EXCAVATIONS AT THE ZUURZAK SITE: A POSSIBLE 17TH CENTURY DUTCH SLAVE CAMP ON CURAÇAO,

NETHERLANDS ANTILLES

Jay B. Haviser and Nadia Simmons-Brito

ABSTRACT

In 1991, a three-year investigation into the Archaeology of African peoples on Curaçao was begun, including archival research in Holland by N. Simmons-Brito and archaeological excava­tions on Curaçao by J. Haviser. The 1991 excavation campaign focused on the seventeenth century Dutch slave camp called Zuurzak, where extensive nineteenth century ruins were also noted. This paper will present historical documentary background, and artifactual evidence recovered from excavations at the Zuurzak site.

RESUME

En 1991, on commença des recherches de trois ans dans l'Archéologie des Africains à Curaçao, y comprises des recherches dans les archives en Hollande par N. Simmons-Brito et des fouilles archéologiques par J. Haviser. La campagne des fouilles de 1991 était concentrée sur le camp d'esclaves hollandais du dix-septième siècle, appelé Zuurzak, où l'on avait découvert aussi de vastes ruines du dix-neuvième siècle. Cette dissertation offrira un fond historico-documentaire, et des objets comme preuves obtenus des fouilles au site de Zuurzak.

RESUMEN

En el año 1991 fue iniciada una investigación de tres años que tiene por objeto el estudio de la Arqueología de los pueblos africanos en Curaçao, incluyendo investigaciones en archivos en Ho­landa realizadas por N. Simmons-Brito y excavaciones arqueológicas en Curaçao ejecutadas porJ. Haviser. La campaña de excavaciones de 1991 se concentró en el campamento de esclavos holan­dés del siglo diecisiete llamado Zuurzak, donde fueron también observadas extensas ruinas del siglo diecinueve. Este ensayo presentará un fondo documental histórico así como evidencia en forma de artefactos obtenidos de excavaciones que se llevaron a cabo en el sitio de Zuurzak.

71

In May 1991, a three-year investigation into the African cultural experience on Curacao, was begun by the Archaeological-Anthropological Institute of the Netherlands Antilles (AAI-NA). This project is funded primarily by the OKSNA, a cultural research agency in the Nether­lands Antilles.

The general goals of this project are to investigate archaeological, archival, and oral history evidence relating to the adaptive abilities of African peoples on Curacao. These archaeological excavations on Curacao are specifically focused towards the seventeenth century arrival of the Africans, at a slave trade depot called Zuurzak, which is the subject of this paper. Later investi­gations will focus on slave houses of the eighteenth-nineteenth centuries. It is hoped that differ­ent adaptive strategies employeed by the Africans will be observed in various settings, which will reveal aspects of socio-economic interpersonal relations among and between the various ethnic and class groups on the island.

Information will be presented here about the 1991 excavations at a site identified by oral history as the seventeenth century Zuurzak slave depot on Curacao. This paper is a more de­tailed follow-up to a preliminary report made to a Society for Historical Archaeology confer­ence in 1992 (Haviser 1992), which suggested multiple alternatives as to whether we did actual­ly locate the slave depot, thus allowing for comparisons with plantation slave setting archaeo­logical assemblages (Singleton 1985).

BACKGROUND

Curacao, located in the southern Caribbean region (Figure 1), captured from the Spanish by the Dutch in 1634, was initially intended for use as a military base. However, food cultivation was continued on the island, and by 1639 some 8-10 Africans had been brought to the island for work (van Grol 1980:110). In 1642, it was suggested to the Dutch West India Company (W.I.C.) that Curacao be used as a depot for slave trade with the Spanish territories (Kunst 1981), albeit this trade was not legally recognized by an "asiento" contract between Spain and the W.I.C. until 1662. Evidence that the contraband slave trade through Curacao was brisk, is noted with a 1645 decree that all slaves captured by the Dutch in the West Indies should be transported to and traded at Curacao (Hamelberg 1979).

After the official asiento agreement allowing the W.I.C. to supply the Spanish American colonies with slaves, Dutch slave import into the region increased dramatically. During the early years from 1640 -1660, Curacao and Jamaica were the top rivals for the West Indian slave exchange (Hartog 1968:166), including a Dutch monopology of slave trade to Barbados (Curtin 1969:53). On Curacao during this period, the trade was so important that the "Commissioner for the Slave Trade" was the fourth highest political position on the island (Hering 1969:52). Throughout the last quarter of the seventeenth century, Dutch slave ships were regularly carry-

73

74 JA YB. H AVISER I NADIA SIMMONS-BRITO

ing Africans to Curacao, primarily from their major export centers on the Gold Coast (modern Ghana) (Haviser and DeCorse 1991), and also from Angola (Hamelberg 1979).

