Niels Posthumus worked for eight-and-a-half years as correspondent in South Africa for the Dutch newspapers Trouw and Financieel Dagblad. In his new book, Alle problemen begonnen met Van Riebeeck (translated as: All problems started with Van Riebeeck), Posthumus asks what consequences the arrival of the VOC in South Africa has had for the country, and what can still be seen of it today. The title is taken from a speech by then South African President Jacob Zuma during the celebration of the 103rd anniversary of the ANC, in Cape Town in January 2015. In his speech, Zuma claimed that all the problems of South Africa began with the arrival of Jan van Riebeeck in 1652 as the first ‘Commander of the Cape’.
For his book Posthumus interviewed many persons like intellectuals, historians and ‘people from the street’, representing a wide range of viewpoints and positions. One of them is maritime archaeologist Bruno Werz. In chapter 1 (pages 29 – 44) and chapter 18 (page 322) Bruno Werz, the history of the VOC ship Haarlem and the ‘Haarlem’ Project are explicitly mentioned. Thanks to the double angle he has chosen (then and now), Posthumus manages to review just about everything you would expect from a book about South Africa within just under three hundred pages.
A Dutch book review about Alle problemen begonnen met Van Riebeeck, written by Ingrid Glorie, can be read via this link.