Dutch slavery records and film collection added to world's memory

RNW, 26 May 2011

In Paris, UNESCO has announced that Dutch slavery records and a film collection are to be added to its Memory of the World Register.

Among the latest additions is the EYE Film Institute's Desmet film collection. Pioneer in the field Jean Desmet was the first large film distributor and cinema owner in the Netherlands. His collection contains around 900 films from between 1907 and 1916. It includes unique early cinema productions, some of which were thought to have been lost, as well as posters, advertising material and photos.

But it is not just films that have been added to the UNESCO list. The slavery administration of the Middelburg Commercial Company (MCC) is also considered a valuable piece of world heritage.

The MCC, based in the Province of Zeeland, was involved in the international slave trade in Europe, Africa and the West Indies. Between 1720 and 1889, MCC ships made 300 voyages, more than a third of them carrying slaves.

The archive is unique because it is almost completely intact. It includes records on slave transport, logbooks and surgeons' and doctors' journals.

Dutch author Multatuli's original manuscript of Max Havelaar, his book on the Dutch exploitation of coffee plantations in Indonesia, was also nominated, though did not make the heritage list. Today the figure of Max Havelaar is a hallmark of fair trade in the Netherlands.