherlands, where it was first published in 1934. When World War II broke out, De Kom joined the Dutch resistance; he was arrested by the Germans in 1944 and deported to the Neuengamme concentration camp, where he died on April 24, 1945. In June 2020, Anton de Kom was added to the Dutch national core curriculum for history education (the Canon of the Netherlands) because of his central role in opposing racism and colonialism.

Résumé

Anton de Kom's We Slaves of Suriname is a literary masterpiece as well as a fierce indictment of racism and colonialism. In this classic book, published here in English for the first time, the Surinamese writer and resistance leader recounts the history of his homeland, from the first settlements by Europeans in search of gold through the era of the slave trade and the period of Dutch colonial rule, when the old slave mentality persisted, long after slavery had been formally abolished.

159 years after the abolition of slavery in Suriname and 88 years after its initial publication, We Slaves of Suriname has lost none of its brilliance and power.

Contenu

Translator's Note

Introductions

Frimangron by Tessa Leuwsha

The Breath of Freedom by Duco van Oostrum

Why Anton de Kom Still Inspires Generation after Generation by Mitchell Esajas

Foreword by Judith de Kom

We Slaves of Suriname

"Sranan," our fatherland

The era of slavery

The arrival of the whites

El Dorado

The first settlements

The Dutch regime

The slave trade

The market

Enslaved

The slave woman

The masters

The punishments

The History of Our Nation

Van Aerssen van Sommelsdyck (1683-1688)

The brutes

The forest expeditions

Johan Jacob Mauricius (1742-1751)

Governor Crommelin (1752-1768)

Governor Nepveu (1770-1779)

Buku (decayed into dust)

The final chapter for the resistance

Suriname under British rule

The great fire

The fate of the ethical

White settlement

Fighting the current

Governors on parade

The abolition of slavery

Freedom?

The great sellout

The era of freedom

How we live

The essence of autonomy

Fin de siècle

Indentured labor

Free labor

In search of gold

The major crops

What becomes of those millions?

Results

Reunion and farewell

Notes

Glossary of Surinamese terms

Index