Description
This major study explores the spatial history of the Dutch East Indies as an imperial formation between the early nineteenth century and the end of empire. It consists of six in-depth case-studies on pertinent themes such as rural capitalism, indirect colonial rule, border politics, coolie circulations, un-modern nationalism and the beginning of Indonesian independence. These studies are set within a novel theory, which connects local, intra-imperial, transimperial and global history in the format of specific topochrones. As such this book is a contribution both to Indonesian transcultural history and the field of New Area Studies.
About the author
Vincent Houben is professor of Southeast Asian History and Society, Institute of Asian and African Studies at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. He studied history and Indonesian languages at Leiden University. He obtained his Ph.D. in 1987 and became a lecturer of Indonesian history at the same university. In 1997 he moved to Germany. His areas of research are modern Southeast Asian history (nineteenth and twentieth centuries), colonial history, labour history, memory studies and area studies theory. He published several books and over ninety scholarly articles.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction …………………………………………………….1
Scale in history …………………………………………………………5
New imperial history …………………………………………….. 10
Topochrones viewed through a pericentric
lens ………………………………………………………………………… 11
Contents and aims of this book ……………………………… 13
2. Eurasian Rural Capitalism in
Central Java ……………………………………………………19
Between fact and fiction ………………………………………… 22
Plantation politics and familial networks
in Central Java ……………………………………………………….. 24
Rise of the Dezentjé estate (1820–1839) …………………. 27
The collapse of the Dezentjé estate
(1839–1849) ………………………………………………………….. 34
Resurgence of the Dezentjé enterprise
after 1849 ………………………………………………………………. 39
Land and labour on the Dezentjé enterprise ………….. 41
Planting entrepreneurship: European or Eurasian? ………………… 46
3. Genealogies and circulations of indirect
colonial rule ……………………………………………………………….. 51
Transimperial connections of indirect rule …………………………….. 54
Oscillating Dutch imperial policies towards
the Outer Islands …………………………………………………………………… 60
Dynamics of Dutch indirect rule: a comparison
between three areas ……………………………………………………………….. 63
Circulation of Dutch native state specialists on
the intra-imperial scale ………………………………………………………….. 71
Circulation of British and French colonial specialists …………….. 80
Local imperialism in action: Van Sevenhoven
in Palembang …………………………………………………………………………. 83
Further local imperialisms: Tobias in Macassar
and Van Nes in Central Java …………………………………………………… 92
Entangled scales of indirect rule: historiographical
implications …………………………………………………………………………… 96
4. Border politics and the Timor Crisis …………………………… 99
The socio-historical landscape of Timor ……………………………….101
Discursive transgressions by the Dutch orientalist
G.P. Rouffaer…………………………………………………………………………105
Translocal scale: escalating border confrontations ………………..110
Continued cross-border violence and new tensions ………………117
The Manufahi Revolt: intra-imperial violence
and transimperial ramifications ……………………………………………119
Intra-imperial embroilments: wavering crisis
management in Batavia and The Hague ………………………………..125
The transimperial scale: diplomacy prevails ………………………….130
Dynamics of scale and cross-border dynamics in Timor……….132
5. Javanese coolie circulations and transimperial
entanglement .…………………………………………………………… 135
Local scale: inhuman working conditions in
British North Borneo ……………………………………………………………137
Intra-imperial Javanese labour migration ……………………………..140
Transimperial Javanese labour circulation:
numbers ……………………………………………………………………………….145
Transimperial Javanese labour circulation:
recruitment and state regulations ………………………………………….149
Circulation of Dutch labour inspectors …………………………………154
Transimperial comparison of Labour Inspectorates ………………155
Inter-imperial variations of labour relations ………………………….158
Transimperial entanglements resulting from
Dutch labour inspections ……………………………………………………..170
The topochrone of transimperial Javanese indenture …………….173
6. Un-modern nationalism and imperial
disentanglements during the Great War …………………… 177
Surakarta as centre of disruption ………………………………………….182
Un-modern nationalism ……………………………………………………….186
Tjokroaminoto and the expansion of Sarekat Islam ………………193
Strategies of Dutch imperial defense …………………………………….199
Un-modern Sarekat Islam …………………………………………………….201
Scaling Up: transregional entanglements with
the Middle East and China ……………………………………………………205
The global scale—fissures of World War I ……………………………..215
Conclusion: anti-imperial convergence and
imperial disjunctures ……………………………………………………………220
7. Contrasting histories and collapsing imperial
scales: Jakarta in August–September 1945 ………………… 223
PART I: The history of a key event: the Proclamation
of Indonesian Independence …………………………………………………224
Conflicting historiographies and the “secret”
of Indonesian independence ………………………………………………224
A new eyewitness account: biographical setting …………………232
Nakamura’s testimony ………………………………………………………..235
The first session of the “Preparation Committee” ……………….237
Maeda, Nishijima and the “secret” of Indonesian
independence …………………………………………………………………….241
PART II: A History of Place: Jakarta
in August-September 1945 ……………………………………………………245
The dynamics of place: Jakarta …………………………………………..245
Rising tide of violence………………………………………………………..248
Armed pemuda organisations and efforts
at containment …………………………………………………………………..251
Nation-state building in the midst of turmoil …………………….254
Disconnected trans—and intra-imperial scales ………………….258
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………263
8. Conclusion—an imperial history of scales ………………… 265
Area history ………………………………………………………………………….265
New Area Studies ………………………………………………………………….267
Cross-cutting themes ……………………………………………………………269
Topochrones found ………………………………………………………………272
Morphological types and mid-range concepts ………………………277
BIBLIOGRAPHY ……………………………………………………… 279
Editorial Board
Prof. Caroline S. Hau
Prof. Vincent Houben
Prof. Boike Rehbein
Prof. Barend Terwiel
Dr. Xue Li
Dr. Benjamin Baumann
Dr. Daniel Bultmann
About the Series
Developments in the field of area studies — goaded by the analytical deconstruction of world regions from their geopolitical sense — have deeply affected the knowledge production from societies and cultures located in the politicized compartmentalization of the globe. With this series, the editors and authors wish to contribute to a reformulation of sensibilities in area studies which emphasizes the epistemic value of contextualized knowledge production. Starting with the notion of Southeast Asia, books published in this series will contribute to a more nuanced understanding of regionality based on a multidisciplinary approach. The series represents an outlet for young scholars intending to publish their degree theses; and for established scholars who are looking for a place to republish out-of-print books. We also encourage scholarly collectives from the regions to publish collaborative works or edited volumes on topics that usually will not attract the attention of big presses due to their transdisciplinary orientation.
