Who is Black Pete?

For the Dutch, Sinterklaas and Black Pete (or Zwarte Piet) are inseperable. To some people Black Pete is racist because it puts a black person in an inferior position. But where does this peculiar tradition actually come from?

2000 years ago the German god Wodan drove around on a white horse with 2 black raven who eavesdropped on people through the chimney and tattled to their boss. Hmmmm that sounds familiar... And throughout history there have been traditions where people paint themselves black around new years to impersonate the devil or to scare the kids.

And then we have Saint Nicolas, who visits Dutch and Belgian households around december 5th. At first he drops in alone, well him and his horse, of course, but in 1850 he gets a companion: that's when the storybook 'Saint Nicolas and his servant' appears. In these pictures we see our good Saint accompanied for the first time by a somewhat dark skinned employee. Not that strange, really, because in those days many distinguished people had coloured servants. And by hiring this minion, Saint Nick can focus on his core business as a friend to all children, while his subordinate manages the old fashioned bag and rod.
At first the black assistant is an idiot, who can't even speak properly. But slowly he einvolves into a Power Pete. The sometimes somewhat distracted good saint grows depend on his skilled management assistant. And wether or not Pete is black from all that soot or not... It just wouldn't be the same without him.