On October 3, 2009, Fundashon Rehabilitashon Tula hosted a symposium with a dual purpose. The first objective was to establish a resolution to rehabilitate Tula. The second aim was to declare Tula a national hero of the Curaçao community.

Tula was a slave who on the Monday morning of August 17, 1795 organized a group of fellow slaves at the Kenepa plantation who resolved not to work as slaves anymore. The rebellion lasted for more than a month, but in the end the colonial forces crushed the revolt. Tula was interrogated and tortured, convicted and executed all for demanding freedom for himself and his people.

The symposium was opened by Mr. Don Martina, a former prime minister of the Netherlands Antilles and now president of Fundashon Rehabilitashon Tula. In his opening he welcomed all present to the symposium and expressed his aspirations for the event. Ms. Marylin Alcalá-Wallé, Curaçao Commissioner responsible for culture, education and sports, officially opened the symposium saying that “Tula is alive and he will go on living forever”

Prof. Dr. Lewis Gordon

Dr. Gordon (born 1962) is a black philosopher who works in the areas of Africana philosophy, social and political theory, postcolonial thought, theories of race and racism and philosophies of liberation. He has written particularly extensively on race and racism, postcolonial phenomenology, Africana and black existentialism.

In his keynote speech Dr. Gordon addressed the significance of rehabilitation in general and specifically when applied to Tula and the present Curaçao society. In the legal files of the Netherlands Antilles and Curaçao Tula is registered as an outlaw to this day. An outlaw is someone who does not belong in a society. He explained that the concept of rehabilitation is all about making someone fit to restore. Its about officially making Tula one of us again. The next step is to convert him into a national symbol, an expression of who we are and the values we stand for: fighters for freedom, equality and dignity.

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Charles Do Rego, MBA.

Drs. Do Rego presented Tula and his ideals regarding Liberty. Having extensively researched the topic mr. Do Rego drew the context in which the 1795 rebellion took place. Even back in those days Curaçao had a cosmopolitan society, consisting of many nationalities, cultures and languages. Another distinction was that of free citizens and slaves. As a group the slaves also had mixed origins. Among them some were recently brought on the island from Haiti. Several of them spoke French and were clearly influenced by what occurred in Haiti. In Haiti, the most important French colony at that time, a widespread slave rebellion had ended French hegemony. The news of these developments, as well as of the French domination of The Netherlands had reached the islands. The slaves felt that these developments warranted the end of enslavement in the Dutch colonies. These arguments were among those brought forward during negotiations between the freedom fighters and the colonial forces during the revolt.

Little is know of Tula as a person. Dutch records characterize him as a “dikke neger”, which in those times was a way to describe a corpulent black man. His origins are also somewhat shouded in mystery. Tula’s name does not appear on official papers of 1783. Yet records state that he is the brother of Nicolas van Spransa. The fact that he spoke Papiamentu does indicate that he must have been living in Curaçao for an extended period of time before the 1975 revolt.

But not his origins nor his physical appearance are what matter the most. Tula’s main contribution to today’s community can be found in his ideas, his sense of integrity and his struggle for his beliefs. Its for these qualities that this man should be remembered and honored.

Artwell Cain – Managing the memories of slavery.

Mr. Cain is the director of NiNsee, the National Institute for the Study of Dutch Slavery and its Legacy. The NiNsee institute has the goal of realizing a nuanced and realistic image of Dutch slavery and its legacy from various perspectives in order to make this history and its impact visible; to remember, to commemorate, and to process this history for future generations.

Mr. Cain elaborated on the several methods employed by NiNsee to educate the Dutch community about Dutch involvement in slavery, and the legacy of this involvement. Activities includes symposia, conferences, lectures and workshops as well as cooperation with national and international institutions in various countries.

Prof. Dr. Yandi Paula

Prof. Dr. Paula spoke about the significance and importance of Tula in today’s society. At the beginning of his speech he confessed to being a Tula convert. About 36 years ago he would not count himself among those supporting the thought of Tula being worthy of becoming a national hero.

According to the Greek a hero is someone with superhuman powers. For dr. Paula a hero is someone who puts efforts into accomplishing something major for the general interest while risking life and limb. In a 1973 paper by his hand Dr. Paula argued that the word “hero” was insufficient part of our vocabulary for the word to have much meaning to the public at large. Words like “leader” and “pal’í hòmber” (a true man) carried much more meaning. Also at that time he was of the opinion that all who participated in the revolt should be considered heroes.

Now, in 2009, his opinions have changed. The records clearly state how Tula distinguished himself from his brethren in arms. As the leader he discussed the context of slavery with Father Schinck, who tried to negotiate with the freedom leaders. His reasoning, based on religious and political arguments, however valid, fell on deaf ears. As a matter of fact it seems from the report filed by the father that he was at a loss of words to reply to Tula’s theological arguments. Due to his clear and distinguished leadership Tula should be rehabilitated and turned into a national hero.

Mr. Suzy Camelia-Römer

Mr. Suzy Camelia-Römer introduced the resolutions to be discussed upon by the participants of the symposium. Her position was that the rehabilitation of Tula is not a legal issue. The rehabilitation should take place based on moral grounds.