After the Spanish Succession War and with the Peace of Utrecht treaty in 1713, the slave trade asiento was difered to the English, and thus Dutch slave trade declined rapidly. Subse­quent to these events, the Dutch shifted their slave trade center from Curacao to the island of St. Eustatius.

During the seventeenth century Dutch slave trade florescence, private persons on Curacao were allowed to buy and trade slaves, however, due to a decree in 1674, the W.I.C. had the exclusive rights to import slaves to the island. By 1688, the asiento slave trade depot on Curacao was established adjacent to a previously existing indigo plantation called Zuurzak (Hamelberg 1979; Hartog 1961,1968). Ironically, the management of Zuurzak was in private hands, while the slave imports were directed through the W.I.C, which created a great deal of discrepancy regarding historical documentation about the Zuurzak slave camp. Such that we have found archival evidence of shipments and arrangements from the W.I.C. for Zuurzak, but we have found almost no archival evidence as to the actual location, groundplan, or operations at the slave camp.

On a + 1640 map by C.J. Visscher, we see no mention of the plantation or slave camp at Zuurzak. By 1715, a map by van Keulen shows salt pans south of Zuurzak prior to construction of the plantation house around 1725. This is followed in 1779 with a map by A. Krevelt, also noting salt pans to the south and a "watering location", but not the plantation house. As well in 1825, van Kraijenhoff notes the Zuurzak well only. In 1876, the M. Gorsira family bought the Zuurzak estate and conducted extensive restorations and renovations of the plantation house and surroundings (Ozinga 1959:257). These show up on a 1909 map by J. Warbata, with a detailed description of the area, indicating the plantation house, three additional wells, a stone bridge, and what he designates as dams, located where stone wall ruins are presently standing.

Based on local oral histories about the Zuurzak slave camp, we were directed to these ruins of a bridge, a wall system, and a well, noted on the 1909 map, and located about half a kilometer south of the Zuurzak plantation house. These ruins were densely overgrown, yet upon initial inspection all three structures had yellow-bricks used as construction material, which on Cura­cao is generally an indicator for seventeenth century sites (van Grol 1980:107). Thus it was decided to conduct excavations at this site location.

ZUURZAK EXCAVATIONS

Shown in Figure 2 is the excavation grid map for the Zuurzak site, indicating the stone bridge, wall system, well, other surface evident ruins, and the excavation units.

Excavations at this site were separated into two phases, initially a series of 22, one by two meter, test units were dug in 20 cm arbitrary levels over the site area, these were followed by four larger area excavations, ranging from three by three meters to five by eight meters, all dug in 10 cm arbitrary levels.

Prior to excavation of the site dense vegetation had to be cleared, to expose some of the structural ruins such as the wall (Figure 3), the bridge (Figure 4), and the well (Figure 5).

The soils noted at this site indicated a consistant stratigraphie layering over the site area, with variable quantities of each strata present. The general stratigraphie pattern consisted of a top strata of about 60 cm with humic, brownish sandy-loam (10 yr 3/4 Munsell Soil Color) containing abundant plaster fragments and artifacts all with a post-eighteenth century TPQ. This strata was underlain by a variable thickness yellowish sandy-loam (10 yr 5/4 color), with very few artifacts. Below this was noted a variable thickness greyish sandy-loam (primarily 10 yr 5/2 color) with artifacts diagnostic of pre-eighteenth century manufacture. This strata with pre-eighteenth century artifacts, was primarily the greyish soil color around the well area where the thickest deposits were noted, however the same artifact assemblages were found associated with darker brown clayey-sands (10 yr 4/1) further away from the well, yet in the same strati-

ACTAS DEL XV CONGRESO INTERNACIONAL DE ARQUEOLOGÍA DEL CARIBE 75

graphic contexts. Below these pre-eighteenth century artifact producing soils, were sometimes noted water-worn drainage pebble accumulations, yet always were noted sterile black clay (10 yr 2/1 color). Groundwater was reached at 2.9 meters, where the black clay became a sterile whitish-green clay (5 y 7/2 color).

Of the 22 initial test excavations there were 10 units which revealed structural remains, with some examples shown here. It was noted that of the ten structural remains revealed, nine were associated with the upper 60 cm soils. As well, testing at the bridge, indicated construc­tion of that feature as associated with the upper 60 cm soils. Further testing at the wall, also indicated construction of the wall associated with upper 60 cm soils, with intrusions into the lower stratum.

