Forgetful Remembrance in the Dutch Theological Debate on Colonial Slavery: Preliminary results of a quantitative approach

In this contribution some preliminary results are presented of my quantitative research on the use of Bible and exegesis in the early modern (white) Dutch theological debate on colonial slavery. These data assist in helping to see which texts are part of the collective memory of Dutch white theologians of the 17th to the 19th century (e.g., the Curse of Ham and texts about slave laws), and which texts have been “forgotten” (e.g., narratives about slaves and slavery). The quantitative approach also helps in drawing out vernacular historiographies – counter-commemorations – by black Christians such as Isabella and Johannes King, who used different biblical stories to retrieve agency and develop their own critical viewpoints.