Abstract
The project investigates two important claims made about the gains of the Netherlands? economy from slave-based production and commerce in the Atlantic region. First, that the Atlantic slave-based commerce played an important role in keeping the Dutch economy afloat in the eighteenth century. Second, that eighteenth-century Dutch involvement in the Atlantic economy had important long-term effects on the Dutch economic performance in the field of finance, Insurance and maritime logistics. This project therefore examines the direct and indirect, the immediate and long-term economic impact of eighteenth-century slave-based activities on the Dutch economy. As regards the immediate effects, the project concentrates on estimating the contribution of value-added by the slavery-related Atlantic commerce, industry and finance to the Dutch economy in the eighteenth century. We approach this contribution on three different levels: project 1 will examine the economic spin-off from the involvement in the slave trade and plantations; project 2 will focus on the involvement in slave-produced commodity trade and processing; and project 3 will be devoted to the Dutch role in shipping, finance and insurance related to the Atlantic slave-based economy. In addition, project 3 and the synthesis will address the possible long-term benefits of eighteenth-century Dutch involvement in the expanding Atlantic economy, and therefore go beyond the eighteenth century.