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TROPICAL HOLLAND
JAVA AND OTHER ISLANDS
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS, CHICAGo, ILLINois
THE BAKER & TAYLOR COMPANY, NEW YORK
THE CAMBRIDGE UNIváRSITY PREss; LoNDoN
THE MARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISHA, TOKYO, OSAKA, KYOTO, FUKUOKA, SENDAE
THE MISSION BOOK COMPANY, SHANGHAI -
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TROPICAL HOLLAND
JAVA AND OTHER ISLANDS
AN ESSAY ON THE BIRTH, G ROWTH
A N D D E V E L O PM E N T OF POPULAR
GOVERNMENT IN AN ORIENTAL POSSESSION
By H. A. VAN COENEN TORCHIANA
Member of the American Bar, Corresponding Member of the
Institute of Intermediary International Law of the Hague, Consul
General of the Netherlands for the Pacific Coast States, U.S.A.
WITH MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

COPYRIGHT 1921 AND 1923 BY THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 1921
SECOND EDITION APRIL 1923
COMPOSED AND PRINTED BY
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A.
TO THE MEMORY OF HIS MOTHER
AND FATHER WHO LIVED HAPPILY
FOR MANY YEARS IN INSULINDE, THIS
ESSAY IS DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR
GRATEFUL ACKNOWLEDGMENT IS HEREBY MADE
TO Af -
JONKHEER, DR. A. C. D. DE GRAEFF,
RETIRED VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL OF THE INDIES,
MINISTER PLENIPOTENTIARY OF THE NETHERLANDS To JAPAN
AND
C. M. PLEYTE, ESQ.
RETIRED MANAGING DIRECTOR OF THE BATAVIAN PETROLEUM COMPANY
IFOR FREELY GRANTING AID OUT OF THEIR GREAT STOREHOUSES OF
ORIENTAL ENOWLEDGE
TO
MISS ELEANOR FRANCES BUMP
A GRADUATE OF WELLESLEY COLLEGE, WEIO ACCOMPANIED THE
WRITER AND PARTY DURING TEIEIR TRAVELS IN THE ORIENT
EOR HER VALUABLE ASSISTANCE IN GATHERING AND
CLASSIFYING IMPORTANT MATERIAL FOR THIS ESSAY
- ---
*-** *...
... " -
two. {^- .*
* - 2- 5 - 2-8.
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FOREWORD
HE spread of European influence and Euro-
pean interest throughout the world following
the important discoveries by the Spanish
under Columbus and by the Portuguese
around the Cape of Good Hope has been
one of the most vital facts in the history of the world
since that time. The vast extension of commerce,
great increase in manufacturing and commercial
wealth of European nations, the settlement of various
parts of the world by European immigrants, the control
ſin one form or another of non-European races by
" European authority, all these have made a new world.
Among the earliest in the field of commercial and
colonial expansion was the Dutch Republic. The
settlements which they effected, both in the West
Indies, as they were called, and in the East Indies
were permanent in character. To be sure, the New
Netherlands became later a British colony. The
Dutch East Indies remained under the Republic and
have been extremely successful in many ways. The
J Dutch policy, primarily commercial, has nevertheless
been humane and far-reaching. The change in meth-
Ods of local administration within the last few decades
has kept pace with the progress of the world and is
eminently worthy of the successors of William the
Silent. Mr. Torchiana’s discussion of the matter is
worthy of serious attention and will be extremely useful
to students of colonization.
HARRY PRATT JUDSON

[vii)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER
I.
II.
\.
III.
IV.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
. INSULINDE OF TODAY .
XI.
XII.
THE UNBIASED VIEWPOINT
A FEW GEOGRAPHICAL, GEOLOGICAL, AND TOPO-
GRAPHICAL FACTS
CLIMATE, FLORA, AND FAUNA
A FEW ETHNOLOGICAL FACTs, AND THE POPULA-
TION OF TODAY
. THE HISTORICAL TITLE OF THE NETHERLANDS TO
THE EAST INDIAN COLONIES . . . .
The Prehistoric Period; the Hindu Period; the
Early European Navigators
THE HISTORICAL TITLE OF THE NETHERLANDS TO
THE EAST INDIAN COLONIES, Continued . .
Insulinde during the Sixteenth Century
THE HISTORICAL TITLE OF THE NETHERLANDS TO
THE EAST INDIAN COLONIES, Concluded .
The Netherlands East Indian Company;
Insulinde in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth
Centuries
THE EQUITABLE TITLE OF THE MOTHER COUNTRY
TO HER COLONIES
INSULINDE IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
INSULINDE OF TODAY, Concluded
THE FUTURE OF INSULINDE
INDEX . . . . . . . .
xiii
PAGE
I5
23
3I
4I
6I
75
I31
I47
I63
245
28I
3O9
[ix]
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FACING
PAGE
OLD-FASHIONED EUROPEAN HOME AT SURABAYA, JAVA
Frontispiece iii
FISH PONDS OF TJIPANAS, JAVA . . . . . . I6
SULPHUR FUMES OF KAWAH. KAMODJAN . . . . 18
THE FLORA OF JAVA . . . . . . . . 26
A JAVANESE NOBLEWOMAN . . . . . . . .32
THOUSAND TEMPLES NEAR DJOKJAKARTA, JAVA * • 44
IN THE PREANGER REGENCIES . . . . . . 44
VIEW OF THE CRATER BROMO . . . . . . 68
AGRICULTURAL JAVA . . . . . . . . 94
OLD BATAVIA . . . . . . . . . . Iof
A NETHERLANDS OFFICIAL’s VISIT TO THE SULTAN OF
DJOKJAKARTA, JAVA, JULY, IQI9 . . . . . I'7O
PRINCES OF THE HOUSE OF SURAKARTA IN NATIVE
COSTUME . ge gº e g & g gº tº ... I'72
WORKSHOP OF THE STATE RAILROAD AT BANDONG, JAVA 186
A COCK-FIGHT WITNESSED BY NATIVES . . . . 204
FORMER MODE OF TRANSPORTATION . . . . . 212
TERRACED RICE FIELDS, JAVA . . . . . . 234
CINCHONA (QUININE) PLANTATION . . . . . 234
JAVANESE WOMEN PICKING COFFEE . . . . . . 56
TAPPING RUBBER TREES IN SUMATRA . . . . 272
A NATIVE BELLE (ISLAND OF BALI) . . . . . 296
MAP OF JAVA . . . . . . . . . . .306
MAP OF MALAY ARCHIPELAGO . & tº & . . .306
|xi|
PROLOGUE
“BOY, PAGE JAVA"
§º
2 º- 3 § §
ºgº
OME time during the late war, one of the big
liners of the Netherlands Navigation Com-
pany, plying between Amsterdam and Java,
was hailed in the Red Sea by a British
auxiliary cruiser. The captain in command
of the liner was on the bridge. This gallant Dutch
mariner joins Falstaffian wit with Falstaffian dimen-
sions.
The young British officer who hailed the liner from
the bridge of the temporary war vessel, had evidently
been drawn from civil life, and his geographical knowl-
edge was in inverse ratio to his patriotic impulses,
which had impelled him to dedicate his future and
his life to his country.
Sº
gº
§
The first question which he shouted was:
“Whence and where to P”
The answer from the bridge of the Dutch liner was:
“To Amsterdam from Java.”
Right back from the cruiser came the query:
“Where in hell is Java?”
Now the jolly Dutch captain had been many times
in the United States. He had observed the actions
of chief clerks in hotel offices, when guests had to be
found and could not be located by telephone in their
private rooms. He had seen the clerk call a boy, and
give him instructions to page the guest in the lobby,
dining room, or in happier times, in the wine room.

[xiii)
Imitating the actions of the clerk, he extended his
hand as if to tap a bell on the Office desk, then with a
twinkle in his eye, he said to the young navigation
officer standing beside him. On the bridge, “Boy,
page Java.” --
Then grasping the megaphone he gave this reply:
“Java is a tight little island, near the equator,
immediately adjoining the British possessions of the
Federated Malay States, and having a few more mil-
lion inhabitants than Merrie Old England. Its splen-
did isolation is broken by the visit of five large liners
fortnightly, and . . . .”—but by this time a roar of
laughter from the bridge of the British man-of-war,
showed conclusively that after all our British cousins
do appreciate a good joke, and still recognize a Sir
John Falstaff when he looms up large enough on the
horizon.
[xiv)
CHAPTER I. THE UNBIASED VIEW-
POINT
Difficulties to be overcome—History from a philosophical
standpoint—Chauvinism—Misdirected patriotism—Precepts
of Roosevelt—Criticism by Charles Dickens—Different
psychologies—The new psychology, its origin and develop-
ment
THE UNBIASED VIEWPOINT
RAVELOGUES are almost invariably unsat-
isfactory. The reasons for this are not
difficult to find. No matter how intelligent
the traveler, no matter how well-trained the
observer, in the vast majority of cases the
author of the travelogue lacks thorough historical
knowledge of the country which he has visited—
knowledge which is so necessary for the purpose of
furnishing a suitable intellectual background. It is
next to impossible to obtain a correct conception of
social, industrial, and political conditions of any coun-
try unless one understands and appreciates the great
formative forces which have caused the conditions to
evolve in the past and to crystallize in the present.
The immediate result is that travelogues are gener-
ally received with approbation, if not with applause,
by those who listen to them or read them, and to
whom they are primarily addressed, while they meet
with wonder and often with derision from those citi-
zens and inhabitants of the country described who have
the rare opportunity of acquainting themselves with
these immature mental products. What foreigner,
for instance, would understand the present com-
plicated conditions existing in the United States,
unless he had a correct idea of the history of the
Colonies and some appreciation of the deeds of
Washington and Hamilton P. An intelligent view on
his part presupposes understanding of the absorbing

[3]
struggle between the Federalists and the States Right-
ers, a knowledge of the difference between the Jeffer-
Sonian and Jacksonian doctrines of democracy, and
a comprehension of the titanic struggle involved in
the winning of the West.
Who will understand today the different strata
in the American Commonwealth unless he has been
inspired at some time by the march westward of this
virile civilization and has before his mind a photo-
graphic view of the successive waves of the trappers,
the hunters, the cow-men, the sheep-men, the home-
steaders, the grain farmers, the traders, and in their
wake the American primary schools, high schools,
Colleges, and universities P -
There is another fundamental difficulty in describ-
ing a foreign country to a home audience. The
philosophic viewpoint is too frequently neglected in
the writing of history. For centuries historians have
been unable to free themselves from the fetters in
which their minds have been held through so-called
patriotism, better called chauvinism. One might
almost believe that the word patriotism, used in this
narrow sense, is derived from the word patron, for the
first historians were almost invariably patronized by
some ruler or great lord for whom they wrote, or to
whom they dedicated their works. The spirit of
fawning which in olden times, as a result of these
Conditions, too frequently appeared among the broth-
erhood of historians—an almost cringing respect
shown to powerful individuals—seems to have been
[4]
transferred in some degree even to our own age and
is now sometimes directed to the less noble passions
of the masses. For the most part, however, there has
been in our time an advance toward better things,
scholars now visualize historical science as based on
broader lines, and history is written not from narrow
and local motives but from a liberal international and
philosophical standpoint. More and more steadily
the conviction has grown that it is a feeble kind of
patriotism which needs as a stimulant hatred and
contempt for other countries. Men are realizing more
clearly that international hatreds, from which most
wars spring, are often implanted in the hearts of
children by reading so-called abridged histories during
their school years—that is during the period when they
are most Susceptible to the acquirement of lasting
impressions.
The doctrine proclaimed by such Americans as
Theodore Roosevelt, that the precepts which guide a
decent man in his private life should be the lode-star
of his public life, may well be extended to the thesis
that we should judge in as decent, as charitable, and
as friendly a manner the nations that are our sisters
in the great family of nations as we should judge the
families of our own neighbors in private life.
Thus it frequently happens that the traveler who,
burdened with an inheritance of biased information,
visits foreign countries, is too apt to cling to the theory
that “everything at home is better,” and that that
which is strange “looks queer.” When he writes
[5]
down his impressions he is still laboring under ata-
vistic handicaps, and, while he may possibly add to
the gaiety of the people whose country he describes,
he certainly adds to the ignorance of those who are
presumed to be the beneficiaries of his mental efforts.
That even brilliant persons, either through pique or
prejudice, or through lack of broadness of view outside
of their own special sphere, are likely to fall into these
errors is easily proved by the case of Charles Dickens.
His virulent, and in many instances grotesque, criti-
cism of the American people, now more than half a
century old, is still quoted with approbation and
satisfaction by many would-be critics in the Old
World.
The third almost insurmountable difficulty is the
difference so often existing between the psychologies
of the people whom the author describes and the
people for whom he writes. For a great many years
it was generally accepted that the civilized part of the
human race was divided into two great mental fami-
lies, to wit, those whose psychological point of view
is Western, and those whose mental processes are
Oriental. Western psychology, which is influenced to
a great extent by Christian and Hebrew doctrines,
was supposed to be that of the white man. It was
believed to have had its birth in the Near East, to
have been cultivated in Egypt, Persia, and Greece, to
have been later extended to Rome, and finally, after
ages of evolution, to have been handed down to
Western civilization in general.
[6]
The Oriental psychology, from a religious stand-
point, was largely dominated by Buddhism and
Mohammedanism. It, too, was believed to have had
its Origin in the Near East. Later it seems to have
been largely cultivated and expounded in India and in
China after the introduction of Buddhism, especially,
in the third century B.C., and then, partly through
the agency of Buddhism and partly that of Islam, to
have spread eastward in other Oriental countries."
It is often said that the white man’s psychology
pervaded and intensified practical and positive civili-
zation, while that of the Orientals gave birth to a
literary or philosophical civilization. Those two cur-
rents of thought—the one flowing westward, the
Other eastward—are now presumed to face each other
across the broad expanse of the Pacific Ocean. Their
outposts on the islands of Australasia and Malaysia
are already in close and often hostile contact.
Only during the last few decades has it slowly
dawned on the world that this theory is not entirely
correct. The civilizations of the earth have given
birth to a third and distinct psychology, which may
be called, after its chief representatives, the American ;
psychology. It is not, however, the people of the
United States alone who follow this trend of thought.
It is prevalent in the Dominion of Canada, in the
* Buddhism first appeared in China in 217 B.C. A great stream
of Hindu priests began to flow toward China about 65 A.D. and
continued uninterrupted and in ever greater volume until the fourth
century A.D., when the prohibition was lifted which prevented the
Chinese from taking orders as priests.
[7]
Dominion of New Zealand, in the Commonwealth of
Australia, and in the Federated South African States.
While some of its elements have their foundations
firmly imbedded in English Common Law, in English
literature, and in the British ideas of personal freedom,
still it has been affected by many other influences, of
which the Dutch is by no means the least. This
psychology has grown and developed to such an extent
that its reputed mother would have difficulty in recog-
nizing her lusty offspring. It is the psychology of
a group of nations which have adopted the mod-
ern democratic form of government, which are not
Cramped by narrow boundaries and overflowing popu-
lations, which do not harbor suspicions and hatreds of
political neighbors—hatreds born from past wrongs
and fears of the future. It is the psychology of people
whose thoughts are free from overhanging shadows
of expected wars, who do not feel that each move is
watched by enemies standing at their very doors and
armed to the teeth. -
Such a psychology could be acquired and evolve
Only in countries where, theoretically and actually,
equal opportunities are offered to all citizens, regard-
less of birth or differences of creed, and where the
people are able to develop on large expanses of land—
in countries of which the more cultured and urbane
parts were continuously refreshed and strengthened
by the virile thoughts of sons sent forth into the for-
ests and mountains, into the mines and plains, even
into the wilderness, but ultimately returning, when of
[8]
mature age, to the more civilized places whence they
came. They colored and strengthened, though they
sometimes roughened, the mental attitude of the older
parts of the nation.
This great schism in the Western mental processes
first became apparent at the time of the American
Revolution. American thought, like the chief rep-
resentative of European thought, viz., France, had
dropped the shackles of dogmatism and welcomed
“the new light.” But American orators and writers
were not bitter and sarcastic like Rousseau, Diderot,
and Voltaire. On the contrary, leaders like Benjamin
Franklin and John Adams firmly believed in the good-
ness of man, in reason, in humanity in general, and
they clung to religious ideals.
It was especially during the last Great War that
many Americans in the army ascertained for the first
time, and with a shock, how little mental understand-
ing there existed between them and Europeans, even
between them and their British cousins. Though
wearing the same clothing, using the same furniture,
admiring the same arts, etc., still they intuitively felt
that there was a subtle but very material difference.
The existence of this difference was of course well
known for years to thoughtful observers.
There was a different story to tell when the
American doughboys met the Canadians, the Austra-
lians, or the New Zealanders in the “overseas” forces.
With these, as well as with the South Africans, they
were soon en rapport. They were kindred in spirit as
[9]
well as kindred in language. With Europeans, how-
ever, it was different. By intuition they knew that
the latter were people who very often did not under-
stand them, even if they spoke the same language.
They realized a difference in viewpoint in almost
everything that the normal man holds dear: home,
family life, the “folks,” public life, woman’s position,
education, and what not. This difference is especially
notable as to the subjective minds of both great
subdivisions in the family of white men. After some
reasoning and convincing argument their objective
minds may be brought into harmony, but their
subjective minds contain—of course mostly uncon-
sciously to the objective mind—many reservations.
Deep in the consciousness of the American people
are found those new and strong traits which were
developed in the individual character of the pioneer
through his contact with the untamed forces of nature.
These traits are easily traceable to the influence which
the wilderness always exerts on the minds of civilized
men, the men who by force of circumstances were
compelled to develop both character and muscle and
who became the subduers of unsubdued nature. This
influence of the forces of nature has exercised its
formative power in the consciousness of the various
nations who live under similar conditions, and who
spring from white stock, no matter in what parts of
the globe fortune has cast their life-lines. It does not
take much vision to predict that this thinking along
similar lines is bound in years to come to draw these
[Iol
different peoples together politically. For the same-
ness of their likes will find its counterpart in the same-
ness of their dislikes and prejudices—the two powerful
elements directing the national policies of modern
States.
It must not be assumed that the claim is here made
that the Canadians and the Americans, for instance,
are sympathetic on every subject. How could they
be P Neither are the Spaniards and the Danes, or the
Italians and the Swedes exactly in accord. In details
of thought and feeling and opinion they will be and
must be different, yes, materially different. It is only
along general lines that kinship of thought can be
expected.
While the vigorous strain of the practical mental
turn of mind of the older Western or white man’s
civilization is likewise prominent in this new American
psychology, and while the exact sciences are exercising
their powerful influence on the thought, feelings, and
beliefs of the people, still the philosophy, the literature,
and often the idealistic viewpoints contained so fre-
quently in the Oriental civilizations have found a
hospitable reception in the new nation’s mental
processes. That the religious life of the people of
Europe and of the “new white man’s country” is
very much the same possibly explains the so-called
“contradictions” in thought and character which
European observers are so fond of enlarging upon.
Since it is obvious that difference in race, environ-
ment, and historical growth made the Netherlands
[II]
psychology of necessity different from the American,
it must follow that there always will be consider-
able difficulty in explaining Netherlands conditions to
American readers, and vice versa. But such a diffi-
culty is intensified when the conditions of a multitude
of Oriental peoples, all endowed with an Oriental
mentality, and living under the control and direction
of a Western power whose psychology is materially
different from the subject-race, are described to read-
ers whose thoughts and feelings are radically different
from either of them.
The first chapters following, being merely descrip-
tive of the physical conditions of the East India
Islands, and written chiefly for the purpose of estab-
lishing the necessary background, do not offer much
difficulty along these lines. But in writing the chap-
ters bearing on economic and political conditions this
difficulty has been kept constantly in mind, and an
honest effort has been made to reduce it as much
as possible. Fortunately, the student of the economic
and political conditions existing in the Netherlands
East Indian Colonies is not confined to personal ob-
servation, or to the reading of the popular travelogues,
often written for personal satisfaction and always to
please the readers. These islands have been visited
for decades by travelers and observers of great experi-
ence and penetration of mind, and to the opinions of
these scientists reference is made many times in the
following pages.
[I2]
CHAPTER II. A FEW GEOGRAPHICAL,
GEOLOGICAL, AND TOPOGRAPHICAL
FACTS
Meaning of Insulinde—Part of Malay Archipelago—Extent of
great Island Empire—Longitude and latitude—Groups of
islands—Location on equator—Size in comparison with
United States—Total area—Population—Area of Sumatra—
Area of Borneo—Area of Celebes—Area of New Guinea—
Views of scientists as to connection with continents—Volcanic
belt—Earthquakes—The Klut—The Krakatau—Mountains—
Forests—Soil—Minerals
A FEW GEOGRAPHICAL, GEO-
LOGICAL, and TOPOGRAPHICAL
FACTS
HE Netherlands East Indies are commonly
known as the Dutch East Indies, and are
often indicated by the graceful and musical
*name of Insulinde, meaning “Island India.”
| | Insulinde forms the major part of the Malay
Archipelago; in fact it forms the whole of the Malay
Archipelago with the exception of the Philippine
Islands under the American flag, the northern part of
Borneo and the eastern part of New Guinea under the
British flag, and the eastern part of the island of
Timor under the Portuguese flag.
Insulinde constitutes a great island empire, situ-
ated between the extreme southeastern part of the
mainland of Asia, variously known as the Malay
Peninsula, Malacca, or the Federated Malay States,
and the great island of New Guinea, which more
properly belongs to Australasia. It extends from
longitude East 95° to 14.1°, and from latitude North
6° to 11° South, and may therefore be called an island
chain between the southeast point of Asia and the
northwest part of Australia. The islands are divided
into four large groups, viz.:
I. The Greater Sunda Islands, comprising Su-
matra, Borneo, Java, and Celebes.
2. The Lesser Sunda Islands, comprising Bali,
Lombok, Sumbawa, Sumba, Selor Islands, Wetar,
Flores, and Timor.

[15]
3. The Moluccas, by which is meant all the smaller
islands to the east of Celebes, and which were formerly
known as the “Spice Islands.”
4. New Guinea, being that part of New Guinea
which belongs to the Netherlands.
These islands stretch across the tropical waters of
the Indian Ocean, the southern part of the Chinese
Sea, the Sea of Celebes, and the Pacific Ocean. They
are traversed by the equator, which runs through the
center of Borneo and Sumatra. The distances are
enormous, for from the extreme east to the extreme
west is as far as from New York to San Francisco.
This island empire is about as large as one-fourth of
the United States. It is known to the mother country
as “Oost-Indisch Archipel,” to the English as the
“Malay Archipelago,” and to the French as “l’Archi-
pel Asiaticue.” Its total area is 587,ooo square
miles, or about forty-six times the area of the Neth-
erlands, while its population, according to the census
of 1917, was over 47,000,ooo, or about seven times
the population of the Netherlands. Of its total popu-
lation 34,000,ooo live in Java. There are about
I4o,ooo white péople scattered over the whole archi-
pelago, of whom slightly more than IIo,ooo are on
the island of Java. This includes Hollanders and
white men of all other nationalities.
Java. –To give a correct idea of the extent of
these different islands, it will be sufficient to state that
Java and the adjoining island of Madura (from an
administrative standpoint they are one) have an area
[16]
FISH PONDS OF TJIPANAS, JAVA

of about 50,000 square miles, or about as large as the
state of New York.
Sumatra.--Sumatra, with the small islands im-
mediately surrounding it, has an area of about
162,000 square miles, or about equal to the state of
California, exceeding Great Britain. “
Borneo.—The whole of Borneo has an area of
212,737 square miles, of which area five-sevenths is
under the Dutch flag. This part is as large as the
Republic of France.
Celebes.—Celebes and the immediately adjoining
islands have an area of 71,410 Square miles, considerably
greater than that of the state of Washington. --
New Guinea.—That part of New Guinea which is
under Dutch dominion has about 152,000 square miles,
and is about the size of the Empire of Japan proper.”
According to the opinion of a scientific school of
which A. R. Wallace was the pioneer (he still stands
unchallenged as its ablest member), Sumatra, Java,
and Borneo once formed the southeast part of the
continent of Asia, while all the islands to the east,
beyond Java and Borneo, possibly with the exception
of Celebes, formed part of the former Australasia or
Pacific continents.
One of the chief volcanic belts of the world passes
through the archipelago, and scores of active volcanoes
and hundreds of extinct ones may be found through-
out the whole length of Sumatra and Java, thence
through the islands of Bali, Lombok, and Sumbawa,
running north toward the Philippines.
[I7]
As a matter of course, in a region occupied by such
a vast line of volcanoes, earthquakes are of frequent
occurrence. The history of Java records several
important temblors, one of which took place only a
year ago. That great eruption of the Klut trans-
formed into steam part of the lake which had formed
in its crater, and caused the rest of it violently to
overflow its borders. A large stream of hot and Cold
liquid mud (called lahar by the natives) devastated
the surrounding country. ;
The most noted eruption in recent years was that
of Krakatau, in August, 1883. In this enormous out-
burst, the greater part of the island on which the
volcano was situated was destroyed. Flames spread
over the adjacent coasts, clouds of vapor rose to an
altitude five times as high as that of the summit of
Mount Blanc. It has been claimed that the noise was
heard for thousands of miles, and the ashes fell over
all the southern part of Sumatra and western Java.
As a curiosity, it may be stated that the ashes practi.
cally traveled around the world. They rose to an
enormous altitude, where the light particles were
caught and carried by currents of the atmosphere to
remote places. During the period of the eruption a
peculiar rosy glow in the skies was seen over a large part
of the Pacific Coast. A tidal wave seventy to eighty
feet high swept over the nearby coasts of Java and
Sumatra, carrying death and devastation in its wake.
Each island has a central mountain region, rather
narrow hill lands and coastal plains, and valleys
[18]
VAVÍ LO HVO HVAN 'N VÍCIOWVX HVAVX HO SHINO， HQHd"InS

sloping toward the sea. Java has few lakes, and no
large rivers in the sense of the large American or
European rivers. The hill soil is generally of volcanic
origin, which Soon disintegrates under the warm rays
of a tropical Sun, alternating with the torrential tropi-
cal rains, and thus becomes a soil rich in plant food.”
The mountain-sides from the bottom of the valleys
to an average elevation of five thousand feet are
generally covered by a series of prosperous planta-
tions; from that line to the summit they are covered
by virgin forests. Here and there one finds a great
prairie half-way up to the summit, and rolling lands
bordered by trees and shrubs, reminding one of
English hunting-parks.
The poorer lower hills in Java are covered by
djati (teak) forests, the richer by rice fields or sawahs
of the natives. All the lower valleys are of alluvial
soil, and here, besides the rice crops of the natives,
great sugar and tobacco plantations are found. The
lower valleys also produce corn, Cassava, hatuloes,
peanuts, cocoanut palms, kapok trees, indigo, vege-
tables, and fruits.
While the other large islands have, to a large extent,
the same soil formation as Java, in general, Sumatra,
Borneo, Celebes, and Guinea have larger areas of less
fertile soil, consisting of granite, slate, and so-called
“primary rock. These islands have, on the other hand,
some remarkably rich regions, for instance around
Medan, on the island of Sumatra. In the last-named
islands, as well as in Borneo, are also found large
[19]
swamps covered by primeval forests and mangrove
* vegetation, which remind one strongly of the swamps
of Florida.
The islands have no great natural harbor compa-
rable to the Bay of San Francisco with its famous
Golden Gate, but there are a number of small natural
harbors with suitable roadsteads.
In Celebes and adjoining islands there were
recently discovered important deposits of iron ore
containing nickel. In Java, Borneo, and Sumatra
, there are oil-fields of importance. Tin is found in
great quantities on the islands of Banka, Singkep, and
Billiton, while considerable gold is mined in Sumatra.
Coal is found on the island of Sumatra (Ombilin and
Palembang), and on Borneo (Pulu Laut).
[20]
CHAPTER III. CLIMATE, FLORA, AND
FAUNA -
Climate: Comparison with other tropical countries near
equator—Monsoons—Seasons—Living conditions for white
men—Higher altitudes—“Dry season”
Flora: Virgin forests—Casuarina trees—Mountain berries—
Varieties of palms—Orchids—Alang-alang—Wild flowers—
Wild fruits—Domestic fruits
Fauna: Two groups, Asiatic origin and Australian origin—
Wild animals—Orang-outang–Tiger—Ape—Celebes most
remarkable in fauna—Domestic animals
CLIMATE, FLORA, AND FAUNA
HE climate in Insulinde is typically tropical,
there being only about three-quarters of an .
hour's difference between the longest and the
shortest day. The climate, however, shows
one marked difference from that of tropical
Africa or other continents in or near the equator, for
the influence of the sea breezes moderates the heat
during the day and prevents a too-fast cooling off at
night.
There are two long seasons in these islands, regu-
lated by alternating monsoons, or trade winds, and
two very short seasons, lasting a few weeks each and
covering the period of change between these mon-
soons. These two intermediate periods are often
marked by thunder storms and considerable wind.
The periods of the west monsoon and the east monsoon
are not the same over the whole archipelago. To
that part which lies south of the equator the west
monsoon usually brings rain, while the east monsoon
brings the dry season, and vice versa for that part
which lies north of the equator. In Java the least
rainfall takes place in the season between the first of
May and the last of August, while the greatest precipi-
tation takes place from the first of November to the
first of January. It must be remembered, however,
that these are general conditions, for locally they are
considerably affected by the direction of the mountain
chains and especially by altitude.

