The Dutch have long taken great pride in their identity as tolerant, both as a "promised land" for persecuted immigrants and for generous "development" funds in foreign nations. However, the Dutch eschew their role in historical colonial imperialism, enslavement and genocide and consider non-whites, both in The Netherlands abroad, ungrateful for their nation's aid. This article consolidates previous research addressing depictions of enslavement, immigration, and Africa in all Dutch primary school history textbooks published since 1980 to argue that textbook depictions feature Eurocentric master narratives of racial Europeanization within the unique context of Dutch society. These books perpetuate Dutch social forgetting of slavery and scientific colonialism, justify historic and contemporary interventions in Africa, essentialize and problematize immigrants and their cultures, highlight Dutch superiority, and facilitate a "Dutchman's burden" that finds The Netherlands reluctantly aiding minorities within and outside of their borders. Findings have important implications for both The Netherlands and all nations with increasing immigrant populations as discourses, knowledges presented in textbooks impact generations of students, who shape local and national policy regarding racial minorities, racial identities and ideologies.
The Netherlands; Education; Curriculum; Textbooks; Race; Europe
