Speech Klaas Knot - "Keti Koti 2022 marks turning
point for DNB"
01 July 2022
General
"Today, on behalf of De Nederlandsche Bank, I apologise. I offer our sincere
apologies to all descendants of enslaved people in the Netherlands, in
Suriname, in Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, in Aruba, Curaçao and Sint
Maarten. I apologise to all those who, because of the personal choices of
many, including my predecessors, were reduced to the colour of their skin. I
apologise to everyone who still bears the consequences of those choices
even today."
Klaas Knot spoke these words on 1 July 2022, Keti Koti, the annual celebration
and commemoration of the abolition of slavery. He also stressed that DNB is
not only opting for words, but also deeds. Deeds that will set us on course for
a more inclusive future.
Date: 1 July 2022
Speaker: Klaas Knot
Location: Slavernijmonument, Amsterdam
Pieta. Twelve hundred guilders.
Zaterdag. Thirteen hundred guilders.
Pierot. Five hundred guilders. "Old".
August. Three hundred guilders. "Sickly".
Claartje. Zero guilders. "Worthless".
Their names, their economic value, and a note on their health. This is how enslaved
people were recorded in a ledger when they were bought or sold. A ledger from a
sugar and coffee plantation in Suriname. A ledger that was kept for one of the
plantation owners: Jan Hodshon. The same man who, in 1816, two years after the
abolition of the trade in enslaved people in the Netherlands, two years after De
Nederlandsche Bank was established, and after having been a board member for
two years, became president of De Nederlandsche Bank.
A position he held for nine years. And all the while, these kinds of ledgers were
kept for him. All the while, he profited from slavery. And all the while, as he looked
around the boardroom at the bank, he saw that he was no exception. Personal
involvement in slavery was nearly ubiquitous among members of the board.
And when slavery was hotly contested in the Netherlands, the members of DNB's
board did their best to keep the political winds blowing in their favour.
My predecessors on the board of De Nederlandsche Bank had plenty of time to
My predecessors on the board of De Nederlandsche Bank had plenty of time to
choose otherwise. They did not, however. This is how the history of De
Nederlandsche Bank begins, the institution whose mandate is to ensure that people
can have confidence in the financial system. A history that the current board is
thoroughly and painfully aware of, thanks to the independent study conducted by
researchers at Leiden University. A history that provides the current board with a
clear mandate. A history that inextricably links my fellow board members and me
to boards of past generations. The current board, however, has resolutely decided
to take a different path.
On behalf of De Nederlandsche Bank, I acknowledge that many of my predecessors
viewed people as nothing more than merchandise. That many defended the
existence of slavery and the prolongation of slavery. And that many later ignored
the ramifications of slavery for a long, long time.
On behalf of De Nederlandsche Bank, I also acknowledge our involvement as an
institution. Some of the money that served as DNB's start-up capital was earned
from slavery. DNB accepted products from the plantations, such as coffee and
sugar, as collateral for a loan. And when slavery was abolished, DNB paid
compensation to plantation owners on the instruction of the Ministry of Colonies,
including to board members of De Nederlandsche Bank.
On behalf of De Nederlandsche Bank, the current Executive Board today apologises
for these reprehensible facts. We offer our sincere apologies to all descendants of
enslaved people in the Netherlands, in Suriname, in Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and
Saba, in Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten. We apologise to all those who, because
of the personal choices of my predecessors, were reduced to the colour of their
skin. To an amount. To a commodity listed in a ledger. We apologise to everyone
who still bears the consequences of those choices even today.
Over the past few months, I have heard many personal stories - stories of
suffering, but also of resistance and struggle. I heard painful stories. I learned a
great deal. And it hurt. What I heard brought the suffering of the past and present
very close to home. And at the same time, that suffering remained terribly,
disconcertingly distant for someone who grew up in the far north of the country.
The conversations I had made it clear that the suffering of long ago is far from
over, that the fight is far from over.
We therefore choose not only to apologise today. We are opting for more than just
words, but also for deeds. Deeds that will hopefully contribute to the fight against
racism, inequality and injustice. Deeds that we can accomplish today. Deeds that
will set us on course for a more inclusive future:
We are setting up a fund that we will use to finance projects in the service of
society - projects related to education, healthcare, employment and more.
Projects in the Netherlands in the Caribbean and in Suriname This fund will
Projects in the Netherlands, in the Caribbean and in Suriname. This fund will
finance projects worth €5 million over the next ten years.
In addition, we are providing one-off funding of an additional €5 million for a
number of larger initiatives such as the National Research Centre on the History
of Slavery.
We are also closely examining our own organisation. We need to become more
diverse and more inclusive, and we will put forth every effort to make that
happen. We must ensure that we ar e better able to detect and recognise racism
and respond to it decisively. And we intend to boost diversity at De
Nederlandsche Bank in our recruitment & selection procedures, through
internships and traineeships, and in promotions.
Moreover, we will not conceal our past, which we have now come to know more
acutely. Our history will be given a prominent place in our Amsterdam
headquarters, serving as an invitation for further dialogue. A dialogue that we
will also pursue using works of art from our vast collection, a collection which we
will moreover recast with greater emphasis on diversity.
The words I speak today, and the deeds I am announcing today, do not signify the
end of a journey for De Nederlandsche Bank, but rather a turning point.
For De Nederlandsche Bank, 1 July 2022 signifies a touchstone as we look to the
future. A future in which DNB is more inclusive. A future - I hope - with a more
inclusive society. A future - I hope - with each other.
Thank you for allowing me, on behalf of the entire Executive Board of De
Nederlandsche Bank, to stand before you here today and deliver this message.