Immigration as a colonial inheritance: Post-colonial immigrants in the Netherlands, 1945-2002

As in France and Britain, immigration into the Netherlands after World War II is partly an inheritance of the country's colonial past. In this paper we consider four post-colonial migration flows to the Netherlands, two from the East Indies- the Eurasian population known as 'Indische Nederlanders' and the Moluccans-and two from the West Indies-the Surinamese and the Antilleans. We examine the factors that have been crucial for the integration (or non-integration) of these immigrants into Dutch society. Although all these immigrants may be labelled 'post-colonial immigrants', the term is misleading to the extent that it suggests homogeneity A wide variety exists as to the volume of the migration flow; the composition of the immigrant population-social class, ethnic origin and cultural background; the timing of the migration and the perceptions and expectations of the immigrants. The context of reception also varies considerably, due to the economic situation at the time of arrival, government policies vis-a-vis these immigrant groups and the perception and acceptance of them by the general public. Two factors seem to have been of the essence for the integration process: Dutch citizenship and the amount of 'cultural capital'-in the form of school attainments and familiarity with the Dutch language and culture-that the immigrants already possessed before migrating to the Netherlands.