Legene, S. Past and future behind a colonial facade

abstract:

The history of the TRopenmuseum in Amsterdam is marked by turning points that are closely related to Dutch history, and colonial history in particular. This is true of its institutional development from a colonial museum to a department of the Royal Tropical Institute, for the evolution of its policies, and for the history of the Tropenmuseum collections.

The buildings and the collections provide an important source for critical reflections on North-South relations during colonisation and decolonisation. At present, the Tropenmuseum still regards itself as an educational museum, taking into account multicultural society in the Netherlands and always attempting to address the general public rather than specific ethnic or other groups and to respond to current trends in society whenever possible. The Tropenmuseum also intends to function as an international forum for research, training and discussion and seeks international co-operation in that respect.

Archiv fur Volkerkunde 50, 1999: 265-274