Reasons for Dutch colonisation

Political
- to build an empire and sphere of influence

Economic
- to obtain raw materials and cash crops
- to create an environment for investments

Social
- desire to civilise Indonesia

To build an empire and sphere of influence

- with unification of germany, balance of power in Europe shifted
- competition among European powers intensified as they feared that their rivals would
take over territories and cut off access to trade and raw materials
- british and Dutch signed a treaty and british recognised dutch's sphere of influence over
sumatra, but did not end rivalry.
- dutch further provoked when British established protectorates over sarawak, esp bc the
island was in Dutch's sphere of influence
- british general carried out administrative reforms to strengthen and secure his rule
- dutch felt threatened as British were trying to establish themselves in territories close to
their own
- germans also showed interest in the area and French were expanding in Europe,
pressured Dutch to take a firmer stand to enforce control

To obtain raw materials and cash crops

- acceleration of industrialisation in Europe created an increased demand for raw
materials and cash crops
- opening of suez canal and advances in engineering reduced transportation time and
resulted in a great increase in trade, so Indonesia impt
- indonesia provided Dutch with a rich source of profit from raw materials and there were
also tin in mines and oil in aceh
- cash crops like sugar and coffee in java also made indonesia profitable
- made Dutch more determined to hold on to their territories

To create an environment for investments

- introduced a change from the culture system to liberal policy where gov monopolies over
cash crops abolished and indonesia was open up to private enterprises
- allowed individuals to lease land from gov for agriculture
- private companies started to establish plantations for cultivating cash crops and
resources
 - dutch still needed to extract more profits from indonesia, so there was forced cultivation
of coffee which is also a profitable produce
- with the opening to private enterprises, dutch imposed territorial control to create a
stable environment to attract investors

Desire to civilise Indonesia

- concerned about the welfare of indigenous ppl
- believed that European countries, being more developed than non-European countries
had a right and moral obligation to bring civilisation to these less-developed territories
- dutch supported colonial expansion as a way to remove practices such as head-hunting
and slavery which were deemed cruel in European society

How did locals respond to Dutch expansion

Aceh war
- british and dutch initially agreed aceh should remain independent to prevent each other
from gaining control
- aceh rose in importance as it provided half of the world's supply of pepper
- dutch became determined to exploit the natural resources of Aceh
- aceh turned to ottoman Empire for help but they could not help Aceh as they were also
having problems
- British and Dutch signed treaty, Aceh became part of dutch's sphere of influence
- aceh sent representatives to American consul in sg to negotiate a treaty bc they wanted
American support against Dutch
- dutch saw this as violation of their treaty and attacked Aceh

Guerilla war
- aceh fought a long war against dutch and caused dutch to be nearly bankrupt
- dutch captured capital but Aceh continued to fight using tactics of guerilla warfare
against dutch troops
- Acehese soldiers had hidden bases in jungles, Dutch cut down forests
- dutch laid railway lines to enable them to move easily, deployed mobile forces which
were effective

Religious influence
- religious leaders rallied ppl to fight not as villages but as muslims
- resulted in thousands of Acehese dying

Local collaborators of the Dutch

- recruited Ambonese troops who were rewarded with prestige and a high standard of
living for their help
Colonisation of Bali
- balinese resisted Dutch expansion, would not tolerate being controlled by a foreign
European power and wanted to protect their own culture from foreign influences
- northern rule came under Dutch's rule but southern bali continued to resist
- dutch attacked kingdoms in South Bali, royal families perished in futile attacks
- seeing this, many ppl saw the situation hopeless, committed mass suicide

Impact of Dutch colonial rule

Political (TCSL)
- transfer of power from traditional rulers to Dutch
- centralised administration
- segregation of religious and secular leadership
- local leaders' participation in western-style politics

Economic
- penetration of western capital
- introduction of modern farming practices
- creation of new plantations and industries
- changes in livelihood
- from farmers to contract workers
- creation of small holdings
- creation of a dual economy
- land alienation
- vulnerability to external economic changes

Social impact (CCUCD)

- common language
- creation of a plural society
- urbanisation
- creation of western-educated elites
- deterioration in standards of living

Transfer of power from traditional rulers to the Dutch

- dutch institulated a rule called the regency system where dutch gov held power at the
top of the hierarchy but ruled indirectly through traditional leaders
- helped leaders maintain their symbolic representations of power, enjoyed privilege
initially but their social and economic status declined as dutch began to impose stricter
requirements on them
 - states signed the Dutch short declaration where local rulers who recognised dutch's
authority could maintain their position provided they received dutch advice on how to
exercise their power
- made it possible for ordinary ppl to become colonial administrators, traditional system of
leadership based on blood relations replaced with a more meritocratic system based on
abilities
- indirect rule helped to make dutch more acceptable to ppl and keep gov costs low

