Textbooks Underplay Curaçao Resistance Figures
A study finds Dutch school materials give far less attention to Curaçao's resistance leaders than to those from Indonesia and Suriname.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Historical
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A research report titled Forgotten Stories, Silenced Past found that Dutch history textbooks give less attention to Curaçao's resistance figures than to those of Indonesia and Suriname. Researchers analyzed materials from Malmberg, Noordhoff, and ThiemeMeulenhoff, examining 108 books and selecting 77 for detailed analysis.
Why it matters
Textbooks shape how students understand colonial history, and uneven coverage can leave Caribbean perspectives on slavery and resistance out of the broader narrative. The findings point to a gap that affects how readers in and beyond the Netherlands learn about the region's past.
Researchers counted mentions across 77 selected books from an initial pool of 108, with Sukarno appearing 27 times and Tula, who led Curaçao's 1795 uprising against slavery, appearing 10 times. The report does not address how frequently these materials are used in classrooms or how much weight individual teachers give them.
The players
Tula
Tula was a leader of the 1795 uprising against slavery on Curaçao and remains a central figure in the island's resistance history.
Sukarno
Sukarno was the first president of Indonesia and a major independence leader whose role appears frequently in the analyzed Dutch textbooks.
Anton de Kom
Anton de Kom was a Surinamese writer and anti-colonial activist whose work criticized Dutch colonial rule in Suriname.
The details
Researchers found resistance figures are often introduced briefly without sufficient discussion of their circumstances or struggles, while European figures such as Eduard Douwes Dekker and John Stedman receive more detailed context. Locally developed materials provide some balance, particularly regarding Tula and the 1795 uprising, and the authors recommended Caribbean-focused educational resources and teaching colonial history from multiple perspectives.
Timeline
1795: Tula led Curaçao's uprising against slavery.
November 3, 2026: Report on Dutch textbooks' resistance coverage published.
Historical Context
The 1795 Tula uprising on Curaçao, one of the largest enslaved revolts in the Dutch Caribbean, is now measured against how Dutch school materials represent it compared with resistance movements in Indonesia and Suriname. The study places the island's resistance history within a wider debate over whose colonial past gets taught to Dutch students.
Students using Dutch-imported textbooks may encounter fewer details about Curaçao's resistance leaders than about figures from Indonesia and Suriname. Teachers and parents seeking a fuller account can look for locally developed materials that cover Tula and the 1795 uprising in more depth.
The takeaway
Colonial history is shaped as much by what is left out of textbooks as by what is included. Readers who want a fuller picture should seek out perspectives from the regions themselves.
Further reading
Explore more in the Historical section for context on how colonial pasts are remembered and taught.
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