In three of the larger excavation units, structural remains were also noted associated with the upper 60 cm soils, such as an artificial water pond (Figure 6) with adjacent yellow-brick floor ; an ornate water fountain (Figure 7), and various extentions around the well (Figure 5). There were at least three different periods of construction around the well, as noted by overlap­ping wall constructions separated by soils. One interesting example of different construction episodes is evident by the filling and enclosure of four catchments within the wall of the well itself, all of the catchments were lined with yellow-brick.

The only structural remains found to be associated with the pre-eighteenth century artifact producing strata at this site, was a simple coral/limestone wall without mortar. Adjacent and parallel to this wall were noted three 10-15 cm diameter, circular soil discolorations which were composed of the deep whitish-green clays raised far above their natural stratigraphie position. At this time, it is unsure what these features are, perhaps they relate to the removal of deep set wooden posts.

The most common artifact type found in all levels of the excavation were kaolin pipe frag­ments, and unglazed coarse earthenwares. Among the kaolin pipe fragments recovered all with markers marks were identified as Dutch, with two bowls, associated with the late seventeenth century (Duco 1987:27), found in the deepest levels, and the remainder were late nineteenth century forms found in the upper levels. Most often associated with the deeper levels were also noted lead-glazed coarse earthenwares and slipwares, as well as storage "olive" jar sherds, a probable Bartmann jug sherd, heavily corroded strap iron fragments and glass fragments. One unique artifact associated with the deepest level, was a coarse earthenware ceramic spindle-whorl of a form similar to spindlewhorls found at African slave sites in North Carolina (Groover 1993:10), and at sites in West Africa (Shinnie and Kense 1989).

Delftwares were noted infrequently with the lower levels, but abundantly with the upper levels at the site, along with some rhenishware, creamware, pearlware, and stoneware sherds. In addition to various strap iron fragments noted at the site, were found iron kettle handles, a lead cross with perforation, several coins, and other personal items. A single large coin was found with the deepest levels, while the other coins were associated with the upper levels and some have been identified as "Jesurun and Company" mints, made between 1880-1885 for local use on Curacao. One modern, black glass, wound bead was found in the uppermost level of these excavations.

The faunal material from this site was analyzed by Elizabeth Reitz and Jennifer Freer at the University of Georgia, and was conspicuous by its very sparse evidence of only 283 bones. The most common faunal material being domestic animals as 60% of the individuals and 99% of the biomass. Caprines (Ovis aries, Capra hircus) accounted for a third of the individuals and 28% of the biomass, cattle (Bos taurus) accounted for 10% of the individuals and 47% of the biomass, pig (Sus seroja) contributed another 10% of the individuals and 23% of the biomass. Other animals noted in this sample were rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), rat (Rattus rattus), cat (Felis domesticus), and iguana (Iguana iguana), while it is striking that no fish were identified in the collection. Very few shell fragments were noted, with oysters, Cittariumpica, Melongena melon-gena, and Strombus sp., being the most common. Reitz and Freer note the high percentage of Caprines in this sample is unusual at historical Caribbean sites (1993:21), with the exception of

76 JAYB. H AVISER I NADIA SIMMONS-BRITO

the Convento de San Francisco site, Dominican Republic (Reitz 1992), and the Highland House and Codrington Castle sites on Barbuda (Reitz 1991, Watters and Nicholson 1982). Reitz and Freer indicate that the Dominican Republic and Barbuda sites with high percentages of Ca­prines tend to be high status or wealthy inhabitant sites (1993). In relation to the Zuurzak site this probably relates to the nineteenth century use of the site by the wealthy Gorsira family.

RADIOCARBON DATES

Three radiocarbon samples were submitted for analyses to Robert Stuckenrath at the Uni­versity of Pittsburg. All three samples were taken from the pre-eighteenth century stratigraphie contexts, and are presented here as uncalibrated results, yet these were minimally useful for this study of the Zuurzak slave camp. One charcoal sample from the deepest artifact producing level adjacent to the well, at Unit 105/95, 140-150 cm below datum, gave a date of 475+50 (AD 1475). Two marine shell samples from the clay soils below the deepest artifact producing level at Unit 150/100, levels 8 and 10, produced prehistoric dates of 2045±30 (95 BC) and 3290±35 (1345 BC), respectively. The two prehistoric dates are clearly out of range for this study, and probably relate to the known prehistoric shell middens at Jan Thiel Bay south of Zuurzak. The 1475 date for the earliest artifact association at the well is problematic, in that Curacao is not documented as having been visited by Europeans (Spanish) until 1499, albeit the 50 year plus/ minus range could account for this discrepancy. Nonetheless, a late fifteenth century date obvi­ously has nothing to do with the reported seventeenth century slave camp, except to suggest that the well was possibly existent prior to the construction of the slave camp.

