New name for the Pieter de la Court building
The Pieter de la Court building will be given a new name. This was decided by the university's Executive Board in the summer of 2025, at the request of the FSW Faculty Board. The name will no longer be used for our faculty's main building or the student medal.
Reason for the name change
The publication Was Pieter de la Court really a ‘free thinker’? by colleagues Arthur Pormes and Karwan Fatah-Black in Mare prompted the name change. This was followed by a careful consultation and decision-making process with internal and external experts. At the same time, reports were published on the preliminary investigation into the involvement of Leiden University and the Municipality of Leiden in colonialism and slavery.
Student, entrepreneur, freethinker
Pieter de la Court was a seventeenth-century student at our university, an entrepreneur, a champion of democracy in the city and of economic and religious freedom and rights for migrants; reasons for the faculty to choose De la Court as the namesake for our building at the time.
WIC shareholder
However, the above-mentioned publication and reports confirm that the cloth industry, in which Pieter de la Court played a leading role during his years in Leiden, had strong ties to colonialism and slavery. After moving to Amsterdam, De la Court became a major shareholder and attendee at the meetings of the Nine Gentlemen of the West India Company, which played a major role in the Dutch participation in the slave trade.
Current knowledge
In light of this, the Faculty Board, in consultation with the Faculty Council and the scientific directors of the institutes, believes that the naming of the building and the image of Pieter de la Court do not contribute to the diverse and inclusive knowledge community that our faculty aspires to be. The plaque at the entrance to the building bearing the name and image of De la Court will be relocated within the building, on the outer wall of lecture theatre SC.01, with a reference to this information.
Contribute your ideas for a new name!
What would be a good new name for the main building of FSW? All staff and students are invited to contribute their ideas! We invite you to send your suggestions for a new name to the Faculty Board at secretaris@fsw.leidenuniv.nl on Wednesday 13 October 2025 at the latest. We ask that you:
- Briefly explain why this name suits our faculty.
- Do a little research into the use of the nominated name by other organisations, for other buildings, etc.
- Do not nominate names of people.
A committee consisting of representatives of the Faculty Board, the Faculty Council (one student and one staff member) and the Executive Board will select the nominated names. At the beginning of November, you will be able to vote for your favourite. The final decision will be made by the Faculty Board and the Executive Board. The new name will then be unveiled and put into use both physically and digitally. More information about the exact dates and procedure surrounding the election will follow later.