The Slave Trade in Curaçao

Between 1665 and 1863, Curaçao played an important role in the transatlantic slave trade. The Dutch West India Company (WIC) used the island as a trading centre for African people who were forcibly taken from their homelands.

These enslaved people endured terrible conditions during the voyage across the Atlantic. Some were held temporarily in Curaçao before being sold and transported to other parts of the Caribbean, Central America and South America.

Others remained on the island and were forced to work in homes, on plantations, in the harbour and in other workplaces. They were denied their freedom and treated as property, although they were human beings with families, cultures, knowledge and hopes for the future.

Enslaved people resisted in many ways, including refusing to obey, escaping and organising uprisings. On 17 August 1795, Tula led a major revolt against slavery in Curaçao.

On 1 July 1863, slavery was abolished in Curaçao. However, legal freedom did not immediately bring equality or end the economic and social difficulties faced by formerly enslaved people.