Nicolaas (Cola) Debrot (4 May 1902 – 3 December 1981) was a writer, lawyer,

medical doctor A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the study, diagnosis, prognosis ...

and politician.

Biography

Debrot was born in

Kralendijk Kralendijk () is the capital and main port of the island of Bonaire in the Caribbean Netherlands. The language spoken in the town is Papiamentu, but Dutch and English are widely used. , the town had a population of 10,620. In Papiamentu, the to ...

, the son of a plantation owner. In 1904, he moved from

Bonaire Bonaire is a Caribbean island in the Leeward Antilles, and is a Caribbean Netherlands, special municipality (officially Public body (Netherlands), "public body") of the Netherlands. Its capital is the port of Kralendijk, on the west (Windward an ...

Curaçao Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...

, and then when he was 14 he moved to the Netherlands to attend school. He went to secondary school, and later to

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public university, public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of ...

in the Netherlands, studying law and later medicine, where he also started his literary career. His debut, ''Mijn zuster de negerin'' (1935) is his best known. In the late 1940s, he returned to the Antilles and lived on

, where he established the foundations of Dutch-Antillian literature. Debrot was also active as a politician. In 1952, Debrot became the Minister Plenipotentiary of the Netherlands Antilles and played a major role in reshaping the relationship between the Netherlands, the Antilles and Suriname. From 1962 to 1970, Debrot served as

Governor of the Netherlands Antilles The governor of the Netherlands Antilles was the representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Netherlands Antilles and the head of the government of the Netherlands Antilles. Duties With the introduction of the Charter for the Kingdom ...

, the first to be born on one of the islands. In 1970, he retired to the Netherlands to dedicate his time to writing. He died in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

Cola Debrot Prize

In 1968, the Government of Curaçao, decided to institute a yearly cultural award. The award was named after Cola Debrot. The annual prize can be awarded for either music, literature or science.

Cola Debrot Lectures

In 2008, the Werkgroep Caraïbische Letteren, an independent group within the

Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde The Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde (, , often abbreviated ''MNL'') is a prestigious and exclusive literary society. The MNL was established in Leiden in 1766 and is still located there. At the moment, the society has approximately 1,6 ...

, which aims to promote and assist Caribbean literature, initiated the annual Cola Debrot lectures in

. The first lecture was given by the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

winning author

Derek Walcott Sir Derek Alton Walcott OM (23 January 1930 – 17 March 2017) was a Saint Lucian poet and playwright. He received the 1992 Nobel Prize in Literature. His works include the Homeric epic poem '' Omeros'' (1990), which many critics view "as ...

References

External links

Cola Debrot at Digital Library for Dutch Literature
(in Dutch)
Cola Debrot Lectures at Werkgroep Caraïbische Letteren
(in Dutch) {{DEFAULTSORT:Debrot, Cola 1902 births 1981 deaths Bonaire politicians Curaçao lawyers Curaçao writers Dutch Antillean physicians Dutch male writers Governors of the Netherlands Antilles Ministers plenipotentiary (Netherlands Antilles) Utrecht University alumni 20th-century Dutch lawyers