During a recent trip to the Netherlands, I picked up a copy of Amsterdam Slavery Heritage Guide (Gids Slavernijverleden Amsterdam) , the second extended edition published in 2018. Although it’s been around for nearly a decade, this was my first encounter with it—and I’m glad I made the discovery. As someone interested in the interpretation of African American history and culture, as well as city guides, I found it to be a compelling model for documenting and acknowledging slavery’s legacy in public spaces.

The full-color Guide identifies over 100 locations throughout the city connected to slavery, from major institutions to architectural details that would be easy to overlook. Each site is presented with a bilingual (Dutch and English) description that varies in length, sometimes accompanied by historical context. The locations are not limited to traditional sites such as mansions and churches—many are ordinary houses or warehouses, gablestones, offices, or former homes of prominent individuals. A map at the beginning allows you to design your own exploration of the city’s slavery heritage.

The content is categorized among four topics:

• Trade and Profit
• Africans and Asians in Amsterdam
• Resistance and Abolition
• Museums and Archives

These topics are clearly marked along the edge of each entry, making it easy to locate examples within each category. However, the content is not organized by location or chronologically, so you’ll need to rely on the map or index to find a specific site. Nor are there suggested routes or interpretive itineraries—it’s up to the user to make connections among sites. This signals to me that in 2018, Amsterdam was still in the early “identification” phase of interpreting slavery’s legacy—gathering facts, acknowledging places, and establishing categories—but had not yet fully entered the “connecting” or “interpreting” phase that links individual stories and places them into broader narratives of significance.

Still, it’s a remarkable resource and an important first step—something that could be replicated in other cities. By documenting a wide range of places associated with slavery from multiple perspectives, it lays the groundwork for deeper engagement and interpretation.

Of particular note is the introduction by Stephen Small, a professor at UC Berkeley who has written on interpreting slavery at southern U.S. plantations, most recently In the Shadow of the Big House. His preface situates the guide within the wider international efforts to acknowledge and interpret slavery’s legacies, and signals the importance of moving beyond a Western-centric lens. While the majority of the entries focus on African slavery in the West Indies (especially Suriname and the Caribbean), the guide also hints at the need for further exploration of enslavement in the Dutch East Indies, including among Asian populations.

For museum professionals and public historians tackling similar topics, this guide is a valuable example of what it looks like to begin mapping a city’s slavery heritage. Even without deep interpretation, identifying and making visible these sites is a meaningful act. It opens the door to more complex conversations and interpretive strategies—guided tours, digital story maps, walking routes, and exhibitions—that can emerge from this foundational work.

If you’re interested in similar efforts closer to home, the guide references Dutch New York Histories: Connecting African, Native American and Slavery Heritage, which includes 90 sites statewide. I haven’t yet seen a copy, but it sounds equally promising.

Because the Amsterdam guide may be hard to find, I’ve included a PDF excerpt that includes the preface by Stephen Small, the introduction, and several sample entries. I hope it sparks ideas for your own work.

Have you encountered similar guides or resources in your own city or while traveling? I’d love to hear about them in the comments.