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Dutch king makes historic apology for his country’s colonial past
(www.politico.eu)
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this post was submitted on 01 Jul 2023
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many incredibly positive changes and advancements for the netherlands from exploiting colonies that saw extremely little of that wealth making its way back
any wealth that did make its way back was nearly exclusively to aid in the exploitation, not out of some genuine kindness
not to mention that doing a good thing does not bar you from blame for reprehensible actions, such as the netherlands shockingly brutal retaliation to any disobedience by the indigenous people of its colonies
I.E. the netherlands got rich off the backs of its colonies, which were neglected and abused for it
not to mention their expansive role in the transatlantic slave trade
an apology from the main representative of the nation is more than warranted, and its honestly fucking embarrassing that this absolutely tiny, practically meaningless statement took this long
But what does this apology actually do? It doesn’t accomplish anything at this point. The people apologizing aren’t the perpetrators. “I’m sorry my great grandpa did horrific shit.” What? You weren’t even around when your great grandpa was. You are apologizing for something for which you have absolute no control or agency. It doesn’t make any sense.
it acknowledges the crimes and that they were in fact bad things to do that we are not proud of, and it makes people feel better at 0 tangible cost to the netherlands
no one is suggesting that anyone alive today is at fault
i also dont know why you did some schpiel about how colonialism totally wasnt that bad if your real issue issue is apparently the lack of agency
Im creating an argument that goes against the apology. I don’t find that it’s a productive use of time. Nor do I believe that colonialism is all bad. There were many positive aspects of colonialism that lead to a more globalized and multicultural world. It has also led to advancements that would not have occurred at this time without the commixture of different peoples and cultures.
The simple narrative is that the super powerful Europeans came over and oppressed everyone native. But that’s not the reality.