Plantations in the Colonies

The Dutch cleared great areas of forest and reclaimed land, often using techniques they had developed while constructing the reclaimed polder landscape of their own country. The heavy labour required was performed by enslaved people. The dramatic changes to the landscape are still observable today. Enslaved people – and, from the last quarter of the 19th century onwards, indentured labourers – sowed, tended and harvested the crops grown on that land. The crops were then shipped off to Europe in crates and barrels. In Dutch Indonesia and South Africa a plantation was known as a tuin (garden) or perk (plot). As in South America, the Dutch used forced labour to grow produce on these areas of land.