Variations of African Life in the Eighteenth-Century Netherlands: Between a Boy Servant at the Court of Orange-Nassau and a Lord of the Manor in the Province of Groningen

This chapter researches the question of how young Africans were received and lived in the Netherlands in the 18th century, being brought there in a state of indenture which often lasted for many years. The research focusses on the biographies of two young men, one (Christiaan van der Vegt) brought over from the Gold Coast of West Africa and presented to the court of Orange-Nassau, the other (Arij de Graaff) being the son of a DUtch West India Company official in Africa and a local lady, who came to the Netherlands as an orphan. Christiaan's life was long, but also full of tribulations and focussed on survival once the court handed him over to the mayor of Weesp. Arij came under the full protection of the West India Company, had a glowing career in its service, became rich as a slave trader, and eventually settled as a lord of the manor in the Netherlands. Both men are examples at the two ends of the spectrum of African lives in the Netherlands in the 18th century. Through their lives the authors analyse common patterns and specificities for the larger group of young African adults in the Netherlands in this period.