author
Adriaan David van der Gon Netscher
A Dutch naval officer turned colonial writer, he wrote forcefully about slavery, Suriname, and the Dutch West Indies from the perspective of someone deeply involved in those worlds. His life also included time as a planter and public official, giving his books a direct, often controversial edge.
1 Audiobook
De opheffing van de slavernij en de toekomst van Nederlandsch West-Indie
by Adriaan David van der Gon Netscher
About the author
Born in Rotterdam on February 23, 1811, he was trained for the navy and served as a sea officer before leaving military service in 1848. After that, he went to the West Indies, where he worked as a coffee and sugar planter in British Guiana.
He later became known as a writer on colonial affairs, especially the Dutch West Indies and Suriname. His books include works on the abolition of slavery and on the future of Dutch colonial society in the region, and they reflect the views and tensions of the nineteenth-century colonial world.
Netscher also served in public life in British Guiana, including as a member of the Court of Police. He died in The Hague on June 15, 1897. A clear portrait image could not be confirmed from the sources reviewed in this session.