The Atlantic World and the Dutch 1500-2000 (AWAD)

The Atlantic World and the Dutch 1500-2000 (AWAD) aims to preserve and study the mutual cultural heritage resulting from Dutch contact with the peoples of both Africa and the Americas over a period of some five hundred years. The initial stage of the project began in February 2004 for intensifying international cultural relations of the Dutch ministries of Foreign Affairs and Education, Culture and Science and was hosted at the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian Caribbean Studies (KITLV) in Leiden. From 2008 until 2011 (second phase) AWAD was funded and hosted by the Netherlands Institute for Heritage and continued as a partnership between this institute, the old institute KITLV and the National Archives.

A main objective was to identify relevant written sources held within collections both in the Netherlands and abroad. A secondary element of the project involved current and future historical research projects, in particular those pertaining to the tangible and intangible legacy of the Dutch overseas presence, as well as initiatives regarding the management and preservation of records. This digital guide is one element of the project, offering detailed information on published and unpublished Dutch sources for studying the history of the Atlantic world. It encompasses the entire heritage, in all its forms, deriving from centuries of interaction.

Information has been included on current projects and relevant organisations (such as archives, museums and universities), along with a list of specialists with their respective fields of expertise and data on written sources, tangible and intangible heritage. This gives an impression of the diversity of information that the guide aims to encompass as it develops. It will take several years to complete this section of the database and thus establish a comprehensive research tool.

In subsequent years the completion of the digital research guide is intended to be realized as a joint venture of the KITLV/Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies and the Instituut voor Nederlandse Geschiedenis (Institute for Netherlands History). Although far from being complete, it was decided to make this guide available as it stands. Along with this we invite all of you with an interest in this project to support its development and to correct information where required. Data can be submitted by filling out the electronics forms available on the project website. We hope that in this way a living and growing research tool will evolve, thus benefiting those with an interest in the history of the Atlantic world.

AWAD stopped as a programme in november 2011 due to the lack of funding and the dismantling of the Netherlands Institute for Heritage (Erfgoed Nederland). All AWAD data has been integrated into this digital platform CHC. You may find them through AWAD keywords.

OBJECTIVES
• To preserve, study and make more accessible the mutual cultural heritage that the Dutch share with other countries in the Atlantic area (especially with Aruba, Brazil, Ghana,
Guyana, the Netherlands Antilles, Surinam and the United States).

• To identify relevant written sources held within collections both in the Netherlands and abroad. And to investigate current and future historical research projects to the tangible and intangible legacy of the Dutch overseas presence, and the management and preservation of records.

• To stimulate bilateral and multilateral cooperation with regard to the preservation and study of this mutual cultural heritage and build an Atlantic network.

RESULTS
First phase:

• A website with a freely accessible online database containing an inventory of archival collections, relevant projects, institutions and experts;

• A digital newsletter;

• The organization of a series of workshops in the partner countries (organized jointly with the counterparts abroad);

• The organization of an international Atlantic conference in the Netherlands;

• The organization, in the Netherlands, of several Atlantic Days and other expert meetings;

• The building of an Atlantic network (experts and organisations);

Second phase:

• Elaborate the AWAD database with an in-depth archival sources guide (research and
publication);

• Initiate joint projects (one of AWAD’s main objectives);

• Secure additional financial support;

• Further develop and implement the online inventory;

• Further develop and implement the Atlantic network;

• Stimulate the further improvement of the accessibility, preservation and study of the tangible and intangible mutual cultural heritage, in close collaboration with the partner countries.