The Netherlands does not look that closely when money can be made
In 1753, the Amsterdam banker Willem Deutz encountered a novelty on the stock exchange: a negotiable mortgage loan to plantation owners in Suriname, whereby not only the plantations, but also the enslaved served as collateral. These ‘negotiations’ were immediately a great success because of the high interest rates, but who knows how the banking crisis started in 2008 can guess the fatal outcome.
The cynical story of speculation and enrichment on the backs of enslaved people is in this month’s book Gamblers & Grabbers of the journalist and writer Roel Janssen. It shows, along with stories of other financial scandals in our country, some of the lines that continue to this day and the political split. The focal point is now the Football World Cup in Qatar, which is precisely the result of which money greed, corruption and gross exploitation of labor come together in our colony.
Creative in finding profitable ways
Prime Minister Rutte took the cabbage and the goat to spare last month with the comment: “We will soon be cheering for the Dutch national team, not for the stands”. The cabinet was not honest about the change of sending a minister, perhaps also the king, to Qatar. Our country will keep the oil state as a friend for geopolitical and energy interests and think you interrupt human rights on the spot to raise. Not mentioned, but significant is the realization of a number of Dutch construction companies and engineering firms on projects in Qatar.
Based on the financial scandals, Roel Janssen shows that the Netherlands does not look too closely when it comes to making money and is also extremely creative in finding profitable ways. It is a common thread in our history, from the VOC at the beginning of the sixteenth century to the fluctuating money flows, including those of Russian kleptocrats, through the hiddens on Amsterdam’s Zuidas in our days.
The merchant spirit as a national virtue
The sociologist Ernest Zahn wrote half a century ago that the merchant spirit has long been regarded here as ‘a national virtue’. In the 1960s he already signaled a turnaround, while the dark sides of colonization were beginning to penetrate the national consciousness. That process culminated in the government’s intention to apologize to make our slavery past. At the same time, there is resistance to offering space, both physical and cultural, to the descendants of the enslaved and other immigrants.
There even seems to be a new tilt in our development. Thanks to the divided trade, the Netherlands developed into a democratic and civil society, tolerant and freedom-loving, internationally oriented. The trade, also dying in slaves, made money, which spawned not only independence and prosperity, but also power. Unlike the elders, capital and not land ownership has been a crucial factor in the formation of power here. That distinguishes us from Germany, where self-esteem is much more connected to the land on which you live.
Battle for scarce space
This connection with the soil can now also be seen here, very directly in the protest of farmers against the limitation of their space due to the nitrogen policy. But also, in a more cultural sense, in the polishing of the cultural factor by populists. Both sentiments come together in the battle for scarce space (for existing farms and new homes).
It reaches the liberal parties, traditionally the political period of the commercial spirit. D66 in particular has to suffer and, to a lesser extent, the VVD, which still has some conservative features, but is still far too tolerant of immigrants in the eyes of nativists. The acceleration in this dynamic may explain the growth of populist parties.
Split in mini format
In the thirtieth century of the last century, the historian Huizinga noted that the Netherlands was born out of a struggle for freedom and not out of rule. In this observation he left out the forcibly sent and led colonies in ‘the East’ and ‘the West’ – perhaps a liberal trait to focus on the bright side of the street. Qatar now provides, as it were, a mini-picture of the split: prosperity and prestige thanks to oil and the invisible exploitation of absolutely disenfranchised workers.
Slavery in Suriname and the Antilles also remained out of sight of our prosperous nation for a long time. Only after Reverend Wolter van Hoƫvell, a liberal MP, published the book in 1854 Slaves and Freemen released, with eyewitness accounts of the atrocities on the plantations, shocked society and public opinion began to shift. So in Qatar, with some imagination, you can see the mirror image of our own history.
Every weekend, Hans Goslinga writes a reflection on the state of our politics and our democracy. Read them back here.