Two Manuscripts, One History: How Dutch Investments Fueled Slavery in Suriname

Willem Suermondt buys a plantation bond at auction.

At first glance, they appear to be trivial documents: two brief manuscripts, neatly handwritten, containing little more than amounts and names. But a closer look reveals how these pieces offer a striking window into the Dutch history of slavery and its deep entanglement with 18th-century financial culture.

Both documents date from 1780 and originate in Rotterdam. At the centre is Willem Suermondt (1740–1828), a prominent merchant and later mayor of the city. What do we learn? Suermondt was active in the trade of so-called plantation bonds—essentially debt certificates—linked to Surinamese plantations. In this case: Leverpoel and De Nieuwe Grond.

Willem Suermondt sells part of a plantation bond.

Bonds as Investment Instruments

In the Dutch Republic, a lively market existed for plantation bonds. “Plantations, including the enslaved people working on them, were sold at auction or by private sale in Amsterdam. The contracts were formalised at a notary's office. If you browse through 18th-century newspapers, you’ll frequently come across ads for Surinamese plantations,” notes historian Mark Ponte.

Advertisement relating to bonds for plantations Patientie and De Nieuwe Grond. Amsterdamse courant, 24-10-1780, p. 2. Source: Delpher.

These two manuscripts illustrate how that worked in practice. The first is a proof of purchase: Suermondt acquires 40.75% of a 1,000-guilder bond, issued in 1767 by the Amsterdam firm Lever & De Bruine. He pays 407 guilders and 10 stuivers, plus 5 guilders in auction fees. The bond pertains to two Surinamese plantations, making this document a direct financial link to slavery.

The second manuscript shows the reverse transaction: Suermondt sells part of a plantation bond to a certain Petrus Cantzlaar, represented by his sons Pieter Jacob and Hugo. The bond represents a loan of 1,000 guilders tied to the plantations, and Suermondt sells 50% of it. Thus, the bond changed from a long-term investment into a freely tradeable financial product, akin to a modern stock.

What Kind of Plantations Were These?

Plantage Leverpoel on a hand-drawn map of Suriname by Johann Heinrich Moseberg. Source: Atlas of Mutual Heritage.

Plantage Leverpoel (also known as Liverpool or Leeverpoel) was situated along the Cottica River and produced coffee and cotton. De Nieuwe Grond was established around 1745 in the Commewijne region, near present-day Paramaribo. According to records from 1819, between 112 and 125 enslaved people worked on the plantation. It remained profitable until around 1826, but gradually declined and was ultimately abandoned around the abolition of slavery in 1863.

Plantage De Nieuwe Grond on a hand-drawn map of Suriname by Johann Heinrich Moseberg. Source: Atlas of Mutual Heritage.

Financial Distance from Human Suffering

What these documents make painfully clear is how slavery was embedded in the financial fabric of the Dutch Republic. It was about bonds, auctions, and investments—cold figures detached from the reality of those labouring in the tropics. The traders involved never had to set foot in Suriname. Their connection to slavery was abstract, legal, and economic.

But the system was sustained by the flow of money from cities like Amsterdam and Rotterdam. And those money trails can still be traced today in archives, libraries, and manuscripts like these.

Watercolour view of plantation Leverpoel. Rijksmuseum, RP-T-1959-119.

Sources

For plantation Leverpoel: Suriname Plantages; for De Nieuwe Grond: Van Stipriaan, Surinaams contrast (Leiden 1993) ad passim; for Suermondt: Parlement.com.