[23]
The temperature along the low coast is rather
Oppressive for Europeans, and at times exceedingly
warm. The heat, however, even in these places is no
worse than in Washington, New York, or Chicago
during the hot spells of summer. In fact it is felt far
less because houses, offices, clothing, and living condi-
tions are arranged to meet this high temperature, and
because no white man or woman is subjected to exces-
sive physical endeavors, household servants and other
help being obtainable at reasonable prices.
While people in the more northern climate have a
respite from summer heat during the winter time, such
respite is not denied to the denizens of the tropics,
for, whenever financial and other conditions permit,
they can readily escape the heat by going to the higher
altitudes, where the climate is delightful, and where
One needs a woolen blanket at night the year round.
As the backbone of each of these islands is a mountain
range, and the islands are mostly narrow, these higher
altitudes can be speedily reached from almost every
direction.
What is termed the “dry season” is not an
absolutely rainless season in Insulinde. It differs
greatly from the dry season in California, Nevada, or
Arizona. Only in some of the smaller islands, in the
extreme southeastern part of the archipelago, do we
find really dry seasons in the sense that we know them
in the west and southwestern part of the United
States. Sometimes, and exceptionally, the periods
between May and August have proved extremely dry
[24]
in Java, with no rainfall except in the high mountains.
Europeans who observe good habits can live for years
in the archipelago and enjoy excellent health. It is
nevertheless advisable that at stated periods, say
every five or six years, they take a vacation and enjoy
a cooler climate in a low altitude. Affairs are almost
invariably arranged to meet this requirement.
Flora.-The flora of Insulinde is the usual tropical
flora. Most of the land that has not been touched by
the hand of man is covered with virgin forests. In
the higher altitudes one finds vegetation which some-
what resembles that of the western lower slopes of the
Sierra Nevadas. Generally speaking, the forests of
Insulinde, no matter where situated, offer a far larger
variety of trees than one finds in the temperate zones.
The trees are more mixed, large groups of the same
varieties being rarely found.
In eastern Java one finds mountain slopes covered
by the Australian Casuarina, which reminds one
strongly of a forest of scrub pines. When traveling
from the mountain resort Tosari to the Crater Bromo
one travels almost continuously through these Casua-
rina forests.
In the mountains of Java one finds a great many
of the wood berries (Vaccinium), and the Javanese
“edelweiss.” Bamboos cover whole mountain slopes.
Palms are found everywhere. Large numbers of
cocoanut palms are found all over the islands, while
climbing plants encircle a great many trunks of trees
in the forests. Some of them twist themselves around
[25]
the supporting trunks and partially disappear in them.
Others, by means of aerial roots, adhere even to the
very smooth trunks. Others have tendrils or hooks.
A great profusion of orchids, ferns, and mosses is
found, and there are enormous quantities of parasites.
Wherever forests have been cleared, and for some
reason or other the ground is not tilled, tough high
grass known as alang-alang covers the ground. One
thing which impresses the traveler is the fact that
while Insulinde has a bewildering variety of wild
flowers, wherever the land is cultivated one sees far
fewer flowers than in America, Japan, or Europe.
Of the wild fruits Wallace writes:
Many persons in Europe are under the impression that
fruits of delicious flavor abound in the tropical forests, and
they will no doubt be surprised to learn that the truly wild
fruits of this grand and luxuriant archipelago, the vegetation
of which will vie with that of any part of the world, are in
almost every island inferior in abundance and quality to those
of Britain. Wild strawberries and raspberries are found in
Some places, but they are such poor, tasteless things as to be
hardly worth eating, and there is nothing to compare with
our blackberries and other berries. All of the fine tropical
fruits are as much cultivated productions as our apples,
peaches, and plums, and their wild prototypes, when found,
are generally either tasteless or uneatable.
At the present time a great diversity of fruits is
grown in Insulinde, some of which were introduced by
the Hindus and the Chinese, but the greater majority
by the white man. The principal fruits now used are
the kalapa (cocoanut) and the pisang (banana), while
[26]
THE FLORA OF JAVA

the mangosteen, durian, mango, the melon, the djeroek
(both as fresh fruit and preserves), the pompolomoes,
the ananas (pineapple), the tamarind, and many
others are popular.
Fauna.-The fauna in Insulinde, like the flora, is
divided into two main groups, that is, the fauna of
Asiatic origin and the fauna of Australian origin. The
fauna of the Sunda Islands is the same as that of the
Peninsula of Malacca, while the fauna and flora of
New Guinea and surrounding islands are of Australian
character. The islands lying between these two great
groups, such as Celebes, the Moluccas, etc., seem to
form a meeting-ground, and later investigations have
shown that the sharp division line drawn by Wallace
between Celebes and Borneo, and between Bali and
Lombok, which in his opinion was the definite and
absolute division line, both ethnologically and botani-
cally speaking, was too closely drawn.
The orang-outang is common both in Sumatra and
Borneo, but is not found in Java, while, on the other
hand, the tiger is found in Sumatra and Java, but not
in Borneo. A number of apes are found in all the
larger Sunda Islands. Both in Borneo and Sumatra
are found the elephant and tapir. Strange to say, the
former has its relatives in Africa, the latter in South
America, and both animals are unknown in Java.
While in Java is found one species of the rhinoceros,
a quite different species is found in Borneo and
Sumatra. Peacocks in a wild state are found all over
the islands from British India to Java. In the latter
[27]
island parrots are very scarce, while they abound in
the eastern part of the archipelago, being of Australian
Origin.
The island of Celebes is presumed to have the most
remarkable fauna in Insulinde, as many of its species
do not seem to have any near relatives in any of the
surrounding islands, but seem to have distant relatives
in far-away Europe and Africa. Besides, it is here
that the fauna and flora of the two great classes—
Asiatic and Australian—meet and intermingle.
On the other hand the fauna of New Guinea is very
much the same as that of Australia, though its flora
is quite different, due to the pronounced difference in
the two climates. The wild buffalo, while found in
Malacca, is lacking in Insulinde, but the carabao, or
tame buffalo, whose forefathers belong in India, is
seen all over the islands. On the other hand, the
banting, or wild cow, is found in small and large droves
in Java, Sumatra, and Borneo, often terrorizing the
population. Today one finds among the domestic
animals most of those seen in any tropical climate.
[28]
CHAPTER IV. A FEW ETHNOLOGICAL
FACTS, and the POPULATION OF TODAY
Wallace's division of Malay peoples into two groups: Malays
and Papuans—Origin—Migration—Aborigines—Division line—
Mixed races—Characteristics of each race—Division line
same as that of fauna and flora—Papuan’s inability to survive
contact with white man—Malays increase in populations—
Three tribes—Malays proper—Javanese—Burges—Races on
other islands—Varying descriptions by different authors—
Appearance of Malays—Courtesy—Trace of cruelty—Divisions
as to evolution—Agricultural class most advanced—Semi-
nomads—Hunters and fishermen lowest—Seventy-five per
cent of people of Java in agricultural pursuits—Chinese—
Total number foreign Orientals—Arabs—Protection of foreign
Orientals—Some Orientals on equal footing with white man
A FEW ETHNOLOGICAL FACTS
and the POPULATION OF TODAY
WºláLLACE classifies the whole of the peoples
º W!) of the Malay Archipelago into two main
Wºl groups, viz., the Malays and the Papuans,
%l and states that these two have no traceable
affinity to each other.
The Malays are of Asiatic origin, while the
Papuans are of Pacific Island or Polynesian origin.
The former inhabit the western part of the archipel-
ago, while the latter are found in the eastern islands.
Neither of these peoples appears to be aboriginal."
On the contrary each of them must have come by some
migratory wave, either from the east or the west,
driving the aborigines to the more remote regions of
* the mountains of far-away islands. Approximately
speaking, the division line of these two great nationali-
ties is a line commencing at the extreme northern part
of the island of Celebes, thence to the island of Gilolo,
thence west to the island of Ceram, curving around
the west end of Flores. As might be expected, in
several places and in the “border” islands especially,
the races are mixed.
* The well-known Dutch anthropologist, Professor Dubois, dis-
covered in the pliocene formation of the Residency of Rembang,
Java, the skull of a creature, pithecanthropus erectus, which is pre-
sumed to be the link between the animal and the first prehistoric
man. The discovery has attracted widespread attention in the
scientific world. A reproduction may be found in the Museum of
Natural History in New York City.

[31]
The Malay race inhabiting the islands west of this
line resembles the East Asian population, while the
Papuan race inhabiting the islands east of this line
are, like the Polynesian race, spread everywhere over
the Pacific. These races are entirely distinct from
each other, not 2ny in physique, but also in men-
tality. The ºfláš. are lighter in color, being light
brown in skin, small of stature, straight-haired,
and smooth-muscled, reserved, bashful, cold, and
undemonstrative, and of far more advanced civiliza-
tion. This advanced civilization is of course mostly
due to their continuous contact with the Hindus,
Chinese, and Arabs, and later with the white man.
This race has mixed in many instances with the
aborigines, and the variation of climatic and living
conditions existing in the different islands has, in the
course of centuries, produced many different types of
Malays. The Papuans are darker of skin, and more
frizzled of hair, taller of stature, bearded, and hairy-
bodied, more energetic, demonstrative, and laughter-
loving like the negro. These facts led Professor
Hawley to claim that the Papuans are allied to the
negroes of Africa. Incidentally it may be stated that
the ethnological division line is also, to a very great
extent, the division line between the two different
flora and fauna, modified by the fact that men are
more migratory than plants or animals.
A marked distinction between the two races is
their respective ability to survive contact with the
white man. The Polynesians generally seemed to be
[32]
A JAVANESE NOBLEWOMAN

doomed to a comparatively early extinction, and their
subdivision, the Papuans, will hardly be able to escape
this if colonization should be turned to Guinea, for
this warlike, energetic people will not submit to servi-
tude of any kind, or, for that matter, to modern self-
discipline in any form. The Malay race, on the other
hand, appears not only to thrive under the white
'man's régime, but to increase rapidly in numbers.
The Malays in the Netherlands East Indies may
be classified under several nations and tribes, some
civilized, some semi-civilized, and some still semi-
savage. The three divisions in the first class are:
First, the Malays proper who are mostly Moham-
medans, inhabiting the Federated Malay States
(Malacca), and the coast regions of Sumatra and
Borneo, and who are found in the coast settlements of
almost all the other islands. As stated elsewhere,
they all speak the Malay language and use the Arabic
characters in their written language.
Second, the Javanese, including the Sundanese
and Madurese. They are likewise Mohammedans in
religion. They use the Kawi languages, and the
Javanese and Madurese have a native system of
characters for their writing. Besides Java they have
colonies in Sumatra and Borneo, and inhabit Madura,
Bali, and part of Lombok. In the two last-named
islands they are Brahmanistic. They have advanced
quite considerably in civilization.
Third, the Burges, Buginese, and Makassars, of
Celebes and Sumbawa. They speak the Burges and
[33]
Makassar languages, and have two native systems of
characters for writing.
The Molucca-Malays may be called semi-civilized;
they are Mohammedans, and speak many dialects.
In addition there are, among the Savage or half-savage
Malays, the Battaks and various wild tribes in Sumatra
the Dayaks in Borneo, and several minor tribes. It
is the Malays who, numerically, as well as intellec-
tually, form the most important part of the population
of this island empire. Some of the smaller islands are
inhabited by aboriginal tribes, several of which are
“Alfoers,” sometimes translated to mean “mountain
Savages.” These tribes inhabit numerous islands
near Celebes and Ceram, and are almost always
heathens. In Guinea there are several tribes called
“Arfaks,” of which the Karons obtained an undesir-
able reputation for cannibalism.
As all these peoples differ greatly in language
(there are almost sixty languages and dialects spoken
in the islands) and also in the stage of their evolution, .
it is but natural that different writers have given
radically different descriptions of their character,
habits, etc., this depending on the particular part of
the archipelago where they made their observations.
The Malay, generally speaking, either male or
female, is not handsome from a European standpoint.
He is generally short of stature, the face flat and
broad. Like many other Oriental peoples, the Malays
when young often attain a very pleasing appearance,
almost bordering on the attractive. Lax morals,
[34]
feasting, riotous living at some times, and at other
times privation and excessive hard work, soon spoil
their appearance.
In character they are passive, unless aroused to
great anger. The men almost always show reserve
and indifference. They are slow in speech and appear
slow in thought, a fact which is many times mis-
leading. When one is traveling over the islands one
is continually struck by their courtesy and politeness
toward one another and toward strangers. One can
say truly that every Javanese in his kampong
(native's quarter) in the city is a gentleman in man-
ners. As far as these chiefs and nobles are concerned,
their courtesy appears to be flawless and makes one
sometimes ashamed of his more brusque Western
manners. There is of course a trace of cruelty in
their character, but this is true of most Asiatics.
The native population is subdivided into a great
many groups, all differing in stage of evolution, in lan-
guage, in political status, and especially in the compo-
sition of their race, the latter depending on their
purity or cross-breeding. Those races which have de-
voted their energies principally to agricultural pur-
suits—the Menangkabaus and Palembangs of Sumatra
(all of mixed Hindu descent), the Balinese in Bali,
and especially the Javanese, the Sundanese, and the
Madurese in Java–are most advanced. Those who
live a semi-nomadic life come next in the scale of
civilization, while those who live entirely as hunters
and fishermen are the lowest. In Java about 75 per
[35]
cent of the population is directly or indirectly con-
nected with agricultural pursuits; in New Guinea less
than I per cent of the Papuans are farmers.
Among the foreigners the Chinese take an impor-
tant part. The Chinese have been in these lands, in
considerable numbers, for centuries. Today they are
found in almost all coast towns as merchants. In one
part of Western Borneo especially these industrious
“Sons of Heaven” hold a very important place in the
agricultural development of the region. In the great
commercial Centers, such as Surabaya, Samarang,
Batavia, Deli, Palembang, etc., many wealthy Chinese
residents are found, who on account of their public
spirit constitute a distinctly good influence in the
community. In the islands of Banka and Billiton a
great number of Chinese coolies are engaged in the tin
mines, while they are found in similar capacities in
& the gold and coal mines and on the tobacco estates of
Sumatra. All told there are about 700,ooo foreign
Orientals in Insulinde, the majority of whom are
Chinese.
Next in importance come the Arabs, who are shop-
keepers and Coast navigators. A great many are
usurers, and the fact that they come from Arabia, a
country sacred to Mohammedans, seems to give them
special prestige and advantage. The Chinese and
Arabs are recognized by the Netherlands East Indian
government as standing apart from the other Orien-
tals. There are certain officials known as Chinese
majors, captains, and lieutenants, and Arab captains
[36]
and lieutenants, who are appointed by the governor
general to assist in the maintenance of order among
their own people and to give advice to the local
authorities whenever requested. A
The Japanese have been placed on the same foot-
ing as the Europeans. Together there are between
139,000 and I40,ooo of such residents scattered all
over Insulinde, among whom the Hollanders, of
course, preponderate. They are mostly officials, offi-
cers of the army and navy, bankers, merchants,
scientists, teachers, estate managers, and technical,
commercial, and estate employees. -
[37]
CHAPTER V. THE HISTORICAL TITLE
OF THE NETHERLANDS TO THE EAST
INDIAN COLONIES
THE PREHISTORIC PERIOD —THE HINDU PERIOD–THE
EARLY EUROPEAN NAVIGATORS
Java, original name of whole archipelago—Marco Polo’s use
of name—Early history imperfectly known—Kavi literature—
Hindu legends—Visit of Hindu merchants—Introduction of
Buddhist religion—Temples left by Hindus–Chinese annals—
Route of early traders—Spice trade—History of Island of
Java–Ambassadors to China 425 B.C.—State of Mataram—
Boro-Budur Temple built—Disappearance of Mataram at
beginning of the tenth century—Kingdom of Madjapahit,
I294–1478–Decline of Buddhist influence—Establishment of
Mohammedan religion—State of Giri-Visits of Chinese
merchants—Entire lack of compact nation—Early history of
Celebes—Less affected by Buddhism and Mohammedanism
than Java–First description by Portuguese–Tribes—Early
history of Borneo—Inhabitants—Sultanate of Broenei–
Export of gold dust, etc.—Early history of Sumatra–On
route of spice traders—Stopping-places for Hindus and Chi-
nese—Never political entity—Sumatra channel of Buddhist
religion, 5oo–75o A.D.—Channel of Islam religion, I.25o-
I4oo A.D.—Chinese annals—Visits of Arabs—Marco Polo—
Saracen merchants—State of Atjeh-Ejection of Portuguese,
1521—Early history of Moluccas—Spice Islands—Tribes—
d’Albuquerque, 15II—Wars with Sultans—De Brito—Drake
I579—Hollanders, 1598—Struggle for control of spice trade—
Debt of world to Portuguese navigators and colonizers—
Early history of small Sunda Islands—Names—Inhabitants—
Hindu influence
THE HISTORICAL TITLE OF THE
NETHERLANDS TO THE EAST
INDIAN COLONIES
THE PREHISTORIC PERIOD
AVA is now the name of the most important
island in this archipelago, but many believe
that Djawa, Java, or Jawa, was originally
applied to the whole Malay Archipelago,
B- and that Marco Polo used it in that sense.
All authorities agree that the early history of Java
or the Netherlands East Indies in general is only im-
perfectly known. Historians have endeavored to
piece together, in one intelligible, consecutive nar-
rative, the early native ballads and chronicles, but
they invariably find that these are far from reliable,
giving rise to conflict in dates. There is a body of
writings known as the “Kavi’’ or “Kawi.” literature
(Basa Kavi)," that is the language of poetry, though
Some of it is prose. Even from this, however, it is’
quite impossible to construct a history, for the earlier
as well as the later babads (native chronicles) are
chronologically contradictory and unreliable. Some
authors have endeavored to construct a history from
what can be inferred from the geological conditions
and from the oral and written traditions. For a great
many years these traditions, which may be compared
with European ballads or folksongs, had the attention
* See Raffles, History of Java, translation of Brătă-Joedè; also
Eern's Kawi Studies, 1871.

[41]
of Dutch authors and publicists. Here and there we
find other disconnected writings which give us some-
thing of the local color.
In 1877 Cohen Stuart published the modern
Javanese version of the Brata Yuda (Conflict of the
Bharatas), a famous epic. Professor Kern gave
Special attention to the Ardjuna Wiwaha (marriage
festival of Ardjuna), which he believes originated in
the eleventh century. Very numerous are the wayungs
Or puppet-shadow-plays, which are usually based on
Hindu legends." In order to understand them one
must be well versed in Hindu history and folklore.
The writer had the privilege of witnessing a very
elaborate wayung play, given in the month of August,
I919, at the home of the Captain of the Chinese in
Djokjakarta. A large screen was placed in the center
of the room, on which were projected the shadows of
grotesque figures, through the medium of puppets cut
from carabao leather and delicately perforated. The
audience sat on the opposite side of the screen from
the operator. The play had gone on for more than
a day, and the audience seemed keenly to relish the
fables presented.
A few days afterward, through the courtesy of the
Resident of Surakarta, the sultan of the minor Sultan-
ate (Pangeran Adipati Ario Mankoe Negoro), a highly
educated gentleman who had passed his examination
as an officer in the Dutch army, and who held the
* See H. C. Humme, Abiasa, een Javaansch looneelstuk (a
Javanese play), The Hague, 1878.
[42]
rank of Dutch major and spoke Dutch fluently,
showed the writer his magnificent collection of these
wayung puppets. He also staged a Hindu perform-
ance, where dancers in the most gorgeous costumes
rendered a Hindu epic in motion. Every Javanese
noble has an elaborate set of these puppets, and also
court dancers.
The present wayung plays of Hindu origin had
their forerunners in the still-older native shadow
plays, which were generally presented in the forest by
the “Sjamaan.” These plays were connected with
a qualified ancestor-worship, a distant relative of the
Shinto cult of Japan. The spirits of ancestors were
supposed to be represented by the shadows on the
screen, and their great and noble deeds were the topics
of the plays. In Sanskrit literature the “Beast
Fables” were of great importance, and in the Hindu-
Javanese literature we find identical fables."
THE HINDU PERIOD
The island now called Java was known to the
Western world at the beginning of the Christian Era.
Ptolemaeus, the Greek geographer, called it Jabidore
(150 A.D.). It was likewise called Jawadwipa, mean-
ing “Barley Island,” the early visitors confusing the
ripe rice with ripe barley. That these islands, espe-
cially Java and Sumatra, were visited during this early
period, by merchants from Hindustan, who remained
for sometime, is now well established. In fact there are .
* See W. Palmer van den Broek, Javaansche Vertellingen, Java-
nese Folklore, 1878.
[43]
even today small settlements in Sumatra, near Palem-
bang for instance, where the advanced state of
civilization is directly traceable to the influence of the
descendants of these early visitors.
Probably the Hindus brought with them their
Buddhist religion, as all the old native records prove
that this religion flourished in the islands from the
first centuries of our era. It fostered and developed
a civilization which is still evidenced by temples,
statues, and tombs of great architectural merit.
These temples are found in eastern and middle Java,
a very few being intact and a great many more being
in course of restoration by the government. The
famous Boro-Budur, and the noted Tjandi Sewoe
(Thousand Temples), situated near Djokjakarta, in
the very center of Java, are best known to travelers.
Eventually all these temples will be restored.
The construction of most of the temples throws
a curious sidelight on the Hindu civilization which
gave them birth. For, while they are sometimes very
beautiful in outline, the stones are piled loosely on one
another, without cement or other binding material,
thus making them an easy prey to the continuous
earthquakes with which the ancient Hindus must
have been well acquainted.
The early history of Java from Javanese-Hindu
sources is difficult, if not impossible, of reconstruction,
but the Chinese annals throw some light upon it.”
The old Chinese annals confirm the fact that Hindus
* See Van der Lith, Merveilles de l’Inde.
[44]
THOUSAND TEMPLES NEAR DJOKJAKARTA, JAVA
*** *
IN THE PREANGER REGENCIES



