To claim or not to claim
Sharing Archives: Policy and Practice*
Introduction
On May 25, 2011, the archives of the Dutch West India Company (WIC) were
inscribed in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register. This compendium
aims at increasing awareness of documentary heritage with 'world significance'
and 'outstanding universal value'.1 Being key resources for the history of the
European expansion into West Africa and the Americas, the records of the
WIC contain unique information relating to many countries. The National
Archives of the Netherlands (Nationaal Archief) acknowledged this fact in
several ways. First, it initiated the joint recommendation for inclusion of the
WIC archives in the Memory of the World Register by archival institutions in
Brazil, Ghana, Guyana, the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles, Suriname,
the United Kingdom and the United States. Subsequently, it participated in three
publications based on WIC records.2 Next, it set out to digitize part of the WIC
archives kept in the Nationaal Archief repository to facilitate worldwide access.3
Finally, to broadcast the results of these efforts and to highlight the research
potential of the WIC records, the Nationaal Archief organized the Atlantic Day in
Amsterdam.4
These activities were all based upon the assumption that the WIC archives can
be considered 'common cultural heritage'. Starting off as by-products of the
WIC enterprise, these records are now not only regarded as cultural artefacts
inherited from the past, but also as heritage shared by several countries. That the
WIC archives have been included in the Memory of the World Register upon the
recommendation of no less than eight countries might support both assertions.
If, however, you would ask these countries for the consequences of sharing this
heritage, you would get very different answers. This is not surprising as it is far
from clear what common cultural heritage entails, let alone its implications.
In his inaugural lecture as Professor in Archival Science at the University of
Amsterdam, Theo Thomassen stated that archivists know a lot about archives
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J I N N A SMIT
The author would like to thank Lennart Bes, Roelof Hol, Charles Jeurgens, Ton Kappelhof and Michael
Karabinos for their valuable comments on earlier versions of this article.
1 http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/flagship-project-activities/memory-of-
the-worid/register/ (accessed March 4, 2012).
2 Heijer and Teensma, Nederlands-Brazilië in kaartMonteiro Soares et al.Atlas da costa do BrasilBrommer et
al., Comprehensive Atlas.
3 http://www.gahetna.nl/collectie/archief/ead/gahetnascans/zoekterm/westindische%20compagnie/
aantal/20/eadi/1.05.01.01/ (accessed March 4, 2012).
4 November 3, 2011, Amsterdam. See: http://en.nationaalarchief.nl/international-cooperation/mutual-
cultural-heritage/mutual-cultural-heritage-programme/atlantic-days-november-3rd-4th-201 (accessed
March 4, 2012).