Centralised administration
- dutch brought territories under a centralised administration headed by a Dutch Governor
General
- local rulers and priyayis became salaried employees, retained position but lost their
power to make decisions about land and many rights
- dutch became able to extend their control to more of indonesia, enabled them to collect
tax and revenue efficiently

Segregation of religious and secular leadership

- indonesia ruled through a secular, western educated elite promoted
- after Aceh and padri wars, dutch became wary of islam, careful to not appoint Islam
leaders
- wanted to counter influence of Islam and maintain balance of religious influence in
society by supporting traditional secular leaders
- enhanced prestige of secular leaders, could maintain lifestyle of extravagance and
splendour
- paved the way for leaders who would work for welfare of country w/o confining their
ideas to religious teachings

Local leaders participation in western-style politics

- implemented ethical policy to re address abuses under the liberal policy and improve
welfare of ppl
- allowed ppl some say in gov by transferring power to districts and villages
- representatives elected by wealthy and powerful elites, so ordinary ppl did not have
representation

Penetration of western capital

- after liberal policy launched, capital flowed into indonesia from investors eager to
develop businesses
- dutch capitalists not strong enough to develop economy → open to foreign investments

Introduction of modern farming practices

 - western capital financed research on soil and fertilisers, brought technological advances
in farming techniques
- established irrigation systems which increased crop yields
- paid for expensive and modern equipment and large workforce

Creation of new plantations and industries

- produced crops and raw materials to be exported over the world
- virgin forests cleared to make room for plantations for things like rubber and tobacco
- indonesia became one of the largest suppliers of tropical products
- tied indonesian economy to world economy, indonesian economy subjected to
fluctuations of world economy
- created new jobs that attracted workers, both from inside and outside indonesia

Changes in livelihood
- riches the economic activities brought did not benefit locals much, most profits went to
dutch and foreign owners

From farmers to contract workers

- workers contracted to work in plantations and mines in exchange for wages
- had been farmers before and employment changed their lives
- offered them income but it was unstable and varied with prices of goods
- poor working conditions, malaria was a common cause of death
- imposed penalties on coolies who broke their contracts
- workers ran away were hunted down

Creation of small holdings

- many asians leased small plots of land from gov and grew rubber to supplement their
traditional livelihood
- less technologically advanced and produced poorer quality rubber, but they produced
nearly as much rubber as bigger estates
- enjoyed more flexibility, when rubber prices fell, they could fall back on growing rice, the
traditional crop

Creation of a dual economy

- one sector was the industralised sector with technologically advanced industries while
the other was rural where ppl produced crops for their own consumption
- roads and railways connected in industrialised sectors, making roads accessible
- rural sector neglected by authorities, created great economic divide between ppl

Land alienation
- farmers forced to sell their land, end up farming just to pay their debts, becoming virtual
tenants of their own land
- forced to sell crops at fixed prices
 - chinese controlled retail trade while Europeans dominated wholesale trade, could not
repay loans from chinese money lenders, standards of living of locals deteriorated

Vulnerability to external economic changes

- economy shattered during great depression
- relied heavily on only a few exports like rubber
- late in devaluing their currencies » products more ex
- half of employees on plantations dismissed, retrenched

Common language
- to simplify administration, introduced Bahasa Melayu, first language used by malay
traders so locals found it easier to accept as a common language
- gave them a shared identity

Creation of a plural society

- population explosion, rapid growth rate
- chinese migration/immigration small, did not assimilate with locals

Urbanisation
- urban population grew faster than rural
- cities with hundred thousands of people -> sharp social and economic divide
- europeans lived in elevated, well-drained areas while chinese confined themselves to
living in the chinese quarter
- created tensions

Creation of western-educated elites

- encouraged western-style education for locals, this was to train bureaucrats to fill middle
and lower rungs in administration
- only a few locals enjoyed the benefits, most of the population still illiterate

Deterioration in standards of living

- malnutrition became a problem due to huge population expansion resulted from
migration to plantations -> not enough food for everyone
- only after many years Dutch reforms began to improve the terms of work for contract
workers
- profits of agriculture reaped by foreign investors, population did not enjoy material or
economic benefits
- benefitted ruling elites or small holders
- social developments made but was not well-implemented