from Ceylon, Kalinga, and Malacca visited the islands
in the first years of our era, bringing with them their
religion and statecraft. They soon appeared in such
numbers that they were able to dominate the abo-
rigines. The Chinese annals also indicate with reason-
able correctness the route which the early traders
followed for the purpose of bringing spices first to
Rome, and later to the northern Italian cities. This
route followed Ambon, Banda, the north coast of
Bali and Lombok, the north coast of Java, east coast
of Sumatra (between that island and Banka), and the
west coast of Malacca. Here the route merged into
the general trade route from China, going its way via
Legor to Sanggora or Patani. Up to this point coast
navigation was the mode of transportation, the
navigators presumably remaining as much as possible
within the shelter of the coast. But from there a
caravan route went its way overland to Toensoen
(later Kalah), and hence to Alexandria, whence the
goods were shipped to Byzantium (Constantinople)
and Rome.
It is generally believed that transportation along
the eastern part of this great trade route was first in
the hands of the Hindus from the mainland of Asia,
and that later it came mostly into the hands of the
Chinese until 6oo A.D., when the Hindu states in
Java had grown powerful enough to control the spice
trade themselves. It must have been a very ancient
business, this spice trade, for cloves which grow only
* Ibid.
[45]
in the Moluccas were known in Rome in the first few
centuries after Christ."
During the last decades very extensive investiga-
tions have been made of inscriptions found on stones
in temples and elsewhere. Slowly but surely the
early history of the islands will become clear.
Java. –Most of the inscriptions bear out the
Chinese records, and make the visualization of Java’s
early history fairly possible. It seems to be well
established that as early as 425 A.D. the king of
West Java (Taroema), sent an ambassador to the
Chinese emperor. Prior to this (415 A.D.) the
Chinese pilgrim Fa Hieii had visited Java, remaining
for five months. West Java was then, as now,
inhabited by the Sundanese peoples. -
The Annals of the Fang Dynasty (618–906 A.D.)
very often mention a kingdom generally called
“Kaling.” It is significant that even so early as this
Kaling is sometimes referred to as Djava. There
seems to have been an important commerce between
the two countries, and ambassadors were often sent
back and forth.
In Middle Java, where the Javanese proper lived,
the state of Mataram (now the Residencies of Kedu,
Djokjakarta, and Surakarta) came into prominence
in the ninth and tenth centuries. It was here that
the great Buddhist temples were built, of which the
Boro-Budur before mentioned is the most famous. It
* See Dr. Brandes’ Verhandelingen, Bataafsch genootschap van
kunsten en wetenschappen, Vol. XLIX, 1896.
[46]
is presumed that the construction was started in 850
and was finished several decades later. This monu-
ment is not a real temple, in the sense that One can
enter it, but rather a sacred hill, covered with masonry.
It is supposed to be the depository of part of the
sacred ashes of Buddha. It is one of the foremost
Buddhist monuments today existing in the world.
It attracts travelers from all over the globe. One can-
not say that it has four sides, but rather sixteen sides,
like faces. The covering stones are of volcanic origin,
and on the sides are carved scenes from the life of the
first Buddha. One versed in the history of the
Buddhist religion can follow these carved forms from
stone to stone, and from terrace to terrace, reading
one consecutive story of great historical value.
At the time that Java was threatened by the
Mohammedans, the devoted Hindus covered this
monument with soil. It was really discovered and
uncovered during the English occupation. The first
excavaton was made under the direction of Governor
Raffles. Since that time Netherlands geologists have
reinforced the base, and have otherwise taken meas-
ures to preserve this famous Buddhist monument.
There is no doubt that for ages to come this monument
will remain one of the wonders of the ancient Buddhist
civilization in Java. The writer visited this monu-
ment, spending the night at the little resting-place
maintained by the government at the foot of the
temple. A climb to the different terraces by moon-
light gives to the eye a picture never to be forgotten,
[47]
and one which can be rivaled only by a visit to the same
place at sunrise, when the warm tropical sun of Java
lights up the eastern side of the terraces with successive
and ever-increasing waves of soft radiance, revealing
in its pristine beauty the ancient carving on the stones.
The state of Mataram seems to have disappeared
in the beginning of the tenth century. It is very
likely that eruptions of Merapi and Merbabu drove
the greater part of the population away. There are.
no documents of any kind, so far discovered, which
give the history of the state.
The history of East Java is likewise uncertain in
many respects. The first well-known prince was
Erlangga, who reigned for over thirty years in the
beginning of the eleventh century. During the first
part of the thirteenth century Ken Arak was the King
of Toemapel or Singosari. His successor (1247) was
Ring Anoesapati, murdered after less than a year’s
reign, who was succeeded by King Tohdjaja (1248).
He, too, after a year’s rule, was murdered, his successor
being Rangawoeni, who managed to hold the power
until 1268, having the distinction of being the first
prince who died a natural death.
Rangawoeni’s successor was King Kartanagara,
the last of his house, who became unpopular with the
Chinese emperor for maltreating the latter's ambas-
sador. In the year I.292 the Chinese government
sent an expedition to Java and an army was landed.
Though this army was compelled to retreat, the
political purpose was accomplished by other happen-
[48]
ings, and the expedition was considered successful,
for the king to be punished had been murdered, and
his state of Toemapel fell, to be succeeded for one
year by the state of Daha.
At that time there arose the native Hindu state
of Madjapahit, in Java, which became very prominent.
Its first king, Kertaradjasa, was on the throne from
1294 to 1309. He died a natural death, and Djajana-
garo succeeded him (1309–28). The latter was mur-
dered. Several rulers followed, who continued to
extend the power of this state, not only in Java, but
also in Borneo, Bali, Banda, Timor, Flores, Sumatra
(for instance Palembang), and even on the peninsula
of Malacca. The last of these kings, Bra Widjaja V,
died in 1478, and the power of Madjapahit, which had
already been weakening for sometime, came to an end.
After a few years the Hindu-Buddhist influence .
declined and the Mohammedan crescent rose to
ascendancy.
In 1377 a native state called Giri sent ambassadors
to China. This state afterward played quite an
important rôle. Its sultan, after his conversion to
the Islam religion, was known as the Priest-Prince,
and was believed to possess miraculous and mystic
powers. He therefore exercised a great influence on
the susceptible and superstitious natives. The Chi-
nese merchants also visited Pekalongan and Bantam
(called Hiakang), and used them as shipping-places,
but after the advent of Mohammedanism their influ-
ence waned.
[49]
It is quite impossible, save for a very general
purpose, to speak of the early history of the “Nether-
lands East Indies,” meaning these islands as a com-
pact whole, as One might speak, for instance, of the
early history of Great Britain, for there never was
any question of a “national” life or unity of any
kind, either ethnologically, politically, or linguisti-
cally speaking. The religious customs, the laws, and
languages of each island were not only radically differ-
ent, as they still are, but each island in itself quite
frequently offered a bewildering variety of require-
ments for national existence. Furthermore, their
peoples were, and are yet, in different stages of
semi-civilization.
The foregoing pages give a very dim outline of the
early history of the archipelago prior to the advent
of the white man. Java having always been the most
important island of this group, the description natu-
rally concerned the history of that island more than
any other, but a brief reference will be made to the
history of the other islands. Javanese history offers
a wealth of interesting details, and much is also to be
learned from the individual history of Giri, Bantam,
Cheribon, and other states, all of which flourished on
this magnificent island during the Middle Ages. It
would carry us, however, too far afield to pursue this
inquiry any further." -
* In these pages no effort has been made to go into the details of
the early history of the archipelago. Experts have made exhaustive
investigations and new discoveries are constantly being announced.
Those who desire to pursue the subject scientifically will find a mass
15ol
THE EARLY EUROPEAN NAVIGATORS
Celebes.—Prior to the advent of the Portuguese
there is very little known of the early history
of Celebes, except that this island was much less
frequented by the Chinese and Hindus than Java,
Sumatra, or the Moluccas. Both the Hindu and the
Mohammedan influences were slow in reaching there,
and its inhabitants were very much less affected by
these religions than those of Java and Sumatra. '
The first authentic descriptions are given to us
by the Portuguese historians, Oduardo Barbosa, Diogo
de Canto, and a few others. Even in the middle of
the sixteenth century Islam had not yet penetrated
Celebes, and it was not before the beginning of the
seventeenth century that any of the chieftains
accepted this religion.* *
The maps published by the Dutch in the eight-
eenth century give a rather indifferent idea of the
contour of Celebes, which has become so important
in later years. As in the other islands, several tribes
of carefully prepared material. The work of Dr. Jan Veth, Java,
Geographisch, ethnologisch, historisch (2d edition), is standard. Other
scientists like Dr. N. J. K. Krom, Dr. G. A. J. Hazeu, Mr. G. P.
Rouffaer, Dr. J. S. Speyer, Professor H. Kern, Dr. J. Brandes, etc.,
have made wonderful contributions to the world’s knowledge on this
subject. New excavations and restorations are continually taking
place, furnishing much new material as the work progresses.
Recently W. Fruin Mees (1919) published a book, Geschiedenis van
Java (History of Java), in which the results of many investigations
have been presented in popular form.
* The Sultanate of Makassar seems to have been the most power-
ful among the native states. Afterward its successor, the state of
Gowa, became known as a belligerent and troublesome factor in the
Moluccas. -
[51]
or nations form its population, of which the Buginese
and the Makassars are the principal ones. Some of
them were savage tribes; none of them more than
half civilized.” *
Borneo.—The early history of Borneo is shrouded
in as much mystery as the early history of Celebes.
The principal inhabitants are called Dayaks, as
distinguished from the Malays who have settled along
the coast and the larger rivers. It must not be
thought, however, that these Dayaks were the aborigi-
nes of the island. They are presumed to have lived
in Borneo before the other Malays, Chinese, and
Hindu-Javanese took possession of some of the coast
ranges and the hinterland. There are here also a
great many different tribes, with various customs and
languages.
Before the advent of the Portuguese, there was a
Sultanate of Broenei, on the north coast of what is
now British Borneo, and the whole island is supposed
to have taken its name from that sultanate. There
was also the state of Bandjermasin, which was suf-
ficiently advanced in semi-civilization to be able
to export gold dust, pepper, rattan, and forest
products at the time of the first advent of the Hollan-
ders in Borneo (1606), and this sultanate must have
existed long prior to that date.
The same can be said of the sultanates of Gunung,
Tabur, Kutei, and Sambaleung. Kutei, situated
On Borneo’s east coast, is populated by Malays,
* See Van der Lith, Nederlandsch Oost Indie, Vol. I, p. 425,
[52]
Buginese, and Dayaks. The Dayaks are again
subdivided into a great many tribes, among which
the Tring Dayaks were the most notorious, having
had, until quite recently, a reputation for canni-
balism. None of these sultanates seem to have
exercised any material influence on the islands as a
whole.
Sumatra.-The ancient history of Sumatra is hap-
pily not quite so shrouded in vague reports as that
of Borneo or Celebes. The principal reason is prob-
ably because this island offered its long western coast
as a trade route for the spice trade. It was natural
that both the Hindu and the Chinese traders should
have stopping-places here. These soon developed into
Small colonies along the shores.
All reports, native as well as foreign, agree that
the island first was known as Walajoe, or Java Minor,
later as Sjamatroe and Soemadra. It was never one
political entity.
From a cultural standpoint Sumatra reached im-
portance during two different periods. From about
5oo to 750 it became the channel through which Bud-
dhism spread eastward, especially to Java. Again,
from 1250 to 14oo, it did the same service for the
Islam religion.
As is true of Java, the Chinese records are the
oldest and most reliable records in regard to Sumatra.
The northern Hindu (Chinese) monk, I-Tsing, visited
this island repeatedly from 671 to 690 and finally
completed a diary at Palembang, on the west coast of
[53]
Sumatra in the year 690. He found that Buddhism
was prevalent in most of the islands of the archi-
pelago.”
The annals of the Liang, Soei, and Tsang dynasties
mention this island several times. From these annals
it is known that Palembang, Djambi, and Indragiri
were important Buddhist states in Sumatra, from 5oo
to 750 A.D., and from 1250 to I300 there was a Hindu
state called Menangkabau, which was under Javanese
influence.
The Arabs seem to have appeared here as far back
as the eighth century. In about 950 A.D. an Arab state
arose on the northern end of Sumatra. When Marco
Polo arrived in Sumatra from South China in 1292, he
mentioned a large city (Palembang), and referred to
the whole island as Java Minor. He claimed that
there were eight kingdoms or states in Sumatra, and
that one of them named Perlak was much frequented
by the Saracenic merchants, who had converted the
natives to the Law of Mohammed.
In 1413 the Chinese envoy Cheng Ho visited
Sumatra or Java Minor. He was accompanied by
Ma Hoean, who was an Arabic scholar and a Moham-
medan. His memoirs disclose the fact that the
Mohammedan religion had made great progress in the
north. In fact, all of northern Sumatra had been con-
verted to Islam, while Palembang remained Buddhist.
* See I-Tsing, A Record of the Buddhist Religion as Practiced in
India and the Malay Archipelago (A.D. 671–95), translated by J. Taka
Kusu, Oxford, 1896.
[54]
Banos, who visited the island in 1525, published
a list of the states existing in Sumatra. There were
twenty-nine countries, at the head of which stood
sultans or rajahs. Since the year 15oo the state of
Atjeh had become important. This state, located on
the extreme northern point of Sumatra, was erected
on the ruins of Lamoeri. The Portuguese had built
a fort at Pasei-Samunden in 1521, but this was
stormed and taken by the forces of the Sultan of Atjeh
in 1524. The Portuguese were thereby definitely
ejected from Sumatra. The Sultan of Atjeh became
the leader of the Mohammedans in the island, while
the Javanese Mohammedans came under the leader-
ship of the Priest-Prince of Giri mentioned before.
This prince seems to have been the suzerain of the
rulers of Demak, Cheribon, Tegal, Kudus, Tuban,
Dradjat, and Ampel (Surabaya), who were all Moham-
medans.
The Moluccas.-By this name the islands situ-
ated between Celebes and New Guinea are gener-
ally indicated. For a long time they were the sole
purveyors of cloves, nutmeg, and mace for the West-
ern markets. Among the larger islands may be
mentioned Halmahera, Obi, Ceram, Buru, and
Ambon; among the smaller ones, Ternate, Tidore,
and the Banda Islands. Concerning the early history
of these islands little is known, except in a general way.
The Original inhabitants were the Alfoers, who are
still found on some of these islands. They have not
mixed with other tribes. Some of the islands, on the
[55]
other hand, have an exceedingly mixed, even mongrel
population. -
Inasmuch as none of the tribes had an alphabet,
and writing was unknown, and since the Arabic and
Chinese writers indulged only in deductions and
surmises, it is little wonder that we have no accurate
information to speak of in regard to this history,
before the advent of the white man.
Antonio d’Albreo was sent by d’Albuquerque to
the Moluccas after the latter had subjugated Malacca
in 15II. He found the Sultan of Ternate in the usual
state of war with the Sultan of Tidore, and promptly
took sides. Even at that time the Portuguese applied
the principle in government so successfully followed
by other colonizing powers, to-wit: “Divide that you
may rule.” In 1522 the islands were visited by
Antonio debrito, accompanied by a powerful squadron,
and he became the first Portuguese governor of the
, Moluccas. Sir Francis Drake traveled there in 1579.
He found several Portuguese trading-posts and for-
tresses, e.g., Fort San Joao, on the Island of Ternate.
In 1598 the first Dutch vessels arrived in the
Moluccas and stopped at the island of Ternate, the
Banda Islands, etc. From that date the supremacy
of the Portuguese was disputed by the Dutch, who
soon superseded the former as rulers of this archi-
pelago. The word “rulers” must not be accepted in
the strictest sense, for the different sultans remained in
power, and for many years went on waging wars with
One another whenever the gentle spirits of their fore-
[56]
fathers moved them to indulge in that agreeable
pastime.
Already, in those benighted times, wealth was the
sinew of war, and unfortunately for their subjects,
these small tyrants were plentifully supplied with this
sinew. Before the arrival of the Europeans the
different sultans had amassed great fortunes through
the spice trade, and even after the white man’s advent
this source of income continued to yield liberally.
Sir Francis Drake's description of the splendor he
found at the court of the Sultan of Ternate reads like
a story of the Arabian Nights." Ternate and Tidore
were words for poets to conjure with.
The Western World owes an everlasting debt of
gratitude to the early Portuguese navigators and
merchants. One who travels today in the Far East,
visiting Singapore, Java, or the Moluccas, continually
finds descendants of these people, and also the mon-
uments which they erected—churches, orphanages,
etc. When looking at these landmarks it is easy to
believe the statements of many early observers, that
the Portuguese were particularly fitted to be the
first rulers of these regions. Their general swarthy
appearance was less different from that of the Oriental
than the appearance of the blond men of Northern
Europe; their manners were gentler, less brusque,
and therefore less offensive to the sensitive pride of
the native chiefs; and their sobriety endeared them
* See J. M. Brown, The Dutch East Indies, and Walcott, Java and
Her Neighbors (1914), pp. 143–44.
[57]
to many. The Catholic religion which they brought
with them, with its beautiful churches decorated in
mosaic, etc., must have appealed far more to the
natives than the colder and more austere doctrines
and manifestations of the Reformed Dutch Church.
Even a Protestant Hollander, if he visits the islands,
cannot suppress a certain feeling of pity and regret
that the Portuguese nation was deprived of almost all
the fruits of her early enterprise, energies, and sacri-
fices made during the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seven-
teenth centuries.
The Small Sunda Islands.-The early history of
the smaller Sunda Islands such as Bali, Lombok,
Sumbawa, Sumba, Flores, Wetar, and Timor, in so far
as it is known, offers the same complexity of races
and religious beliefs as the larger islands.
In Bali, the majority of the inhabitants are
descendants from “people of Madjapahit,” that is
Javanese-Hindu from Central Java; others are indi-
genous, and are called Bilangas. The former are
Brahmanistic, the latter Mohammedans. There are
also many descendants of numerous other tribes in the
coast regions. The people of Bali mixed a great deal
with those of Java, and as a result their histories are
interwoven. Here the old Hindu religion is found in
its purest form; here caste is strictly observed.
In Lombok we find Balinese and Sasaks, the former
worshiping Hindu-fashion, the latter being Moham-
medans. They do not mingle, but are separated as
if by an impenetrable divide.
[58]
CHAPTER VI. THE HISTORICAL TITLE
OF THE NETHERLANDS TO THE EAST
INDIAN COLONIES, Continued
INSULINDE DURING THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY
Political history merged with spice trade–Demand for Eastern
luxuries—Cities of Southern Netherlands, distributing points—
Trade routes—Importing in hands of Spanish and Portuguese—
Northern cities of Holland competing—Struggle of Spain and
Portugal—King Philip II—Rebellion—Republic of Seven
Netherlands Provinces formed—Union of Spain and Portugal—
Spanish ports not closed to Hollanders until . I 587—Methods
of warfare—Before advent of chauvinism—Present changed
affairs—Outcry at closing of harbors—Attitude of Dutch
seamen—Patriotism—Taxes for wars—National budget sys-
tem—Dutch merchants seek best route to Indies—Reverend
Plancius—Jan Huizen Linschoten—Three attempts of Hol-
landers to find northern route—Van Neck’s expedition—
“Far Away Companies” organized—Charter granted to
East Indian Company, I602
THE HISTORICAL TITLE OF THE
NETHERLANDS TO THE EAST
INDIAN COLONIES, Continued
INSUILINDE DUIRING THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY
*-*.
|ROM the year 15oo the history of the archi-
pelago is more accurately recorded, and
from that time the political history becomes
closely merged with the history of the spice
=l trade. The commercial situation as to the
coveted Indian spices during the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries was rather complicated in so far as
the Netherlands and Northern Europe were con-
Cerned. Those returning from the Crusades had long
ago introduced the use of Eastern luxuries, such as
perfumes, Soaps, silks, spices, and what not, into the
rugged and simple lives of the Northern peoples.
Southern Europe had been acquainted with them for
many centuries.
Especially the prosperous cities of the southern
provinces of the Low Lands or Netherlands (the
present kingdom of Belgium) were the great marts
and distributing points for these spices and other
Oriental luxuries. These Far Eastern products were
brought by caravans and ships to Alexandria and
Constantinople, and from these places they were
carried by the merchants of Venice and Genoa, or
Spain and Portugal, to the general market-places in
the Netherlands, such as Antwerp, Ghent, or Bruges.

[61]
The merchants of these cities did not often engage
in navigation enterprises themselves. They were
Satisfied to play the part of middlemen, and left the
importing of spices to the Spanish and Portuguese
shipowners, while the exporting was largely in the
hands of the navigators from the Hanse cities, who
distributed the purchased wares all over Northern
Europe.
The merchants from the northern cities in the
Netherlands, such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Dor-
drecht, Enkhuizen, Middleburg, Vere, etc., most of
which are situated in the provinces of Holland and
Zeeland, were more enterprising. They made a bid
for, and soon obtained a part of, this very profit-
able ocean-carrying trade. Soon they had a very
large number of small but effective trading-vessels
and went directly to the Spanish and Portuguese
harbors to buy at first-hand. Especially when the
, Hanse cities declined, this ocean-carrying trade fell
to the Northern Netherlands, and it became a very
flourishing enterprise.
The Spice Islands attracted the attention of the
merchants of Spain, especially after Magellan had
arrived at the Philippines on his trip around the world,
made on behalf of the Spanish ruler. A bitter quarrel
was engendered between the Spanish and Portuguese
as to the Moluccas (then known as the Spice Islands),
which was finally settled in 1529 by treaty and papal
decree. In those times the Hollanders, who were fast
becoming the most important ocean carriers in the
[62]
Western World, traded little with these islands, for
they were able to obtain all the spices they needed in
Lisbon, and from that port they carried them over a
large part of Northern Europe. But these conditions
were not to continue.
Since 1555, when Charles V voluntarily abdicated
in favor of his son, King Philip II, all of the seventeen
Netherlands provinces had been under the dominion
of that bigoted and narrow-minded ruler. But since
1567, the seven northern provinces had been in open-
armed rebellion, abetted and assisted by William,
Prince of Orange and Count of Nassau, known as
William the Silent, who played the same rôle in the
history of the Netherlands that George Washington
afterward did in American history. These rebellious
provinces finally declared their independence, and the
New Republic of the Seven Netherlands Provinces
was born in 1581 by the Act of Abjuration.
When in 158o the union of Spain and Portugal
was made complete, the Portuguese colonies passed
under the scepter of the Spanish king. The latter
allowed the spice trade to continue for quite a while,
but finally, in 1587, he closed the Lisbon and Spanish
markets to his rebellious former subjects, now his
declared enemies.
It may seem strange to us that long after the
Netherlands and Spain were at war, this trade had
continued, and the ships flying the Netherlands flag
were admitted to the harbors of the enemy without
being molested. But one should remember that in
[63]
those times rulers made war mostly with hirelings.
The sons and daughters of each nation had not yet
been taught, as modern children are from their early
childhood, that they spring from a race superior to any
other in the world. The system of engaging mer-
cenaries to cut the throats of other mercenaries, in lieu
of sending the flower of a nation’s manhood to the
slaughter, was still in vogue. It was only when a
small nation like Holland was attacked by an enemy
who could muster an overwhelming army of merce-
naries, that the citizens themselves arose, sword in
hand, to defend their ancient liberties. They fought,
not because they were filled with intense hatred of
each and every subject of the invading ruler, but
only because they hated the ruler himself, and his
minions who brought Such suffering.
The Spaniards, Portuguese, and Netherlanders of
those times still thought that patriotism was a virtue
and must come from the heart, and therefore must be
kindly; internationalism was a matter of mind and
therefore must be sensible. Furthermore, inasmuch
as their viewpoints proved rather beneficial financially,
they did not see their way clear to make an immediate
change. They clung to the doctrine of the open sea,
which is now strictly observed by several of the world-
powers, notably by Switzerland, Bolivia, and Lux-
emburg. The “enemy” merchant ships of either
country were therefore hospitably received in their
harbors. Inasmuch as the main energy of the Spanish
and Portuguese shipowners was directed to the exten-
[64]
sion of their commerce with America and Asia, they
rather welcomed the advent of the northern traders
in their harbors, for here was the necessary link in the
great chain of ocean carriage from Oriental producers
to Occidental consumers. At the same time they
allowed the paid assassins of their king to do all
the killing they could, and went about their busi-
IlêSS.
It is rather amusing that when the authorities of
Spain put a stop to this trade by suddenly placing an
embargo on all Dutch ships in Spanish and Portuguese
harbors (1585), there was a great outcry, not only in
the Netherlands, but also in the other two countries,
that “the Spanish government had not played fair.”
The arrangement which had existed prior to the
seizure of the Dutch ships in the Spanish harbors did
not seem to bother the consciences of the old burghers
of Amsterdam very much. They had nothing in
particular against the Portuguese and Spanish mer-
chants as such. While they fought His Most Catholic
Majesty the King of Spain, they themselves were,
from a commercial standpoint, so catholic that they
declared their willingness “to sail to hell and burn the
sails of their ships, so long as there was some good
honest bartering in sight.” Those who are so much
inclined to criticize, in the light and pride of this era,
the sayings and feelings of people of former times, may
well hesitate and wonder sometimes whether or not
modern chauvinism, which masquerades so often
under the name of patriotism, is a virtue or a vice.
[65]
True patriotism should assist a man in acquiring the
“world-sense.”
All modern nations are more or less suffering from
the lack of this “world-sense.” The budgets of most
of them tell an appalling story. As much as 90
per cent of the total revenue goes to the payment
of interest and the amortization of national debts
directly traceable to past wars, or to the maintenance
of great military and naval establishments—that is,
preparedness for new wars. The balance of Io per
cent must suffice for all government purposes, such as
sanitation, education, public improvements, public
Services, and what not. The people are groaning
under taxation, while the affected governments are
assuring the struggling tax-payers that their own
particular wars are always “defensive” ones.
Before the French Revolution the treasure chest
of the king was generally identical with the public
treasury. It was thought that this abuse would be
cured when the other wrong of having mercenary
Soldiers was abolished. In place of the king’s debts,
which were partly just and partly the result of riotous
living and lavish gifts to male and female favorites,
we have now huge national debts, also partly created
by proper expenditures, and partly Squandered on
the enormous military and naval establishments of
modern times.
Instead of mercenary troops, Hessians, and the
like, we have in most countries tremendous national
armies, composed of willing and unwilling conscripts.
[66]
Under the new system, armies of nationals are placed
in the fields in numbers formerly unheard of. Even
Napoleon’s “heavy battalions” numbered seldom over
two hundred and fifty thousand, a mere handful in
modern battle. Moreover, blood as a national sub-
stance is wasted on a scale that makes the efforts of
former kings and tyrants look like child’s play.
Nowadays national hatreds are bred such as the world
has never dreamed of before.
Those who have seen the camp and revival meet-
ings held so commonly in the western parts of the
United States twenty or thirty years ago will realize
how easy it is to whip into a frenzy an otherwise
perfectly rational population. People used to flock to
these camp meetings from miles and miles. They
came on foot, on horseback, in light rigs, and in heavy
farm wagons. They came singly or with whole
families, and generally pitched camp alongside a living
stream. If the preacher was successful as a revivalist
or exhorter, he soon had his listeners in a frenzy of
religious hysteria. Those who, besides being preach-
ers, had a good knowledge of mob psychology accom-
plished wonders. Posts had to be placed in the ground
So that the converts or returned backsliders could
grip them in their wild jumping, after the “spirit”
had entered them. Some were granted the “gift of
tongues”; others barked like dogs, and all of them
were supposed to be Christians! The military mas-
ters of Germany, no matter what their other defects
may have been, were for years experts in this mob
|67]
psychology, debauching the minds of an otherwise
sane people. Moreover, the militarists in other
countries are rapidly following suit.
But to return to the question of the Dutch navi-
gators. As we have seen, the sturdy burghers of the
Low Lands were not obsessed with the new national-
ism. In the meantime the Spanish king had also
closed the ports of Santa Maria and San Lucas against
the Netherlands trading-vessels which called there for
salt, with the result that these traders were driven to
the Cape Verde Islands, still nearer the Indies.
The route to the Indies was not entirely unfa-
miliar to the Dutch navigators. For some time prior
to the union between Spain and Portugal the mer-
chants of the latter country had employed Dutch
sailors and navigation officers in preference to Span-
iards, whom they feared as possible competitors in
their profitable Indian trade. Spanish merchants
trading to the Antilles employed Dutch sailors in
preference to Portuguese, for the same reason.
The Reverend Plancius, an enterprising divine
dwelling in Amsterdam, had slowly accumulated quite
a collection of data and navigation charts, indicating
the routes to the Indies. Moreover, Jan Huizen
Linschoten, afterward famous as a cartographer, hav-
ing left his fatherland, Holland, when he was only
seventeen years old, and having for several years led
a roving life in Spain, Portugal, and the Indies,
* - published a description of his travels containing very
important information which the Hollanders were
[68] &
VIEW OF THE CRATER BROMO TO THE LEFT, NEXT TO IT THE
BATOK AND WIDODAREN, AND SEM ERU IN DISTANCE

eager to get." Yet the Holland merchants were never
known to be hasty in their judgments. “Consider
before you decide” has always been and still is their
motto, and they therefore sent their agent Houtman
to Lisbon in 1592, ostensibly to trade, but in reality
to gather additional navigation data and general
information. - -
The route followed by the Portuguese had its very
serious drawbacks. In the first place one would have
to breast the storms in the Atlantic, especially severe
near the Bay of Biscay; then again there were the
storms which one almost invariably encountered in
rounding the Cape of Good Hope. In addition there
was to be faced the danger of being captured by the
Spanish fleet, or worse still by the pirates who infested
the seas between Spain and the Azores Islands, and
who spared neither friend nor foe. The Dutch mer-
chants therefore decided to try the northern route, and
in 1594 four vessels started on this northern trip.
On one of these vessels Linschoten was supercargo.
The vessels returned after several months’ absence,
claiming that they had located an open passage
through the northern waters. In 1595 a second trial
was made to find this passage, but without success.
&r
,4'
J.
gr’
...?
A third effort was made in 1596, two vessels being,
sent out. One was under the command of Captain
de Ryp, and the other had as supercargo Heemskerck,
* See Linschoten’s Reys-Geschrift van de Navigatien der Portuga-
loysers in Orienten. -
* “Zindt voor gij begint,” or “Wikt voor gij beschikt.”
…” -->
X-
[69]
with Willem Barends as chief navigating officer. This
endeavor ended in a tragedy for the ship of Heemskerck,
and Barends was imprisoned in the ice near Nova
Zembla, where the ship wintered. After unbelievable
hardships this vessel finally managed to return in the
spring, but Willem Barends died on the way home.
In the meantime the impatience of the Nether-
_landers had increased, for they thought that valuable
time had been lost, and that competitors might obtain
priority rights. Preparations for a new voyage were
rushed, with the result that on the second day of
April, 1595, four vessels sailed from Holland bound
for the Indies. While these ships were supposed to
constitute one compact squadron, still each captain
was supreme on board his own vessel. His letter of
command contained the expression, “Commander of
the vessel, next to God.”
The chief pilot on board these ships was one Pieter
Dirckzoon Keyser, who was the pupil of the learned
preacher Plancius, already mentioned, while the Super-
cargo, directly representing the merchants interested,
was the famous Cornelis de Houtman. Inasmuch as
resistance was expected, and as a precaution against
pirates and other enemies on the high seas, these
vessels carried 250 armed men. To make navigation
as safe as possible, the astronomer, Pieter Dirckzoon
Reyser, had been engaged as chief navigation expert,
and the ships safely rounded the Cape of Good Hope,
and dropped anchor in the roadstead of Bantam, just
446 days after their departure from the home port.
[7ol
It cannot be claimed that the Hollanders displayed
much tact after their arrival. In fact they committed
several serious mistakes. They found that the
Portuguese were not in a position to oppose them,
being engaged in a struggle with the King of Bantam
(on the most western end of Java). Instead of re-
maining neutral they gave the Portuguese aid and com-
fort, which did not add to their popularity with the
natives. The trip was far from satisfactory in material
results, and the nine merchants of Amsterdam who had
organized the “Far Away Company” and financed
the enterprise had good cause for disappointment.
From that time on, however, expeditions from
Holland to the Indies followed one another in rapid
succession. The first was under Van Neck, who
arrived with three ships in the offing before Bantam
in the latter part of 1598. He had succeeded in
making the trip in less than one-half the time made by
Houtman. Van Neck made a successful return trip
to the mother country, and arrived there with 6oo,000
pounds of pepper, 250,000 pounds of cloves, 2,Ooo &
pounds of nutmeg, and 200 pounds of mace—the
richest cargo ever brought to the Netherlands. The
result can be imagined New “Far Away” companies
were organized almost over night. They were Soon
very numerous, and a keen competition set in between
them.
* Maatschappy van Verre; see F. van Rysens, Netherlands
History, p. 202; also History of Java, by Donald MacLain Campbell,
H.B.M. Consul in Java, published in 1915.
[71]
Oldebarneveldt, the famous Dutch statesman,
soon realized that this competition would quickly
degenerate into open strife and bitter quarrels, bring-
ing loss and destruction instead of wealth and unity
to the country. He therefore bent his energies and
his powerful influence to the task of uniting these
warring interests and welding them into one great
commercial body. He found a stimulus in the fact
that already, in the year 16oo, the British East Indian
Company had been founded, and his keen foresight
made him realize that unless a powerful body was
organized, the fight against the Portuguese, as well
as against English adventurers and Savage natives,
would be a losing one. t
Oldebarneveldt obtained the co-operation of his
government by truthfully pointing out that the fast-
growing East Indian trade demanded maritime pro-
tection against enemies and pirates, and that the
combination of all the Indian merchants and “Far
Away” companies would create a body powerful
enough to have its own armed vessels, and thereby
relieve the government of this expensive task.
In 1602 the States General (the Congress of the
different provinces) issued a special charter to the
East Indian Company, which was in fact its birth
"certificate. With the granting of this charter, the
foundation was laid for that Netherlands empire in
the Far East which has challenged many times the
admiration of the world.
[72]
CHAPTER VII. THE HISTORICAL TITLE
OF THE NETHERLANDS TO THE EAST
INDIAN COLONIES, Concluded
THE NETHERLANDS EAST INDIAN COMPANY–INSU-
LINDE IN THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH
CENTURIES
Strenuous times—Slavery–Lack of moral responsibility—
Actions of Company to be viewed in light of those times—
Power of Company—Its charter–Monopoly—Financial policy
—Sovereign rights—No national unity in Insulinde—Different
stages of development—Warfare of sultans–Nobility and
land tenure—Real estate laws—Customary law—Hindu law—
The Adat—Moslem law—Overlordship of sultans—Javanese
serfs—The nobility—Treaties of white men with rulers—
Concessions—Chinese and Arabs—Loyalty of natives to
rulers—Relations of Company, commercial—Powers extended–
Profits of Company—Forced labor—Native rights given scant
attention—Causes—Political rights of Company utilized—
Governor General Coen–English competition—Djakatra
taken—Coen's motto—War with Mataram—Pieter Eberfeld,
the traitor—Preanger gained—Mataram split into two sultan-
ates—Suzerainty over west coast of Borneo—Overlordship of
Netherlands—Decline of Company’s power–Corruption—
Free trade—Company abolished—Colonies lost to England—
Restored by treaty—Holland under Napoleon—Colonies
again lost—Governor Raffles—Indies restored to Bata-
vian Republic—Condition of archipelago—Java–Buitenzorg—
Marshall Daendel’s policy—Road across Java–The outlying
possessions—Coffee culture
THE HISTORICAL TITLE OF THE
NETHERLANDS TO THE EAST
INDIAN COLONIES, Concluded
THE NIETHERLANDS EAST INDIAN COMPANY
FHE history of the Netherlands East Indian
|*| Company is very much the same as that of
most overseas trading and conquering Com-
ºg panies of those ages. It was a heroic history
** from a material standpoint, the history
of deeds of strong men with strong minds, men
endowed with consciences which, when it came to
the rights of the “heathen” or “savages,” were not
known for any too great delicacy.
These were the times when Protestants in the
Netherlands were led to the auto da fe’ (burning
pyre) by the Inquisition, and died in the flames with
songs on their lips; when the Protestants most
cheerfully retaliated whenever the opportunity arose;
when Spanish and Italian nobles of old Catholic
lineage, who were in command of the forces of the
King of Spain in the Netherlands, unblushingly
broke their word of honor given to a retreating foe,
and butchered men, women, and children without
hesitation. For were these people not rebels against
His Majesty the King, and worse yet, heretics in
the eyes of the Mother Church P
These were the times when a statesman like
Oldebarneveldt, a man of seventy-two years, bent

