Do not miss out on the upcoming Leiden Interdisciplinary Migration Seminars (LIMS) book talk entitled “The Christian Slaves of Depok: A Colonial Tale Unravels”, with author Dr. Nonja Peters from Huygens Institute for the History of the Netherlands / John Curtin Institute of Public Policy, Curtin University, Western Australia, on Thursday, 18th of November 2021, from 16:30 to 18:00 (CET).

Discussants:

Prof. Dr. Leonard Blussé van Oud Alblas from Leiden University

Prof. Dr. Fridus Steijlen from VU/KITLV

This book recounts the little-known history of Cornelis Chastelein, a high-ranking official of the Dutch East India Company, and the 150-200 enslaved people he purchased from slave markets around South-East Asia to work his landed estates in the Batavian (Jakarta) hinterlands. It traces the making and unraveling of his dream to create a self-sustaining Christian community of freed slaves amid a Muslim stronghold. To this end, on his death on 28 June 1714, he freed most of his slaves and bequeathed those who had embraced Christianity, his 1244-hectare Depok estate in “collective ownership”.

LIMS, organized by Leiden University, a partner of the Horizon 2020 project ITHACA – Interconnecting Histories and Archives for Migrant Agency: Entangled Narratives Across Europe and the Mediterranean Region, aims at fostering discussion across disciplines on migration-related topics and creating an open dialogue between the speakers and the attendees. The seminars are a platform for those at Leiden University working on migration-related topics.

Access the talk online via https://smart.newrow.com/#/room/qjg-259

A limited number of seats are available in the Huizinga conference room (room 2.60; Doelensteeg 16, Leiden). Registration is not necessary, but to ensure a place, please send an email at a.d.j.shield@hum.leidenuniv.nl.

Learn more about the book talk by visiting the official webpage.