The history of slavery in Curaçao, and in particular the rebellion led by Tula and his companions in 1795, forms an essential part of our common heritage and also of the emancipation process of our people. This part of the history of the enslaved people received some recognition for the first time in the year 1963, when one of the great politicians of modern Curaçao, dr. Moises F. da Costa Gomez, inaugurated a memorial stone pillar. This pillar was erected at Rif, the site where the heads of Tula and Carpata were displayed on stakes. This single act of inauguration ended a long period of silence about the revolt of the enslaved.

After the revolt of May, 1969, many political leaders, intellectuals and artists from Curaçao were inspired by Tula in their search for our national identity. In 1971, a play was presented in the national theater named “Tula” and a book on the same issue and also titled “Tula” followed in 1973. In 1974, a compilation of the most relevant and available documents of that time was presented by the National Archives. In the following years, many other persons and organizations were involved in the commemoration of the 1795 revolt on August 17th of each year. To mention a few: Tribunal, Grupo Trinchera, Hubentud 70, Union Muhé Antiano and the musical band Doble R. The groups directly involved in the organization of this event were the Coordinating Committee for August 17th and its successor the Association for the Promotion of Historic Consciousness. Due to all these efforts, the commemoration became very popular and still is today.

In 1982, the excursion route to revive the epics of the freedom fighters, called Ruta Tula, was organized by Charles do Rego and later got a more systematic and popular character and is still organized each year.

In 1989, a foundation was officially installed to manage the memorial site at Rif: the Foundation National Park. The site is well known for the yearly commemoration of the revolt.

In 1998, a new monument designed by local artist Nel Simon, was placed at this memorial site at Rif. August 17th was officially declared a memorial day in 1985.

Considering the need for a comprehensive historical analysis of the resistance and rebellion of the enslaved people of African descent in the colony of Curaçao, the Coordinating Committee for August 17th asked Charles do Rego to document this particular episode of our history. The result of his investigation was a paper titled “Slavery and Rebellion, 1795” in 1983. The author used available and relevant documents from the Archives about the rebellion, besides literature and documents of a broader scope. He also did some geographical field studies in the area of Bandabou to ensure a correct interpretation of the different aspects of the struggle at that time. In 1995, the Asosiashon Promoshon Konsenshi Históriko (APKH), as the successor of the above named Coordinating Committee, decided to ask the author once again to publish the paper about the rebellion in a book as part of the 200 year commemoration.

To provide for others than those mastering the Papiamento language, the Foundation National Park (FPN), after consultation with the APKH, initiated a version of the book in English. Meanwhile UNESCO had launched the Project “Places of Memory related to the Slave Trade and Slavery Route”. The focus of this project, in general, is to draw attention to the phenomenon of slavery and, more in detail, to shed some light on the sites bearing witness

on this episode in history. The island of Curaçao, as one of the most important distribution centers in the slave trade around 1655, needed to be considered in this respect. This also was an important reason for the Foundation National Park (FPN) to submit a proposal to UNESCO to document the role of Curaçao in this episode and to indicate and honor our Places of Memory. The emphasis is to highlight the trail of resistance of the revolt of the enslaved people to gain their freedom in 1795.

The author accepted this task and made an adapted version of the original document. Lionel Janga has written a section explaining the origins of slavery and of the Dutch slave trade and gives an insight to the wider scope of slavery and resistance.

Lionel Janga also coordinated the efforts to make this project possible as part of the UNESCO program. Besides this book, the FPN is also working on a website with information about history and slavery in Curaçao. Other elements of this larger project are the placement of landmarks indicating and honoring the main locations of the trail of resistance and to supply courses on history about this episode to our youngsters.

Fundashon Parke Nashonal
Pacheco Domacasse
Lionel Janga
Gilbert Bacilio
Frank Quirindongo
Charles do Rego