Destination Port City: the colonial past of Rotterdam

Destination Port City at the Maritime Museum, Rotterdam, sees visitors board a virtual metro exploring how Rotterdam has been shaped by water, its ports, labour - and the slave trade.

In this exhibition, which opened in December 2022, and will remain on display for the next six years, maritime stories are told in eight stations, each with its own theme. It starts with the story of the birth of Rotterdam in 1270 and ends looking into the future. The stories of port and city are interwoven with personal stories of inhabitants of present-day Rotterdam.

Starting in Leuvehaven

The Maritime Museum is located at Leuvehaven, and the exhibition’s Leuvehaven station is where the story about a colonial past begins.

In the 17th century, large sailing ships were moored in the Leuvehaven, ready to sail to Asia, Africa, the Caribbean or Brazil.

They brought back sugar, coffee, tobacco, cocoa and spices. The goods were stored in the basements of the merchants’ houses. Rich families lived in the most desirable premises. They invested in trade in Asia, where the Dutch East India Company (the VOC) used both diplomacy and violence to acquire the spice trade. They also had plantations in Suriname and on the island of Curaçao, where enslaved people from Africa cultivated the products that were so desired in Europe.

It was not only the rich merchants who profited from the trade: other Rotterdam residents earned nicely from it too.

The ships had to be built and provisioned, and the products that were brought in had to be processed and transported further. The city grew and flourished: you could come across the name ‘Rotterdam’ all over the globe, from the forts called Rotterdam in Macassar (now in Indonesia) and on the island of St. Eustatius, through to plantations bearing the name Rotterdam in Suriname. Wealth for Rotterdam went hand-in-hand with exploitation on the other side of the world.

Transatlantic slave trade

In the 17th and 18th centuries, ships from Rotterdam set off for the west coast of Africa, loaded with textiles, spirits, gunpowder and guns. Those goods were used to buy enslaved Africans and transport them to the Caribbean and Suriname. From the colonies, the ships sailed back to Rotterdam with produce grown on the plantations there by enslaved people. Rotterdam merchants had their ships converted for this trafficking. For the captive Africans, the journey was terrible. On average, one in seven died on the way, their deaths caused by infectious diseases, poor nutrition and suicide. Africans also died in revolts that broke out on board.

The Scottish officer Stedman is one of the few who recorded the violence against enslaved people in drawings. His book ‘Narrative of a five years' expedition’ is included in the exhibition.

Other archival records show how enslaved people were used as commodities. They lost their own names and were given new names by the plantation owners where they were put to work.

A model of a ship is displayed in front of an image of Brooks' famous depiction to show the degrading way in which enslaved people were stowed in ships. Next to the model is an auction ticket announcing a slave ship and its inventory. The inventory includes 'slave chains and shackles'. The note comes from one of the largest Rotterdam slave traders of the 18th century, Coopstad & Rochussen.

Also on display is one of the two oldest printed maps of Suriname showing tobacco and sugar plantations and the names of the plantation owners.

The power of personal stories

The images make an impression, but even more impressive is Maureen Mollis' personal story.

Maureen is a descendant of enslaved people, and is leader of the municipal programme for colonial and slavery history of the city of Rotterdam. When visitors enter the exhibition, they first encounter her portrait and further on, hear from Maureen as she recounts the city's colonial past and explains what this past means to her personally.

‘I love the Netherlands – I grew up here. When I cycle across the Erasmus Bridge, You see a black woman. But I’m not just a woman of colour – I’m Maureen, I’m a Rotterdam native, I’m a mother and a partner and proud to work for the city. I’m well aware that the prosperity of Rotterdam was earned at the expense of others, and that’s not a pleasant thought.’ – Maureen Mollis

The exhibition space is split into two sides. One side is dedicated to shipping, colonial trade and the Rotterdam merchants who not only got rich from that trade but also exercised influence in all levels of government in the city. The other side shows the impact on the inhabitants of the colonies, who were exploited, enslaved and transported to the other side of the world.

Interweaving personal stories from Rotterdam’s present inhabitants demonstrates that this turbulent past still resonates throughout life in the city today.

You can find out more about the exhibition on the Maritime Museum Rotterdam’s website.