[75]
with the cares of the republic, was led to the scaffold
by his political enemies, and his old gray head put
under the executioner’s ax. His trial had been a
violation of the laws of Holland, which required that
accusation should follow within six weeks of arrest,
or the prisoner must be freed. His last words were,
“Citizens, I have been your compatriot throughout
my life. Believe not that I die for treason, but for
the maintenance of the liberty and the laws of the
country.”
These were also the times when the illustrious
international lawyer Grotius, the author of De
Jure Praedae, of The History of Old Holland, of De
Jure Belli et Pacis, and many other works which
forever have established his fame in the world of
intellect, was imprisoned and barely escaped with
his life.” These were the times when Sir Walter
Paleigh was beheaded in England, after years of
loyalty and service to his queen; when Catholic
kings of France murdered Protestant noblemen of
great virtue and patriotism without the least hesita-
tion; and Protestant princes of Germany were often
guilty of barbarous cruelty toward the Jews.
From the enlightened viewpoint these early
conquerors of the Indies had, to say the least, Some
very robust notions about their rights. Slavery
was with them a recognized institution, as it was in
* See Burginys, Vie de Grotius, Vol. I, p. Io2.
* Read Hamilton Vreeland’s Hugo Grotius, Oxford University
Press, Igſ 7.
[76]
the American Colonies, and these Hollanders had
exactly the same ideas on the subject as then pre-,
vailed in the greater part of the world. God-fearing
American plantation owners did not inquire too
closely, if at all, into the methods which the masters
of slave-vessels used on the African coast for the
purpose of obtaining a “cargo.” They simply bought
So much human material at the best prevailing prices,
paying little attention to the horrors of the trade.
The citizens of New England, like good Christians,
abhorred so baneful an institution as slavery. Far
be it from them to allow the introduction of such a
contemptible system in their midst. They shipped
rum to Africa’s darkest coast, and this rum was
traded for black slaves. But the hard climate of
the north was totally unfit for the delicate constitu-
tions of the black, so these sunny, carefree children
from the equator were taken to the mild and fever-
infested climate of the West Indies. Here the ships
unloaded their cargo of humans, and took a load of
molasses, which in turn was again translated into
rum, and so on ad infinitum, but no slave had ever
been brought to the sacred shores of the new freedom!
The psalm-singing burghers of Amsterdam had
about the same notions in regard to their moral
responsibilities toward the slave trade. They blamed
the institution on the native rulers, and this of
course made a very satisfactory difference, especially
from a high ethical standpoint. The facts are that
while slaves were kept by the native princes and
[77]
vº Sultans outside of Java, in that principal island
slavery was practically unknown until introduced
by Europeans. ~,
In the Indies the sultans exercised an autocratic
power over their subjects. In the various islands
different customs prevailed, but, generally speaking,
the rule of the prince was absolute. The servants
of the Company were not very slow in taking advan-
tage of these conditions, and slavery and slave-
trading in one form or another were countenanced
and profited by. Sometimes whole countrysides were
affected by these “manipulations.” It is safe to
assume that these Small matters did not bother the
consciences of the enterprising directors of the
Company, nor affect the sensibilities of the share-
holders. On the contrary, they would have been
perfectly astounded if anyone had pointed out that
the money which they received was, to put it charit-
ably, slightly tainted.
These robust Hollanders of the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries were famous for their tolerance
toward all denominations, and not less famous for
the hospitality with which they received all those who
fled from their own countries on account of religious
or political persecution. But they who had such
vigorous ideas of political and religious freedom for
the Europeans had equally energetic notions when it
came to making profit from the “heathens” or
“niggers.” Apparently their consciences did not at
any time bother them on this point.
[78]
Moreover, the Hollanders were still deprived of all
advantages flowing from the precepts and teachings
of modern colonizing. They had not been able to
observe the methods of a Christian nation in the
Congo, which in the end of the nineteenth century
brought so successfully the kindly teachings of Christ
to darkest Africa, thereby Christianizing a host of
natives into their graves; nor the methods of a cour-
teous Oriental nation in “de-Christianizing” its
neighbor.
To say the least, those were vigorous and relent-
less times. The methods employed were in keeping
with the religious intolerance and the savage views
of the majorities. We must therefore view the actions
of the Netherlands East Indian Company from
period to period, in the light of the status of advance-
ment which European thought had generally acquired
at a corresponding period. And if we do this, we
must be more impressed with the restraint which was
exercised than with the license which was tolerated.
That the newly organized Company was expected
to acquire power and become a world-factor may be
inferred from the fact that the Admiral of Arragon
declared, soon after its incorporation, that it was a
menace to the Spanish Empire, a menace equal in
danger to that of the formation of the Republic of
the United Netherlands itself. How great a compli-
ment, both to the Netherlands and to the Company,
was hidden in this statement can be easily seen when
it is remembered that at that time the Spanish
[79]
kingdom was the mightiest empire known and one of
the greatest and most powerful the world has ever
known, while the so-called “Low Lands” contained
less than three million inhabitants and were by com-
parison a mere speck on the map of the world.
The States General of the Republic of the Nether-
lands granted a charter for twenty-one years to the
Netherlands East Indian Company with the sole
right to trade with Oriental countries situated between
v the Cape of Good Hope and the Straits of Magellan.
What today would be called in the United States
a modern corporation’s charter, constitution, and
by-laws was, het ocłrooi, granted by the States Gen-
eral to the East Indian Company. This charter
was renewed from time to time. Furthermore, with
the permit, a penal statute was enacted, prohibiting
anyone in the Republic from engaging in this trade
except the above-named Company. The penalty was
the loss of ship and cargo. Hereby a monopoly was
created which had in itself the seed of decay. For
a student of the history of finance, it would be
interesting to scrutinize closely the financial policy
of this Company from its inception to its expira-
tion. For our purpose the following particulars must
suffice.
The Company, at the time of its birth, had no
fixed minimum or maximum capital. Every citizen
of the Republic, yes, even any resident, was allowed
~ to subscribe to the capital stock for any amount he
desired. These subscriptions amounted to about six
[80]
and a half million guilders, of which more than one-
half was subscribed by the merchants of Amsterdam
alone.
Amsterdam subscribed for 3,670,000 florins, Mid-
dleburg for 1,300,000 florins, Delft 469,000 florins,
Rotterdam I?3,Ooo florins, Hoorn 267,ooo florins,
Enkhuizen 540,000 florins. It is interesting to note
that Rotterdam, now the first commercial city in the
Netherlands and the second largest port in Europe,
was at that time almost negligible, while other cities
like Enkhuizen and Middleburg, then so prominent,
have now slumped to much inferior places.
While the shares were issued at par, they were
quoted in 1622 at 3oo per cent, and about a century
later (1720) at 1,260 per cent. This was their peak
price, for in 175o they stood at 750, and in 1781 at 215.
In 16Io the first dividend was paid. It may be well
to observe here that Hollanders have been educated
for a long time to the so-called deferred-dividend
finance. Generally speaking the American public does
not care to absorb shares unless an almost immedi-
ate dividend can be assured. The great success of
many of the Netherlands enterprises is immediately
traceable to this willingness to wait, for years if,
necessary, for the first dividend.
In that year (1610) a dividend of 132% per cent
was paid, averaging therefore about 15 per cent a year.
In 16II the Company paid 30 per cent, but the share-
holders had to wait eight years (until 1619) for another
dividend, that time of 30 per cent. From that year on,
[81]
with the exception of I689, regular dividends were
paid until 1782. The average over all the years of
the Company's existence was 18 per cent. (For the
last ten years [1910–19) the sugar companies operat-
ing in the Indies particularly Java] have paid on an
average of I7+% per cent dividends, besides important
extra compensations known as tantiemes, to the chief
officers and employees.)
The first number of directors or managers (bewind-
woerders) was Seventy-three, but gradually this number
was reduced. In addition there was a central body
of supervising members, called de Heeren 17 (The
Seventeen Gentlemen). The charter of the Company
was renewed or amended in the years 1623, 1647,
I673, I700, I74I, I 742, I743, I 755, I777, I796, and
I798. It consisted of forty-six articles. These articles
contained a number of provisions in regard to the
curtailment of possible abuses and usurpation of
powers of the chief officers of the corporation, and
the history of the Company shows that these articles
were not inserted in vain.
Several times complaint was made in regard to
surmised grafting (knoeieryen) and the States General
of the Republic endeavored to circumvent these
alleged abuses, when the charter was first renewed
in 1623, by giving extra power to a committee of
principal stockholders, sworn to do their duty. These
men were known as beeedigde participataten. They
had a supervisory power over the principal financial
transactions of the directors. Evil tongues, however,
[82]
claimed that these gentlemen were soon on a very
amiable footing with those whom they had to watch,
with results easily to be surmised. There were also a
number of directors in extraordinary, appointed by
the constituted authorities, who were supposed to
exercise a qualified control. These gentlemen were
more or less viewed as spies by the regular directors,
and their popularity with the latter remained a
debatable quantity.
Article 34 gave to the Company a monopoly
in the East Indian trade against all other Nether-
landers, and Article 35 bestowed practically sovereign ºr
rights on the Company, making it a government within
a government.
One of the great difficulties under which the
Company labored was its dual capacity. In one
respect it was a trading Company, pure and simple,
bound to make large profits for the shareholders. *
It took the generally disliked, if not hated, position
of the absentee landowner. This side of the Company
was especially represented by the trustees (bewind-
woerders) and the “Director General,” residing in the
Netherlands.
On the other hand, it was a sovereign, with all
the rights and duties of such. Provision was made
that the directors should appoint a governor general,
who would have full charge of the affairs of the Indies,
and that they likewise should appoint a Council of
the Indies, the members of which were the legal,
advisers of the governor general. Those governors
[83]
general who happened to be high-minded men with
statesmanlike vision, and who were “on the ground,”
represented the sovereign side of the question. The
governors general and the residents under them very
often visualized a future political empire in the archi-
pelago. It was they who exercised the great political
powers conferred on the Company by Article 35, “to
v make treaties and war, to build fortresses in the name
Of the States General of the United Netherlands, etc.”
They sometimes received the co-operation of the
directors in Holland, but often they were opposed,
for the latter took the commercial view and arrived at
vº their decisions with eyes fixed on the balance sheets."
INSULINDE IN THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH
CENTURIES
Before proceeding with the more modern history of
the archipelago, it may be well to endeavor to visual-
ize the condition these islands were in when the white
man “discovered” them, and then consider what
influence, if any, the white man exercised during the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
For anyone who has not visited the Orient, it is
extremely difficult to conjure before the mind the
Conditions as they prevail there now. It has been
* Even today the same struggle, though of course in a modified
form, is observed in the islands. The representatives there of
“big business” are occasionally opposed in their views of economic
improvement by their home office. And this is most natural, for
* the former have to satisfy the population among whom they live,
and from which they draw their labor supply, while the latter must
Satisfy its numerous stockholders.
[84]
truly said that no matter how much one may read
or think of the Orient, one will find it far different
from what one imagined. It therefore follows that
it must be still more difficult to imagine the conditions
which for several centuries preceded present condi-
tions. The Orient, however, does not change as
rapidly as the Occident. On the contrary, it is
tenacious of thought and bound to traditions. In a
great many aspects conditions of today are the same
as they were a thousand years ago. Since the Oriental
mind clings to customs and traditions very much
more than the Occidental mind, it is therefore much
easier to deduce conditions in the past from those
existing in the present, than it would be to make the
same deductions in regard to European or American
conditions and institutions.
From the short sketch contained in the chapter
devoted to ethnology it must be apparent that there
is not now, and never was, a general national exist-
ence in the Indies. An ethnological map of this archi-
pelago looks very much like a crazy quilt. Not
only are the inhabitants of these islands of widely
different blood and descent, but there has never been
any material fusion of tribes and nationalities. The
people of adjacent or neighboring localities have not
only radically different customs, traditions, and ideals, ,
but they speak entirely different languages, and use
different characters for writing. -
For instance, the island of Java is admittedly the
farthest advanced, from both a material and an
[85]
ethical standpoint. Still in this island alone there are
three distinct nations, not to mention many foreigners
who, while interspersed with the general population,
maintain a separate existence. In Western Java we
find the Sundanese, a people with a separate lan-
guage, traditions, andfolklore. They speak Sundanese,
which is not understood by the inhabitants of Central
Java, who are presumed to be the true Javanese,
and who speak both high and low Javanese The
people inhabiting the eastern part of Java are the
Madurese, and they also speak a language totally
different from the Sundanese, and materially different
from the Javanese spoken in Central Java. The
Sundanese use the Arabian-Sundanese alphabet. The
Javanese and Madurese languages have a “sound”
alphabet consisting of twenty characters.
A certain percentage of the more educated mem-
bers of each nation, especially those living in the
coast districts, speak Malay in a simple form, this
being the commercial language of the whole Far
East. Malay uses the same Arabian characters as
those of the Arabian and Turkish languages, and it is
generally asserted that one who has a working knowl-
edge of Malay can read simple Arabian, but not
Turkish. Throughout the archipelago, eight or ten
main languages are spoken, while as many as sixty
dialects are in use. Inasmuch as most of the natives
of each district speak only their own particular
tongue, there can be no interchange of ideas among
the majority of them. The Netherlands tongue,
[86]
known as “Dutch,” is now making slow headway
among some of the natives.
If one considers that besides the difference in
blood, customs, and languages, there is also a vast
dissimilarity in the religions of the inhabitants of
the islands, and even between regions on the same
island, it becomes apparent that “national life”
was at the time of the advent of the white man quite
out of the question. It is still for that matter.
Java, for instance, is almost entirely Mohammedan
and the immediately adjacent islands of Bali and
part of Lombok are purely Brahmanistic. In some *
parts of Northern Celebes and adjacent islands,
the Christian religion has made considerable headway
among the natives, while again in Borneo and other
islands, where neither the Hindu, Mohammedan,
nor Christian religion has made any impression,
idolatry is practiced.
If these are the conditions prevailing at the present
time, after centuries of contact with the white man,
after modern transportation has brought these
different parts closely together, it is easily understood
that the early white visitors had to deal not with a
“nation,” but with a conglomeration of small com-
munities and tribes, all having separate traditions,
ideals, customs, religions, Social and political beliefs.
There could therefore be no question of national
ideals or a common goal to be reached; neither could
one hope for racial evolution along national lines for ,
centuries to come. -
[87]
Indeed, the people inhabiting these islands were
and are in widely differing stages of social and moral
evolution. They shaded down from those who lived
in the comparatively high state of Hindu civilization,
affected sometimes on the surface by Mohammedan-
ism, to the Savages, cannibals, and head-hunting
tribes in the interior of some of the islands. Where
a qualified civilization had been reached, Oriental
satraps and sultans had established themselves in
barbaric splendor, considering their subjects as
slaves to their whims and wishes.
They were in constant warfare with one another,
and their subjects were simply pawns on their own
private chess boards of ambition and strife. This
condition was made comparatively easy, for the
difference in blood and customs brought in its train
suspicion, contempt, and hatred for the inhabitants
of another state, or even for the inhabitants of an
adjacent village, so that it was easy to inflame them.
The Oriental in that respect seems to have been
centuries ahead of the Europeans.
At the time of the advent of the white man in
the archipelago, the Hindu influence was the strongest
' and most prevalent. To a large extent it still is.
When the writer visited the court of one of the
younger princes in central Java in 1919, he witnessed
a marriage ceremony of a member of the Sultan’s
household, conducted with all the old Buddhist for-
malities, notwithstanding that the host and all the par-
ticipants were presumed to be devout Mohammedans.
[88]
When first the Portuguese, and afterward the
Hollanders, arrived overseas in these islands, they
found approximately these conditions:
In Java there was an old Hindu civilization,
overlaid with a thin veneer of Mohammedanism. ”
They found native princes, such as the Sultan of
Bantam, the King of Mataram, and other chiefs
and nobles ruling over a comparatively docile Hindu-
Malay population. These princes were engaged in
continuous internal warfare. Those who had become
Mohammedans gladly combined and declared “holy
wars” on those who remained Buddhist. All exer-
cised absolute power over their subjects, as was com-
mon until recent times in all Oriental countries.
On the outlying islands were likewise many
powerful rulers, such as the Sultan of Ternate, the
Sultan of Makassar (Celebes), the Sultan of Atjeh
(Sumatra), and many others.
There were also “spots” of civilization, mostly
among the descendants of the Javanese and Hindus,
who had established themselves on other islands as,
for instance, near Palembang, Sumatra.
The white man found that Java was, for those
times, densely populated, while the other islands
were very sparsely occupied (as they still are),
and while the rule of the princes extended over
practically all Java, the rule of the outlying sultan-
ates, with only a few exceptions, covered the coast
ranges only, the interior places being occupied by v
hostile and savage tribes. Pirates from without and
[89]
J
head-hunters from within were constantly engaged in
expeditions to the different coast districts, and in a
large part of the archipelago people lived in fear and
trembling from these marauders, who in cruelty and
ferociousness made the Norsemen of Europe look like
benevolent Christian gentlemen. Even some of the
sultans were not averse to the practice of piracy,
whenever the opportunity seemed to be propitious.
In addition to the native population, there was
quite a number of Arabs, who were the retail traders
of the country. To a large extent they still are, to-
gether with the Chinese.
There had always been a constant flow of travel
from the islands to Arabia and vice versa. In the
first place Arabs, ever since the great invasion, and
even prior to that, had come to these far-off lands to
trade. Again, since Java had become Mohammedan,
many pilgrims from the Indies flocked to Mecca
, and the grave of the Prophet. This travel continues
today. While most of the other islands were occupied
by Savage or semi-savage tribes, Java had enjoyed
first a Hindu and afterward a mixed Mohammedan
and Hindu civilization for centuries. Powerful
rulers had established themselves in the islands, and
one of the principal states was the Hindu state of
Madjapahit in the latter part of the fifteenth century.
During the Mohammedan invasion, this state had
been annihilated and was succeeded by the state of
Demak. Demak finally gave way to the state of
Mataram. Thus in Java a Hindu civilization had
[96]
firmly taken root. Here was built up a whole system
of nobility and land tenure which has a faint resem-
blance to the feudal system of Europe.
In Europe under the feudal system, and especially
in England, where the whole structure of the state
was based on its feudal system of landownership,
with its many kinds of fees, feoffments, and estates,
the power of the overlords was limited first by custom
and the innate desire of the white man for individual
liberty, and afterward by an elaborate system of
adjudicated land law. In the Indies, however, this
overlordship was very poorly curbed, either by cus-V
tomary law or by individual effort.
In some countries of Europe, the early systems
of land tenure and the old real estate laws are some-
what puzzling to the casual student, but they are the
very simplest ABC as compared with the mass of
systems and sub-systems existing in the different
islands. Generally speaking, one may say that the
right obtained by the subject was a usufructuary
right only, a kind of tenancy for life and during
occupancy. Afterward some of these rights became
hereditary, and also subject to voluntary or forced
transfer, as for instance in the case of debt. The
rights were complicated and led sometimes to con- ,
ditions which resemble the shifting and springing
uses of the old English law. These rights were con-
fined to the inhabitants of each dessa or village.
Sometimes the whole village migrated, or rather,
shifted its base of agricultural operations, in order to
[91]
obtain new ground. The soil was robbed and then
abandoned for virgin soil.
While the land customs prevailing in the various
parts of the archipelago were therefore widely differ-
ent, in general it may be said that the unoccupied
lands, those which were not cultivated, belonged
directly to the Sultans, afterward to the Company,
and now to the government. The status of these
lands compares with that of the public domain in
the United States. White men could not obtain a title
to them in fee simple absolute," and neither could
the natives. They were either used for the prince,
or in common by the villagers, or lay unused. A
usufructuary right could generally be obtained by the
natives, and if this right was uninterruptedly exercised
and for a beneficial purpose it often ripened into a
possessory right, which in many cases was transferable,
but only to a person belonging to the same village.
In other villages the land was all held in common,
to be allotted yearly to the farmers of the com-
munity.
Even today, possession of land in fee simple abso-
lute, in an alodial sense of ownership, is practically
unknown except for town lots within the incorporated
cities. In the cities and villages the necessity of
* An exception to this rule was the granting of some estates
by the East Indian Company on the islands of Java and Celebes,
and to an even greater extent the creating of such private estates
by the British government during the temporary English occupation
in the beginning of the last century. The government, however,
exerts itself gradually to recover this land.
[92]
absolute ownership was felt in the Indies as formerly
in England, where it gave rise to the estates in burg-
age. The complexity of the old law is as bewildering
as the real estate law. Like the common law of
England, it was a customary law. In accordance
with the teachings of Islam, the customary law or
Adat (also known as the Hadat) could be given
credence only when the written law was silent on
the subject, or else when that law specifically referred
to the Adat,
It has been observed before that the Hindu
customs were still prevalent everywhere, notwith-
standing Islam. So it was with the law. The cus-
tomary laws of the various nationalities and tribes,
based on Buddhist prescription, took precedence
generally over the Moslem laws of later date, despite
the Koran. For instance the Moslem law does not
recognize personal indenture for debt, but the Hindu
customary law or old Adat does, and for a long time,
well into the nineteenth century, this custom (so-
called pandelingschap) generally prevailed throughout
the archipelago. -
Especially in middle Java among the former
Buddhists and among the Malays of Sumatra belong-
ing to the Menangkabau tribe, the Adat was much
in evidence. But because the law was a customary
law, and the customs of the tribes and nationalities
differed so widely, there never was nor could there
be any semblance of unity in what might be called
the native jurisprudence of the archipelago.
[93]
J
With the overlordship of the land by the sultans
went a vast power over the population and its
labor. By inclination and necessity the Javanese is a
farmer. The soil has been incredibly productive, and
has required little work to produce a large return."
From time immemorial the sawahs (rice fields) of
the Javanese have received his undivided attention,
and irrigation has been practiced on an extensive
scale. Even today we can find in Java water conduits
and dams in rivers which have been there for ages.
For years the native had the custom of counting
his age by the number of crops, and of counting the
time of the year by the condition of his “paddie”
or rice crop.
Now, as for centuries past, a son of the soil,
the Javanese stays by preference in his own village
or dessa. In fact it can be truly said that rice-farming
is as near to the heart of the Javanese as viticulture
is to the heart of the French farmer. When driving
over Java, one is continually impressed by the peace-
ful spirit which seems to hover over the landscape.
Small Javanese boys drive carabaos (tame buffalo)
to their daily mud baths or sit upon their backs
while they graze on the long, tough grass which seems
to grow everywhere.
The Javanese whom one now sees tilling the soil
is a freeman, while his ancestor was a serf of the soil
* At the present time the government is making a determined
effort to induce the population to use artificial fertilizers and practice
rotation of crops.
[94
VAVI TV HOLTOOIHOV

and for all practical purposes a bondsman of his
native ruler. As in Europe, where the nobility boasts
of its princes, dukes, earls, counts, viscounts, barons,
baronets, and knights, so in Java a whole hierarchy
of nobility grew up under the Hindu civilization.
At the top of the pyramid stood of course the inde-
pendent and semi-independent rulers, mostly called
sultans or rajahs. They could be compared with the
dukes and great counts of olden times in Continental
Europe, who likewise indulged in continuous warfare
with one another, considered their subjects as so
much material in their game for power, and seldom
recognized an effective overlordship of any kind.
Immediately below these independent rulers was a
class of men who bore the title of pangéran. This
title may be translated by the word prince, and they
were almost invariably connected by blood with one
of the ruling sultans. The next title was radhen
adipati, and under these came the radhen toemengoeng,
radhen mas, and radhen (or raden).
As a matter of course, the Portuguese, and the
Hollanders who came after them, made their treaties
with the ruling kings or Sultans. From them they
obtained the concessions to erect trading-posts or
factories and to do business with the natives. Through
the Sultans and princes they obtained the much-
coveted spices and other products for which there was
a constantly growing demand in Europe.
One should keep in mind that the Javanese are
not traders or merchants by inclination or heredity.
W
[95.
In those early days they seem to have been averse
to trade, and they have remained so, for even today
the “big business” is all done by the white man or
the Chinese. The wholesale business is controlled
mostly by the Chinese, and the retailing by the
Arabs and Chinese together (with the exception of
v’ ſº &
the white men's stores, tokos, for white men's custom),
while the Javanese simply keep the small eating-
places, warongs, sometimes in connection with notion
stores. As there were few Javanese merchants, the
Hollanders were of necessity compelled to deal with
vthe political chiefs of the different nations." But
!
while the first foothold in the islands was a result
of compromising with the sultans, in the course of
years it became apparent that slowly but surely
the white man must be the protector of the native
against the descendants of the very princes with
whom the original treaties were made, and today
the orang blanda, or white man, is the bulwark of
protection for the simple native dessaman (villager)
against the descendants of his former native rulers.
Customs die hard in the Orient, and notwith-
standing that the flag of Netherlands has been flying
for nearly three hundred years over the Colonies,
and that the descendants of these old princes and
near-princes are simply paid officials of the Nether-
* The Malays in the northern part of Sumatra and some other
parts of the Indies are much keener (called “pienter”) in trade than
the Javanese. The result is that the Arabs have by far less influence
among these Malays than they have among the gentler Javanese,
whom they oppress with usurious methods.
[96]
lands government, as they have been for a hundred
years, still the natives pay extraordinary deference
to them, and if it were not for the continuous watch-
fulness of the white government officials, even today,
some of the native princes would have almost a free
field for any amount of oppression and extortion.
The contact between the Netherlands East
Indian Company and the native Sultans and chiefs
was at first purely commercial. It was practically
the same kind of contact which the Hollanders
maintained as a monopoly in Japan for centuries,
for it was trade and trade only which brought the
Hollanders to the Indies. But inasmuch as the Sultans
of the outlying states were continuously engaged in
piracy, and as it was all-important for the success
of the great spice trade that order be maintained and
a stop put to the internal warfare, the political power
2 of the Company was constantly extended and new
forts built.
It is safe to assume that the Hollanders of those
times used the same ruthlessness in the treatment of
natives and their white opponents as they used among
themselves; but still they showed remarkable restraint
and liberality in some respects. They laid the founda-
tion of their great success by resolutely refusing to
* Shortly before the departure of the Crown Prince of Djokja-
karta (a vassal of the Dutch government) for Holland, in the fall
of 1919, the writer stayed at the Hotel des Indes at Weltevreden,
near Batavia. The Crown Prince likewise has his apartments there.
A constant stream of native nobles could be observed, wending its
way to the latter’s headquarters and approaching the future Sultan
of Djokjakarta with signs of the utmost respect, if not abasement.
[97]
adopt the system which most colonizing nations
have used in the past, and even use now, of attempt—
ing to force the institutions of the mother country
tº on the unwilling native people. The Hollanders not
only carefully refrained from interfering in any way
with the religious life of the natives, but they also
vrespected the customs and laws of the land. As
their influence and power extended, they took into
the service of their new government the former
rulers and princes, doing this in such a tactful
way as not to give unnecessary umbrage. While
the Company was therefore scrupulously careful not
to interfere with the religion and social customs of
the country, still it was not an exception to the
rule then prevailing in the colonizing world of paying
v little consideration to the individual native and his
welfare.
The expected profits which brought the Company
to the islands were realized in various ways, mainly
through the trade in spices which were purchased
at a very low price and sold at an enormous advance.
If the natives refused to raise sufficient amounts
to supply the markets of the Company, they were
often compelled to do so by their chiefs acting at
the instigation of the Company. In addition the
Company had many other sources of income. Profit
was obtained from imports, from monopolies, from
import and export duties, from a tax levied on the
sale of realty within the villages, and from the coinage
of millions of small change.
[98]
There were several reasons why the rights of the
natives were given scant attention. In the first place
it was the trend of the times. No colonizing nation
at that time, or for several centuries previously,
had given any attention to the rights of the inhabit-
ants of the countries which they had taken by the
sword. To be conquered by a superior race was truly
to be placed in bondage.
Furthermore, for the first fifty years of their colo-
nizing period the Netherlands themselves were engaged
in a struggle for life or death with the great Spanish
Empire. The profits which were derived from the
Indies were being used to a very material extent
in financing this struggle. To the Dutch this seemed
a holy war, as indeed it was, for it involved the
freedom of religion.
The Netherlanders of the seventeenth century
were obsessed with the idea that God was with them
in their struggles, an idea, by the way, of which
those Netherlanders had no monopoly, for most
of the armies of the warring nations were only too
much inclined to bend their knees on the eve of
battle, praying for divine guidance and strength, and
then next day, with the name of God on their lips,
to commit the worst atrocities imaginable.
It was not an easy task for the mother country
to maintain a semblance of order and safety in an
archipelago many thousands of miles away, in extent
forty-six times that of her own territory, with a
population seven times larger than her own, living
[99]
/
in Constant turmoil and strife. It often took heroic
means to accomplish any result worth while.
The attention of the Company was first directed
to Java as offering the greatest possibilities, for while
its first proceedings were of purely a commercial
nature, it soon began to take advantage of the
political rights granted by the States General of
the Netherlands.
At the time of the first permanent settlement
in Java, the Netherlands merchants found the
trade of the whole western part of the island con-
trolled by the powerful Sultan of Bantam. His
Sultanate not only extended over the western part
of Java, but also over the southern part of Sumatra,
the so-called Lampong district. In the harbor of
Bantam was concentrated the principal pepper trade
of the island. This coveted trade was exclusively
in the hands of the Sultan of Bantam and the nobles
immediately surrounding the court. Under them a
great many Chinese merchants operated, and some
of them had acquired considerable wealth and
influence. A few of the Portuguese discoverers of
the island, and their descendants, were also located
there. Later the British East Indian Company
established a factory. French and Danish merchants
likewise participated in the trade. As a consequence,
intrigues, plots, and counterplots were hatched by
the representatives of the different nations, who
endeavored to get the advantage. However, for a
long time the Sultan of Bantam managed to levy
*.
[Iool
a heavy export duty on all pepper sent out of his
territory. X-
The balance of the island of Java was, for all
practical purposes, under the Sway and dominion
of the powerful King of Mataram who resided at
his capital, Karta. For some time he had had diffi-
culty in enforcing his authority on other rulers, such
as the Sultan or King of Surabaya, and the Sultan
of Samarang, but he was generally recognized as the
overlord of Java. The Sultan of Bantam alone suc-
ceeded in maintaining his independence.
While from the very inception of the Netherlands
East Indian Company, it was granted by the States
General of the Republic of the United Netherlands a
monopoly of trade in the Indies, as against all other
Netherlands merchants, this monopoly could not
be enforced against the native rulers or the foreign
*merchants, especially the British East Indian Com-
pany. A monopoly against these two classes of
individuals could be obtained only by driving the
latter out of the Indies by force of arms, and by
acquiring monopolistic rights through treaties or
conquest from the former. The whole policy of the
Netherlands East Indian Company at home and in
the Indies was directed toward these aims. Each
and every act of the Council of Seventeen in the
Netherlands, and of the governor general and the
Council of the Indies at Batavia, was dominated
and controlled by these aims. It was therefore the
commercial policy of the Company which directed its
[Ior]
political actions. On the other hand, the Company
being a semi-public corporation, a creature of the
state, its actions in the Indies were necessarily much
affected by the relations of peace or war which the
mother country bore to other colonizing nations.
In many instances therefore the hands of the governor
general were withheld from action, because such
action in the Far East might affect adversely the
interests of the mother country in Europe.
Finally, in the latter part of the seventeenth
century, the kingdom of England and the republic
of the Netherlands agreed, by the Treaty of West-
minster, that their respective East Indian com-
panies, and their officials and servants would not
be allowed to engage in strife and warfare with one
another in the Indies, except after mutual consent
of the mother countries. The Netherlands East
Indian Company’s policy as to the native rulers
was the policy of divide et impera. Following this
policy to its logical conclusion, it encouraged the
Sultan of Bantam against the encroachments of the
King of Mataram, and, on the other hand, was not
unwilling at the proper time to give the latter aid
and comfort against the former. It went even
farther. Its officials very often mixed in the endless
intestine strife at the courts, generally aiding the
rightful occupant of the throne against a powerful
pretender.
* Geschiedenis der Nederlanders op Java, by M. L. van Deventer,
Vol. I, p. I23.
[Io2]
When reading the history of the Netherlands
East Indian Company and of Java in those days, one
is impressed with the fact that the Company always
delayed granting the urgent request of the hārassed
prince to have its commanders and troops interfere,
until the ruler was in actual peril of losing not only
his crown, but his life. Thus the ruler was impressed
with the idea that only the strong and ruthless hand
of the Company had been able to save him from de-
struction, and that therefore great compensation and
favors were due it.
It took some time, however, before the Company
was able to occupy the powerful position which it
finally reached. In the beginning it could locate an
establishment or so-called factory only on the site of
the present town of Batavia. This site was obtained
as a concession from the Pangéran of Djakatra, a
powerful vassal of Mataram. It was located at the
borderline between the domain of the Sultan of
Bantam and the kingdom of Mataram. This post
was established by Governor General Peter Both,
but later Governor General J. P. Coen built a fort
around the trading-post. The remains of this fort
still exist.
From that time dates the struggle between
Batavia and Bantam for commercial supremacy,
a struggle which lasted for more than eighty years and
finally ended in 1682, when the Sultan of Bantam
granted to the Company the long-wished-for monopoly
in trade, in return for the material aid which the
[Io3]
Company had given him in maintaining his rights
against pretenders.
Long prior to this success the British East Indian
Company had established a factory at Djakatra,
as well as one at Bantam. Moreover, a great many
English adventurers had appeared in the archipelago,
and the king of Mataram finally decided to drive the
hated Holland traders from the islands. He was aided
and abetted by the rival Europeans.
Coen, hearing that an English fleet was approach-
ing, took to the sea, leaving the command of the
forces to Van den Broeck. He gave battle which
ended in a draw, and then set sail for Amboina in
the Moluccas, for the purpose of obtaining additional
forces. He returned to the infested stronghold just
in the nick of time to save the fortress and its garrison.
He then stormed the native stronghold of Djakatra
(1619) which he took, and, in accordance with the
amiable habits of the times, put the garrison to the
sword and burned the town. From the ashes of
Djakatra rose the present city of Batavia. Later
the city became the seat of the governor general,
and in its harbor were concentrated all the ships
sailing to and from other trading-posts. Several
times during the following decades the Sultan of
Mataram endeavored to storm this town, but each
time he was defeated.
In order to appreciate the energetic vitality of
Coen's statesmanship, it is only necessary to give
* M. L. van Deventer, op. cit., p. 123.
[IO4]
his motto: “Never despair, never show your enemies
any consideration, for nothing in this world can
hurt or harm you, because God is with you. Never
mind your former mistakes, for great work is still
to be done in the Indies.” He wrote these words to
the directors of the Company in the Netherlands,
and it may be said truly that Coen was the founder
of the Netherlands political empire in these far-away
regions.
For the purpose of maintaining the position of the
Company, it became necessary to engage continuously
in warfare. In 1629 the powerful ruler of the king-
dom of Mataram, the principal state in middle Java,
again endeavored to drive the Dutch merchants out.
Since 1625 this ruler had assumed the title of Soesoe-
shoeman Ingalaga, which, literally translated, mean
Apostle-Prince-Generalissimo. The title had been
bestowed on him by all the different Sultans, whom
he had finally managed to subdue. At that time he
was the undisputed overlord of Java" except for the
* His court, however, remained a hotbed of intrigue. This
condition was inevitable. Each ruler generally had four legal
wives, the number allowed by the Koran, and in addition a number of
concubines. The sons of his legal wives were generally expected
to be in the line of succession. It was customary for the ruler, before
his death, to indicate his successor, and, as soon as this was done,
the door was opened wide to manipulations and machinations by the
mothers of other legal sons, who desired to have one of their sons
recognized as the heir to the throne.
The ruler lived in Sybaritic splendor, and the actual cares of the
government fell on a functionary, who is designated in these pages
the chancellor or prime minister. The Dutch name is Ryksbestuurder,
[Io5]
Sultanate of Bantam and the small territory around
Batavia under the flag of the Netherlands Republic.
With this extended power, it is small wonder that
he decided to drive the Hollanders out of Batavia.
One of his successors, with the aid of the Sultan of
Makassar, tried again in 1660 to attack Batavia,
but his efforts were unsuccessful.
The alliance between Makassar and Mataram
did not last very long, however, and in I675 the
Sultan of Makassar declared war on the Soesoehoenan
of Mataram. At the same time one of the Mataram
nobles, Troeno Djojo, raised the flag of rebellion
against the Soesoehoenan. The latter was compelled
to beg for aid from the governor general at Batavia,
and the troops of the Company, consisting of Hol-
landers, and auxiliary native troops, mostly Buginese,
came to his assistance. Under the command of
Captain Sloot they waged war with great energy
and cruelty, with the result that Troeno Djojo was
killed, and thirty of his immediate retainers were
beheaded. In order to show his gratification the
Soesoehoenan bestowed upon the Netherlands East
Indian Company the long-coveted monopoly of trade.
This was in 1677, and when in 1682 the Sultan of
Bantam was likewise compelled to bestow the same
meaning regent. He was really a miniature shogun. He had his
own court, and his followers quite often intrigued against those of
the ruler’s court. In fact, as an official the Ryksbestuurder was
so important that the Netherlands East Indian Company always
found it imperative to keep on good terms with him.
|roël

