On July 1, 1863, the Netherlands officially abolished slavery in its colonies, including Suriname, Curaçao, and the Dutch East Indies, freeing approximately 45,000 enslaved people. The Emancipation Act, which had been passed in the Dutch parliament, followed a decade of pressure from abolitionist movements and was accompanied by a state compensation scheme for slave owners. The event was celebrated by the freed population, although the economic and social conditions of former slaves remained difficult. The Dutch abolition was part of a broader wave of emancipation in the Caribbean and South America during the mid-19th century.

The Dutch abolition has been the subject of Dutch Caribbean literature, with poets and writers commemorating the Day of Emancipation (Keti Koti) in their works. The event appears in the poetry of Surinamese writers and in historical novels that explore the aftermath of slavery in the colonies. The literary commemoration of this event has become a vital part of the cultural memory of the Dutch-speaking Caribbean.