Although the last remnants of human bondage, characteris tic of feudalism, had nearly vanished in the Republic itself, the Dutch introduced slavery in their colonies following the example set by other colonizing nations such as Spain, Portugal, and England. In the Netherlands East Indies, the Cape Colony, the West Indies, and Surinam, slavery became an institution of colonial law. Al though slavery was not accepted in the Republic itself—jurists even claiming that slaves who came to Europe should be set free—this peculiar institution was not abolished in the Dutch East Indies and Surinam until 1863. Dutch merchants, especially from Zeeland, took part in the slave trade for nearly two centuries.
Historical Dictionary of the Netherlands. EdwART. 2012.