Tula the Martyr?

Tula the Martyr?

December 7 2025

Martyr. The original meaning: someone who sacrifices their life or is persecuted for their faith, as in Christianity or Islam.

For some time, I’ve been carrying a thought that has only grown stronger. It became especially clear a few years ago when I purchased and read the original collection of primary documents on the Curaçao slave revolt of 1795 at the Central Historical Archive. I spent a lot of time on the report by Pastor Jacobus Schinck, which stayed with me.

In the meantime, King Willem-Alexander apologized in 2023 for the Dutch involvement in slavery. Suriname forgave him around November 25, 2025, fifty years after independence. Curaçao, however, seems not yet aware that we, too, may have forgiveness to grant. For now, we are busy calculating possible compensation and examining how wrong the church—religion, specifically the Catholic Church—has been.

Mgr. Nieuwindt, the first bishop of the islands, is described in Goslinga’s dissertation as the great emancipator. This shows the Catholic Church’s role was complex: on one hand, religion was sometimes used to calm enslaved people; on the other, there were clergy actively working for their liberation. A few years ago, a dissertation appeared on the Catholic Church in Curaçao with a telling title: “En nu koes” (“And now, calm”).

Another trigger came when seminarists recently asked me if I had books on Curaçaoan history—in Papiamentu, Spanish, or English, as Dutch is difficult for them. They felt that anyone working on Curaçao should know the history and sociology of the island. A fair point.

All of this brings me back to my hypothesis: Tula was a martyr.

Read Pastor Schinck’s account. Why was a pastor sent to Tula? Likely because Tula was Catholic. The dialogue shows he relied on Christian teachings, on the Bible. One often-overlooked detail: a room was prepared for the pastor. Schinck writes that a Bible was placed on his nightstand. Meanwhile, the rebels sang French songs around the fire. Schinck was afraid.

When I shared this with the seminarists, they agreed—it’s not a far-fetched idea: Tula as a martyr.

I also recall the depiction of Tula’s torture during the apology offered by Secretary of State Van Huffelen on December 19, 2022. His death was horrifying. Every bone in his body was broken. His head was placed on a spit, the rest thrown into the sea. A literal martyr’s death.

Today, I finally met my friend Charlie do Rego, the foremost authority on the revolt and on Tula. His latest publication: “Tula: Luchadó i Inspiradó” (2023), in English, Dutch, and Papiamentu.

He clarified a vital point: Tula was not from Haiti, but born on Knip. I asked Charlie whether Tula was Catholic. He, too, believed it very likely. What is certain: Tula knew Christian teachings.

So, if we are examining the role of the Church, we must also ask whether Tula was a martyr.

Miguel Goede