Dutch central bank chief apologizes for links to slavery

AMSTERDAM (AP) — The chief of the Dutch central bank has apologized for the institution’s involvement in the 19th-century slave trade, the latest expression of contrition in the Netherlands linked to the country’s historic role in the trade in enslaved people. The apology Friday came at the national day marking the abolishment of slavery and followed similar moves in recent years from municipal authorities in the major Dutch cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht. The central bank has acknowledged that it was involved in the transatlantic slave trade between 1814 and 1863 and even paid compensation to plantation owners when the Netherlands abolished slavery, including to members of the central bank’s board.