In his emotional speech, Willem-Alexander said: “Today, I stand before you. Today, as your King and as a member of the Government, I make this apology myself. And I feel the weight of the words in my heart and my soul.”
He added: “But today, on this day of remembrance, I ask forgiveness for the clear failure to act in the face of this crime against humanity.”
The King, whose voice appeared to break, also said that he has commissioned a study into the exact role of the royal House of Orange-Nassau in slavery in the Netherlands.
As he completed his speech, the King laid a wreath at the country’s national slavery monument in an Amsterdam park.
Despite former lawmaker John Leerdam telling Dutch broadcaster NOS that this was an “historic moment”, many in the Netherlands felt as though the apology is not enough.
Doelja Refos, 28, said that, despite feeling good, they are “looking forward to something more than just apologies”.
Black Archives director Mitchell Esajas also said: “An apology should be tied to a form of repair and reparatory justice or reparations.”
This comes as two groups – Black Manifesto and The Black Archives – organized a protest march prior to the King’s speech, under a banner which read: “No healing without reparations”.
Slavery was abolished in Suriname and the Dutch colonies in the Caribbean on July 1, 1863.
This weekend’s speech and commemoration and speech marked the 150th anniversary.
