It was announced that the “Golden Car”, which is used in the opening ceremonies of the legislative year of the parliament in the Netherlands every year, was made with gold brought from the country’s former colony, Suriname.
The Dutch Institute for the Conservation of Artifacts (NICAS) said in a statement that the long-explored mystery regarding the source of the gold in the car has been solved.
Accordingly, the “Golden Car”, which was gifted to Queen Wilhelmina by the people of Amsterdam in 1898, was made with gold brought from the former colonial Suriname.
According to the results of the study conducted by the Amsterdam Museum, jointly by Vrije Amsterdam University, NICAS and the Center for Natural Biodiversity, it was understood that the gold of the vehicle used in the opening ceremonies of the legislative year of the parliament every year came from Suriname.
In the statement, Annemarie de Wildt, curator of the Amsterdam Museum, where the “Golden Car” is on display, said, “The car contained an element from every part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but neither the origin of the gold was known nor what part was added to the car from Suriname. This is a question for me and many others. It was a sign.” statements were included.
It was noted that De Wildt, who stated that a large amount of gold came to the Netherlands from South Africa and Suriname at the time the car was made, applied to research institutes to determine the origin of the gold in the car.
In the statement, it was stated that the stone scientist Professor Gareth Davies from Vrije Amsterdam University, who carried out the study, stated that “After the discovery of gold in Suriname in 1876, a large amount of gold was brought to the Netherlands here”, while it is thought that the gold came from the Brokopondo region near the Suriname River.
On the other hand, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Liesje Schreinemacher will pay a 2-day visit to their former colony, Suriname. This visit is the first prime minister-level visit to Suriname in 14 years.
THE USE OF THE “GOLDEN CAR” WAS AGAINST
Activists opposed the use of the car because of the Dutch’s role in the slave trade and its history of colonialism.
It was stated that the car in the Amsterdam museum will be exhibited in a public part of the museum after the King’s announcement.
The “Golden Car”, which will not be used in the ceremonies of the Royal family for a while, was given a comprehensive care after it was last used in the ceremonies in 2015.
KING WILLEM-ALEXANDER ANNOUNCED THAT HE WOULD NOT USE THE CAR
Dutch King Willem-Alexander announced in January 2022 that he would not use the “Golden Car” he had been riding in official ceremonies for a while, as there were pictures on it that reminded him of the colonial history of the Netherlands.
The King stated that the “Golden Car”, which caused controversy in the country, would not be used until “the Netherlands is ready for this situation”.
On the left side of the car is a painting titled “Homage from the Colonies”, a picture of blacks and Asians presenting a gift to a young white woman representing the Netherlands. (AA)