Dutch Colombians

**Dutch Colombians** are citizens of Colombia of full, partial, predominately Dutch ancestry or Dutch-born immigrant in Colombia. The community of the Dutch people in Colombia makes up the most largest Dutch community in the country.

## History

Some of the Dutch explorers arrived at the coasts of the Colombian Caribbean. Moreover, most of the approximately 100 Dutch families identified in Barranquilla, Cartagena, Santa Marta, Riohacha, Maicao and Sincelejo and registered at the Consulate of the Netherlands in Barranquilla, came to Colombia from Aruba and Curacao, the former Netherlands Antilles. The group of Dutch immigrants was very small, and even the majority of the first emigrants opted to return to their country of origin, mainly and as stated by Peter Slagter, member of the Dutch community and consul of that country for more than two decades in Barranquilla, to the cultural shock. Other factors such as the inclement tropical climate and the differences between the Dutch and Caribbean idiosyncrasies also contributed to these European immigrants decided to return to the Netherlands. Ironically, that sun and Caribbean hubbub of the mid-twentieth century also enchanted some, including Peter's father, Jan Gerbrand Slagter.

Jan Gerbrand Slagter came to Colombia approximately in 1935 as an executive of the Curaçao Trading Company. Peter says that the climate, the landscape, the customs and the Caribbean traditions made his father fall in love with Barranquilla. The Barranquilla of the thirties grew at a great pace and positioned itself as an important commercial city in the Caribbean. By then, there was a considerable group of immigrants from all over the world working hand in hand with the locals to build a small metropolis on the shore of the Caribbean Sea. Meanwhile, war winds were beginning to stalk Europe. In 1939 the Second World War broke out, bringing serious and imagined social, economic and political consequences for the whole world. Shortly after the start of the war, Germany invaded Holland,

The Dutch had begun to emigrate mainly in the period between wars and during and after the Second World War. Once in Barranquilla, those who decided to stay despite the cultural and climatic differences, built friendships with other European emigrants, such as the Swedes and Spaniards. Peter's mother, Aukje, was one of those who struggled to adapt to her new life in the Caribbean. The climate and the marked Latin social hierarchy managed to impact it, which is why Aukje made several trips between Holland and Colombia, unlike the majority of emigrants who decided to stay and who gradually lost contact with their homeland, which explains why today this community does not preserve the language nor the typical Dutch food.

The Dutch who remained on the Colombian Caribbean coast have contributed greatly to the commercial and industrial development of the region, while others have contributed to the social area in order to improve the quality of life of thousands of Barranquilla. Surnames such as De Hart, Van Houten, Slagter and Esbra, from the Netherlands, and Rodriguez, de la Rosa, Cortizos, de Castro and Charris, among others, from the former Antilles, still exist today in the Caribbean, and while sometimes they are not visible as a well-defined community, they have undoubtedly been and continue to be important actors in the progress of the Caribbean region.