Threads Completed: The Tapestry of Limburg’s History of Slavery

The research by Natermann and Ernsten offers, for the first time, insight into possible and, until now, under-explored connections between Limburg and the history of slavery in the Netherlands. In this way, Limburg joins other Dutch provinces that have examined their involvement in the history of slavery in recent years. While it was long assumed that primarily the western part of the Netherlands played a central role in this history, it is clear that traces of this fraught history can also be found in the southern province.
 

Local Traces and Material Connections

“In Limburg, involvement in slavery is primarily evident through international trade networks, administrative structures, church records, and cross-border family ties,” says Diana Natermann.

For example, collections and connections—such as those at Museum de Kantfabriek in Horst and the work of Jos Schatorjé—point to textile production and trade networks in which raw materials and techniques often had a broader, sometimes colonial context. The Protestant St. Janskerk in Maastricht also serves as an important example as a baptismal site for enslaved Africans, as does the research of Dineke Stam. She was one of the first to demonstrate how the local history of Cadier en Keer and Maastricht was intertwined with plantations in Suriname and with the notorious plantation owner Susanna du Plessis. In addition, there are military sources that link, for example, the De Stuers brothers from Roermond or the De Well family to Indonesia.
 

Created collaboratively by hundreds of Limburg residents

Artist Quinn Zeljak translated the academic research into a design for a 35-meter-long tapestry. Hundreds of Limburg residents, artists, and heritage institutions then collaborated on the artwork at 15 locations across the province. Existing fabrics were given new life and came together to form a single whole, rich with stories and perspectives from Limburg. A text by the Venlo-based rapper Cetje (Cedric Kenti) has also been incorporated into the tapestry.