The royal family in these countries is under great pressure, and after the Dutch king apologizes, the slave | king | country
According to a report on the NBC website on June 30th, King William Alexander of the Netherlands will apologize for the slave trade during the Dutch Empire on July 1st. As the Netherlands reflects on its history, some people in Europe are struggling to deal with the harsh reality of colonialism and slavery. The Dutch king's apology will bring greater apology pressure to the royal families of Britain, Belgium, and other European countries that have engaged in slave trade.
According to reports, in December 2022, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Luther apologized on behalf of the Dutch government to the descendants of enslaved people.
L ü tter announced in December last year that a research project on "State and Slavery" funded by a committee with a budget of 200 million euros would study and expose the country's colonial history. Some countries have also taken similar actions, even paying compensation.
According to reports, King Charles III of the United Kingdom announced in April this year that Buckingham Palace will cooperate in studying the relationship between the British royal family and slavery. Belgium established a committee in 2020 to study the relationship between the Belgian royal family and slavery. Belgian legislators spent several hours debating whether and how to apologize last year, but no agreement was reached. The project in the UK is expected to be completed by 2026.
Belgian King Philip expressed his "deepest regret" during his visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo in June last year. From 1885 to 1908, under the supervision of King Leopold II, the Belgian government seized a large amount of wealth from the natural resources of the Democratic Republic of Congo during its rule, and enslaved, disabled, tortured, and even killed thousands of people.
According to reports, the author of the best-selling book "Empire" on the impact of British colonialism in 2021, British journalist Sutnam Sangra, believes that Britain "lags behind international discussions" in admitting its colonial historical mistakes. He said, "The Dutch commissioned historians to conduct research and made apologies, which precisely highlights that we have done too little."
According to reports, in 2021, Germany referred to its actions in Namibia as "genocide" and promised 1.1 billion euros in compensation. In the same year, French President Macron apologized to Algerians who had fought alongside the French army but were later killed as traitors.
Jeremiah Garsha, an expert in colonial history at the University College Dublin in Ireland, said, "Germany did this, and the Netherlands did the same. This has put pressure on Belgium, which is a bit stubborn."