Dutch bank ABN Amro apologises for role in slave trade
Apology comes after study finds some of the bank’s legal predecessors were involved in slavery activities in the past.
The bank is one of the first Dutch private companies to apologise for its role in the Atlantic slave trade amid growing debate about a painful period in the Netherlands’s colonial past.
Research commissioned by ABN AMRO found some of its legal predecessors were involved in “plantation slavery and the trade in products that originated in slavery during the 18th and 19th centuries”.
“Slavery caused untold suffering, and ABN AMRO apologises for the actions and activities of these predecessors,” said in a statement.
One of its predecessors, Hope & Co, “played a pivotal role in the international slave economy of the 18th century”, ABN AMRO said.
“Not only were slavery-related operations a source of much of Hope & Co’s profits, the firm was also actively involved in the day-to-day business of plantations,” it said.
“Hope & Co was the largest financial and commercial company in the Netherlands at the end of the 18th century, and slavery-related operations formed a core part of its business,” said Pepijn Brandon, senior researcher of the Amsterdam-based International Institute of Social History.
“Decisions made in offices in Amsterdam and Rotterdam directly impacted the lives of thousands of enslaved persons,” Brandon said.
Another predecessor, Mees en Zoonen, brokered insurance for slave ships and shipments of goods harvested by enslaved people.
