Afro-Dutch
Country · Netherlands
Keti Koti — 'the chain is broken' — is marked every July in Amsterdam's Oosterpark, at the national slavery monument.
Afro-Dutch at a glance
- Country
- Netherlands
- Main centres
- Amsterdam · Rotterdam · The Hague · Almere
- Region
- Western Europe
- How many
- Several hundred thousand — largely Surinamese, Antillean, Ghanaian, Cape Verdean and Somali
- Languages
- Dutch · Sranan Tongo · Papiamentu · Twi
- Dialling code
- +31
The African connection
The Dutch abolished slavery in Suriname and the Antilles in 1863, but held the freed for a further ten years of forced 'apprenticeship'. The Dutch state formally apologised in 2022, and the king in 2023.
Key dates for Afro-Dutch
The dates this community marks — independence, emancipation, and the festivals that fill a hall wherever its people have settled.
Diaspora meets diaspora
AfricAsia began with Africans in Asia. The same story runs through every entry in this section — people of African descent building a life a long way from where their ancestors started.
If you are from Afro-Dutch and you are anywhere in Asia — studying, working, playing, passing through — there are people here who will know what you are asking before you finish the question.
Every Asian country →The Afro-Dutch channel
Every entry in the diaspora section has its own free channel in the Hub, alongside the 108 country channels and the topic rooms.
Open the channel →