COMMENTS

In the preliminary report of this site Haviser suggested that the limited quantities of mate­rials recovered could be a reason to question an actual occupation at the site. However, that it is not inconceivable that a slave depot, by nature of its function, would contain limited artifactual deposits, and preferred structures could have been of perishable materials (Haviser 1992), such as pole-construction huts with thatched roofs, which has been noted as an archaeological iden­tification problem at other slave sites in the Caribbean (Handler and Lange 1978:54). The well, being the most important structure for a large slave population, does exhibit multiple episodes of reconstruction, and because it possibly predates the construction of the slave camp, may have been a stimulus for that location. The possible reuse of seventeenth century building ma­terials from the site is strongly supported by the extensive use of yellow-bricks in the late nine­teenth century renovations by the Gorsira family. Again, the use of yellow-bricks on Curacao is most often associated with seventeenth century constructions. The stratigraphie evidence of various soil intrusions from the upper levels into lower levels at the site may relate to construc­tion material salvaging.

The artifactual association of olive-jar sherds and a large coin in the deepest levels may relate to a possible Spanish presence at the site. However, the abundance of primarily lead-glazed coarse earthenwares, a Bartmann jug sherd, unglazed coarse earthenwares, diagnostic pipe forms, and a possible spindlewhorl, in the deeper levels relates to a Dutch occupation at the site in the late seventeenth century, as similar assemblages are noted in the seventeenth contexts of Punda, Curacao (Haviser and Simmons-Brito 1991), and in seventeenth contexts at Dutch sites in New York (Wilcoxen 1987). Nonetheless, the majority of the artifacts from this site, including most of the delftwares, whitewares, pipestems, and coins, are from the late nine­teenth century use of the location.

To summarize, we must place this study in the category of an "in search of' context, à la Jerome Handler, as it can only be suggested that the seventeenth century slave camp of Zuurzak

ACTAS DEL XV CONGRESO INTERNACIONAL DE ARQUEOLOGÍA DEL CARIBE 77

was identified through these excavations. This fact, when compared with numerous oral histo­ry accounts of the Zuurzak "slave bridge", highlights the need for archaeological testing of locations designated as historical by oral histories.

R E F E R E N C E S CITED

Amelunxen, C.P. 1980. De Geschiedenis van Curacao. Serie Herdrukken Uitgegeven op Initiatief van de Hoge­

schoolvan de Nederlandse Antillen, No. 5, 1929. (Reprint 1980 by S. Emmering, Am­sterdam).

Curtin, P. 1969. The Atlantic Slave Trade: A census. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison.

Duco, D. 1987. De Nederlandse Kleipijp: Handboek voor Dateren en Determineren. Drukkerij Groen

B.V., Leiden. Grol, G.J. van

1980. De Grondpolitiek in het West-Indische Domein der Generaliteit: Een historische studie I-II-III. Serie Herdrukken Uitgegeven op Initiatief van de Hogeschool van de Neder­landse Antillen, No. 6, 1934-1947. (Reprint 1980 by S. Emmering, Amsterdam).

Groover, M. 1993. African American Textile Manufacture in the 18th century Carolina Backcountry.

African American Archaeology Newsletter, No. 7, Smithsonian Institute, Washington D.C..

Hamelberg, J.H.J. 1979. De Nederlanders op de West Indische Eilanden. Serie Herdrukken Uitgegeven op Ini­

tiatiefvan de Hogeschool van de Nederlandse Antillen, No. 4, 1919. (Reprint 1979 by S. Emmering, Amsterdam).

Handler, J. and F. Lange 1979. Plantation Slavery in Barbados: An Archaeological and Historical Investigation. Har­

vard University Press, Cambridge. Hartog, J.

1961. Curacao. De Wit n.v., Aruba. 1968. Curacao; from Colonial Dependence to Autonomy. De Wit n.v., Aruba.

Haviser, J. and C. DeCorse 1991. African-Caribbean Interaction: A research plan for Curacao Creole Culture. In, E. Ayubi

and J. Haviser editors, Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Congress for Carib­bean Archaeology, AAINA Reports No. 9, Curacao.

Haviser, J. and N. Simmons-Brito 1991. Sub-Surface Archaeological Testing in the Punda Area of Curacao, Netherlands Anti­

lles. Paper presented at the 14th International Congress of Caribbean Archaeology, Barbados.