right on the Company it had finally accomplished its
purpose as far as the island of Java was concerned,
and the British, Danish, and French merchants
moved away. At the same time a great many of the
Chinese merchants residing in Bantam were induced
to change their places of operation to Batavia.
Bantam lost forever its former glory, and the city of
Batavia became the Queen of Insulinde.
While the Company had been extremely zealous
in obtaining these long-coveted monopolies, and the
commercial policy had therefore triumphed, it failed
to show equal energy in utilizing and improving the
acquired benefits. .
Governor General Speelman had never lost track
of the Company’s aim: “Trade in any event, and
sole trade if possible.” Hardly had the sound of
the drums and trumpets of the Netherlands troops
died away when the commercial agent of the Com-
pany appeared on the scene, demanding commercial
concessions in return for political services rendered."
Once the concessions were obtained, it appears that
‘the governor general became vacillating and procras-
tinating.
By this time most of the harbors and landing-
places had been provided with fortified “factories.”
Instead of supplying these trading-posts with
abundant merchandise, wherewith trade could be
* The policy practiced by the Hollanders of letting the account-
book closely follow the sword, was the forerunner of the still more
baneful policy practiced by other colonizing powers of letting opium
and whiskey follow the preaching of the gospel.
[Io'7]
successfully followed, the Company failed entirely in
this direction. The subtle native rulers were not
slow in observing this. Gratitude for past favors has
always been a weak chain with which to hold bene-
ficiaries of inferior morality. It is only the favors to
Come which appeal to their predatory instincts of
rapacity and cunning.
Neither the Soesoehoenan nor the Sultan of
Bantam was an exception to this rule. Oriental
duplicity in dealing with Occidentals was soon given
full opportunity of play. The government of Batavia
sent an armed mission to Karta to remind the ruler
of Mataram of his obligations. The leader of this
mission, Major Tak, was traitorously murdered with
several of his lieutenants. Strange to say the Com-
pany failed to avenge this outrage. Apparently it
feared the results of the difficult warfare in the jungles
of interior Java, and dreaded a rebellion in Bantam.
Instead, therefore, of sending an expeditionary
force to Karta, it brought large tracts of land in
the neighborhood of Batavia under direct rule, for-
bidding the chiefs to consider the Soesoehoenan as
their overlord any longer. It annexed the adjoining
Preanger Regencies and Cheribon to its own territory.
As a result the Soesoehoenan gradually lost his
influence in that part of the island, or rather his
chancellor and court nobles did. The ruler himself
was, as the Company’s resident expressed it, “so
submerged by his vices, wives, and concubines”
that he had become a nonentity.
[Io8]
At that time (1690) the Company built a sub-
stantial fort at the Straits of Banda, and named it
“Fort Speelwyk.”
The Soesoehoenan Amangcoerat, besides having
given a monopoly to the Company, had also agreed
to pay a certain sum as damages for expenses incurred
in the war waged on his behalf. With Oriental dupli-
city he failed to do this as soon as he considered him-
self sufficiently strong to turn his back on his rescuers.
In the meantime he got into a different trouble.
Soerapati, a run-away slave, had, like Spartacus, or-
ganized a slave army, and founded a state in the
east corner of Java. Later he married a daughter of
the Sultan of Balemboang, an adjoining small sultan-
ate. Together the two sultans defied the overlordship
of the king of Mataram, as well as the monopoly
of the Company. This brought about a better under-
standing between the latter two, which was of the
greatest importance to the government at Batavia;
for the native rulers of the states of Madura, Sumbawa,
Borneo, and others, had been losing much of their
respect for and fear of the Company since they had
become acquainted with the fact that the ruler of
Mataram had murdered its ambassadors and remained
unpunished.
* This fort is still in existence, although abandoned. The
masonry work is still substantial and intact. It is difficult to
believe that it once stood on the ocean's edge, for now several miles
of fertile land, covered by vegetation, separate it from the water.
Volcanic action and the sediment-loaded waters of the swift moun-
tain rivers of Java were the causes.
[Io9]
A crisis arose after the death of the Soesoehoenan,
when his son Soenan Mas, an enemy of the Company,
became his successor. A brother of the deceased,
Pakoe Boewana, a friend of the Hollanders, requested
the help of the Company. This was granted, and in
I7o 5 the Dutch troops, under de Wilde, left Sama-
rang where they had been concentrated, and shortly
afterward, when they had defeated the native troops
at Salatiga, entered Kartasura and placed Pakoe
Boewana on the throne as Soesoehoenan of Java.
The Company, of course, did not fail to harvest the
necessary benefits of this feat of arms. Soenan Mas
found a friend and ally in the former slave Soerapati,
but two expeditions put an end to their rule. The
former was made a prisoner and banished to Ceylon
and the latter died of the wounds which he received
in battle. -
It must be confessed that the Company, or rather
the “Edele Heeren” (noble gentlemen), who directed
the affairs of this ever-growing commercial octopus,
were not very delicate in selecting the means by which
their enemies were put out of the way. At any rate
the lives of these unfortunates generally had rather
sudden and tragic ends." A quick thrust of a kriss
(dagger) in the hand of a hireling was sometimes the
means of solving the difficulty.
The Company’s monopoly, originally a trade mo-
nopoly, soon extended both in scope and character.
* See Geschiedenis der Nederlanders op Java, by M. L. van
Deventer, Vol. II, pp. 55, 57, and 61.
[IIo
Before long the Sultan of Bantam was obliged to
agree that all the produce raised in his territory,
such as pepper, indigo, etc., should be sent exclu-
sively to Batavia. The Soesoehoenan of Mataram
was obliged to give the same order to his chiefs. The
latter agreed in writing, and under his seal, that he
would deliver to the Company’s agents, at a fixed
price, all the products of his countryside which he
could force his subjects to raise and produce, such
as Cotton, fibers, indigo, pepper, hides, Sulphur, etc.
The Company, however, was not satisfied with
the methods of production. It introduced from Coro-
mandel indigo-makers who knew the art of extracting
the maximum of this valuable dyestuff, and soon
also imported Coffea Arabica trees. Pepper culture,
which had suffered very much in the Sultanate of
Bantam on account of the constant civil warfare,
was again encouraged, and with such good results
that, in 1710, 2,200,ooo pounds were exported.
The sugar industry was likewise fostered, espe-
cially in the neighborhood of Batavia. In 171o there
were 13o sugar mills in that province alone, and the
manufactured sugar was sold at a profit of Ioo per
cent to Japan and Persia. The Chinese were especially
active in this industry, and became the sugar lords
of Java during that period.
So far the Company had dealt almost exclusively
with the native chiefs, but it soon became apparent
v. that the latter did not pay the wages due to the
native laborers, whenever there was the slightest
[III]
Opportunity of avoiding it. The Company, therefore,
assumed a third character besides those of political
overlordship and sole trader. It now became private
landlord, either by direction or indirection, and from
that period dates the ever-growing interest the Com-
pany’s officials took in the native small farmers. ſº-4
Its officers encouraged the native population to
plant the produce which it desired for its trade.
It still dealt largely with the native chiefs, even in
those regions which were under direct supervision
of the Company, and through its younger officials
it exercised a control over these chiefs. This control
was especially aimed at the payments made for
labor. While the Company endeavored to obtain
the produce at a low rate, it was not willing to see
the small wages which should have been paid to the
farmers and tenants stolen by the chiefs. This
may not have been pure philanthropy; it may have
been the coincidence of interests. Whatever the
cause, the Company soon came to the conclusion
that its own officials must control this phase of the
economic condition, and from that period also dates
the beginning of the protective guardianship which
the Company exercised over the native dessaman
- as against their chiefs. This guardianship was pro-
gressively improved and flourishes today all through
Insulinde.
It cannot be said, however, that a reading of the
annals of Java during the first half of the seventeenth
century is a very refreshing exercise. Oecidental
º f º, º
3 * * . . . . . ;
kiº ''J
[II2]
-i.
}
fi."
sº
greed, linked with the barbarism of the Middle
Ages and the religious bigotry of later days, was at
grips with Oriental duplicity and cruelty. The Com-
pany already showed signs of deterioration within a
itself.
No new governor generals had been sent from
the Netherlands for several years, but men were
promoted to this post who had spent the greater
part of their lives in the tropics, employed by the
Company. Their moral fiber was much weakened.
Unheard-of excesses and dissipations had taken
place in the Company’s strongholds, unnerving the
virile power of its servants. Nepotism was rife in the
mother country as well as in the Indies. Good-for-
nothing younger sons, who were a disgrace to their
families, were being sent from the Netherlands to
the Colonies with strong letters of recommendation,
and the officials there were obliged to give these
worthless wanderers good berths.
On the other hand, the officials in the Indies
were unceasingly at loggerheads with one another,
and quarrels and bickerings took place daily, even
in the highest councils. Vituperation, plots, and
counterplots were freely indulged in. A governor
general Coming from these surroundings could hardly
be expected to keep himself above the currents and
cross-currents of the local Batavian politics, and
consequently was drowned in the maelstrom of politi-
cal passions, which very often ended in a political and
moral cesspool.
[113]
The rulers of Batavia became tainted by their
Oriental surroundings, and did not scorn to use Ori-
ental means to dispose of their enemies. Degenera-
tion is forever the mother of fear, for courage can
find a habitat only in healthy bodies and vigorous
spirits. Since the rulers of Batavia had disposed of
many enemies by treaties, by conquests, and even
by the dagger, fear now entered their deliberations,
fear as to the possibility of uprisings among the
Chinese. A rough census taken in February, 1720,
drew attention to the fact that there were about one
hundred thousand Chinese in Java. A great many
were prominent merchants operating businesses in
the cities, or small mercantile establishments, road-
side inns, and the like, outside of Batavia. Further-
more, they dominated the sugar trade. But what
was especially obnoxious in the eyes of the Company
was the fact that the Chinese, in the outlying posts,
traded in the very articles for which the Company
had obtained a monopoly from the native rulers.
It was next to impossible to stop this contraband
trade, and it continued to the great detriment of
the Company’s affairs.
Every Chinese junk brought over a hundred or
more fresh Chinese to Java, and the Company,
now thoroughly alarmed, began to promulgate
ordinances for the purpose of curbing the anticipated
danger. One of these ordinances prohibited the
Chinese from operating roadside inns or warongs.
Others prohibited their roaming at will over the
[II4]
countryside when out of work. Those who had no
steady employment were ordered to report to the
Batavia authorities, and they were then deported
to Ceylon, Banda, the Cape of Good Hope, or to
other places where their labor was required, and where
they were practically slaves.
In the enforcement of these ordinances the
Company acted with the greatest barbarism. Chinese
tramps, some of whom were made tramps by the
measures introduced, were taken by the Company’s
officers and put to torture. Very often they were
impaled by the roadside, and left to die slowly under
the most abhorrent conditions. Governor General
Valkenier and his successor, Van Imhoff, were both
guilty, if not by commission at least by omission,
of these Outrages against humanity.
Finally the Chinese, totally exasperated, banded
together and decided on armed rebellion. The offi-
cials of the Company continued their internal bicker-
ings, on the one hand, and their shameful cruelty
against the unfortunate Chinese, on the other. As a
result the latter arose in 1740 and made a determined
attack on Batavia, investing the place and storming
Some of its forts. *_* A
Although the Chinese within the city may have
sympathized with their brethren outside the gates,
still there was nothing to show their guilt. Fear,
however, that they might also arise, took possession
of the Company’s soldiers, the natives and the scum
which always congregates in Oriental harbors. They
[II5]
marched on the Chinese quarter of the city and
began sacking and killing. When the Chinese army
Outside again made a desperate assault on the fortifi-
cation, it was realized that a revolt of the Chinese
quartered within would sound the death-knell of
the white inhabitants and natives alike. The rabble
Consequently, aroused to a frenzy, again attacked
the Chinese Quarter. It must be admitted to the
everlasting shame of the officers in charge that they
either encouraged or stood by when the most cruel
murders were committed on the Chinese inhabitants
of Batavia. This continued from the ninth of Octo-
ber to the twelfth, and hardly a Chinese remained
alive within the inclosure of the city limits. More
than ten thousand defenseless men, women, and chil-
dren were slain—victims of the excesses of the rabble
and of the weaknesses of a government divided
against itself.
The Chinese outside of the city were finally beaten
back, but they now marched on Kartasura, plundering
as they went, and soon a treaty was agreed upon
between the Chinese military leaders and the ruler
of Mataram, against the Company. Several other
Sultans and nobles of Java now raised the flag of
rebellion, and a holy war was declared over all
Java against the Dutch invaders. The only ally who
remained true to the Netherlands East Indian Com-
pany was Tjahraningrat, Prince of Madura.
For a while it looked as if the days of the Dutch
Company in Insulinde were numbered. Finally the
[II6]
chances of war turned in its favor, and the enemies
were defeated. The Soesoehoenan submitted again
to Batavia, begging the Company’s pardon. To
show that he had entirely broken with the past,
in a childish way he moved his court from Kartasura
to a new location, which he called Surakarta, and
again he confirmed the Company in its extensive trade
rights.
Van Imhoff had succeeded Valkenier as governor
general, and no matter what his prior sins of com-
mission and omission may have been, when this
war ended in 1745 he showed himself to be a capable
administrator. He made an extended trip over Java
viewing with his own eyes its possibilities. He
practically separated Mataram from the Coast, and
abolished all interior tolls, permitting only tolls
at the mouths of rivers. He started a remedial
bank at Batavia, founded a school of navigation, and a
special court of justice for merchants, where the
Law Merchant should be applied. He even went so
far as to send ships directly to Mexico and California
for the purpose of obtaining gold and silver with which
to relieve the dearth of ready cash in the Indies.
He furthermore encouraged the trade, commerce,
and navigation of the so-called “free citizens” of
Batavia, that is those who were not connected with
the Company, although they still were required to
have a license from this great commercial organiza-
tion which held the right of monopoly. He likewise
regulated the opium trade by founding the Amfioen
|II7]
Society, and was the first governor general who
brought to a practical conclusion the long contem-
... plated plan to colonize Java with Dutch farmers.
For that purpose he granted concessions, and himself
set a good example by accepting the concession of
Buitenzorg, which he developed into a fine landed
estate. Farms of 250 acres were given to free citizens
of Batavia, and from 1744 to 1750 many Dutch
peasants were brought to Java. They were located
in the Preanger, especially around Tjipanas, and also
Bandong, which is now a thriving city. Horses and
cattle were imported from the Netherlands.
Van Imhoff did everything possible to eliminate
the fatal consequences of the Chinese rebellion and
war. For the purpose of accomplishing this he
made a trip through the highlands back of Batavia,
where the ravages of war had been the worst, and
liberally distributed carabaos for plowing, seeds for
planting, etc. *-* -
In the meantime, while in those countrysides
directly under the supervision of the Company
prosperity returned, at the court of Mataram the
usual program of plots, poisoning, murder, rebellion,
and civil wars had gone on. Whenever one of the
rulers died, either from natural causes or by violence,
several pretenders to the throne at once raised a
standard of rebellion against the rightful heir, and
the countrysides were devastated. The Company,
to whose interest it was to maintain peace and
thereby make the raising of produce possible, had to
[118]
send troops to put down the new rebellion, this time
fostered by Mas Said, a new rebel among the Mata-
ram princes.
It must not be thought, however, that the Com-
pany’s troops were always victorious, for many a
time their treacherous allies would lead them into
traps, from which they could extract themselves
only after very heavy losses. There was such an
occurrence on December 12, 1751, when Mas Said
and his ally Mangkoe Boemi succeeded in practically
annihilating the Company’s forces.
Unfortunately, just about that time the Company
was drawn into another internal war in the Sultanate
of Bantam. As it had obtained most of its pepper
from Bantam and the Lampong districts in Sumatra,
this supply was cut off. The Lampong districts joined
the rebellion, and Batavia was once more threatened.
New reinforcements arrived from the Netherlands;
dissension among the native rulers had again the
usual consequences, and in 1752 the Company was
once more victorious.
In 1755 the kingdom of Mataram was split into
two Sultanates, which, with some modifications,
correspond with the present Sultanates of Djokjakarta
and Surakarta."
* For those who desire to pursue the subject in detail the follow- .
ing works are recommended: P. J. Veth, Java, Geographical, Ethno-
logical, and Historical; J. Chailley Bert, Jave et ses habitants; Sir
Stamford Raffles, History of Java, London, 1820; E. R. Scidmore,
Java, the Garden of the East, New York, 1898; M. L. van Deventer,
Geschiedenis der Nederlanders op Java.
[II.9)
After several centuries of arson, strife, and blood-
shed, Java finally came to rest. Peace reigned
Over this fertile island, even though it was a peace
of exhaustion. Although this peace was several times
disturbed before the end of the century, still the
disturbances, compared with the former wars, were
of minor importance. Slowly but surely the country
began to recover from the effects of its former political
disorder, and in the third quarter of the eighteenth
Century great improvements were inaugurated.
A Landraad (court of justice) was established at
Samarang, and one at Surabaya. The native regents
were not allowed to exercise judiciary powers, except
in very minor cases. The more important cases must
be brought before these courts of justice.
The power of the regents was curbed in other
ways. In the first place their authority was made
uniform, and no sub-overlord was recognized between
them and the Company. A determined effort was
made against the oppression of the common dessa-
man. This was extremely difficult, for at least one-
eighth of the population belonged to the noble
classes, and therefore lived on their fellowmen with-
out doing any work. The regents were prohibited
from entering into correspondence with other regents.
All correspondence had to flow through the Company’s
residents, and combinations for new rebellion were
in that way curbed.
The monentary system was made uniform, and
values were fixed. Sugar and coffee culture was ex-
[I2O)
tended; and extraordinary care was taken to see that
the wages were really paid to the dessamen, and not
pocketed by the regents or smaller native rulers.
All these unifications were a great benefit to
the population, but while the succeeding governors
general, among whom were some men of high charac-
ter, enforced these improvements among the natives,
the Company’s own household steadily deteriorated.
The principal reason was the decline in the moral
stamina of the servants. As they grew in individual
wealth, many abuses entered the body politic of
the Company. Slowly, but surely, the moral fiber
of its officials and employees weakened. Little had
been done for tuition or education, and that little
which had been done was generally of a severely
sectarian nature.
Christianity had made no headway, for, while
the Catholic missionaries mixed freely and on a
common plane with the people in the Philippines,
and while in early centuries the Mohammedan zeal-
ots had acquired great influence with the Javanese-
Hindu population by living among them and extending
personal assistance, the reverend Dutch gentlemen
of the stern Reformed Church held themselves in dig-
nified aloofness. Where Christians to any marked
number were found, the credit was due entirely to the
Portuguese missionaries, both Catholic and Protes-
tant.
The population of Batavia had gradually dimin-
ished. At the end of the century it had dwindled to
[I21]
I2,000, of which 2,000 were Christians, 700 Moham-
medans of foreign origin, and 9,000 slaves, while
the balance were Europeans, of whom the Hollanders
made up the minority. Hygienic conditions had
become unspeakable in Batavia, as well as in the
other cities, and the Company lacked strength to
put its own household in order.
In 1770 there was an uprising in the corner of
East Java, which, with the assistance of other eastern
rulers was put down by the Company in 1778. The
Sultan of Bantam finally and definitely recognized
the Company as his overlord, and with his recognition
went the suzerainty over the west coast of Borneo.
Soon after this, however, the Netherlands power in
these Colonies became less and less vigorous, for,
strange to say, as the condition of the people in
general constantly improved through the wise min-
istrations of the Company, this huge organization
itself grew weaker and more inefficient. Even the
directors winked at the dishonesty of their employees,
who all had gone to the Colonies “to get rich quick.”
The Company sent out a succession of governors
general, some of whom were high-minded men of
irreproachable character; but others could not with-
stand the temptation of making secret profits. Into
the caliber of the members of the Council of the
Indies, who were supposed to assist the governor,
also crept a gradual degeneration. Illicit profits,
the tempter of so many government officials, put
in their deadly work; and finally the Netherlands
[I22]
East Indian Company fell by its own decay from
within, and the property was turned over to the state.
The mother country became involved in European
wars, and was forced to side with France against
England, and when peace was concluded, in 1783,
the Hollanders had to admit England to free trade
throughout the East Indies. This concession was
considered a complete defeat in those times, for the
notion then prevailed that the mother country should
have a monopoly of the colonies’ trade.
While the Company, during its years of existence,
had done pioneer work the quality of which will be
forever a monument to the foresight and sagacity
of its leaders, toward the end of the eighteenth
century it was considered against the trend of the
times to have a private company hold sway over
distant territories as sovereign. In 1791, therefore,
a committee from the Netherlands was sent to the
Indies for the purpose of ascertaining how a transfer
could be made of all the rights and possessions of
the Company, and when, in 1798, the Batavian
Republic accepted the conclusions of the committee,
the Company went out of existence, the stockholders
receiving only a very meager remuneration. The
French revolutionary forces had invaded the mother
country, and the Batavian Republic was born. A
new war broke out with England, and as a result
the Hollanders, or, as they were then called, the
Batavians, lost the greater part of their colonies in
the Indies to the English. By the treaty of peace
[I23]
concluded at Amiens these colonies were restored to
the Batavian Republic.
In the year 1800 the Batavian Republic installed
a new department of government known as the
Asiatic Council. This Council finally took full charge
on behalf of the state of all the affairs of the colonies.
In 181o Holland was forced under the yoke of
Napoleon, and inasmuch as he was at war with
England and could not protect these far-away lands,
y they were once more lost to England in 1811.
In June of that year twelve thousand British and
British Indian troops in ninety vessels, under the com-
mand of Lord Minto and Sir Stamford Raffles, left the
British colonies and sailed for Java. They landed
near Batavia, and in the ensuing battle four thousand
of the Dutch soldiers were killed and five thousand
made prisoners. Java fell under the dominion of
the British. Lord Minto sailed away, but left Sir
... Raffles behind as lieutenant-governor general.
Raffles held this office in Java for four years, and
his tenure was beneficial, for he introduced many
needed improvements in the administration of the
affairs of the islands. He was succeeded by John
Fendall, who held office for a comparatively short
time, but in 1816, after the fall of Napoleon, and in
accordance with the terms of the Treaty of Vienna, he
carried out the retrocession of the colonies to the gov-
ernment of the Netherlands. From that date until
today, Insulinde has been an integral part of the King-
dom of the Netherlands—“Tropical Holland” indeed.
[I24]
Let it not be imagined that, when this transfer
of the property, rights, and prerogatives of the
Company was made to the Batavian Republic, the
colonies were a picture of homogeneous national
existence. To the contrary, save and except where
the Company had obtained immediate and direct
supervisory powers, the different rulers and peoples
of the tribes that inhabited the archipelago were as
far from harmonious as ever, and had made only ,
comparatively little advancement in civilization.
In Java the old town of Batavia had been improved
so that it more or less resembled a small town of the
Middle Ages in Holland. Canals had been dug, and
a new city hall had been erected (1710) along the
architectural lines of many buildings in the Nether-
lands. This is still a fine old building with teak
staircases and underground dungeons. It is well
worth visiting. The city was surrounded by ram-
parts, pierced by great gates. As the safety of the
place had increased, due to the control and direct
supervision of the Company, the town had gradually
extended to take in several suburban villages which
had been newly founded, among them Weltevreden,
built under the régime of Governor General Daendels.
These, in accordance with the old Dutch ways, were
connected by a canal, which is still in existence.
The death-rate, which had been great in old Batavia,
especially among the soldiers and sailors, was very
greatly decreased when the old fort was moved to
Weltevreden.
[I25]
Furthermore, under the direction of Governor
General Van Imhoff (1750), the summer seat of
Buitenzorg had been established, where at present
is to be found the summer palace of the governor
general and the famous botanical gardens. This
place, forty miles inland, has an elevation of about
One thousand feet and boasts an excellent climate.
By this time trading-posts and forts had been es-
tablished on the various islands; rights had been
obtained by treaty and conquest; the cultivation
of crops had been encouraged wherever and when-
ever it suited the policies of the Company, but for
the material and ethical advancement of the popula-
tion little had been done, in fact as little as was being
done by the ruling classes all over Europe for those
less fortunately situated than themselves, whether liv-
ing at home or abroad.
When one compares the lot of these natives,
even as described by severe critics, with that of the
Englishmen and Frenchmen of the latter part of the
eighteenth century, as Dickens describes it in his
Tale of Two Cities, one is inclined to believe that the
little brown brethren fared better than the white
man of the submerged classes in Europe. This was
partly due of course to the climate and soil which made
the wants of the people simple and easily supplied.
But while there was order and progress in Java
proper, the sultans and chiefs of the outlying districts
were still Oriental potentates, disposing of the life,
death, and daughters of their people as their whims
[I26]
dictated. Occasionally they indulged in piracy and
highway robbery; in fact, these countries were in
the same general stage of development as Europe
was in the eighth and ninth centuries. A very great
part of the islands had never been explored. The
interior of Borneo and large parts of Celebes and
Sumatra were unknown to the white man.
A certain advancement had been made during
the Company’s rule of two hundred years. Order
had been enforced in a large portion of the islands
over which the Company held sway, and considerable
parts of the population had been taught industry
and thrift, where only Oriental laziness and shiftless-
ness prevailed before. Since the beginning of the
eighteenth century the cultivation of coffee had been
introduced into Java from Mocha by the Hollanders.
The first very small shipment was made from Batavia
to Amsterdam in 1706. The second shipment, large
enough to be sold at public auction, arrived in
Amsterdam in 1711. The price was so satisfactory
that the Company soon extended the culture by
entering into contracts with the native chieftains
for the growth and sale of coffee. Soon it spread
over the whole of Java, and later, under Daendels and
his successors, coffee-culture was introduced in the
other islands.
In many ways thrift and industry had been
encouraged, but the progress achieved in the two
hundred years of rule was far outdistanced by the
progress of the following century.
[I27]
CHAPTER VIII. THE EQUITABLE TITLE
OF THE MOTHER COUNTRY TO HER
COLONIES
Netherlands chain of title—Not title of discovery—Claim of
conquest—Concessions—“World-consciences”—Credit due to
Netherlands—Comparison with other colonizing powers—
Increase of native population—Land held for natives—Evolu-
tion of natives—Ready-made civilization not forced upon
them—Government not to be judged by ethical standards of
today—Criticism of J. W. B. Money—A. R. Wallace—Quota-
tions—Cultivation system discussed by Douwes Dekker–
Max Havelaar—Awakened responsibility—Arthur S. Walcott—
Hon. Donald MacLain Campbell
THE EQUITABLE TITLE OF THE
MOTHER COUNTRY TO HER
COLONIES
fºLºRN THE foregoing chapter the chain of title
*lºl which the Netherlands holds to her colonies
| has been, of necessity, somewhat sketchily
stated. For students of political and govern-
| ment science who are attracted to the subject
of colonial law, there is a huge storehouse of informa-
tion to be found in the archives of the colonizing
powers of the past and present.
Contrary to the general opinion existing in English-
and Dutch-speaking countries, the archives of Spain
disclose a colonial system which that country in-
vented, developed, and applied in the past, and which,
for those times, was second to none in the world.
But, after all, we have proved only the legal title of
the Netherlands to her colonies. In years gone by
such historical-legal title was considered all-sufficient.
Generally such title was acquired by discovery,
conquest, or treaty, or by the combination of two or
all three of these. The foundation of the Nether-
lands title to the East Indian Archipelago cannot be
/called a title by discovery, for the islands had already
been “discovered” by European navigators other than
those of Dutch nationality.
Furthermore, as we have already seen, the islands
had been directly known for fifteen centuries to
º/

