Quaco

Translating Quaco is an integrated research and translation initiative at the University of Sheffield. Researchers, translators, authors, and students collaborate to open up colonial legacy as a transnational history.

The project

The way we approach colonial history and literature is often still European-centric. The voices and stories of the exploited and abused remain hidden, overlooked, and untranslated.

Henriette Louwerse, Duco van Oostrum, Filip De Ceuster work with literary translator Jonathan Reeder, guest authors, artists and researchers, and Sheffield students on a range of projects around colonial legacy and present day multiculturalism.

Red letters read Quaco against a background of luscious trees. Subtitle: my life in slavery

We call our activities Translating Quaco, as a tribute to Quaco, the enslaved ‘futiboy’ of Scottish-Dutch officer John Gabriel Stedman.

We understand translation as a broad activity that involves research, contextualisation and activism. We translate, research, and analyse across language, literature, and national histories.

If you are interested in our work or you have ideas for research/translation projects, please get in touch: quaco@sheffield.ac.uk

Quaco. My Life in Slavery

Hidden story translated

The graphic novel and teaching materials

18th century leather bound book open on the first page and you see Stedman as soldier

John Gabriel Stedman on Quaco

Guest authors and artists

Johan Fretz

Guest author Johan Fretz works with professional translator Jenny Watson and Sheffield students to translate part of his novel 'Onder de Paramariboom'. On his discovery of Suriname, country of his mother, and part of his forgotten identity.

Present history

Rashif El Kaoui

El Kaoui is a Belgian-Moroccan author and actor. In 2022 Rashif El Kaoui visited Sheffield to discuss and present his theatre performance "De Bastaard', in which he records his trip to Morocco to trace the movements of his father.

Rashif El Kaoui, The Bastard

Tessa Leuwsha

We translated an abstract from Leuwsha’s most recent novel 'Plantation Wildlust', a story set in Suriname about 50 years after the abolition of slavery in the former Dutch colony.

Tessa Leuwsha, Plantation Wildlust

Student research projects

Quotation reads: How could we, with our comparatively privileged lives, be suitable translators for this project

Translation and Black Lives Matter

Jordi Britton, one of our student translators reflects on race, whiteness and the role of translation.

The vital role of translation

small collar made of copper with a crest

Podcast

As part of a SURE project, Catherine Newell looked into the representation of the colonial past and slavery in museums in Amsterdam, Brussels and Liverpool

Representing Slavery in Museums in Amsterdam, Liverpool and Brussels

British Library project

Megan Strutt took a recent novel of Dutch-Surinamese author Johan Fretz and used it to investigate the collection of the British Library in London.

What does the British Library tell us about Suriname

Our sponsors and partners

For Translating Quaco and our guest authors over the years we receive financial support from the Dutch Language Union, Nederlandse Taalunie.

We collaborate closely with the cultural hub the-low-countries.com who are always willing to discuss how we can share our work.

We collaborate and receive support from: Dutch Centre at Austin Friars, Flanders House in London, UCL (in particular Christine Sas), Dutch Foundation for Literature, Flanders Literature, Black Archives Amsterdam, British Library, UitgeverijL (in particular Rob van Bavel).

We owe special gratitude to Ineke Mok who took the initiative to create the graphic novel based on her research into the life of Quaco.