Belgium's Forgotten Slave Trade in the 17th Century

The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History · Sep 2, 2026 · 7m · transcript

While Belgium’s colonial legacy is often defined by the atrocities of the Congo Free State under Leopold II, there is an earlier, lesser-known chapter that shaped the nation’s early modern economy: the Belgian slave trade. This episode explores how merchants from Antwerp and Brussels participated in the transatlantic slave trade during the 17th and 18th centuries, long before the formal colonization of Central Africa. We examine the role of the Society of Antwerp Merchants, the financial mechanisms that funded voyages to West Africa, and the moral justifications used by European traders at…