Colonial memory in the ‘Gutter of Europe’: The representation of the Colonial Recruitment Depot in Harderwijk, the Netherlands

Abstract

In the 19th century, Harderwijk was known as the ‘gutter of Europe’. This was because the Dutch city of Harderwijk was home to the Colonial Recruitment Depot (Koloniaal Werfdepot), where colonial recruits from all over Europe came to be trained to fight in the Dutch colonial army. This thesis is about representation of the Colonial Recruitment Depot (koloniaal werfdepot) in Harderwijk. Today, this city is a nationally known tourist destination, primarily because of its sea park, the Dolphinarium. Even though Harderwijk describes itself as a historical city, the history of the Colonial Recruitment Depot is hard to find in the city centre of Harderwijk. Using theories and methods of memory studies, postcolonial studies, anthropology and history, this thesis traces the memory of the Dutch colonial training facility in Harderwijk to discover the ambiguous place it holds within local collective memory. Christian consciousness through processes of pillarization influenced the position of the colonial history in local public history and historiography. Histories around the fishing industry were prioritised instead, dealing with the cultural trauma of losing the Zuiderzee. This does not mean that the history of the Koloniaal Werfdepot was completely forgotten. Throughout history, the depot is represented in various ways, although not always fully contextualised and explained. Strategies of colonial and imperial nostalgia result in colonial aphasia, which consequently influences the way colonialism is discussed in postcolonial Harderwijk.