When you walk past the Dordrecht Patrician House, you do not yet know the story behind the building and its owners/occupants over the years. A story that is closely linked to Dordrecht's colonial past. To create awareness about this past, this exhibition was created in cooperation with Koloniaal Verleden Dordrecht. A comprehensive picture is painted of the "trade and walk" of the Trip family. A descendant of this lineage, Jacob Trip de Jonge, had the property built in the mid-17th century in which the Dordrecht Patrician House is now located. The involvement in colonialism goes beyond the members of the Trip family. This is evidenced by the family network. Several influential regent families were linked by marriage.
During the 17th century, Amsterdam became an important market for sugar in Northwest Europe. Dordrecht was considered the third important "sugar city" in the Republic. Slavery was inextricably linked to sugar refining. In this, the West India Company (WIC), founded in 1621, played a key role through the Trans-Atlantic "triangular trade." Slaves were bought in West Africa and then transported on ships under degrading- and unhygienic conditions) to the Caribbean islands and North and South America. Sugar was grown on plantations by forced labor of these enslaved people. Many names are known of Dordt owners of sugar plantations in Pernambuco (colony in Brazil: 1630-1654) and Suriname (colony from 1667).
Please note! The museum is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