Hering, J.H. 1969. Beschryving van het Eiland Curacao, 1779. (Reprint 1969, De Wit n.v., Aruba).

Huijers, A.H.H.M. 1982. Landhuizen van Curacao. De Curacaosche Courant n.v., Curacao.

Kunst, A.J.M. 1981. Recht, Commercie en Kolonialisme in de West Indies. De Walburg Pers, Zutphen.

Munsell Soil Color Charts 1975. Kollmorgen corporation, Baltimore.

Ozinga, M.D. 1959. De Monumenten van Curacao in Woord en Beeld. Uitgegeven door de Stichting Mon­

umentenzorg Curacao, 's-gravenhage.

78 JAYB. H AVISER / NADIA SIMMONS-BRITO

Reitz, E.J. 1991. Vertebrate Faunal Remains from Highland House and Codrington Castle, Barbuda.

Manuscript on file at the Zooarchaeology laboratory, University of Georgia. 1992. The Spanish Colonial Experience and Domestic Animals. Historical Archaeology 26(1):

84-91. Reitz, E.J., and J.A. Freer

1993. Vertebrate Faunal Remains from Zuurzak, Curacao. Analyses report submitted to the AAINA and on file at Curacao.

Shinnie, P. and F.J. Kense 1989. Archaeology of Gonja, Ghana, Excavations at Daboya. University of Calgary Press,

Calgary. Singleton, T.A. (editor)

1985. The Archaeology of Slavery and Plantation life. Studies in Historical Archaeology, Ac­ademic Press, New York.

Waiters, D., and D. Nicholson 1982. Highland House, Barbuda: An eighteenth century retreat. Florida Anthropologist

35(4):223-242. Wilcoxen, C.

1987. Dutch Trade and Ceramics in America in the Seventeenth Century. Albany Institute of History and Art, Albany.

Fig. 1. Location of the Zuurzak Site on Curaçao.

ACTAS DEL XV CONGRESO INTERNACIONAL DE ARQUEOLOGÍA DEL CARIBE 79

SIDE VIEW OF NORTH-WEST WALL

0 . 10 20 30 40 50 meter

- —,. » . . . » - u.

- THE ZUURZAK SITE [surface features]

• site overview side view of north-west and south-west wall

Fig. 2. The Zuurzak Site, surface features and site overview.

1 TOP V E v

! W 1

1 1

I FRO T V ICW

3

*

- THE ZUURZAK SITE -[surface features]

* cross sections of walls * water inlet

all measurements in centimeters

2 3 4 METER

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WATER INLET B DETAILS

Fig. 3. The Zuurzak Site, cross-section of wall structures.

80 JAY B. HAVISER I NADIA SIMMONS-BRITO

Fig. 4. The Zuurzak Site, the bridge struc­ture.

FRONT VIEW (seen from the south) SIDE VIEW (seen from the east)

THE ZUURZAK SITE [ su r f ace f e a t u r e s ]

* b r i dge

all measurements approximate and in em's unless otherwise indicated

TOP VIEW 0F BRIDGE

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N

n — ^ i

*/&p^ - THE ZUURZAK SITE -

[surface and sub - su r f ace features]

* well details

scale: scale-bar all measurement in mm's unless

otherwise indicated

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 6 9 10 METERS

-CROSS-SECTION A-A CROSS-SECTION B-B

DETAIL OF MOULDED PATTERN OF OCTAGONAL WALL

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Fig. 5. The Zuurzak Site, surface and sub-surface features of the central well structure.

ACTAS DEL XV CONGRESO INTERNACIONAL DE ARQUEOLOGÍA DEL CARIBE 81

LEGEND:

1 = (coraljstone/mortar 2 = plaster-time basin 3 — plaster 4 = diabase 5 = red plaster 4

$ = tree root <=> = yellow brick ca = impression of yellow

wall

brick

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rubble stone masonry basin with l ime-mortar lining

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METERS

- THE ZUURZAK SITE -[surface and sub-surface features]

* excavat ion un i t s 8 5 / 7 0 - 7 5

scale: scale—bar

_ > Fig. 6. The Zuurzak Site, surface and sub-surface features of the water pond with yellow-brick floor lining.

Fig. 7. The Zuurzak Site, sub-surface fea­tures of the water foun­tain structure.

LEGEND:

1 = piled corals 2 = cut limestone/corals 3 = plaster-covered bricks 4 = large limestones 5 = soft concrete

'//////. • diabase

N

t

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- THE ZUURZAK SITE -[subsurface features]

* fountain feature excavation unit 97/125

scale: scale-bar