The Private Slave Trade in Eighteenth-Century Amsterdam

An indispensable resource for academics and general readers, this fully translated and revised edition of De grootste slavenhandelaren van Amsterdam. Over Jochem Matthijs en Coenraad Smitt (Walburg Pers, 2022) examines the emergence of private Dutch slave trading in the eighteenth century. Focusing on the enterprise of Jochem Matthijs and Coenraad Smitt – whose slave ships transported an estimated 11,000–13,000 enslaved West Africans to Suriname – Ramona Negrón and Jessica den Oudsten reconstruct the experiences of shipboard crew and captives and uncover the inner workings of the private slave trade.

Drawing upon newly uncovered archival materials, the authors demonstrate how the West India Company’s abandonment of its monopoly in the 1730s precipitated a flourishing private trade. Pioneering case studies – most notably the return voyage of the ’t Gezegende Suikerriet – reveal voices long silenced in conventional narratives.

This edition features a new revised introduction and a new epilogue, making it the definitive scholarly account of Amsterdam’s principal private slave traders and their enduring legacies.