Research shows Dutch bank's major role in slave trade

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THE HAGUE, April 13 (Xinhua) -- New research conducted by the International Institute of Social History (IISH), an Amsterdam-based archive, has concluded that slave trade played a large part in the history of the Dutch bank ABN AMRO.

Researchers have revealed that in the 18th and 19th centuries, ABN AMRO's two legal predecessors, Hope and Co., and R. Mees and Zoonen, were involved in slave trade, plantation slavery and trade in products that originated in slavery.

According to the IISH, Mees and Zoonen brokered insurance for slave ships and shipments of goods harvested by enslaved persons, while Hope and Co. played a pivotal role in the international slave economy of the 18th century.

"Hope and Co. was the largest financial and commercial company in the Netherlands at the end of the 18th century, and slavery-related operations formed a core part of its business," Pepijn Brandon, the IISH's senior researcher, said.

"Mees and Zoonen was smaller, slavery was an intrinsic part of that firm's operations as well. Decisions made in offices in Amsterdam and Rotterdam directly impacted the lives of thousands of enslaved persons."

Following the research's publication, ABN AMRO, which commissioned the research, apologized for its slavery past on Wednesday.

"Slavery caused untold suffering, and ABN AMRO apologizes for the actions and activities of these predecessors," the bank said in a press release. Enditem

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