Kurá Hulanda Museum is an

anthropological Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

museum in Curaçao. The museum specialises in the

Atlantic slave trade The Atlantic slave trade, transatlantic slave trade, or Euro-American slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and i ...

, and opened in April 1999.

History

The Kurá Hulanda Museum was an initiative of

Jacob Gelt Dekker Jacob Gelt Dekker (22 April 1948 – 1 September 2019) was a Dutch businessman, philanthropist, and writer. Born in Oterleek, North Holland, Dekker attended school between 1961 and 1967 in Alkmaar and later studied dentistry in Amsterdam. He rece ...

. In the late 1990s, he was approached by the Government of Curaçao to develop the western quayside in

Otrobanda Otrobanda is one of the historic quarters of Willemstad, located at the southwest side of the city, in Curaçao. Otrobanda was founded in 1707, and has been designated a Unesco World Heritage Site. History Otrobanda was founded in 1707 as a subur ...

where the slave ships arrived with slaves to be sold at the nearby

slave market A slave market is a place where slaves are bought and sold. These markets became a key phenomenon in the history of slavery. Slave markets in the Ottoman Empire In the Ottoman Empire during the mid-14th century, slaves were traded in special ...

. Dekker decided to buy the derelict buildings on the quay and market, restore the buildings to their original condition, and open a museum at the site specialising in the

. The museum opened in April 1999. It consists of 15 buildings, displaying the history from the capture in Africa to the relocation in the Americas. It also displays the cultural heritage of the slaves on the culture of Curaçao in particular and the Caribbean in general.

Hotel

Dekker bought most of the buildings on the hillside, and opened the luxury Kurá Hulanda Hotel & Lodge next to the museum. The hotel was declared

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debt ...

in October 2013. In November 2013, the hotel was sold to GHL Hotels, a

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

n hotel chain.

References

External links

Official site
* Anthropology museums Buildings and structures in Willemstad Museums in Curaçao Slavery museums {{Caribbean-museum-stub