[I31]
Chinese and Hindu merchants and navigators, and
indirectly to those of Alexandria, Constantinople,
Italy, etc., for nearly as long as this, mostly through
the products which found their way into Europe by
Sea and caravan routes.
The legal title is therefore based partly on the
claim of conquest—conquest over Portuguese, Span-
ish, and English rivals," and over the native rulers—
and partly, though to no small degree, upon claims
based on treaties and concessions obtained from the
native rulers by the East Indian Company.
The vast majority of the titles were really obtained
by what we may call an international “trespass,
vi et armis,” a procedure which speaks more favorably
for the energy and foresight of our forefathers than
for their high moral conception of international
equity. But the age when a super-race was allowed
to prove its superiority by force and feat of arms alone
is rapidly passing out, if it has not already done so.
Even formerly acquired titles are bound, in years to
come, to be closely examined and scrutinized, not only
by the people and races most directly affected, but also
by a “world-conscience,” ever growing in strength,
which will demand an equitable title as well as a
legal One.
* A great many armed English adventurers early appeared in
and around Java. The history of the rivalry between the English
and Dutch in the Moluccas and other parts of Insulinde, which lasted
for more than a century, is not very edifying. Bad faith, cruelty,
and treachery are repeatedly charged on both sides, and probably
justly so.
[I32]
Neither this world-conscience nor the races
affected will countenance the exploitation of a weaker
nation by a stronger one, but will demand with
increasing insistence the recognition of the principle:
with great rights great obligations are inseparably
interwoven. In other words, the enlightened opinion
of the Western World demands that assistance be
given to the economical, industrial, political, and
ethical evolution of the subject-race. Historical titles
will be subjected to the acid test of modern moral
requirements for governments.
The history of the government of the different
races and tribes in the East Indian Archipelago by
the Netherlands contains several elements which stand
forth to her everlasting credit. Foremost among
these is the fact that neither the civilized, half-
civilized, nor savage races and tribes have been exter.
‘minated, or even diminished in population. On the
contrary, the population has steadily increased in
numbers, and the evolution toward better conditions
has been as steady and as uninterrupted as conditions
would reasonably allow.
While the history of the contact of the white man
with the red, yellow, or brown man is generally the
history of a tragedy, while the children of the soil, for
one reason or another, have been deprived of their
patrimony, and have been driven from the homes and ,
hunting-places of their fathers, or have suffered
terribly from certain fruits of civilization, thrust on
them by the white men, such as whiskey, gin, opium,
[I33]
\
consumption, and venereal diseases, no such blot rests
on the escutcheon of the Netherlands. Truly, in
these islands, the white man’s empire was not built
by the tears and blood of the children of the soil.
A second element which sheds almost equal luster
on this colonial policy is the fact that the natives
have not been deprived of the title to the land. The
fact is, a great part of the land is owned by the natives
in fee simple absolute. Other parts are owned by
y
them in community, or otherwise under the different
laws of their own land tenure, while the so-called
government lands—lands which formerly made part
of the wilderness and which may be compared with
the public domain of the United States—are leased
to the white men under strict governmental regula-
tions. Comparatively few European estates, formerly
acquired, can be conveyed in fee simple by grantor to
grantee.* The preservation of the soil for the natives
is one of the chief objects of this colonial policy. The
agricultural advancement of the country is, moreover,
assured by long lease contracts, made by the govern-
ment, of such lands as are not needed by the natives
for agricultural or grazing purposes.”
As a third element, which is eloquent of the wisdom
of the government, we may mention the fact that
they have not endeavored to force on an Oriental
country a ready-made Western civilization, largely, if
not wholly, unfit for any Oriental people. It was
* J. M. Brown, The Dutch East Indies, p. Io2.
* Official Yearbook of the Netherlands East Indies, 1920, p. 255.
[I34]
never forgotten that a civilization which took centu-
ries to evolve, and for which the white man bled on a
thousand battle fields, could not be fitted like a
ready-to-wear garment to Oriental conditions. The
Dutch, with that tolerance for which they have been
famous throughout the ages, allowed these peoples
to follow the necessary progress of evolution, along
their own lines, often assisting and accelerating the
progress, and guiding it along wise channels, but not
trying to force their own civilization on a people whom
it would very likely make most unhappy.
Let it be understood that it is not claimed that in
the past no injustices have been practiced which
affected one or more individuals, sometimes a whole
village. Nor is it claimed that in the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries, when much horrifying
brutality, both by the governors and the governed,
was displayed in Europe, no brutality was exercised
in equal degree in the Indies. The times were brutal,
so were the people, and so was the law. More than
one hundred criminal offenses met with capital pun-
ishment in old England. In New England, Giles
Corey was pressed to death at Salem, and nineteen
persons accused of witchcraft were hung on Gallows
Hill; torturing was the legal method of extracting
incriminating evidence from guilty and innocent alike.
Hollanders in the Indies were no exception to this rule.
But it is claimed that at those times, harsh as the
white man’s government may have been there, in
* Encyclopedia Brittanica, see “Salem.”
[135]
fact harsh as it was at home, it was far more humane
than the government which was given Eastern people
y by their own satraps and princes. It is further
claimed, without fear of successful contradiction,
that through all these ages the government as a whole
was and now is as good, if not a better government,
than that of any nation exercising an overlordship
over colonies.
When judging such government, which extends
over several centuries, one must judge in the light of
the particular period. One cannot judge the govern-
ment administered by the Dutch East Indian Com-
pany in Java in I65o, by the ethical standards which
prevail in the modern Western World of 1921, any
more than one can judge the narrow, bigoted opinions
of the immediate descendants of the Pilgrim Fathers by
the ethical standards now prevailing in these United
States. But one can demand that the government
be humane and enlightened, viewed from the height
which civilization had reached at the time in question.
Today the Netherlands government, though far from
perfect, is well abreast of the times. Military horrors,
such as those that have been committed within the
last two years by the servants of two other colonizing
powers on unresisting civilians, would be unthinkable
in colonies over which the Dutch flag flies.
What then was the character of the Netherlands
colonial government in the past? Disinterested tes-
timony is always considered, in every modern Court
of justice, the most desirable, the least impeachable
[I36]
evidence. It may, therefore, be well to ascertain
what testimony has been given by well-known observ-
ers and authors of a nationality other than Dutch,
who visited the colonies.
Mr. J. W. B. Money, the English barrister of
Calcutta, who visited the colonies in the earlier part
of the last century, in his book, Java and How to
Manage a Colony, came to the conclusion that “the
Dutch system is the very best that can be adopted
when a European nation conquers or otherwise
acquires possession of a country inhabited by an in-
dustrious but semi-barbarous people.”
The famous English naturalist, Alfred Russell
Wallace, in his book, The Malay Archipelago, a book
which was dedicated to Charles Darwin and has seen
a great number of editions, wrote, after spending the
years 1861 and 1862 in the Netherlands East Indies,
principally in Java, Borneo, and Celebes:
I must heartily concur in Money’s conclusions. In my
account of northern Celebes I shall show how successfully the
same system has been applied to people in a very different
state of civilization from the Javanese.”
After carefully reviewing the whole situation,
Wallace comes to this conclusion:
It is universally admitted that, when a country increases
rapidly in population, the people cannot be oppressed or
badly governed. In 1826 the population by census in Java
was 5,500,ooo, while in 1800 it was estimated at 3,500,ooo.
In 1850 the population had increased to 9,500,ooo, or an
increase of 73 per cent in twenty-four years. In 1865 it
* See Wallace, tenth edition, pp. 73 ff.
[I37]
amounted to 14,168,416, an increase of nearly 50 per cent in
fifteen years, a rate which would double the population in
about twenty-six years.
Had Wallace lived long enough he could have
stated that this population had increased in 1879 to
nineteen million, in 1894 to twenty-five million, and
in 1917 to 34,157,383.”
Speaking of Celebes, he says:
In moral and mental character, the inhabitants of Mina-
hassa (as this part of Celebes is called) are remarkably kind
and gentle, submissive to those they consider their superiors
and ready to adopt the habits of civilized people.
Up to a very recent period, these people were thoroughly
savage, and there are persons now left in Menado (July, 1857),
who remember a state of things identical with that described
of savages of the tenth and eleventh centuries.
The inhabitants of the several villages were distinct
tribes, each under its own chief, speaking languages unintelli-
gible to one another, and almost always at war. They built
their houses elevated on lofty posts, to defend themselves
from the attacks of their enemies. They were head hunters
like the Dayaks of Borneo, and were sometimes said to be
Cannibals. Human skulls were the great ornaments of the
chief, strips of bark were their only dress. The country was
partly wilderness, and the religion was that naturally engen-
dered in the undeveloped human mind by the contemplation
of grand natural phenomena. They held wild and exciting
festivals to propitiate their deities and demons. Here we have
a picture of thorough savages, with no desire for physical
amelioration, and no prospect of moral advancement.
Such was their condition in the year 1822, when the coffee
plant was first introduced and experiments were made as to
its cultivation.
* See Official Yearbook of the Netherlands East Indies, 1920.
[138]
After a time roads were made from the port of Menado
up to the plateau, and smaller paths were cleared from village to
village. Missionaries settled in the more populated districts
and opened schools. The country was divided into districts,
and the system of controllers, which had worked so well in
Java, was introduced. Disputes arising between adjacent
villages were now settled by appeal to superior authorities.
The old and semi-fortified houses were disused, and under the
direction of controllers, most of the houses were rebuilt on a
neat and uniform plan."
Speaking of the cultivation system, Wallace
remarks:
The system introduced by the Dutch was to induce the
people, through their chiefs, to give a portion of their time to
the cultivation of coffee, sugar, and other valuable products at
a fixed rate of wages, low indeed, but about equal to that
paid in other parts of the world to laborers engaged in clearing
ground for plantations. Under the government supervision
the produce is sold to the people at a low fixed price. Out
of the proceeds netted, a percentage goes to the chiefs, and the
remainder is divided among the workmen. This surplus in
good years is sometimes considerable.
On the whole the people are well fed and decently clothed,
and have acquired habits of steady industry and the habit of
scientific cultivation, which will be of Service to them in the
future.
It must be remembered that the government expended
capital for years before any return was obtained and if they
derive a large revenue it is now in a way which is far less
burdensome and far more beneficial to the people than any
tax that could be levied. But although the system may be
as well adapted to the development of agriculture and industries
in a half civilized people as it is to the material advantage of the
* See Wallace, pp. 192–93.
&
[I39]
governing country, it is not pretended that in practice it is
perfectly carried out.
The servile and oppressive relations between the chiefs
and people, which have existed for perhaps a thousand years,
cannot at once be abolished, and some evil must result from
these relations, until the spirit of education causes it naturally
and insensibly to disappear.
Even if there is some oppression, the results are not nearly
so bad as the oppression caused by free trade of the indigo
planters, or the torturing by native tax-gatherers under the
British rule in India, a condition with which the readers of
English newspapers were familiar a few years ago.
It may appear strange, but the most savage critic
of this cultivation system, during the latter part of
the last century, was a former assistant resident, Mr.
Douwes Dekker, who had been discharged from the
service of the Netherlands East Indian government.
He wrote the famous book, Max Havelaar, or The
Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Society. This
book, translated into English and several other
languages, caused a sensation. But even this virulent
critic did not charge oppression to the Dutch officials.
On the contrary, he attacks them with bitter abuse
and sarcasm, because in his opinion they are not suf-
ficiently active to protect the native population from
the oppression exercised by their own nobles and former
rulers.
For centuries the Dutch government had followed
a system of conciliation, as explained in a former
chapter. The servile attitude observed by Wallace
(Max Havelaar appeared in print only a short while
[14ol
before the arrival of Wallace in the Indies) was
imbedded in the very consciousness of the Malay
people. The government realized that the native
chiefs had a power to incite their followers to rebellion
against the very people who were endeavoring to
ameliorate their conditions. They therefore pro-
ceeded cautiously and prudently, insisting on such
improvements as the increased advancement of
civilization and the consequent feeling of liberty of
the individuals would justify.
Douwes Dekker, however, impatient of any re-
straint, burned with indignation at the subservient
attitude of the natives, as well as at the grasping
proclivities of their chieftains, and desired to force
improvements whether they would wreck the Ship of
State or not. It cannot be said that his work was in
vain, for it once more aroused public opinion in the
Netherlands to the great obligations which the
government and its officials owed to these vast
numbers of natives, whom historical fate had placed
in their keeping, and today it is generally recognized
that, destructive as the criticism of Douwes Dekker
may have been at the time it was rendered, the
mellowing influence of time has made it in many
instances a constructive criticism.
But to return to the opinion of foreign observers.
The American traveler, Arthur S. Walcott, realizes
the tremendous difficulties under which the colonial
government is laboring, and does not hesitate to
* See Java and Her Neighbors, 1914.
[141)
criticize the Dutch colonial government whenever he
deems it necessary.
Of the Malays in general he says:
Of the personal characteristics of the Malays of Menangka-
bau, as in fact of all Malays wherever found, there is little
good to be said. They are brave after the manner of fanatics,
but vicious and underhanded, hard-working through necessity
rather than choice, and with no ambition as a rule to add to
their fund of knowledge, or to improve their characters.
Beyond the necessities and the simplest creature comforts, there
is nothing with which the Malay is familiar to tempt him to
extraordinary exertions or to call forth his best abilities.”
Again, speaking of the inhabitants of the island
of Nias, the largest island on the west coast of
Sumatra, he states: -
It is inhabited by about a quarter of a million natives of
a low grade of intelligence, for the most part fishermen or agri-
culturists, who worship the phallic emblem and various hideous
household gods, and live in constant fear of evil spirits. In the
interior districts they are said, even at the present day, to
bury their chiefs with rites involving human sacrifice, to
kill twins, to be afraid of albinos, and to adorn family habita-
tions with the skulls of their enemies. They are filthy in
personal habits.”
Speaking of the Achinese, with whom the Nether-
lands colonial government has so much trouble, this
writer says:
The inhabitants of this northern end of Sumatra are prob-
ably the worst of all the natives of the islands in Insulinde,
with the exception of the savages of New Guinea and other
absolutely untutored, uncivilized, wild men. In these Achinese
* See Java and Her Neighbors, 1914, p. 327. * Ibid., p. 33.I.
[142]
every oriental vice seems abnormally overdeveloped, and
every occidental virtue conspicuously lacking. . . . . Those in
the best position to judge are practically unanimous in char-
acterizing the highland Achinese as unscrupulous, fanatic,
warlike brigands, and those of the coast as vicious, Servile,
treacherous thieves.”
Of the half-breed Portuguese natives, found in
the Moluccas, Walcott writes:
These half castes are, curiously enough, darker as a rule
than the natives of full blood. They scorn the native costume
and go about in black clothes of quasi-European cut. On
festival occasions they blossom out in swallow-tails or frock-
coats and high hats of ancient vintage. These people are
Christians and Protestants, and they seem to have the usual
vices of native Christians, drunkenness in particular. They
are also lazy, bumptious, and inquisitive, like most natives
who have been taught that all men are equal and brothers.
The Mahometans impressed us as a far more worthy and less
hypocritical lot, and more satisfactory to deal with.”
In the last two pages of his work (pp. 338–39)
he writes:
Our wanderings in the Insulinde were all over too soon. In
fifteen weeks of travelin the Dutch possessions we met with un-
failing courtesy and kindness at the hands of all the Hollanders
with whom we came in contact by chance or introduction,
and in their wonderful island colony we enjoyed a succes-
sion of delightful surprises and pleasurable experiences such
as I hardly think could be duplicated in any other part of the
world. I know of no other regions of more lovely and more
varied scenery, and of no lands where so much that is strange
and unusual may be seen at so little risk and with so little
discomfort.
*Ibid., p. 336. * Ibid., p. 169.
[[43]
The Honorable Donald MacLain Campbell, in his
famous book, Java, writes most sympathetically about
the colonial government. He lived for twenty-three
years in Java, where besides being a merchant he was
British Vice-Consul. He writes:
The final and signal success with which the Dutch have
managed and administered these colonies which fell to them
is to the credit of that great nation, with its glorious past in
Europe.
All foreign observers seem to agree that the
difficulties which the Netherlands administration had
to overcome were prodigious, largely due to the poly-
glot and shiftless nature of Insulinde's population.
But why continue quoting these foreign observers?
For while such quotations which could be multiplied
almost indefinitely may prove conclusively that the
mother country had a good equitable title to its
colonies at the time these observers sojourned in
Insulinde, such title must be progressively strength-
ened or it deteriorates.
In the following chapters of this essay proof will
be found that the moral title of the Netherlands to
Insulinde, is today even greater than it was in years
gone by, and that it promises to become continuously
Stronger.
[144]
CHAPTER IX. INSULINDE IN THE NINE-
TEENTH CENTURY
Treaty of Vienna—Europe after the Napoleonic wars—Nether-
lands’ specific ills—Rebellion in 1830—Separation in 1830 of
northern and southern provinces—King refuses separation
until 1838—Money for wars expected to come from colonies—
Insulinde's unsound condition—Raffles abolished forced labor;
introduced reasonable land rents—Body politic ill—Daendels
tried to make colonies pay—Sultan of Bantam removed from
throne—Sultan of Djokjakarta also banished—Road built
across Java–Dutch troops suffered defeat by English—
Guerilla war with natives—Depo Negoro raised Islam standard
—Captured by General de Koch—Forced cultivation intro-
duced—Increased wealth—System defended by Money and
Wallace—Condemned by Douwes Dekker—Reasons for
introduction—State Supreme sovereign—Natives to plant
One-fifth of land for government—Governor van den Bosch—
Abuse of system—Suffering of natives—System abolished
1870—Expansion of private enterprise—War of Atjeh-
Overlordship of Netherlands—Expeditions into outlying
possessions—Colonial administration second to none
INSULINDE IN THE NINETEENTH
CENTURY
ºvºlPTER the Treaty of Vienna and the with-
& drawal of the British officials, the Kingdom
of the Netherlands was in undisputed posses-
sion of the archipelago, with the exception
Pl of a few minor British claims. That is, in
undisputed possession as far as other colonizing
powers were concerned. Several of the native sultans
considered themselves, especially in the islands other
than Java and Madura, vassals of the Netherlands in
name only, if at all. -
Very much, therefore, had yet to be accomplished
before the authority of the mother country could
be considered consolidated throughout her colonies.
And in the meantime Europe was sick, very sick
indeed, in fact almost as ill as she is at the present
time." The great Napoleonic wars, with all their
waste of human blood and national resources, had
Only just come to a close. Europe had gone through
a welter of misery for thirty years, though it may be
Stated again that in these thirty years no such damage
had been done, no such ruin had been accomplished,
as in the four years of the Great War. Neither were
the consequences so dire, so widespread.
Europe was financially and morally bankrupt for
the time being. The old school of diplomacy was
again at its former tricks, jockeying for position,
*The year 1921.

[147]
disregarding former friends and foes alike, and taking
advantage of all.
The Kingdom of the Netherlands, besides suffering
from the general ills of Europe, had specific troubles
of its own. After centuries of a republican form of
government it had become a constitutional monarchy.
The southern provinces (the present kingdom of
Belgium), long under the domain first of Spain and
afterward of Austria, had been joined to the domain of
the former Republic of the Seven United Netherlands.
It was an unfortunate endeavor to blend two races,
which were radically different, into one harmonious
whole. It could bring only dissatisfaction and unhap-
piness to both. The people of the northern provinces
were for the most part ardent Protestants, while the
majority of the people of the southern provinces were
devout Catholics. The northerners had an ingrained
feeling for political and personal liberty; the south-
erners had held quite different views for several
centuries.
A combination of the two countries could not be
permanent, and before long mutterings were heard,
especially in the South, asking for a separation.
Finally in 1830 an open rebellion broke out. Belgium
called in the assistance of the French king. A French
army invaded the southern Netherlands and in a
pitched battle at Brussels the Netherlands troups
were defeated. They retreated to Antwerp, which
was soon invaded by the French and Belgium troops.
It was here that Van Speyk, in command of a Dutch
[148]
man-o’-war, blew up his ship with all on board rather
than surrender. The Netherlands commander at
Antwerp was compelled to surrender, and in 1832 the
separation was completed of two countries which
should never have been united. But William, King
of the Netherlands, was stubborn, and refused to
acknowledge the accomplished fact, with the result
that the Netherlands maintained for a long time an
unnecessary and expensive standing army. At last,
in 1838, the separation was officially accepted by the
king's government, and the incident was finally
closed.
All this had a direct bearing on the course pursued
by the mother country in the colonies. The Home
Government needed money badly, mostly on account
of its vast military expenses, and of course looked
toward the colonies to supply this, for that was
generally presumed to be the sacred duty of colonies
and possessions during the first half of the nineteenth
century.
While Europe was sick, Insulinde could by no
means be said to enjoy a healthy economic or political
life. It is true that atrocities like those committed
during the preceding two centuries, either by the
natives on the Hollanders, or by the Hollanders on
the English, natives on Chinese, or by the Chinese on
the natives, or by whomsoever had the opportunity,
were things of the past. For instance, at Amboina
the British East Indian Company had five factories
for the collection of spices. In 1622 the English
[149]
governor was one Gabriel Towerson who married a
native woman of noble birth. He had under him
several Englishmen and Japanese soldiers. All were
accused of plotting against the Netherlands East
Indian Company, which likewise had a fort and
factory at Amboina. While no doubt the Hollanders
believed that the English intended to give the warlike
natives an opportunity to kill them, with all the
horrors connected therewith, history seems to make
the presumed guilt of the English very doubtful.
They were tortured in the Dutch fort with the greatest
barbarity and ingenuity, until they “confessed,”
presumably to escape further torture.
Again, in the middle of the eighteenth century
there was an uprising among the Chinese inhabitants
of Java, who lived there in great numbers. The latter
had been treated badly by Dutch and natives alike.
They marched to Kartasura, in central Java, and
surprised the emporer in his kraton or capitol. After
committing all kinds of barbarisms, the Chinese
further outraged all the princesses of the court and
other women, and indulged in dreadful orgies.
In 1812, when Insulinde was temporarily under
English rule, the conditions in Sumatra were not
very much improved. It appeared that the sultan’s
son, Pangéran Ratu, was a moral degenerate, whose
bestiality, cruelty, and criminality were notorious.
The Dutch resident who was still stationed at Palem-
bang endeavored to put a stop to his carnival of crime.
In revenge for the “insult” offered his precious
[I5ol
offspring, the Sultan surprised the factory or fort,
treacherously coming under guise of offering friend-
ship. The small garrison was captured, placed on
native rowboats, and taken to Soosang, where every
one was slowly put to death after almost unbelievable
cruelties. The resident’s wife, who was pregnant, was
thrown into the jungle to wild beasts; all the other
white women were outraged and sold with their
children as slaves. They were finally rescued by
Colonel Gillespie of the British Expeditionary Force,
who treated them with the greatest kindness.
Instances like these could be multiplied.
Today, one can motor in safety all around
Palembang, in fact all over Sumatra. The govern-
ment has built and maintains magnificent auto roads,
and armed police and civil servants are everywhere.
Verily the Netherlands have built up a wonderful
empire in Insulinde, especially wonderful when one
considers conditions as indicated above.
It is likewise true that Sir Thomas Stamford
Raffles introduced many improvements.” For in-
stance, he abolished the forced delivery of produce
£n natura, the right to exact labor to be furnished by
the native princes in lieu of taxes, or at a nominal
compensation; also the tolls and imports which had
benefited neither Hollanders nor natives, but mostly
* The Honorable Donald MacLain Campbell, once British vice-
consul in Java, author of Java, Past and Present (London, William
Heineman), calls this great Britisher most justly “a great states-
man, empire-maker, administrator, and naturalist, and founder of
the colony and city of Singapore.”
[I5I]
the Chinese, many of whom already had swollen
fortunes. He also introduced a system of land rent
that was very reasonable, considering that the feudal
system was still followed in the Orient.
But the body politic in Java and the outlying
possessions was still very ill. *
The famous and infamous Marshall Daendels, who
was appointed governor general of the Netherlands
East Indies in 1807, had pointed out a way to rule a
colony, make it pay, and consolidate the government.
He succeeded in constructing, at huge expense of
treasure and human life, a great highway across Java,
thereby reducing the journey from one end of the
island to the other from forty to six days. The road
begins near the village of Anjer, on the Straits of
Sunda, one of the most westerly points of the island,
and then runs to Banjuwangi, which is situated on
the southeastern end, right opposite the island of Bali.
At that time it was one of the great highways of
the world, and to lay such a road, partly through the
jungle, partly through virgin forests, and partly across
rivers and ravines, required the genius of a very
unusual man.
Daendels was a man endowed with tremendous
energy and an elastic conscience. With him the end
justified the means.
The highway was necessary for the purpose of
securing peace in the islands. It crossed the two
Sultanates of Djokjakarta and Surakarta, which were
the rival successors to the kingdom of Mataram.
[I52]
It made possible the swift movement of armed forces
from one end of the island to the other, and it likewise
made possible the delivery of the much-wanted
produce. At the far eastern end the fortress of
Zutphen was built, which did much toward controlling
the difficulties between the people of Java and those
of Bali.
When the Sultan of Bantam had very justly
refused to furnish any more native laborers in lieu of
those who had died of fever in the unhealthy swamps
where Daendels had put them to work constructing
a fort (British invasion being expected), he settled the
question by marching on Bantam with an armed
force. Arriving at his destination he executed the
“Rijksbestuurder” (native prime minister), and re-
moved the sultan bodily from the throne, occupying
it temporarily himself.
The Sultan of Djokjakarta was treated in like
manner, and Daendels abolished the humiliating
ceremony to which the residents were compelled to
submit when meeting for the first time the particular
Sultan to whom they were accredited. Daendels was
a tyrant in name and in fact. He inaugurated the
abolition of forced deliveries of spices, but extended
the forced governmental culture of coffee to a very
large extent. He raised the salaries of the civil
servants, but ruthlessly punished anyone who grafted
on the treasury. On the other hand, he sold a few
states in fee simple absolute, thereby introducing a
disturbing element in the land tenure structure. In
[I53]
this he followed the example of the British Governor
General Raffles.
Nevertheless government affairs were far from
prosperous. For one thing the Dutch troops, for-
merly always victorious, in the end had been de-
feated by the English. This left a deep impression
on the native rulers.
The first trouble took the form of a serious guerilla
war, known as the Java War (1825–30). The primary
cause was an effort to curb the exorbitant leasehold
revenue obtained by the native princes from their
tenants. Depo Negora, an illegitimate son of a
former Sultan of Djokjakarta, was the ringleader,
Prince Mangku Boemi, a legitimate noble, being his
assistant. Depo Negora raised the Islam standard
of the Holy War, and declared that he fought in the
name of the Prophet. This brought almost the whole
Mohammedan population to his side.
The war was waged with great bitterness on both
sides, all European inhabitants, especially the British
and French, siding with the Dutch rulers. Finally a
large army was placed in the field under General de
Rock, and Depo Negora was captured on March 28,
1830. The war had lasted five years, had cost the
government fifteen thousand lives and twenty-five
million dollars, and had devastated several of the
central provinces, but was instrumental in consoli-
dating the European rule in Java. -
Immediately after the close of the war, the new
governor general introduced the system of forced
[[54]
cultivation of crops for the European markets. This
became the famous, or notorious, cultuur stelsel (culture
system).
From a material standpoint this culture system
was a complete success. Notwithstanding the many
abuses to which it gave rise, it not only brought the
mother country the desired treasure, but it increased
enormously the wealth of Java, and its population
grew in numbers as well as in prosperity.
Curiously enough the system was staunchly
defended by such keen foreign observers as J. W. B.
Money," a famous lawyer of Calcutta, who inves-
tigated the whole proposition and praised it highly.
Wallace, the great naturalist, was likewise equally
enthusiastic.” On the other hand, Douwes Dekker
(Multatuli), a retired Netherlands East Indian func-
tionary, in his famous book, Max Havelaar, bitterly
condemns the system’s abuses and its consequences.
The truth, of course, lies between these laudatory and
defamatory criticisms. Here are the facts:
The Netherlands government had contracted a
loan for Insulinde, the principal and interest of which
was guaranteed by the Home Government. The
proceeds of this loan were expended for the benefit of
the colonies, and the Home Government desired to
devise ways and means by which the colonies could be
made to provide for the interest charges and the
inevitable funding expenses. The exports of Java,
* J. W. B. Money, Java, or How to Manage a Colony, 1859.
* A. R. Wallace, The Malay Archipelago.
[I55]
however, had diminished, and the colonies threatened
to become a heavy expense to the mother country.*
It was useless to expect the indigenous population
to better their conditions, for they had neither the
Capital, the energy, nor the intellectual forces neces-
sary to engage successfully in agricultural enterprises
On a large scale. Should this population be left to its
own devices, it would simply continue to live under
fear of its own Sultans, rajahs, or headmen—so rea-
soned the proponents of the new system. They would
raise little more than just enough rice for their own
Consumption, and make very little, if any, progress
in social evolution.
It was therefore proposed to furnish European
capital, skill, and management, not to exploit the land
already under cultivation by the natives, but to use,
under long leaseholds, the unoccupied lands, generally
covered by virgin forests and impenetrable swamps.
The idea was also advanced that these improve-
Iments should be undertaken with freeman’s labor and
under no consideration would slaves be used. Slavery
had not yet been abolished in Java. Unfortunately
insufficient labor was forthcoming, and consequently
a new system was devised which may be described
as follows:
The state was sovereign in the sense that under
the Oriental feudal system all land belonged to the
* See “Report of Du Bus de Gisignies to King William I,”
dated May 1, 1827, and published in Stein Parve’s work, The Colonial
Monopolists System (1851).
[156]
state as overlord. The natives using the land were
not in a position to pay either cash rent or taxes.
In lieu of this rent and these taxes the natives were
induced to plant one-fifth of their rice lands to
products to be indicated by the governmental officers.
These matters were to be regulated by negotiations
with the population and by contract. Governor
General van den Bosch was the man who advocated
this system and to whom its execution was intrusted.
But the unfortunate condition of the treasury
of the mother country, on account of its Belgian
troubles, made the raising of large revenues as quickly
as possible an imperative necessity. Soon many evils
entered the system. Instead of one-fifth of the fields
a larger proportion was insisted upon. Orders to the
headmen were substituted for negotiations with the
population.
The people were paid for their work in natura,
which was often salable locally only at a very low
figure. Some of the products, such as indigo and
Sugar cane, had to undergo a manufacturing process,
and the natives were ill-prepared to get the best
results from their share of the product. Again, some
of the coffee plantations were poorly located, and
therefore brought small returns, while other fields
were so far away from the villages that travel back
and forth became exceedingly burdensome.
The payment in natura, by percentage of the crops,
worked out in the following way: In case of failure
the laborer received little or no remuneration, while
[157
in case of success and high prices, the employer, that
is the government, took the lion’s share of the profits.
In 1847 Governor General Rochussen endeavored to
curb the system and its consequences. Several voices
were heard in the Netherlands protesting against the
abuses of the system. In 1865 the minister of the
colonies, Fransen van de Putte, made a determined
effort, partly successful, to abolish the system gradu-
ally. One culture after another was abandoned, and
finally the law of 1870 sounded the death-knell of the
whole system.
Since the abolition of the forced cultivation
system, private enterprise has enormously expanded,
even beyond the wildest dreams of the staunchest
proponents of the institution. While in operation
the forced-cultivation system has many faults, the
principal one from a modern standpoint was that
the human equation was subordinate to “business.”
The descendants of those who suffered under the
Sytem are now however reaping a rich harvest of the
difficulties their fathers and mothers labored under—
advantages they may never have known without the
heroic measures applied by the system of forced
cultivation. -
Politically speaking the nineteenth century was
a period of disturbed peace. One expedition after
another had to leave Batavia to quench incipient or
Open revolts among the neighboring princes.
Piracy was still practiced by many of the native
rulers, and it took extraordinary energy and effort to
[I58]
preach the gospel of stability of good government all
through Insulinde.
One of the most strenuous of these rebellions was
that which broke out in 1873 in the Sultanate of Atjeh,
at the extreme northern end of Sumatra. The Sultan
offered a curious excuse. It appears that in 1819 the
Sultan of Atjeh had made a treaty with the Penang
government by the direction of Sir Stamford Raffles.
In 1872 the Dutch and English entered into a treaty
by which the former were given a free hand in Sumatra;
and England, for other considerations, withdrew all its
claims as to Sumatra. The Sultan of Atjeh, however,
refused to recognize this new arrangement, declared
that England and not the Netherlands was his over-
lord, and made a hostile demonstration against the
latter. The Sultan’s recognition of England could not
be taken too seriously, for many of his subjects were
lusty pirates, preying on Dutch and English commerce
with equal vigor.
By a strange coincidence James Loudon was
governor general of Insulinde. His father was the
well-known Britisher, Alexander Loudon, who had
come to Java with the British expedition in 1811."
It now fell to James Loudon’s lot to enforce the
Netherlands rights to this sultanate. It was, how-
ever, not until 1898 that the sultanate was finally
pacified—that is soundly thrashed.
* One of the sons of James Loudon is Jonkheer Dr. John Loudon,
former Minister of the Netherlands at Washington, D.C., and now
acting in a like capacity in Paris. Dr. John Loudon, who is married
to an American lady, was one of the most popular and respected
diplomats ever accredited to the American government.
[I59]
Only those who have ever watched native warfare
in a tropical country will realize the tremendous diffi-
culties under which the Netherlands troops had to
labor while campaigning under the tropical sun, and
among treacherous natives often intrenched in well-
nigh impenetrable jungles, virgin forests, or Swamps.
Numerous other expeditions had to be sent out,
for instance, several to lower Sumatra, several to
Bali, and so on, but finally the overlordship of the
Netherlands was established throughout the archi-
pelago. And with this overlordship came good gov-
ernment, peace, and prosperity. And with good
government came all its agencies: a clean adminis-
tration, a humane judicature, a just attitude toward
the natives and whites alike, safety to persons and
property, and finally great commercial and industrial
prosperity.
Slowly, but surely, there was built up in these
Far Eastern islands a wonderful structure of govern-
ment, which today is second to no other colonial
administration in the world, and superior to most, if
not all of them.
It would lead us too far afield to trace the evolution
of all these governmental agencies through the nine-
teenth century. Volumes have been written on this
subject, and many more could be written. For our
purpose it must suffice to give some details of the
conditions existing in Insulinde of today, which
are the direct result of the tireless efforts of the
previous century.

