31:
201:). Her mother was a slave named Maria Theodora (a) Gilina. Virginia was the fourth child among her seven siblings. The identity of her father is unknown. Virginia started helping on the plantation when she was young, doing things like carrying messages and going to the market. Virginia, her mother, and her brothers and sisters all belonged to Jan Hendrik van der Biest, who was a Protestant colonist and assistant administrator in Aruba.
216:
209:
298:) for her. Virginia also had run-ins with the authorities in Curaçao. On June 10, 1861, she was apprehended by two police officers for being involved in a case of 'simple physical violence,' leading to a four-day imprisonment. On June 17, 1862, Virginia welcomed her first child, a daughter named Jeanette.
262:
As a teenager, Virginia repeatedly broke the law. Between 1859 and 1863, five trials were conducted against her for violating the
Regulations. Virginia resisted being controlled and rebelled against her enslaver, Van der Biest. Her first punishment for breaking the rules happened in March 1859 when
271:
In
November of the same year, she tried to escape the harsh conditions of the plantation but was unsuccessful. Her failed attempt led to an additional four weeks of work on the plantation. In July 1860, she was accused and found guilty of 'running away and making false accusations, accompanied by
276:
for eight days. After her release, she was promptly arrested once more, this time for 'disturbing the peace on the street and resisting the police'. Since imprisonment and forced labor didn't seem to deter her, she received her first and only physical punishment: fourteen lashes with a whip.
306:
In 1863, Virginia's life took a different trajectory with the abolition of slavery. Jesurun received ƒ200 as compensation for her. From then on, Virginia adopted the surname "Gaai". Her relatives in Aruba adopted the surname "Bikker," and her daughter
Jeanette took on the name "Daña".
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she stole clothes from her mistress. As a result, the authorities on the island punished her with fourteen days of forced labor on the public road. Four months later, she broke the rules again and was punished with two months of forced labor in the plantation fields where she lived.
180:, December 22, 1842 - after 1867) was an Aruban woman who rebelled against slavery. She was born enslaved on a plantation in Aruba and, due to her rebellious nature, she repeatedly came into contact with the authorities. Today, she is regarded as a heroine of resistance.
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When the relationship between an owner and a slave became unsustainable, it was customary for the owner to sell the slave. On
November 22, 1860, Virginia was sold and to be transported to her new owner, Jacob Abraham Jesurun, in
255:, but also on the islands of Curaçao and Aruba. Masters felt that their property rights were curtailed and that they should treat their slaves more carefully than their own children. The enslaved used the restraint of
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The last documented information about
Virginia is that she gave birth to a son named Marcelino Martis Gaai in Willemstad on June 2, 1867.
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for refusal to work and disobedience, following the implementation of the new
Regulations.
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8:
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Attempt to escape and false accusations accompanied by disrespectful behavior (1860)
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Slaven zonder plantage : (kinder-)slavernij en emancipatie op Aruba
287:
215:
506:[NAC Slave Register Inventory Number 117 Folio Number 0011].
481:[NAC Slave Register Inventory Number 117 Folio Number 0009].
542:
Slaves
Without Plantation: (Child) Slavery and Emancipation in Aruba
413:[NAC Slave Register Inventory Number 60 Folio Number 1064].
252:
459:
NAC Register en staten van door politie gestrafte slaven 1861-12
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Forced labor on
Barbolia plantation (2 months + 4 weeks, 1859)
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Disturbing the peace on the street and resisting police (1860)
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disrespectful behavior'. She was confined to a cell in
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120:Forced labor on public roads (14 days, 1859)
504:"NAC_slavenregister_InvNr_117_FolioNR_0011"
479:"NAC_slavenregister_InvNr_117_FolioNR_0009"
411:"NAC_slavenregister_InvNr_60_FolioNR_1064"
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193:She was born on a modest plantation named
610:19th-century people from the Dutch Empire
468:NAC Geboorte slaven inv. nr. 32 fol. 6
290:. Historical records show that he paid
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442:(in Dutch). NT00479.0842 NT00479.0842
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362:"Virginia Dementricia (1842-na 1861)"
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339:(in Dutch). NT00479.0842 NT00479.0842
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267:Escape attempts and further incidents
83:Heroine of resistance against slavery
37:Birth registry of Virginia Demetricia
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162:Maria Theodora (a) Gilina (mother)
133:Fourteen lashes with a whip (1860)
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104:Physical violence (Curaçao, 1861)
620:Aruban people of African descent
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605:Women in war in the Netherlands
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600:Women in 19th-century warfare
590:Women in war in the Caribbean
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544:] (in Dutch). Charuba.
534:"Virginia Dementricia Gaai"
281:Transition and emancipation
136:Imprisonment (4 days, 1861)
16:Enslaved Aruban (1842–1863)
10:
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510:(in Dutch). NT00462.10 117
485:(in Dutch). NT00462.10 117
436:"ANA-DIG-KOL-INV-0971-053"
333:"ANA-DIG-KOL-INV-0842-017"
243:Virginia's rebellious acts
580:19th-century Dutch people
360:Alofs, Luc (2014-01-13).
249:Slave Regulations of 1857
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417:(in Dutch). NT00462.8 60
247:The introduction of the
75:Virginia Demetricia Gaai
95:Theft (two times, 1859)
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33:
39:(entry nr. 22, 1842)
615:19th-century slaves
257:corporal punishment
229:plantation located
172:Virginia Demetricia
23:Virginia Demetricia
532:Alofs, L. (2013).
302:After emancipation
35:
551:978-99904-1-779-1
508:Nationaal Archief
483:Nationaal Archief
440:Nationaal Archief
415:Nationaal Archief
388:, pp. 61–62.
366:Huygens instituut
337:Nationaal Archief
251:led to unrest in
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55:December 22, 1842
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625:History of Aruba
585:Caribbean slaves
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113:Criminal penalty
88:Criminal charges
72:Other names
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80:Known for
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595:Rebel slaves
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341:. Retrieved
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274:Fort Zoutman
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128:Fort Zoutman
575:1842 births
227:San Barbola
199:San Barbola
197:(nowadays,
569:Categories
557:2023-08-25
514:2023-08-25
489:2023-08-25
446:2023-08-25
421:2023-08-25
398:Alofs 2013
386:Alofs 2013
372:2023-08-25
368:(in Dutch)
343:2023-08-25
319:References
235:Oranjestad
189:Background
67:After 1867
51:1842-12-22
231:northeast
184:Biography
253:Suriname
195:Barbolia
145:Children
526:Sources
288:Curaçao
153:Parents
548:
237:(1912)
540:[
294:140 (
178:Aruba
58:Aruba
546:ISBN
64:Died
45:Born
233:of
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352:^
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292:ƒ
176:(
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53:)
49:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
