16 Oct 2026 – 4 Apr 2027
Plantation along the Canal
Stories of people and power
16 Oct 2026 – 4 Apr 2027
The Willet-Holthuysen HouseColonial history
From Friday 16 October, the exhibition ‘Plantation along the Canal’ will be on display at The Willet-Holthuysen House.
The houses along the Herengracht have always been among the most expensive in Amsterdam. Who can afford these kinds of palaces in the city, and where does the money come from? The wealth of the city of Amsterdam is closely bound to colonial trade and the exploitation of enslaved people on plantations elsewhere in the world. That history has a role in this house as well.
We know that two former residents were involved in trading goods from plantations: Willem Gideon Deutz (1697–1757) and Fredrik Berewout (1692–1777). Deutz has a financial stake in more than a hundred plantations; Berewout owns several himself, including Jagtlust, a plantation in the former colony of Suriname.
In Plantation on the canal, we shed light on individuals who profit from the brutal plantation system and the lives of the enslaved people trapped in it. The archives reveal the names of people who worked on the Jagtlust plantation. In the audio tour, Dolores Leeuwin walks you through the house, its history, and her personal experience and story. Besides being a program maker and engaged intellectual, she is also a descendant of an enslaved woman on the Jagtlust plantation.
On display
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The Willet-Holthuysen House
Step back in time at the impressive Willet-Holthuysen House in the centre of Amsterdam. This double townhouse on the Herengracht features a number of period rooms, spaces that still look just as they did in the past. The French-style garden is an oasis of tranquillity in the bustling canal district. Every six months, an exhibition by a contemporary artist is also held here.