Digitization of Surinamese plantation archives

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Image
Map of Commewijne and Cottica Rivers in the colony of Suriname. Image: National Archives of the Netherlands
Caption
Map of Commewijne and Cottica Rivers in the colony of Suriname.
Authors
National Archives of the Netherlands
Discipline
Heritage
Country
Suriname

Digitization of Surinamese plantation archives

The National Archives of the Netherlands and the Surinaams Museum sign an agreement to digitize 19th century records.
By Johan van Langen, National Archives of the Netherlands

The collection of the Surinaams Museum contains important archives that provide a good picture of the management of plantations and the living conditions of enslaved persons in Suriname in the 19th century. On 23 June 2022, the National Archives of the Netherlands and the Surinaams Museum signed an agreement to digitize these records, thereby improving access to these items.

Media
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The Surinaams Museum and the National Archives of the Netherlands sign the agreement on 23 June 2022.
Caption
The Surinaams Museum and the National Archives of the Netherlands sign the agreement on 23 June 2022.
Authors
National Archives of the Netherlands

Scans available in 2024

The records of the two plantations Vrouwenvlijt and Vossenburg, the records of Mr A.F. Lammens – Judge at the Combined Court for the Prevention of the Slave Trade in Suriname – and various manuscripts related to slavery in Suriname, Saba, Statia, and St. Martin will be part of the digitization project. These records were created in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the past, these archives were used by individual researchers, but they are difficult to access for the general public.

To make the digitization possible, a scanner will be installed at the Museum and staff will be trained to become scanner operators. The scans are expected to become available in 2024 in the reading room of the National Archives of the Netherlands and at locations of the Surinaams Museum.

Media
Image
Map of Commewijne and Cottica Rivers in the colony of Suriname. Image: National Archives of the Netherlands
Caption
Map of Commewijne and Cottica Rivers in the colony of Suriname.
Authors
National Archives of the Netherlands
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