CHAPTER X. INSULINDE OF TODAY
The political situation—Executive and legislative branches of .
government—Council of Indies—Beginning of representative
form of government—People’s Council—Division of Insulinde
into residencies—European and native officials—Assistant
residencies—Supervisional districts—Heads of divisions—The
retiring governor general—Self-governing countrysides—Based
On historic rights—Based on recent emancipation—Euro-
pean judiciary courts—Native courts—Courts of appeal—
Court of cassation—Courts for civil and criminal cases—Resi-
dential court for minor cases—Landraad—Landgerecht—
Ecclesiastical courts—Education—Technical University at
Bandong–Native Law College—Training schools for native
officials—Medical colleges—Agricultural colleges—Training
schools for native instructors—Primary instruction—Diffi-
culties of government—Need of assistance from private
enterprises—Sur-school taxes necessary—Governmental activi-
ties criticized by foreigners: (a) Salt monopoly—(b) State
monopoly of opium-(c) Insufficient instruction in modern
language, especially Dutch—(d) Penal sanction; Govern-
mental activities approved by whites and natives: (a) Adminis-
tration of railroads and tramways—(b) Postal, telegraph, and
telephone service—(c) Road system—(d) Construction and
maintenance of harbors, etc.—(e) Foreign trade—(f) Mining—
(g) Water-power and electric service—(h) Police system—
(i) Prisons; Native activities: (a) Native banking—(b) Pawn-
shops—(c) Health regulations—(d) Agricultural information
service—(e) Irrigation—(f) Civil veterinary service—(g) Fish-
eries—(h) Forestry
INSULINDE OF TODAY
THE POLITICAL SITUATION
FFHE Netherlands East Indies are a part of
gº the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It there-
fore follows that the States General in the
Netherlands, elected by general suffrage,
is the chief legislative body for the colonies
as well as for the mother country.
The executive power in the Netherlands is vested
in the crown, but the Netherlands being a strictly
liberal constitutional country, the ministers of the
crown, who are selected from the majority party
in power, are the really responsible persons. One
of these is the minister of the colonies, who is
responsible to the States General for the conduct
of the government in the Orient. His seat is in
the Hague, where all the executive departments are
located.
As the supreme executive power in the colonies is
vested in the crown, the governor general rules
Insulinde in the name of the queen. In him are
vested also certain legislative powers, which he has
exercised for years in conjunction with an advisory
body of great influence and dignity. This is the
Council of the Indies (Raad van Indië), composed of
five members and presided over by the vice-president.
Only in extraordinary cases does the governor general
preside. Should the latter be absent or temporarily
incapacitated, the vice-president of the council
assumes all his duties. t

[163]
The governor general has also a cabinet, which
consists of the heads of the nine executive depart-
ments of the government, called directors, who meet
together in what is known as the “Council of Depart-
ment Heads.”
The position of private or executive secretary to
the president or governor, which is of so much
importance both in Washington and the various
state capitols in the United States, finds its counter-
partin the office of “general secretary” at Buitenzorg.
This general secretary is really the executive
secretary to the governor general. His is a post of
great importance, as the incumbent is almost daily in
confidential communication with his chief. Through
his hands passes all the executive work. He is at
the head of the executive officers immediately attached
as an official family to the governor general.
During the late war, when the economic conditions
of Insulinde were violently disturbed, this important
position was first filled by the Honorable Jonkheer
A. C. D. de Graeff, now minister of the Netherlands
at Tokyo. After Mr. de Graeff had become a member
of the Council of the Indies and subsequently filled
the very important position of vice-president of that
body, he was succeeded by the Honorable Hulshoff
Pol, who also became a member of the Council
of the Indies. His able successor was the Honorable
G. R. Erdbrink.
Since 1916 a beginning has been made in the
development of a direct representative form of
[164]
government for the whole of Insulinde. The first
step taken was the institution of the “People's
Council” (Volksraad), consisting at present of thirty-
nine members. Its president is appointed by the
crown; nineteen of its members (five natives, fourteen
Europeans and foreign Orientals) hold office by virtue
of appointment by the governor general, while the
balance (ten natives and nine Europeans and foreign
Orientals) are elected by local assemblies.
While the chief executive is at liberty to consult
this People's Council in all important matters, he is
compelled by law to consult with it on all matters
appertaining to taxation, the issuance of bonds
(other than those established by act of the States
General), the enactment of ordinances imposing mili-
tary duties, and many other subjects indicated by law
or executive order. The writer had the pleasure of
visiting several of the sessions of this new consul-
tative body, which is fast developing, in fact very
much faster than its originators intended, into a par-
liamentary assembly.
The native members, sometimes using the Nether-
lands tongue, and sometimes the Malay, showed a
keen interest in all the proceedings, and were not
slow in expressing their views and conclusions most
forcibly if they deemed that the occasion demanded it.
It is a good omen for the future of this assembly,
and a sign of the times that the sessions are held
in the former palace of the general commander-in-
chief of the army. The meeting takes place in the
[165]
ballroom of this stately mansion, where officers of
the army and navy and civil functionaries used to
pay their respects to the military chief. In their
place one hears now the voices of the natives in
authoritative tones.
This council has the power to make representation
directly to the crown or to the States General, and
demand in writing information of any of the depart-
ments, which information must be rendered in the
same form. Its meetings are open to the public and
the press, unless it desires to go into general Com-
mittee.
For administrative purposes, Insulinde has sub-
divisions at the head of which stand Netherlands
officials known as “residents,” or in three cases as
“governors.” There are thirty-four residents. A
double hierarchy of officials function, to-wit, the Euro-
peans and the natives. Every residency or governor-
ship is divided into two, three, or four assistant
residencies. At the head of each of these stands:
(1) the assistant resident, (2) the regent. The for-
mer is a trained Netherlands governmental officer.
The latter is a native official, selected on account of
his experience and the general position which he
holds in the community. He usually belongs to the
old nobility of the countryside.
Each assistant residency is divided into super-
visional districts. At the head of these stand: (1) the
controller, (2) the wedana, or other native official.
The former is a junior trained official from the
[166]
Netherlands, the latter an influential native. The
controllers are trained at the University of Leyden,
where they follow a special course for three years,
after graduating from the local high school. In
addition they can take a post-graduate course of
two years at the Civil Service Academy of the Hague.
They are thoroughly trained in the various systems
of Colonial government, native language, native
criminal and civil law (adat), political science, etc.
Those who do not aspire to the highest rank, may
receive their education at the Civil Service College
at Batavia, where they go through a thorough
training before being appointed civil administrators
(Gezaghebbers).
The position of the European official toward
the native is that of older brother and counselor.
It naturally requires a great deal of tact. The native
Official is likewise trained in one of the colleges
which are known as “Training Schools for Native
Officials.” Those who show particular aptitude
are transferred to the Civil Service College and pre-
pared for the higher positions. Here they are taught
both the Dutch and English languages, Dutch East
Indian law, political economy, and in addition
attention is paid to practical matters, such as agri-
Culture, irrigation, hygiene, etc.
The highest rank among these native officials is
“Regent.” These men are the true heads of the
native population, have charge of the native police
in the assistant residencies (except in the larger
[167]
cities where the police organization resembles the
American police department, with a chief, etc.), of
taxation, etc. To them are also responsible the minor
native officials within the respective regencies. The
office is often hereditary, in so far as this conforms
to public interest. The regent is generally assisted
by the patih, a native executive. Besides he has a
council of district chiefs as an advisory and legislative
body.
Where there are still original native states, semi-
self-governing, the sultan stands next to the resident
or governor, or in the Small states, next to the assistant
resident or controller.
Under the wedana stands the dessa head, also
called djaro or petinggi. He is really the village mayor.
The dessas or villages enjoy a marked autonomy.
These villages regulate their own domestic affairs;
they elect their own aldermen—so-called “headmen.”
The elections are carefully watched by the Nether-
lands officials to prevent any possible suppression
of the village wishes.
Besides the local village councils, there are found
throughout Insulinde, in one form or another, pro-
vincial and municipal councils, which consist either
of natives exclusively, or of natives and Europeans
combined. Ever since Igo3 the legislative rights of
the residents, “by ordinance” have been constantly
curtailed, and this right transferred to the local and
provincial councils. Cautiously but steadily the
Netherlands government is progressing in its desire
[168]
to intrust the different subdivisions of Insulinde
with more and more political power, freeing them
from unnecessary central restraint.
An initial experiment of placing almost all the
local power, under proper state Supervision, of course,
in the hands of the representatives of the people
has been made in two places: One in the Preanger
(south of Batavia), one on the island of Celebes
(1918–19). It is now the plan to introduce this
system in at least one “regency” or assistant resi-
dency of every residency in Java and Madura, and
to continue the gradual emancipation of the popula-
tion along these lines.
The old Netherlands ideal, “local self-govern-
ment,” was recognized from the very beginning of
the contact of the Hollanders and the natives.
The slogan of the town meeting was reflected in the
saying “the dessa must remain inviolate.” For the
last twenty-five years this system has been slowly
but surely extended to the districts and provinces,
and eventually, when the political progress of the
inhabitants warrants it, this condition will be preva-
lent everywhere.
A matter which must strike the observer is that
there is nothing happy-go-lucky or haphazard about
this colonial administration. Its servants are highly
trained officials, who very slowly climb through the
different ranks to the highest positions.
The system is highly scientific, its servants are
all experts, and the writer must confess that never
[169]
in any other place in the world has he met with a
finer or higher type of men than is found within
the great body of civil servants in Insulinde. To
watch them in their intercourse with the native
rulers, nobility, aye, with the simplest dessaman,
is to watch an attitude of firmness, dignity, simplicity,
and human kindness which cannot fail to make a
deep and lasting impression.
During his months of travel in the colonies, the
writer did not see one act of rudeness or arrogance
from any one of these men in authority. While he
came into contact with many, he had special oppor-
tunity to observe the attitude of the Honorable
A. J. W. Harloff, Resident of Surakarta, and the Honor-
able P. W. Jonquiere, Resident of Djokjakarta, when
meeting the rulers of the Sultanates of these same
names on important occasions.
Both gentlemen were of large physique and
Commanding appearance, both had ample power in
their hands to “command,” both in fact had a well-
equipped military force at their backs, both lived
in residences of which the lofty apartments made one
think of the salons of palaces, both showed strength
and determination in all their movements, and both
were simple, unassuming, and kindly toward all
with whom they came in contact, including the most
humble, which made a young American girl, a
graduate of Wellesley College, who traveled as a
trained private secretary with the writer’s party,
exclaim: “How splendid these men are! One would
[I7o]
A NETHERLANDS OFFICIAL'S VISIT TO THE SULTAN OF DJOKJA-
KARTA, JAVA (JULY, 1919)

take them in their dignity and simplicity for high-
grade American gentlemen.” And the writer said
“amen” to this remark, with the mental reservation
that a “high-grade gentleman” is about the same all
over the world, whether he be a Hollander, an Ameri-
can, or of other blood.
One warm August night in 1919 the Sultan of
Surakarta invited the author and his party to visit
the kraton (palace) and witness a ballet of native
dancers. After the famous female dancers, with
almost unbelievable grace and delicacy, had given
their performance, two of the young princes, in
gorgeous ornate court costumes, gave an exhibition
of native dancing and sword play, accompanied by
the weird music of the gamalang. One of them, a
grandson of the Sultan, was called to the dais, where
the sultan, the princess, his favorite wife, the resident
and his guests were seated. I say “favorite” wife,
for His Highness is supposed to have several, besides
many hundred concubines, of whom about one
hundred more or less were in evidence. The young
prince approached his grandfather with the usual
signs of abject respect, on his knees, salaaming, etc.,
but one can imagine our astonishment when the
resident, addressing the prince, said in simple Dutch:
“Well, sonny, how are you getting along in school P
In what grade are you now P” The boy changed at
once from a butterfly in barbaric Oriental splendor,
to a very nice schoolboy. A smile split his face from
ear to ear, and he answered in equally good Dutch,
[171]
“Fine, thank you, sir, I am in the seventh grade,
but arithmetic is hard, isn’t it?”
It may be well to mention here that the lofty ideals
of justice, humanity, and ethics of the retiring gov-
ernor general, His Excellency, J. P. Count van Lim-
burg Stirum, have had a vitalizing influence on the
attitude of all right-minded Europeans toward the
natives. As he retires he lays down a heavy burden,
but though a prophet, he is not without honor in his
own country. This high-minded gentleman was ably
assisted by his charming and devoted wife, a grande
dame, but, still better, a good, fine, charitable woman.
A sketch ef the government administration service
would not be complete, if the so-called self-governing
countrysides were not mentioned. This self-govern-
ment is based on historic rights, as distinguished from
those self-governments which are based on recent
emancipation. Among the latter’s agencies, the pro-
vincial and district councils, and the municipal assem-
blies, besides the two experiments hereinbefore
mentioned, are prominent. All the larger municipali-
ties have their own mayor or burgomaster, their own
municipal council, etc.—in one word their own self-
government. They are authorized to levy municipal
taxes, and all municipal activities, such as abattoirs,
parks, public markets, health services, sewerage,
lighting, and water systems are within their jurisdic-
tion. There are nineteen such municipal councils in
the Indies, and they all enjoy local self-government.
They are quite different from the so-called historic
[I72]
GHINOLSOO HAI LVN NI V LHVX VYHOS HO GHSOOH + H_L + O SCHONIHa
||

self-governing regions. These are the Sultanates, or
other principalities or political divisions, which were
never incorporated under direct Dutch rule, although
lately several of them have been incorporated by
request of the population.
There always were independent little nations
or tribes which had treaties or contracts with the
central government. These treaties were constantly
amended for the purpose of securing the fair develop-
ment of their peoples; they prohibited slave trade,
unusual and cruel punishments, piracy, etc., and as
long as these conditions were lived up to, the independ-
ence of the native rulers was respected. The native ,
rulers, however, continually violated these rules, and
finally the different treaties were mostly replaced by a
political contract called the “Abridged Declaration.”
Throughout Insulinde there are two hundred and
eighty of these self-governments, besides two major
and two minor Sultanates in Java.
The central government places its civil servants
alongside of each of the rulers of these little countries,
and they instruct these rulers in the proper adminis-
tration of justice, the humane exercise of their
hereditary rights and powers, etc.
The writer, while in Sumatra, visited the assistant
residency of Pematang Sir Antar, which is situated
between Toba Lake and Medan. He was cour-
teously entertained one evening by the assistant
resident, Mr. J. Tideman, a gentleman of broad
sympathies and keen insight into native character.
[I73]
Together they visited “het internaat voor Vorsten-
zonen” (the boarding school for young princes).
These young princes, Sons of minor Sultans and
rajahs, presuming on the position of their fathers,
had been running wild and accumulating vicious
habits with the usual Oriental facility. Even little
fellows of ten and eleven years old were already
“friendly” with the market women! These boys
had been gathered together by this Dutch official
and placed in the internaat. Here they were taught
the three “R’s,” and, still better, hygiene and Western
decency. They were a lot of bright and happy brown
kiddies, who did not seem to fear at all their “political
daddy”—the assistant resident. The building itself
reminds one of a school building in California,
erected in mission style and scrupulously clean.
Under the Dutch supervision, public treasuries
have been established, as contradistinguished from
the sultan’s private purse, into which formerly all
revenue flowed. The ruler receives a fixed salary;
a yearly budget must be made up to be approved by
the resident, etc.
Eventually these peculiar self-governing districts
will evolve to the same position as the other self-
governing political subdivisions, which means govern-
ment by the people themselves, under Netherlands
advice and supervision.
The judiciary.—As shown by the foregoing, the
legislative and executive branches of the government,
while forming in most respects two entirely different
[I74]
divisions, overlap here and there. The same may
be said about the judiciary branches and the executive
administration of the government of Insulinde.
At the head of this division stands the director of
the department of justice, an official whose duties
correspond to those of the attorney general of the
United States.
As independent as the Supreme Court of any
American state is of the governor of the state, just
so independent is the high court of judicature, sitting
at Batavia, of the governor general. This court is
both a court of appeal and a court of cassation.
In American and English courts this distinction
does not exist. It does, however, wherever the
Roman law is the foundation of the jurisdiction
practiced. It exercises a general supervision over all
the courts in Insulinde, not only by virtue of appeals
from judgments or decrees, but by a direct adminis-
trative supervision. ſ
Civil and criminal cases between or against
Europeans are brought to trial in the first instance
before six courts, of which three have their principal
seats in the island of Java, two in the island of
Sumatra, and one in the island of Celebes. Each
of these courts has several judges.
These courts correspond to the Superior Courts
in most of the states of the Union, but to the Supreme
Courts in New York.
Furthermore, in every residency there is a court
which one may compare with the justice's court in
[175]
all English-speaking countries. This court is called
the residential court, and minor matters between or
against Europeans are adjudicated there.
The courts where natives are tried for severe
offenses, or where they have their differences adjusted,
are called Landraad. They correspond with the
old courts “de pied poudre” of the common law.
These courts are presided over by a white official.
In Java and Madura he is a trained jurist who is a
judicial officer, but in many other parts of Insulinde,
they are presided over by the controller or other
civil servant belonging to the administrative branch
of the government. All the members of the court are
native nobles or officials, some holding office by
virtue of their position, others by appointment of
the governor general.
Another member of the court is the native legal
adviser who is versed in the customary law (adat),
and gives opinions to the other members in con-
formity therewith. Finally, the public prosecutor is
a native known as the Djaksa. In him are combined
the offices of sheriff and district attorney.
There are a great number of courts called Land-
gerecht with a jurisdiction somewhat similar to that
of the police courts in the United States and other
English-speaking countries. Here the minor offenses
of natives are tried. From the judgments of some
of these minor courts one can appeal, others are
final, but all the officials are compelled to make
entry of all adjudgments in special registers, and such
[176]
entry must contain, among other things, the fines
or punishments imposed. At any time the high
court of justice at Batavia may investigate these
records.
The minor civil cases between natives are heard
before a native tribunal of which the regent is presid-
ing officer, or before the particular wedana or chief
of the division in which the litigants are living.
From the judgment of the wedana there is an appeal
to the regent; from the latter’s judgment a still further
appeal can be made to the Landraad.
The so-called historic self-governing regions all
have their own judication. This, however, applies
only to the subjects proper of the sultan, but not
to any of the other residents. The jurisdiction of
these courts, however, is negligible.
Finally, there are ecclesiastical courts, which
have so-called religious jurisdiction among the
natives. They take cognizance of cases affecting
marriage, divorce, inheritance, guardianship, etc.—
in a word the native cases which come directly under
the commandments of the Koran. These courts curi-
ously resemble the old ecclesiastical courts of England
with their very effective jurisdictions."
The Netherlands criminal code is applied for the
natives wherever possible; in civil suits the old
customary law (adat) is often followed.
* A good description of the jurisdiction of these courts in com-
paratively recent times is found in Dr. Warren's famous book,
Ten Thousand a Year.
[I77]
For litigation among Europeans provisions of the
regular codes and statutes are applied, such as the
Civil Code, Code of Civil Procedure, Code of Com-
merce (Law Merchant), Criminal Code, Code of
Criminal Procedure, etc.
Education.—In viewing the educational facilities
of Insulinde, it is not necessary to attach much
importance to that phase of the problem which deals
with the education of white children. It is only
natural for white men generally, and for the Dutch
race in particular, to take care of the education of
its own youngsters. Holland had a public school
system as far back as the thirteenth century, long
before any other Western nation ever thought of
such a thing, and the percentage of native Hollanders
who are illiterate is exceedingly small, in fact one of
the smallest in the world.
But what has the Netherlands government done
for the education of the little brown wards in “Tropi-
cal Holland” P The answer must be: It has been
neglectful in the past, but is doing a great deal at
present, and must do far more in the future. There
is no university proper in Insulinde, although in
I920 a beginning was made by opening a technical
university at Bandong, Java. It is a modest begin-
ning, but it may be the nucleus around which a great
institution of learning will soon spring up. There
are, however, a number of institutions for the natives
* See Holland, by H. A. van Coenen Torchiana, San Francisco,
I9I5.
[I78]
which we may compare with the Smaller colleges in
the United States, as follows: wº-e-
I. The native law college, where native jurists are
being trained for judicial positions. This was estab-
lished in 1909. Students are admitted here after
graduating from the grammar Schools. The course
is six years, three being devoted to general education,
and three to the study of various branches of law,
including the Adat.
It is hoped that a greater number of native
jurists may be constantly developed, who will natur-
ally be in closer contact with the population and
better acquainted with the customs and languages
of the different peoples than Netherlands jurists
could be. Particular attention is paid to the ethical
training of the pupils, which is one reason why the
students are housed at the college. So far, only sons
of native upper-class families are being admitted.
They furnish the most promising material for the
present. #
2. The training schools for native officials.
These schools have been in existence for a long
time. Graduates of the native Dutch grammar
Schools are admitted. They then follow a course
of seven years, five of which are devoted to technical
subjects, such as elementary jurisprudence, principles
of political economy, agricultural engineering, admin-
istration, etc. Dutch, Malay, and one of nine native
languages are taught. The pupils are boarded at
the college; tuition fees are graduated in accordance
[179]
with the ability of the parents to pay. There are
several of these colleges in the islands.
3. There are two medical colleges for the training
of native physicians, the second being opened in 1913.
The requirements for admittance are the same as
for the law school. The course takes ten years.
4. There are two agricultural colleges, where
veterinary surgery is also taught.
5. There are eight institutions for the training of
native instructors, five of which are in Java and three
Outside of that island. In 1918 a training school
for native women instructors was also established.
The course is five years. Those who desire to become
teachers in a Dutch-native school must follow a
post-graduate course of three years in a normal
school which was established for that purpose in 1914.
— In addition, twelve normal schools have been
established for the training of native assistant
teachers. Most of these students receive not only
tuition free of charge, but also free medical attention,
free books, and a small monthly allowance.
The primary instruction is given in: §
a) The people's schools, having a three-year
course. In 1917 there were in Java and Madura
4,185 of these schools, with 299,516 pupils; in the
outlying possessions there were 1,372 schools with
83,127 pupils."
b) The native schools of the second class with a
five-year course. There were 989 of these schools
* See Official Yearbook of the Netherlands East Indies, 1920.
[180]
in Java in 1917, and 490 in the outlying possessions,
with an attendance of 142,415 and 72,875 respectively,
c) Private schools, of which there were 2,506
in Insulinde with I45,505 pupils in 1917.
d) Schools for Chinese, which number 220 with
I2,636 pupils.
e) Schools for Arabs, of which there are 32 with
I,928 pupils.
All told, therefore, there are about 600,ooo children
receiving primary education throughout Insulinde.
The total cost was, in 1918, slightly over 7,ooo, Ooo
florins or II florins per pupil." Inasmuch as the whole
native population is about 40,000,ooo, the expense is
only a bit over 18 cents per capita per year. That
this number must be vastly increased in the future
is evident,” but the government is laboring under
extraordinary difficulties. Ever since there has been
a decided movement for the uplift of the Oriental
races, there has come an insistent demand for better
educational facilities. The government report very
aptly points out that the population itself does not
offer sufficient intellectual forces to meet the needs;
neither does it furnish the necessary material means.
To bring large numbers of teachers from Holland
is almost prohibitive on account of the expense as
* A florin or guilder at normal exchange is about 39 cents in
American money.
* In the Philippine Islands, with a population of ten million,
7oo,ooo pupils are enrolled in the primary schools, while about 5,000
students attend the two universities.
[181]
well as on account of the needs of the mother country.
Even now there is difficulty in finding additional
teachers who are willing to teach in the tropics,
for it takes extraordinary energy to introduce a
homogeneous and practical scheme of instruction
among a multitude of peoples, with totally different
requirements and mental attitudes.
On the other hand, it must not be forgotten that
an inherent difficulty with all government inter-
ference in education in the Indies, as in every other
part of the world, lies in the inclination to theorize,
and the disinclination to accept facts as they really
exist. The great majority of the native population
at the present time is not ready to offer fertile soil for
theoretical education. Such education, if attempted,
may prove a boomerang instead of a blessing.
Those who have come in contact with Oriental
people will realize that the education of Oriental
children by Occidental teachers is a difficult and
exhausting task. The difficulty finds its root in the
duality of mind of the individual. Education, to be
of real value, must go far beyond “book learning.”
It must reach and improve not only the reason, but
also the spirit and soul of the pupil. For the lack of
better nomenclature the spirit, soul, or conscience
may be called the subjective mind, while the pure
reasoning power may be termed the objective mind.
It is quite possible to bring the objective mind of the
Western teacher in harmony with the objective
mind of the Eastern pupil by means of logic and
[182]
reasoning, especially when topics are discussed which
belong to the exact sciences.
Unhappily, as soon as the objective mind of such
teacher endeavors to understand and influence the
subjective mind of the pupil, a far more difficult
problem presents itself. For while the objective mind
takes cognizance of the objective world through the
five physical senses, and its highest function is that
of reasoning inductively, deductively, analytically,
or synthetically, the subjective mind perceives by
intuition, and is totally incapable of inductive
reasoning; in other, words, it only “jumps at con-
clusions.” . The subjective mind cannot classify a
number of known facts and reason from them to a
logical conclusion, as it is able to reason only instinc-
tively.
The functions of the subjective mind are generally
divided into two classes: the normal and the evolu-
tionary functions. Functions of the first class are
manifested by what are generally termed instincts,
especially the instinct of self-preservation, the pro-
tection of the offspring, and possibly the preservation
of human life generally. These instincts are the
same among savage races as well as among civilized
peoples. Therefore the white teacher has no difficulty
in understanding this class of impulses in his Eastern
pupils. The difficulty rests in the practical impossi-
bility of understanding the evolutionary functions
which operate in the pupils’ subjective minds. These
are the functions which are constantly active in the
[183]
mind of a normally sensitive person. They enable
him to determine instinctively what is right and
wrong and urge him to act accordingly; they warn
him of danger, even when there is no sign to give
notice of danger to the objective mind; and they
manifest themselves in various other ways. Although.
always on the alert, these impulses are held in check
by the objective mind. They are allowed to rise
above the threshold of consciousness only when the
occasion demands it. Naturally these impulses are
far more complicated than the purely normal or
animal impulses.
While the natural or animal instincts are, as we
have said, the same among all human beings, regard-
less of their status of evolution or their breeding,
the other evolutionary impulses are very different
among races which have different standards and
forms of civilization. The development of the race,
the religious and moral teachings of the past, the
political ideals, all exercise a powerful influence on
the formation and operation of that part of the
subjective mind. The standard of right and wrong
is sure to be materially different in the two races.
There is often a standard in one race which opposes
a standard of another race. Each race has been
struggling for centuries to ascertain the laws of this
standard in order that it may place itself in
harmony with them. But each race may have been
struggling along different lines, and have come to
different conclusions. The instinctive conclusions
[184]
so reached, being of slow growth, are consequently
very slow to change.
In youth especially impulses are strongest. They
are closely connected with the psychic phenomena
of auto-hypnotism. Boys can play at a train holdup,
and for the time being really believe that they are
either robbers or officers of the law. Moreover, a
child has an almost uncanny instinct for recognizing
its friends or enemies, and this has probably given
rise to the saying, “Never trust a person whom chil-
dren dislike.” The subjective mind of a Javanese
child, or of any child of the Far East, is distinctly,
peculiarly, and decidedly Oriental. It is largely
hereditary and greatly influenced by the generations
of teaching a moral, mental, and political philosophy
which is radically different from that of the white
man. When the child reaches school age his subjective
mind is active and alert; it acts along Oriental lines.
It is true that for a few hours each day he listens to
the teachings of the white teacher, but the balance
of the day and night he is again among his own
people—people endowed with a psychology that the
child intuitively understands, but which opposes the
psychology of the teacher.
A successful teacher is one who is loved by his
pupils, not feared; who understands their joys and
sorrows and sympathizes with them. With white
children, the white teacher has only to remember
his own youth. He knows that the home influence
will be along the same lines as his own, and so he
|185]
has a good basis for understanding. The children
instinctively understand him, even though their
objective minds may not be able to follow his reason-
ing. He can hardly hope for such understanding from
the Oriental child. There is an utter difference ºn
psychology, and a resulting difference in the operation
of the subjective minds of the teacher and pupil,
which stops the flow of mental intercourse. This
makes teaching so exhausting to the white pedagogue,
and often most difficult for the native child.
It has been observed in the United States that a
literary or theoretical education, no matter how
simple, given to a race which is not prepared to
receive it, has the opposite result from the one
aimed at. Instead of improving the race, it causes
deterioration. Instead of awakening new qualities
in the individual, it destroys the good gualities already
existing. In Insulinde it generally takes the form of
indifferent mental development accompanied by pom-
pousness and laziness, and a destruction of simple
industry and love of work.
What the Javanese population needs at the
present time more than anything else is a system of
simple schools in manual training, where not only
the mind, but especially the hand and the character
of the children can be trained, and where it may be
forcibly impressed on their minds that work well
done by the hand is of more value than work poorly
done by the mind. Such schools should be estab-
lished in the cities and in the countrysides.
[186]
VAVI "ONOGIN V8 LV GIVOHTIV H 3.LVLS HHL HO dOHSX HOAA AHL NI SOINVHOHW HSGNVAVÍ Cl3NIVHJ,

