The Allard Pierson collection preserves a diverse array of heritage and contemporary materials that shed light on the colonial and postcolonial relationship between Suriname and the Netherlands. In the heritage collection, old narratives from a Western European perspective are present in large numbers. Therefore, highlighting contemporary publications is crucial for fostering a more complete, nuanced, and holistic understanding of the Dutch colonial and slavery past.

By Isabelle Best

Sapali runs athletically and determinedly toward her future, aiming for a "New World" full of possibilities, longing, love, and communal safety—despite being pursued by her past. The constant threat of life in a society where slavery dictates the order is embodied by a plantation owner and an overseer. They chase Sapali armed with a gun, a whip, and two "bloodhounds." Sapali refuses to be subdued and having courageously planned her escape she continues her way into Suriname’s vast jungle. With her new family, friends, and the knowledge and trust of her ancestors, she builds a new life in the interior of the country.

Hidden Pages: The Story of Sapali is an English-language story written by twin sisters Susi and Simba Mosis. This book provides young adults with insight into the history of the Okanisi Maroon community, of which Susi and Simba are a part.

Sapali is a key figure in stories about the origins of the Maroon community. Maroons were Africans who resisted their oppression and escaped from Dutch plantations in the 17th and 18th centuries. The effectiveness of this resistance is reflected in the peace treaties established between various Maroon communities and the Society of Suriname.

In the preface of Hidden Pages, Lilian Callender writes:
"For generations, the story of the freedom fights of the Maroons was passed on orally and within the community. Unfortunately, this explains why these stories today are still unknown to a large part of the Surinamese community and others."

The Surinamica collection of the Allard Pierson does contain historical accounts of Maroons from Suriname, in publications ranging from travelogues and ethnographic studies to short novels and explanations of Surinamese odo’s (proverbs). With this publication, Susi and Simba Mosis take the lead in documenting the oral traditions and narratives of the Okanisi Maroon community. Unlike many 17th- and 18th-century publications on this topic, Susi and Simba place key figures such as Sapali and the Apintieman at the heart of their story.

The narrative begins on the West African coast, where the characters are introduced as complex individuals with emotions of sorrow, longing, and hope. It emphasizes their resilience and survival instincts in their quest for freedom from a society driven by slavery in colonial Suriname.

One of the most discussed historical travelogues in our collection, Narrative of a Five Years’ Expedition Against the Revolted Negroes of Surinam by John Gabriel Stedman (1744–1797), first published in 1796 by John Johnson & J. Edwards in London, presents a contrasting perspective—that of a Scottish-Dutch soldier.

Stedman grew up in Dutch Dendermonde and departed for Suriname as a soldier in 1772. He served for five years under Colonel Louis Henri Fourgeoud (1709–1779), with the mission to pursue Maroons in Suriname’s interior. During his service, Stedman kept diaries that recorded his encounters with Suriname’s already diverse population, including colonial soldiers, planters, sailors, clergymen, Black soldiers, enslaved people, Maroons, Indigenous people, and others.

His first publication initiated an almost endless series of editions, translations, and adaptations that shaped the international perception of Suriname under Dutch colonial rule. Renowned artists such as William Blake (1757–1827) and Francesco Bartolozzi (1727–1815) transformed Stedman’s original sketches into unique prints that accompanied the text, making Narrative of a Five Years’ Expedition a true collector’s item.

The 19th-century hand-colored engraving from the rare Italian translation Viaggio al Surinam e nell’interno della Guiana (1818) clearly places European soldiers at the center of the depiction and description of their pursuit of Maroons in Suriname’s interior. Stedman is portrayed behind Colonel Fourgeoud, who wears a red coat and leads the group forward. They are guided by a formerly enslaved guide, while the resistance of the Maroons remains almost invisible: Maroons, referred to as "rebels" in Stedman’s Narrative, fight back using guns from high palm trees.

The difference in composition between the illustrations in Narrative of a Five Years’ Expedition and Hidden Pages clearly shows how the Netherlands’ colonial past and the history of slavery are being reinterpreted by contemporary authors. Susi and Simba Mosis present a "counter-narrative" to existing stories such as Stedman’s, offering the perspective of the Okanisi Maroon community. Their story is based on oral traditions passed down within their family. The physical pages and audio fragments that recount Sapali’s history maintain the story’s connection to a tradition of oral storytelling.

With Hidden Pages, a critique is offered on how books, as typically Western tools, have been used to record and disseminate knowledge. For a long time, the oral traditions of Maroon communities were not included in heritage institutions’ collections by Maroons. Today, we must ask ourselves where we may find the "hidden pages" that provide a more complete picture of a shared history and how we may give them a rightful place in our library.