‘A Conglomeration of […] often Conflicting Ideas’: Resolving the ‘Native Question’ in Java and the Outer Islands in the Dutch East Indies, 1900-1925

Itinerario ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 27 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 160-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joost Coté
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Colonial Rule ◽  
Colonial Discourse ◽  
Colonial State ◽  
East Indies ◽  
Colonial Policy ◽  
History Of ◽  
Dutch East Indies ◽  
Dutch Colonial

This paper examines Dutch colonial discourse as it was developing at the beginning of the twentieth century. I argue that colonial circumstances were changing at the beginning of the twentieth century in many aspects - economic, political, social - and that these changes required new policy and administrative responses. I take as examples of these changing colonial conditions and responses, two episodes in the history of ‘the late colonial state’, which I argue are both representative of and formative in shaping, colonial policy in the last decades of Dutch colonial rule in Indonesia.

The Ottoman Press and the Dutch East Indies at the beginning of the twentieth century

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Erol Baykal
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Colonial Rule ◽  
East Indies ◽  
Dutch East Indies ◽  
Dutch Colonial

AbstractAround the start of the twentieth century articles which were critical of Dutch colonial rule and its treatment of Muslim subjects in the East Indies appeared in certain Ottoman newspapers. For the Dutch, who had not yet been able to fully establish control within the borders of their colony, such inflammatory material was not desirable, especially given the fact that these newspapers had a readership among the colonized Muslims. The Dutch tried to prevent these publications, regarding them as the product of the pan-Islamist attitude of the Porte, a suspicion encouraged by Abdülhamid II's apparent behind-the-scenes support for such Ottoman newspapers.

scholarly journals “Imperium in Imperio”: The Corporation, Mining, and Governance in British Southeast Asia, 1900–1930

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-32
Author(s):  
DAVID BAILLARGEON
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Colonial Period ◽  
State Model ◽  
Colonial Rule ◽  
State Regulations ◽  
Colonial State ◽  
History Of ◽  
British Colonial ◽  
Corporate Ventures

This article examines the history of mining in British Southeast Asia during the early twentieth century. In particular, it focuses on the histories of the Burma Corporation and the Duff Development Company, which were located in British-occupied Burma and Malaya, respectively. It argues that despite being represented as “rogue” corporate ventures in areas under “indirect” colonial rule, the contrasting fates of each company—one successful, one not—reveal how foreign-owned businesses operating in the empire became increasingly beholden to British colonial state regulations during this period, marking a shift in policy from the “company-state” model that operated in prior centuries. The histories of these two firms ultimately demonstrate the continued significance of business in the making of empire during the late colonial period, bridging the divide between the age of company rule and the turn toward state-sponsored “development” that would occur in the mid-twentieth century.

Abdul Rahman Baswedan and the Emancipation of the Hadramis in Indonesia

2004 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 373-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huub de Jonge
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Coming Out ◽  
World War ◽  
Japanese Occupation ◽  
East Indies ◽  
Constant State ◽  
History Of ◽  
Dutch East Indies

AbstractThe journalist and politician Abdul Rahman Baswedan has played a prominent role in the emancipation of the Indonesian Hadhramis and in the integration of the Hadhrami minority into the wider Indonesian society. During the early decades of the twentieth century, the comparatively small, and for outsiders relatively closed, community was in a constant state of dissension and confusion. It was divided by tensions that can be reduced to differences between the Hadhrami culture and the Indonesian cultures, and between loyalty to Hadhramaut, the region of their origin, and the country in which they were looking for a livelihood. It was only in the years leading up to World War II that the idea of being an Indonesian gained significance in these circles, not least of all thanks to Baswedan's efforts in this respect. This article examines Baswedan's childhood and school years in an Arab quarter, his journalistic training and political maturation, and his gradual realization that he belonged to a community that had no perception of its future identity. His "coming out" as an Indonesian; and his activities during the nationalist period, the Japanese occupation, and the years after independence in striving to break down the relative isolation of his Hadhrami compatriots will also be analyzed. Baswedan's life and career form a unique entry in the history of the problems that the Hadhrami community has experienced, both in the Dutch East Indies and in Indonesia.

