Ladies- committees
This is part of a heavily damaged charter, dated 1855, but almost certainly made later. The Ladies-committee mentioned in this charter, however, did exist.
In the ‘Tijdschrift uitgegeven van wege de Nederlandsche Maatschappij ter bevordering van de afschaffing der slavernij’ (Magazine of the Dutch Union for the promotion of the abolishment of slavery) the ‘Ladies-committee for the promotion of spreading the gospel and for the abolishment of slavery in Surinam’ is mentioned. Anna A. Bergendahl was the Chairwoman.
In 1855, a year earlier, she and her sister Charlotte had taken the initiative for ‘an appeal to the King to abolish slavery’. The petition was signed by 733 women. The charter refers to this fact. As of 1840, throughout the country Women’s – and Ladies – Committees were established with objectives such as visiting female prisoners, the abolishment of slavery or the ‘advancement of material and moral welfare of the poor’.
Source: Archive IAV
