We Slavs

We slaves of Suriname: the colonial history of Suriname

We Slaves of Suriname by Anton de Kom is a literary masterpiece, personal and general history as well as a fierce indictment of racism and exploitation. In this book from 1934, Surinamese history was described for the first time from an anti-colonial point of view, by a descendant of enslaved people who had personally experienced the consequences of colonial rule. De Kom tells how the Dutch colonial government oppressed the country and its inhabitants, and how various Surinamese population groups rebelled against it. He writes with great erudition about the horrors, but also about courage, self-respect and freedom. 157 years after the official abolition of slavery and 86 years after publication, the book and its message have lost none of their eloquence. Mitchell Esajas, Tessa Leuwsha and Duco van Oostrum each wrote a review especially for this new edition that places the book in its context and the current times.