The Governor a Missionary? Dutch Colonial Rule and Christianization during Idenburg’s Term of Office as Governor of Indonesiaw (1909-16)

2000 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 142-156
Author(s):  
Pieter N. Holtrop
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Indigenous Population ◽  
Colonial Rule ◽  
Party Member ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Church Leader ◽  
East Indies ◽  
Dutch East Indies ◽  
Decision To Stay ◽  
Dutch Colonial

As a reslut of forced Christianization, the motherland threatens to alienate the indigenous population of our colonies from herself.’ With this slogan a combination of left-wing political parties entered the elections for the Dutch Parliament in June 1913. This combination won the elections and in the end it was the liberal Cort van der Linden who was commissioned to form a government. The then governor-general of what was called the Dutch East Indies, the Christian statesman A. W. F. Idenburg (1861-1935), consequently considered relinquishing his post, now that a government would be formed of a political colour different from his own. On the advice of the leader of his party, the Dutch politician, journalist, and church leader Abraham Kuyper, however, he decided that his decision to stay or to resign would depend on the possibilities of co-operation with the new minister of colonial affairs. But he had no illusions about the opinion of the European press in Indonesia. ‘Against me,’ he wrote in a letter to the outgoing minister of colonial affairs, J. H. de Waal Malefijt (1852-1931), a fellow party member, ‘a devilish howling has burst out in some of the papers. They all agree that I must go.’

scholarly journals Rereading Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje: His Islam, Marriage and Indo-European Descents in the Early Twentieth-Century Priangan

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
Jajang A Rohmana
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Indigenous Women ◽  
East Indies ◽  
Early Twentieth Century ◽  
History Of ◽  
Good Reputation ◽  
Dutch East Indies ◽  
Colonial Government

<span>This study focuses on a controversial issue about Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje’s family that was left in the Dutch East Indies in the early twentieth century. The issue sparked a debate among scholars in the 1980s. The debate was concerned with the Dutch government's denial of Hurgronje’s marriage to an Indigenous woman as it was intended to maintain his good reputation. As a matter of fact, the colonial government forbids the marriage of European people with Indigenous women because it would tarnish their status and make it difficult in their careers. This study is meant as a follow-up of van Koningsveld's findings about Hurgronje’s wife and children in Priangan. Here the writer uses a historical analysis of the letters written by Hasan Mustapa to Hurgronje (Cod. Or. 8952). He argues that Hurgronje's history needs to be read in his position as a colonial official who may be worried about rules set by the colonial government. This study shows that Hurgronje cannot be considered completely irresponsible to his Indo-European family in the Dutch East Indies. In fact, he continued to monitor the condition of his family through regular correspondence with Hasan Mustapa, his close friend in the Dutch East Indies. This study is important in a sense that it is expected to be able to rectify the confusion over the issue of Hurgronje's morality towards his family. It offers another perspective of the history of colonialism dealing with interracial relation between Indigenous women, and their offspring, and European men amid the rise of the issue of <em>Nyai</em> and concubinage in the Dutch East Indies.</span>

A Short History of the Ethnic Chinese in Indonesia

2018 ◽  
pp. 25-40
Author(s):  
Wu-Ling Chong
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Indigenous Population ◽  
Short History ◽  
East Indies ◽  
Ethnic Chinese ◽  
Early Twentieth Century ◽  
History Of ◽  
Dutch East Indies ◽  
Divide And Rule ◽  
Negative Attributes

This chapter explores the origins of the ambivalent position of ethnic Chinese in Indonesia. Historically, the Chinese have their ancestral roots in China and do not have particular regions in Indonesia to identify with. During the Dutch period, the colonial regime’s divide-and-rule policy, the granting of economic privileges to the Chinese, and subsequently the emergence of nationalist sentiments oriented towards China in early twentieth-century Dutch East Indies effectively prevented the Chinese from integrating into the wider indigenous population. The Chinese therefore began to be perceived as an alien minority associated with various negative attributes, occupying an ambivalent position in Indonesian society.

KHAT IN COLONIAL KENYA: A HISTORY OF PROHIBITION AND CONTROL

2009 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 377-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
DAVID ANDERSON ◽  
NEIL CARRIER
Keyword(s):  
Colonial Rule ◽  
Colonial State ◽  
The North ◽  
Colonial Policy ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Vulnerable Community ◽  
The Face ◽  
History Of ◽  
Traditional Production ◽  
And Control

ABSTRACTEfforts to institute a system for the control and prohibition of khat in Kenya are examined in this article. Prohibition was introduced in the 1940s after an advocacy campaign led by prominent colonial officials. The legislation imposed a racialized view of the effect of khat, seeking to protect an allegedly ‘vulnerable’ community in the north of the country while allowing khat to be consumed and traded in other areas, including Meru where ‘traditional’ production and consumption was permitted. Colonial policy took little account of African opinion, although African agency was evident in the failure and ultimate collapse of the prohibition in the face of widespread smuggling and general infringement. Trade in khat became ever more lucrative, and in the final years of colonial rule economic arguments overcame the prohibition lobby. The imposition of prohibition and control indicates the extent to which colonial attitudes towards and beliefs about cultural behaviour among Africans shaped policies, but the story also illustrates the fundamental weakness of the colonial state in its failure to uphold the legislation.

