Mapping the Colonial Past in the Public Space. A Comparison between Belgium and the Netherlands
Both in Belgium and the Netherlands, the colonial past is currently fiercely debated. This review article discusses recent publications on colonial heritage in the public space in the two countries: an academic monograph on Belgian postcolonial memory written by Matthew G. Stanard, a Belgian walking guide authored by Lucas Catherine, and a series of Dutch slavery heritage guides set up by interdisciplinary authors’ collectives. This review article also reflects on the different ways in which Belgium and the Netherlands deal with their colonial past. The decolonisation of the Belgian public spa... Mehr ...
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Dokumenttyp: | Artikel |
Erscheinungsdatum: | 2020 |
Reihe/Periodikum: | BMGN: Low Countries Historical Review, Vol 135, Iss 1 (2020) |
Verlag/Hrsg.: |
openjournals.nl
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Schlagwörter: | History of Low Countries - Benelux Countries / DH1-925 |
Sprache: | Englisch Niederländisch |
Permalink: | https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-26801407 |
Datenquelle: | BASE; Originalkatalog |
Powered By: | BASE |
Link(s) : | https://doaj.org/article/59774cd1117f4bfbbdceede241ff9e4a |
Both in Belgium and the Netherlands, the colonial past is currently fiercely debated. This review article discusses recent publications on colonial heritage in the public space in the two countries: an academic monograph on Belgian postcolonial memory written by Matthew G. Stanard, a Belgian walking guide authored by Lucas Catherine, and a series of Dutch slavery heritage guides set up by interdisciplinary authors’ collectives. This review article also reflects on the different ways in which Belgium and the Netherlands deal with their colonial past. The decolonisation of the Belgian public space has recently shifted into a higher gear: in 2018, the first prime minister of Congo, Patrice Lumumba, was honoured in two street names for the first time, and in 2019 two cities decided to re-baptise their Leopold II Avenues. Yet, Belgium lags behind the Netherlands in this matter. There, several monuments for heroes and victims from the former colonies have been established and a handful of slavery heritage guides have been published. These guides uncover a past that deliberately had been silenced and assist diaspora groups in creating a memory, by marking significant sites and making slavery legacy visible. Several elements, both from the past and the present, can account for this gap between Belgium and the Netherlands. Zowel in België als in Nederland is het koloniaal verleden het voorwerp van hevige debatten. Dit recensie-artikel bespreekt recente publicaties over koloniaal erfgoed in de publieke ruimte van beide landen: een academische monografie van Matthew G. Stanard over Belgische postkoloniale herinneringen, een Belgische wandelgids geschreven door Lucas Catherine, en een reeks van Nederlandse gidsen rond slavernij-erfgoed die zijn opgesteld door interdisciplinaire auteurscollectieven. Het artikel staat ook stil bij de verschillende manieren waarop België en Nederland omgaan met hun koloniaal verleden. De dekolonisatie van de Belgische openbare ruimte is recent in een stroomversnelling geraakt. In 2018 werd de ...