Leiden University conducts research on the enduring impact of colonial oppression and the trans-Atlantic slave trade. This research shows how the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and the slave trade in the Dutch East Indies left their marks on the politics, economics and ecology of present-day Indonesia.

Slavery and forced labour also occurred in other areas under Dutch rule in the 17^th to 20^th centuries, such as South Africa and Sri Lanka. Leiden research provides valuable insights into the abolition of colonial slavery in 1834 and 1844, after the Dutch were driven out by the British, and develops methods to analyse these processes from the perspective of enslaved people and their descendants.

At Leiden we take a broad approach to studying the impact of colonialism and slavery on identity formation, ecology, economics and the state, drawing upon colonial and local sources and working together with institutions in colonial and postcolonial Africa, America, the Caribbean region, and South and Southeast Asia. This includes research on the forced circulation of people, goods, values and ideas over the centuries, often emphasising the political and cultural resilience of people who withstood this oppression and making their resistance more visible. Our research also focuses on the repercussions of colonial politics, economics and culture in important societal issues, such as racism and today’s global inequality.

Leiden University provides a platform for conversations between scholars, policymakers and descendants of enslaved people, and contributes to addressing the legacy of colonialism and slavery.

The Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV) in Leiden is an important centre for research on colonial history, focusing particularly on Indonesia, Suriname and the Caribbean.