The opening of the exhibition ‘Days of Slavery on St. Eustatius’ by King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands in the Museum of the St. Eustatius Historical Foundation (SEHF) was marked by an incident. It was the result of a last-minute obstruction by the island governor’s cabinet of the agreed and approved script and program of the King’s interaction at the museum.
The slavery past of the island is obviously still a sensitive subject. From the start, the island governor (appointed by the Dutch government in The Hague) was opposed to the inclusion of the exhibition in the program of the Royal visit to the island. However, it remained included. The island governor then tried to get the opening act by the King removed from the official script of the visit. That also failed. Finally, this opening act was obstructed minutes before the arrival of the Dutch Royal couple, leaving the King and Queen in an awkward situation.
The King was going to open the exhibition by placing a branch of the flamboyant tree over the door of the reconstructed slave hut that is part of the exhibits. This refers to the traditional Statian way of celebrating Emancipation Day by decorating houses with these branches. This was also in the official program and script of the visit and the Royal couple was briefed accordingly. The children of the Historical Foundation’s youth club under the leadership of museum employee Misha Spanner had rehearsed their short rendition of Statia’s traditional emancipation song ("Happy July Day") that was going to end with two of the children handing the branch to the King.
However, when the Royal Couple was escorted to the hut by SEHF President Ms. Rosabel Blake it turned out that the branch had already been placed over the door opening. Minutes before the King and Queen arrived, a member of the Island Governor’s Cabinet had gone to the hut and said that that part of the program had been scrapped – despite this not being the case. Miss Spanner was told not to include the branch in the routine. Since the King and Queen were all prepared for this symbolic opening act but were now left empty handed, this interfering created an awkward moment for the Royal couple and led to an embarrassing situation.
The St. Eustatius Historical Foundation does not understand the reasons for the obstruction.
Every year on the 1st of July, Emancipation Day is celebrated on St. Eustatius and the oral history of the island includes many stories about slavery that were handed down from generation to generation.
The exhibition was put together on the occasion of the 150 years anniversary of the abolition of slavery in the Dutch Caribbean this year. In 2002, a National Monument Dutch Slavery Past was unveiled in Amsterdam in the presence of the mother of King Willem-Alexander, then Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.
Caption: Simon Doncker Club members performing at the opening for King and Queen of the Netherlands (in front of hut)