Duin, Maartje. “De plantage van onze voorouders”

In the eight episodes of the Dutch podcast series “De plantage van onze voorouders” (the plantation of our ancestors), journalist Maartje Duin researches the traces of the Dutch slave trade in the history of her aristocratic family (called Van Lynden). After having discovered that some of her ancestors co-owned the sugar plantation Tout Lui Faut in Surinam, she seeks contact with descendants of the slaves on that very plantation: the Bouva family. She meets Peggy Bouva, one of the descendants, and the two women embark on a journey to reconstruct their shared past. They conduct archival research, talk to members of both families, visit the plantation in Surinam, and most importantly ask urgent, yet sometimes uncomfortable, questions. Who owns the past? Who still feels the effects of the past in the present? And what should be done to properly address that past today? Both Duin and Bouva are open and dare to be vulnerable. Duin, at times apologetic and hesitant, often seeks consensus when their conversations lead to tension, while Bouva is not afraid to ascertain that their views differ. Particularly striking is the last episode, in which their two large families gather; by bringing together the pain of the Bouva family and the shame of the Van Lynden family, Bouva and Duin foster fruitful and taboo breaking dialogues, leading to a unique conversation. The episode addresses important questions regarding reparations and apologies, as well as the value of “dragging up” the past.  

By placing the histories of the two families in the larger framework of Dutch colonial history and implication, the podcast offers a valuable reflection on the difficulties of addressing the colonial past in the Netherlands, as well as contemporary issues of Dutch anti-Black racism. In doing so, the podcast is relevant to studies and discussions of implication and complicity as it provides a thought-provoking case study that allows for a deeper understanding of the complexities of dealing with past injustices from various subject positions. Although Duin, Bouva and other guests in the podcast underscore that the Van Lynden family should not feel guilty about the past atrocities of their ancestors, the podcast explores the many ways in which such atrocities are still felt in today’s society, and how the two families are implicated in this past, thereby fostering a productive dialogue as to what can be done today to deal with such histories.

Author of this entry: Marit van de Warenburg

Duin, Maartje. De plantage van onze voorouders. NPO Radio 1 / VPRO, 2020.