In the last week of January, Gabrielle Beentjes (National Archives of the Netherlands, NAN) and Valérie Martens-Monier (National Archives of Curaçao) conducted a 5-day course on paper restoration at the National Archives of Suriname (NAS). Within the framework of the Shared Cultural Heritage Programme, NAN and NAS work closely together to preserve and present archival collections concerning the heritage of both countries.

‘The more you know, the less you know’
Seven employees from NAS, two from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paramaribo and one from the Bureau for Civil Affairs in Suriname participated in the course. It started off with a survey of the condition of the archives stored in the NAS repositories to determine the nature and extent of any damage. Gaining more insight into forms of degradation and damage, the type of paper and the context of documents within their archive of origin is the first step in considering treatment choices. 

The attendees were trained to fabricate and use different types of adhesives and Japanese paper for mending tears and holes. After practicing on dummies, they start working on the restoration of the NAS archives, which sometimes suffer from severe damage. The participants – who received a certificate at the end of the week – were enthusiastic. ‘With the newly acquired knowledge on restoration methods, they have a better idea of their skills and what they do and do not know’, says Gabrielle Beentjes. If necessary, the trainers will provide further support off-site.

MoU
On 27 October the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the National Archives of the Netherlands (NA) and the Arsip Nasional Republik Indonesia (ANRI) was renewed. As a result of the strong historical ties between Indonesia and the Netherlands, the archival collections of the two institutions are related and complementary. The National Archives of both countries have been cooperating for nearly five decades to preserve and present archival collections related to the shared cultural heritage and history of both countries.

Pop-up exhibition
As part of this ceremonial renewal, a temporary (27 October – 4 November 2017) pop-up exhibition called ‘The Birth of the Indonesian Youth Movement’ was opened at the NA by Indonesian Ambassador I Gusti Agung Wesaka Puja. The textual and photographic archives in this exhibition relate to the many nationalist youth and student organisations that arose during the first 30 years of the 20th century. The exhibition showcases the role of these organisations in promoting Indonesian unity and independence from the Netherlands. The opening was attended by Indonesian students from Leiden, Delft, Utrecht and Wageningen. In 2018 the pop-up exhibition will travel to Indonesia.

30,000 digital images of the Archives of the States General of the Netherlands (‘Archief van de Staten-Generaal’) have been added to the website of the National Archives of the Netherlands. The parts of the archives that have been recently digitised are confined to the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and West India Company (WIC). The States General exercised supervision over the trading companies and provided part of the funding for military operations and expeditions. The Archives of the States General contain several series of bundles (liassen) and single documents on both the trading companies. The archives are an important source for the history of the WIC in particular, the greater part of whose archives have been lost due to bad storage conditions, fire, or other reasons.

America first
Among the digitised sources is a manuscript of Beschryvinge van Nieuw-Nederlant (A description of New Netherland) by Adriaen van der Donck (ca. 1618-1655). After graduating from Leiden University, Van der Donck decided to seek a career in the Dutch colony of New Netherland. His Beschryvinge, first published in 1655, was an attempt to attract other settlers to the colony in North America. His text is primarily a description of the province and its geography, Native American inhabitants, and economic prospects, and is therefore an essential first-hand account with enduring value.

Within the framework of the Shared Cultural Heritage Programme, the National Archives of the Netherlands will digitise more archival sources related to the VOC and WIC in the future.

Twenty-five Dutch 17th-century documents from the Rutgers University Libraries (New Jersey) are now available on the website of the National Archives of the Netherlands.

Brodhead
The documents were recently found among the papers of John Brodhead (1814-1873), an American historical scholar who graduated from Rutgers College in 1831. Brodhead devoted himself to the study of American colonial history, for which he consulted many resources related to the colony of New Netherland.

Famous Dutchmen
Brodhead’s documents include letters signed by Dutch statesmen and naval commanders, such as Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, Johan and Cornelis de Witt and Michiel de Ruyter. Most of these documents relate to naval matters during the Dutch Golden Age and have burn marks on them. How did these documents end up in the USA, and why are they so badly burned?

Fire!
On 8 January 1844 a fire erupted in the Ministry of Naval Affairs in The Hague, after a maid accidentally set the curtains aflame while lighting a candle. In an effort to save the archives of the Dutch admiralties that were held there, the smouldering papers were thrown out of the windows. Although some were returned, many of the documents found their way into the hands of collectors such as Brodhead.
Now, Brodhead’s letters are virtually reunited – although physically still half a world apart - with the other documents that survived the fire at the Ministry.