scholarly journals Dualisme Pajak di Jawa: Administrasi Pajak Tanah di Wilayah Vorstenlanden pada Masa Kolonial, 1915–1942

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 28
Author(s):  
Abdul Wahid
Keyword(s):  
Colonial State ◽  
East Indies ◽  
Administrative Reforms ◽  
Pull Out ◽  
Political Relations ◽  
History Of ◽  
Dutch East Indies ◽  
The Government ◽  
The One ◽  
Colonial Government

Land tax (landrent) was first introduced by British Ruler, Thomas Raffles in 1811/1812, but was later retained by the Government of the Dutch East Indies until the end of its power in 1942. The long history of applying this tax has led to various dynamics from continuous administrative reforms to socio-political resistance from the taxpayer (community). In general, the application of land tax adapted to local economic and political conditions to make it work effectively and efficiently. In the autonomous region of vorstenlanden, the application of land tax became the pull out field of political authority between the Dutch East Indies Colonial Government and the traditional Governments of the Yogyakarta and Surakarta palaces, both of which share political and administrative powers in their respective territories. On the one hand this condition leads to dualism administrative, because the land tax operates as a central tax and local tax, thus potentially causing double tax burdens for local communities. This article seeks to critically examine how the pull out of land tax administration in vorstenlanden and how far the tax became part of the political relations of the colonial state with the indigenous traditional state.

Islam and Colonial Rule in Lagos

1995 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-80
Author(s):  
Olakunle A. Lawal
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Colonial Rule ◽  
Muslim Community ◽  
Tropical Africa ◽  
Southwestern Nigeria ◽  
Urban Settlement ◽  
Islam And Politics ◽  
British Rule ◽  
History Of ◽  
Process Of Urbanization

IntroductionThis essay provides an explanation of the dynamics of the interactionbetween Islam and politics by placing emphasis on the role played byMuslims in the collision of traditionalism and British rule as colonialismtook root in Lagos. The focus is on the development of a political schismwithin the nascent Muslim community of metropolitan Lagos at the startof the twentieth century up until the end of the 1940s. It highlights therole of Islam in an emerging urban settlement experiencing rapid transformationfrom a purely rural and traditional center into a colonial urbancenter. The essay is located within the broader issues of urban change andtransition in twentieth-century tropical Africa. Three major developments(viz: the central mosque crisis, the Eleko affair, and the Oluwa land case)are used as the vehicles through which the objectives of the essay areachieved.The introduction of Islam into Lagos has been studied by T. G. O.Gbadamosi as part of the history of Islam in southwestern Nigeria. Thisepic study does not pay specific attention to Lagos, devoted as it is to thegrowth of Islam in a far-flung territory like the whole of modem southwesternNigeria. His contribution to a collection of essays on the historyof Lagos curiously leaves out Islam’s phenomenal impact on Lagosianpolitics during the first half of the twentieth century. In an attempt to fillthis gap, Hakeem Danmole’s essay also stops short of appreciating the fundamentallink between the process of urbanization, symbolized in this caseby colonial rule, and the vanguard role played by Muslims in the inevitableclash of tradition and colonial rule in Lagos between 1900 and 1950.

Racial Slurs and Whispers in Situated Testimonies of Dutch Imperial Fiction

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-91
Author(s):  
Laurie J. Sears
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Mixed Race ◽  
Colonial Literature ◽  
Significant Time ◽  
East Indies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Dutch East Indies ◽  
Dutch Colonial

Storytelling brings into vivid focus the emotions and affects that different classes and races of people experienced in the imperial Dutch Indies island worlds. The storyteller explored in this article is Maria Dermoût (1888–1962), a mixed-race Dutch woman (Indo) who was born and raised on Java in the Dutch East Indies and who spent more than thirty years there. This article argues that Dermoût is a key writer for understanding affective economies, because she devotes significant time and effort in her fiction to fleshing out Native characters, something that few writers of her time did. The novella Toetie, one of Dermoût’s last works, uncovers Indies and Dutch attitudes toward race and color, moving her work from the genre of Indies Letters, or Dutch colonial literature, to that of postcolonial critique, with an exploration of forms of servitude, affect, and the social relations of her time.

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