Once again false claims are doing the rounds on social media. This time it is being claimed on Twitter that the hand-shaped biscuits that are a local specialty in Antwerp are reference to a shameful chapter in Belgium’s colonial history when Congolese people’s hands were chopped off. This claim is not true as the biscuits are a reference to the legend of how the city was founded. The false claim about the biscuits has been doing the rounds on the internet for around a decade.
Fact check: False claims about Antwerp hand biscuits and Belgium’s colonial past resurface
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In short: A tweet published on the Africa Archives Twitter account claims that the local Antwerp specialty are a reference to the chopping-off of hands by colonialists in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo.
But? This is not true. The first Antwerp hands were baked and sold in 1934. Their shape is a reference to a legend about the foundation of the city during the Gallo-Roman period and the origin of Antwerp’s name "Ant" (hand) and "werp" (throw).
On 2 April the post below appeared on Africa Archives. It was viewed around 600,000 times. Africa Archives publishes stories from and about Africa. However, some of these stories are not always accurate.
In the post it is claimed that the biscuits and the chocolates in the shape of a hand are a reference to the chopping off of hands in Leopold II’s “Congo Free State”. However, this is not true as the “Antwerpse handjes” (Antwerp Hands) biscuits are a local specialty that was baked for the first time in 1934 during a competition for Antwerp’s master bakers. The inspiration for the biscuits is a legend of the founding of the city in the Gallo-Roman period.
According to the legend, a giant called Antigoon had imposed a toll on those wishing to sail up the river Scheldt. Antigoon chopped off the hands of seafarers that couldn’t pay. A Roman soldier called Brabo wanted to bring this practice to an end and during a fight he chopped off Antigoon’s right hand before chopping off the giants had. Before he left Brabo threw Antigoon’s chopped off hand into the river.
This false account of the story behind Antwerp Hands first appeared on Africa Archives account in March 2021. The American fact checking site Lead Stories wrote this about Africa Archives’ claims then. At the end of last year, the claims resurfaced again.
There were reactions posts on both TikTok and Twitter stating that the story is not true. Meanwhile, administrators at Facebook said that posts linking the biscuits and chocolates to the practice of chopping off hands in the late 19th century were untrue.
Coat of arms
Although the biscuits only appeared for the first time in the 1930s, the hand as a symbol for the city of Antwerp dates back to long before any atrocities were committed in Leopold II’s Congo Free State.
The Antwerp City Archive says that hands first appeared on Antwerp’s coat of arms in the 16th century. The right hand on the coat of arms symbolised the prerogative granted to stock and store goods, while the left hand symbolises the right to sail toll-free through the Western Scheldt.
The Antwerp Brewery De Koninck has used the hands in its logo since it was established in 1833. This is more than 50 years before Leopold’s II’s regime in Congo began.
Who is behind African Archives?
The African Archives Twitter account is managed by Walter Gido. He is a self-proclaimed “passionate African”. According to his LinkedIn profile is from the Kenyan capital Nairobi. African Archive’s mission is said to be collecting and highlighting information about Africa’s past.
Why the claim about the hands has resurfaced again is unclear. VRT News tried to contact Africa Archives’ Walter Gido, but has yet not received any response. There is a big chance that he posted the claim again because he saw that it was still doing the round on the internet.
The origin of the claim is difficult to trace. However, based on a reserve search using a photograph of the Antwerp hand biscuits we can say with certainty the claim has been doing the rounds for at least a decade. For example, in 2014 they surfaced in a Swedish literary journal.
Conclusion
· According to a tweet from Africa Archives, the traditional Antwerp hand biscuits are a reference to chopping off of Congolese people’s hands during the reign of King Leopold II.
· This is not true Antwerp hands are a reference to the founding legend of the city of Antwerp.
· The two hands have been used with relation to Antwerp for centuries. They appear in a 16th century coat of arms and in the De Koninck brewery’s logo that was designed in 1833. Leopold II reign in Congo didn’t start until 1885.
· This claim that has been doing the rounds on social media for at least a decade has been found to be not true.