CaribSeek Books | Free but Poor | Roots of our Future by Linda M. Rupert

1863-1915
IV - Free but Poor

"...On the 1st of July 1863 slavery should for ever be abolished in Curaçao and its dependant islands... From this moment you are free persons and you enter into society as inhabitants of the colony. Most heartily do I congratulate you... but you must also make yourself worthy of this benefit. In your previous state you have always distinguished yourself by a quiet, orderly behavior and obedience to your former masters; now as free persons... you will orderly and subordinate to the government perform your duty as inhabitants of the colony..." [1]

After emancipation many freedmen and women moved to Otrabanda, which was already a center for small scale black-owned business (CHA).

Although the economic situation in this period was essentially no different from that of the early nineteenth century, Curaçaoan society was changing, and Willemstad with it. In the 1860s, the emancipation of the slaves, the demolition of the town walls and the construction of bridges across Willemstad's internal waterways were three major happenings that altered social and economic relations in town, bringing new groups into the picture and affecting trade and commerce in important ways.

The industrial revolution in Europe and the United States brought many technological advances to the island. Although Willemstad itself did not industrialize, and remained a mercantile center, demand for new industrial goods created important trade opportunities for the island's merchants. The economy, still firmly linked to trade and shipping, continued on a merry-go-round, bringing more or less prosperity according to the social and political climate of the times, but always benefitting primarily the very wealthiest sectors of society. At the turn of the century, poverty continued to be a fact of life for the majority, while the upper classes were quite comfortable. As writer John de Pool, himself from a privileged family, nostalgically reminisced in the 1930s: "Life fifty years ago in Curaçao could be called idyllic. Without a doubt, it was patriarchal, gentle and tranquil... Our society was like one big family"[2]

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Curaçao Chamber of Commerce & Industry