Native farming is generally done now along
ancient, even prehistoric lines. Schools of agri-
culture are badly needed, where the young may be
taught in their native language improved farming
methods, and especially improved horticulture. This
sort of education for years to come will prove a very
much greater blessing than any theoretical teaching.
At the present time, as soon as a native has acquired
a smattering of education, he is inclined to go to the
cities, where the number of petty clerks is constantly
increasing. Settled there, he exhibits what he believes
to be the emblem of superior development, that is,
silk socks and fine boots. -
Manual training schools, agricultural and horti-
cultural schools, however, will teach the nations to
become good mechanics and first-class farmers,
instead of third-rate clerks. In this matter of educa-
tion, the Italian proverb, “Qui va piano, va Sano,”
may well be observed. The Chinese far surpass the
Javanese in handicrafts and general industries, but
the natives offer splendid material for development as
mechanical experts, etc., if they are given the oppor-
tunity. The need is for education along these lines.
The government is doing its very best, but it
seemed to the writer during his travels that individual
enterprise could do far more. Great wealth is acquired
by individual corporations and captains of agri-
cultural industry in the Indies, but the idea of large
educational benefactions, such as prevail in the
United States, has not yet penetrated to any marked
[187]
extent in these regions. To accelerate these mental
processes, it might not be amiss for the government
to levy on all surplus profits of plantations a special
sur-School tax, out of which to defray the expenses
of neighborhood schools.
Possibly the government might also create a
permanent school fund out of a new surcharge on
the lease money of government lands (so-called
Canon), as many of the states in the American Union
obtained permanent educational funds from the sale of
“school lands,” that is such lands of the public
domain as were specially set aside for this purpose.
The government is now fully alive to the importance
of this question, and it looks as if it would have the
most unanimous support of public opinion in the
establishment of such funds. The dissenters would
probably be those immediately affected, those who
are hide-bound in the sacred traditions of inviolate
property rights, which unkindly economists claim al-
most always involve the exploitation of the weaker
by the stronger.
_--~~
__T THE VARIOUS GOVERNMENTAL ACTIVITIES
The government of the Netherlands East Indies
is in every respect a modern government functioning
Smoothly as such. Consequently it has engaged in a
great many governmental activities. While some of
these activities are beneficial both to the white man
and to the natives, others are especially devised for
the sole benefit of the latter.
[188]
As the two races live together in harmony and
freely intermingle, it is not easy to draw an exact
line of cleavage, for that which is to the best interest
of one class must at least indirectly benefit the other.
There is a smaller category of government activi-
ties or lack of activities which one hears occasionally
criticized by American and other foreign observers.
These are: (a) salt monopoly; (b) the state monop-
oly of opium; (c) insufficient instruction in modern
languages—especially Dutch; (d) penal sanction.
The mixed activities are principally: (a) admin-
istration of railroads and tramways; (b) postal,
telegraph, and telephone service; (c) road system;
(d) construction and maintenance of harbors and
roadsteads and the fostering of shipping; (e) the
development of foreign trade; (f) mining operations;
(g) water-power and electric service; (h) police
system; (i) prison system.
The purely native activities may be enumerated
as follows: (a) native banking, including pawn-
shops; (b) native health regulations; (c) irrigation;
(d) civil veterinary service; (e) fisheries; (f) for-
estry.
For the sake of an orderly discussion, we will
first treat the “objectionable activities.”
a) The salt monopoly.—It is often stated that a
salt monopoly is an antiquated evil brought up to
date, for it levies a tax on one of the basic necessaries
of the people, a form of taxation which is considered
with small favor by all sound economists of today.

[189]
It is claimed with a great deal of force that sea
salt is a free gift provided by nature in her great
bounty; that man cannot live without salt; and that
where nature has supplied it in large quantities, as
in the islands of the archipelago, surrounded by
the sea, it is a mistaken fiscal policy to prevent
the inhabitants from availing themselves of it.
In most countries where these monopolies have
formerly existed, they have been abandoned. While
in some of the outlying possessions the manufacture
of salt is still unrestricted, all over Java and Madura,
and in most districts of Sumatra and Borneo, the
government monopoly is extant.
Salt is mostly manufactured on the island of
Madura, by a process of evaporating the sea-water.
The product is sold in blocks, which are made in
factories of this island, while the sale is carried on
in behalf of the government by European and native
salt vendors.
Importation of salt in the monopolized districts
is prohibited, excepting refined table salt (which
is almost exclusively for European table use), and
that which is required for the preservation and
packing of foodstuffs.
The best that can be said about this monopoly
is that the revenue is comparatively small. In 1918,
the total gross receipts were slightly over 17,ooo,000
guilders, being equivalent at a normal rate of exchange
to about $7,000,ooo. The expenditures, including
wages paid mostly to natives, were slightly over
[190]
$3,000,ooo, leaving a balance for the whole monopoly
of a little over $4,000,ooo. Inasmuch as about
35,000,ooo natives were affected by this monopoly,
they contributed on account of the same about eight
American cents per head a year. During 1918,
I24,442 tons of salt were sold, making the price about
$56 a ton, or 2.8 cents a pound in American money.
This kind of salt in California markets retails for
3 cents a pound.
While the very material difference in living
standards existing in these countries must be con-
sidered, still one cannot say that this monopoly is
as oppressive as some people endeavor to represent it.
b) The opium trade.—Whether or not it is moral
for a government to regulate a traffic in opium or
in any other vice, and incidentally make a profit
from such traffic, is a question which is as old as the
civilized world. The same principle is involved in the
regulation and licensing by state law of prostitution,
the sale of alcoholic liquors, tobacco, and narcotics.
State regulation almost invariably includes the
payment of state fees, for instance, the municipal
saloon license fees prevailing in almost every munici-
pality in the world; the internal revenue fees, a
federal tax levied by the American government on
the sale of liquors, which was in full force and effect
up to the time of the adoption recently of the Eight-
eenth Amendment of the Constitution, and from
which the United States government derived, and
is still deriving, a large income; the monopoly in
[191]
the sale of cigarettes, especially in France, etc.
Those in favor of this state regulation generally
use this line of argument: That prohibition does not
prohibit; that in the case of prostitution, attempted
prevention scatters its votaries from a well-defined
vice district, under the Supervision of the police
authorities, broadcast through the residence district;
that in addition it does away with sanitary inspection
and has a marked influence on the growth of loath-
some diseases; that it gives degenerate males an added
opportunity for pandering, and venal police officers
an opportunity for blackmailing.
In the case of strong liquors, it is claimed that
they induce a large number of otherwise law-abiding
citizens to become law–breakers; that for good liquor,
active poison is substituted; that instead of a well-
regulated liquor traffic, from which the government
derived an income, there are substituted bootlegging
and other illicit sales of spirits, on a large or small
scale, from which only the criminal element derives an
income; and so on. The proponents of these regula-
tions almost invariably call their opponents abolition-
ists and fanatics.
Those who are opposed to regulation boldly
declare that it is immoral for any government to
derive an income from the exploitation of the vices
of its subjects or citizens; that there can be no com-
promise with evil, and if such compromise is attempted
only more evil can result therefrom; that the only
way to wean people away from these vices is to
[I92]
educate them to do without entirely; that such
education will be forever impossible as long as the
government countenances the traffic.
The regulation of the opium traffic in the Nether-
lands East Indies, as a matter of course, does not
escape a similar controversy. All that can be said is
that the government, so far, has found it advisable
to exercise such control. The use of opium was
brought to Insulinde from China by the large Chinese
population living there, and has spread from the
Chinese to some of the natives. The first effort
to regulate this traffic was made by leasing the right
to retail the drug in the islands of Java and Madura.
This system, however, gave rise to many abuses,
principally because the lessees encouraged the use of
opium. As soon as the government ascertained that
the means employed defeated the very aim, it put
a stop to this, and took the opium traffic into its
own hands. This method was gradually extended
until 1913, when the government controlled the trade
of practically the whole archipelago.
At the present time the importation and sale
of Opium can take place only through the govern-
ment. Most of the raw material is obtained in Ben-
gal. The prepared opium is packed in tubes, which
cannot be opened without being damaged, and which
cannot therefore be refilled with inferior opium by
illicit traders.
The government has done away with all com-
missions and other profits of the salesmen, who now
[193]
receive a regular monthly salary. They refuse to
recognize any intermediaries, who may have an
interest in the encouragement of the habit, and
therefore the extension of the sale.
A great many regulations are in force, all tending
gradually to reduce the use of opium. While these
regulations differ so as to meet local conditions and
necessities, in most places in the Indies private
persons are prohibited from having any opium in
their possession at all, even though they obtain
the same through the monopoly. In other districts
special licenses are required, and in some places there
is a so-called prohibitive area where no one can
have any opium.
One of the regulations is that under no condition
can opium be sold to young people under eighteen
years of age. The resale of government opium is
strictly forbidden and, furthermore, in order to
limit the use, the price for which government opium
is sold is continuously raised. Ever since the control
was put into effect, the number of shops and dens
where the population has the opportunity of using
this drug has diminished. In addition, the sale and
use of morphine, cocaine, and other surrogates are
put under rigid control.
The regulation of the use of opium in Oriental
countries is about as difficult as the regulation of
the use of strong liquors in Western countries. To
give one instance: When, some years ago, the govern-
ment endeavored to stop the importation of opium
[194]
into the island of Banka, where the great tin mines
are situated, operated almost entirely by Chinese
coolies, 25,000 of these coolies promptly struck and
refused to take up their tools again until they could
resume the use of the drug, and no other labor was
available or obtainable.
At the present time the government is using its
best efforts to prevent the importation and illicit
sale of opium, while endeavoring at the same time
gradually to reduce the legal use of opium. Perhaps
finally the whole matter will come to a system of
rigidly supervising the sale and the use of the drug,
so that only those who are hopeless addicts can
secure it. Then the habit may eventually disappear,
or be brought down to a negligible factor.
c) The language question.—The language ques-
tion has had the very serious consideration of govern-
ment officials and other thoughtful inhabitants of
Insulinde for several decades past. Formerly the
white man was almost invariably opposed to teaching
the native any European language. In fact a native
was not allowed to address a Dutch official or mer-
chant in the Dutch language if he mastered that
language, which he rarely did. While this attitude
may, in the light of our present advanced ideas,
look constrained, to say the least, still it must be
considered that it is only for the last fifty years
that the thought has penetrated the consciousness
of the white man that colonies are not primarily
existent for the benefit of the mother country, but
[195]
that, on the contrary, the mother country has very
great duties to discharge toward her colonies, and the
native inhabitants have inalienable rights, which
must be respected and fostered.
If it be remembered that only sixty years ago
the institution of slavery was still flourishing in
these United States, that the history of the treatment
of the Indian or red man of even later date is any-
thing but pleasant to read, then it is not difficult
to reach the conclusion that the attitude of the
Hollanders toward their wards in the colonies was
not particularly lacking or behind the times, but was
really quite consistent with the general trend of the
white man’s thoughts. Fortunately there has come
a very marked change in this general attitude, and
today the Netherlands East Indian government,
fully aroused to its responsibilities toward the natives,
is doing all that could be desired.
The desirability of teaching the natives the
language of the mother country has been a much-
debated question. By the proponents of this idea
it is claimed that such a course can only give rise
to loyalty, and draw closer the tie which binds the
mother country to its colonies; and that it will open
the large cultural field of the old and modern Nether-
lands civilization, first to educated natives, and later
to the rank and file of the native population.
There is an equally large class of thoughtful
people strenuously opposed to this idea. By them
it is claimed that language is a powerful element
[196]
in the general evolution of a people; that the Nether-
lands government would assist in making the natives
second-class Hollanders by introducing the Nether-
lands language, while it should endeavor to assist
them in becoming first-class Orientals; that a native
language should be adopted, and the people should
be allowed to evolve along their natural lines, for
which a knowledge of their own tongue, folklore,
traditions, etc., is essential.
It is submitted that while both arguments contain
a great deal of merit, they also contain several
elements which do not seem to stand the acid test
of close scrutiny. By all means let each people
remember the native tongue; let the younger ones
cultivate it, and cherish their native traditions.
Teach them in their native tongue the dignity of
all useful endeavor, including manual labor.
It must be remembered, however, by those who
oppose the introduction of the Dutch language that
it is an inherent characteristic of intellectuals,
belonging to a people who are numerically small,
to attach an exaggerated importance to the matter
of language. Just because a nation is small in num-
bers, the instinct of self-defense makes its members un-
consciously cherish their own language as something
sacred, and instils in them the firm belief that all
their cultural interests are firmly bound up in that
language, and that their noble traditions of the
past would lose a vast amount of value, if not perish
entirely, when not expressed in the native tongue.
[197]
The constant fear hovering over them that the
Smaller nation will lose its identity and will be
merged into a larger nation unconsciously affects
their thoughts as to their language, a language
in which they see one of the bulwarks of their inde-
pendence and separate entity. This feeling not only
is natural, but is patriotic in the best sense."
Now the fact remains that several people may
Speak the same language and still enjoy a radically
different psychology. We have a very strong example
of this in the English language. The fact that the
United States and Great Britain use the same lan-
guage does not seem in any way to interfere with the
separate, distinct, and different evolutionary forces
at work in each nation, or tend to make out of the
American people second-class English instead of first-
class loyal Americans. -
It is therefore submitted that if the Javanese and
Other natives and groups of people in Insulinde
would speak the Netherlands language it would not
necessitate their evolution into second-class Hollan-
ders, but to the contrary might accelerate their
evolution in becoming first-class Dutch-speaking Ori-
entals, or Oriental Netherlanders.
* We see this especially among the members of the “National-
ist” party in South Africa, of which General Hertzog is the able
and distinguished leader. This National party is really the Boer or
Dutch party, while the South African party, of which such Boers
as General Botha and General Smuts were and are the leaders, is
the real national party of the South African Union, desiring to
evolve a true South African, as contradistinguished from a Dutch-
man or an Englishman.
[198]
Under modern conditions it is hardly possible for
a people inhabiting an archipelago (only geographi-
cally an entity) whose inhabitants speak sixty different
tongues and have as many or more different tribal
laws and tribal customs, to evolve along racial
lines, for this would give a confusion of interests
compared to which the notorious confusion of inter-
ests of the Balkan States would be a complete
harmony.
Eventually it will be necessary to introduce one
universal language. The selection of this language
is not a simple question. Disregarding the opinion
that the teaching of the Netherlands language would
result in making inferior Netherlanders of the native,
there is a more serious and valid objection.
Dutch is essentially a Western tongue and difficult
for an Oriental to acquire. It is not a natural language
for a dessaman. For him it is much easier to obtain
a good knowledge of Malay, for this is already the
lingua franca of trade in the archipelago. Javanese,
Sundanese, etc., do not seem to have any difficulty
in mastering this tongue. Along the coasts it is now
the established agency of communication.
Possibly the best solution will be to teach the
Malay language to the great mass of the natives whose
average school years for decades to come will be neces-
sarily short. Instruction in the Holland language may
be confined to native chiefs, such as regents and weda-
nas, who already speak Malay, and to those natives
who apply for a higher education.
[199]
At present Dutch is taught in all native schools
of the first class, and in the so-called Holland-native
schools this language is used entirely as the medium
of imparting knowledge.
d) The penal sanction (poenale sanctie).-The
penal sanction is a criminal penalty attached to the
breaking of a civil labor contract. The regulations
bearing on this question have two aims, viz.: (1) to
provide the employers in sparsely populated districts
with labor, thereby making the “winning of Insti-
linde’s West” possible, and (2), to provide the
contract laborer with the necessary protection,
and put him under qualified governmental super-
vision. To accomplish these purposes, the rights
and obligations of employer and employee are care-
fully specified in the so-called coolie ordinances, under
which labor contracts become operative.
According to the terms of these ordinances, coolie
contracts may be made for a period not longer than
three years, and these contracts must furthermore
comply with all the requirements enacted for the
benefit of the protection of the coolies. Otherwise
they become void.
The employer obligates himself to treat the
laborer humanely and justly, to pay his wages
regularly, to furnish him free and adequate lodging,
to give him free medical treatment, including the
necessary medicine, to supply him with an ample
amount of pure water for bathing as well as drinking
purposes, and to return the laborer, free of any
[2Ool
expense, to the place whence he came, either after
the expiration of his term of contract, or prior to
that time if the contract is voided for a valid reason.
It is explicitly provided that in no event shall an
employee be required to work more than ten hours a
day, except under extraordinary circumstances.
An unjustifiable breach of the contract by the
employer is punished by fine.
On the other hand, the contract laborer or contract
coolie, assumes certain obligations, that is, to work
the regular hours, to obey all reasonable orders in con-
nection with the work, not to leave the employ of
his master before the expiration of the contract, etc.
As the Oriental laborer is notoriously improvident,
as he is, almost without exception, unable to respond
to any civil judgment for damages, and the imposition
of pecuniary fines would invariably prove to be an
empty proceeding, he can be punished, either by fine
or imprisonment, when he deliberately and without
good cause breaks the terms of his contract. Such
punishment, however, cannot be pronounced by
the employer or his deputy, but is solely imposed
by a judge of competent jurisdiction, to whom all
such cases are referred, and whose word is final in
the premises. The coolie is personally brought before
the judge, confronted with his accuser, and given an
opportunity to explain his side of the question.
The recruiting of these coolies almost always
takes place on the islands of Java and Madura,
which are densely populated, if not overpopulated.
[201]
The laborers are intended for the estates in the
“outlying possessions” (by this is meant all the
islands except Java and Madura), and the recruit-
ing also is done strictly under government control.
No one can engage in the business of recruiting
laborers without having a special permit from the
government. Before a contract can be closed the
laborer must have a medical examination to show
that he is physically fit for the work for which he
has engaged himself, and a doctor’s certificate must
be issued in each individual case. Without this
certificate, and without an additional one signed by
the proper government authority, in which it is
cited that the recruit has been made aware of, and
that he agrees to, the clauses of the labor contract,
no contractis valid. In fact a recruiting commissioner
is stationed in each port of embarkation, and he has,
to a large extent, the same duties to discharge toward
these contract laborers as the United States Shipping
Commissioner in an American port has toward the
sailors of all ships leaving the port. .
Before a contract is finally signed, the laborers
are repeatedly told exactly to what they are binding
themselves, and that they are free to return to their
respective homes without any obstacles being put
in their way, if they make known to the authorities
that they have changed their minds and do not
wish to sign the contracts.
The contract laborers are transported at the
expense of the employer from Java, generally to
[2O2]
the northeast coast of Sumatra, by specially equipped
steamers, each of which must have a licensed physician
on board. Upon arrival at Deli, Sumatra, they are
placed in rooming-houses which are likewise specially
equipped, and which may be compared with the
immigrant hotels maintained by the large steamship
companies in European ports to house immigrants
bound for the United States. Here they are once
more under medical supervision, and those who are
finally passed proceed to the estate which has con-
tracted for their labor. The others are returned at
the employer’s expense.
As a general rule the first contract runs for
three years. After three years the contract laborer
becomes a so-called free laborer and can renew his
contract if he so desires, and this is generally done
for a shorter period, and for considerably higher
wages. This is possible and logical for two reasons:
in the first place the laborer has become skilled in
his particular work, and secondly the employer finds
the man on the ground and does not have to go to all
the expense of immigration.
Should the laborer not desire to renew his con-
tract, he is returned at the expense of the employer,
to the place whence he came, and this is done under
the supervision of government officials.
Most of the employers take excellent care of
their laborers, with the result that on some of the
estates from 60 to 80 per cent of the men desire
re-employment as free laborers at the end of their
|203]
term of contract. A great many others remain on
the estate to establish themselves as small farmers
or retail store-keepers, and others again as domestic
servants. They then become permanent residents—
colonists in the true sense of the word.
The United States Rubber Company, which
operates large rubber estates near Medan, Sumatra,
obtains its labor supply in this manner.
The opponents of the system claim that the
authority vested in the Netherlands judge, to sentence
a man to the workhouse or the prison because he
refuses to perform the work he has contracted for,
on the complaint of the employer, Smacks of slavery.
The extremists claim that it is an anachronism,
something which should never be tolerated in these
enlightened times. The “antis” are very outspoken
in their denunciations. e
The “pros” are equally firm in their justifications.
They claim that it is ridiculous to speak of “slave
driving.” One may just as well consider the truant
officer of the public schools in the United States or
any other advanced country a “slave driver," for
this truant officer forces girls and boys against their
will to attend school and do mental work so necessary
to their future development and happiness. The
“pros” add that these Oriental laborers have only
just arrived at the stage of mental development
where a truant officer is necessary. Moreover,
they say the great industries could not exist without
this penal sanction. The “antis” argue: “Are human
[204]

rights of less importance than property rights?”
The truth, of course, lies in the middle, between
these arguments.
If the principal answer to the “antis” were the
statement which is generally made—that the mag-
nificent industries which have been developed in
Sumatra cannot exist without the importation of
this contract labor, and that this imported contract
labor would be totally ineffective and prohibitively
expensive without the penal sanction in the labor
contracts or coolie ordinances, the inevitable rejoinder
would be that under modern conditions such industries
have no right to exist, and that it would be far better
that they perish than that human liberty be violated,
especially when this violation takes place with the
encouragement of an enlightened government, such
as the Netherlands East Indian government claims
to be, and in fact is. This would certainly be the
American rejoinder, and the fact that certain Ameri-
can concessionaires in the island of Sumatra are
availing themselves of the same methods would in
no way weaken American criticism, but, if anything,
emphasize it. For was it not almost identically the
same argument by which slavery was justified for
centuries all over the world, the southern parts of
the United States not excepted P
But there is quite another phase of the situation
which well merits serious consideration. On account
of religious and social prejudices, the Javanese are
slow, almost averse to emigration. They desire to
[205]
live and die in the village which gave them birth,
even if the village becomes overcrowded and the
lands do not produce enough for the ever-growing
population. In addition, Oriental inertia exercises a
potent influence on all of their decisions.
The marked difference between the immigration
to the new lands of the Western states and territories
of the United States and the immigration of the
Javanese to the new lands of their West is the religious
aspect of each movement. American and European
pioneers were not only fired by the hopes of bettering
their industrial and social conditions, but they were
sustained by their Christian belief, by hope, trust, and
faith. With a buoyant spirit they went into the
wilderness to cut out that great Empire of the West
which since then has challenged the admiration
of the world, and, while they went with ax and gun
in hand, they nevertheless took with them as a
priceless heritage of their forefathers the joyful
convictions of their Christian faith. Soon in their
trail followed their churches, their little schoolhouses,
in fact “the little schoolhouse on the hill” became
the center of pioneer activities, wherever a small
Community was established. The itinerant preachers,
the circuit riders, the priests of the small churches,
the school teachers, all did their part. It was the
hopeful gospel of Christ, born of the white man’s
energy, which winged its way westward. One can
say this truthfully without being unmindful of the
fact that this civilization, precipitated into the
[2O6]
wilderness, was accompanied by many faults and
drawbacks, and without forgetting that the white
man’s injustice to the native children of the plains
and forests was often painful, and that with him came
whiskey bottles and many diseases of body and
soul. These were unfortunate details which neces-
sarily detract from the general loveliness of the
picture of the winning of the West.
It is quite different, however, with this Javanese
immigration toward the wild lands of Sumatra and
Borneo. While the necessity of emigration is con-
siderably greater there than it ever was in the eastern
states of the Union, no popular impulse breeds
that intense desire for betterment of conditions.
When once launched on the roads to the wilderness,
the white man knew that Paul’s dictum, “He who
will not work shall not eat,” would be the inflexible
law of his existence. But in the Indies matters are
different. The needs of the people, on account of
climatic conditions, are very slight. They do not
need to provide against hard winters sure to come.
Shoes, stockings, are hardly ever worn by the average
man or woman. Clothing is reduced to a minimum.
Children go nude until they are about six years old.
Everybody is notoriously improvident. Saving is a
rare virtue over there.
The ground is fertile, and with the expenditure of
very little effort a living is made. If they do emigrate
they do not have to fear the attack of nomads, as the
white man did, for they know they are protected by
[207]
their Dutch overlords, so everything is made easy for
them in their new home, both by nature and by the
government.
But their faith is not Christian. While in times of
great mental disturbances their religion appears to
instil in its followers a bravery bordering on the fanati-
cal, it does not give to its votaries that sustained
strength of the Christian faith and hope. For coloni-
zation on their own initiative they lack the quiet,
persistent moral stamina So necessary for the success
of such an undertaking.
The limit of the ability of even a fertile soil, such as
the island of Java possesses, to accommodate an ever-
increasing population has about been reached. Even
now much rice must be imported, and if it were not for
the considerable financial returns derived from the
cultivation of export articles on a large scale, under
the direction of the white planter, and along the most
advanced scientific lines, the nourishing of this vast
and teeming population of Java would present a very
great problem even now. According to the last cen-
sus, Java had a population of over 33,000,ooo people,
that is about 259 people to the square kilometer, or
7Io to the square mile.
There are on an average not more than thirty per-
sons to the square mile in Sumatra, and in fact on the
east coast, where the large rubber and tobacco planta-
tions are located, the inhabitants are a fraction less
than twenty-seven to the square mile. In other words
the population of Java is twenty-four times as dense
[208]
as that of Sumatra. In addition, much of the soil of
Sumatra is still virgin land, and the question of over-
population, which will soon be as pressing in Java as it
is in Japan, is easily solved by the opportunities offered
in Sumatra. No one can doubt the duty of an enlight-
ened government in directing its surplus flow of popu-
lation into the most advantageous channels. For the
overflow of the island of Java, the outlying possessions
are close at hand. The white man’s rule has made
these islands safe for immigration and has checked the
depredations of tribes formerly savage or semi-savage,
and of wild animals, such as tigers, etc. Large tracts
of land are available now, where human endeavor has
never been exercised before. There are some small
islands where hardly one human being has ever lived.
All of the islands have practically the same climatic
conditions as Java, and the Javanese can thrive in
them in large colonies. These lands beckon the immi-
grant. Here, as in the United States, the “winning of
the West” offers a most wonderful opportunity for
human endeavor and betterment of conditions.
But Insulinde has no hardy class of white pioneers,
who, with ax in hand, can go into the forest, or spurred
and booted can ride their ponies over the plains, whirl-
ing their lariatas and singing their cowboy ballads.
The climate does not allow the white man to exert
himself as he did in Western United States. The
white man’s burden here is the furnishing of brains,
organizing talent, technical skill, honest government—
all matters of which the overwhelming percentage of
[209]
the natives are still mostly ignorant. Much is being
done to make a change in this condition, but it is a
matter of evolution, and evolution takes not years but
centuries.
The labor contracts are doing a great deal to direct
Colonization along the very best lines, and to make the
winning of these untamed regions possible. From
this standpoint alone the labor contracts may receive
very earnest and very favorable consideration as pro-
viding the best means just now available for arriving
at this highly desirable result. Eventually there may
be a residue of such laborers, sufficiently large in num-
ber to make further contracts unnecessary.
In the meantime the government is endeavoring to
Settle the outlying possessions by means of direct
colonization. A successful experiment has been made
in part of Sumatra, where in the year 1918 a Javanese
Colony was located, consisting of 2,339 families, or
about ten thousand people. Gradually immigration is
increasing. The new colonists are allowed transporta-
tion to their destination, advances are made to each
family for the price of tools, seeds, etc., and a regular
Credit and banking system is established. Eventually
this liberal system may result in doing away with labor
contracts entirely, and in relieving the overpopulation
in Java.
A gradual increase of this free emigration, and a
decrease of the penal sanction system will solve this
vexing question. For the present the government
must remain satisfied with encouraging free coloni-
[2Iol
zation, at the same time rigidly protecting the contract
laborers, who, by the way, earn a wage about four times
as high as the wages in their native Java. To judge
by their alacrity in renewing their contracts they are,
generally speaking, very satisfied with their lot in life.
With apologies to Mr. Bairnsfather, the writer,
cannot refrain from saying: “He who knows a better
'ole, let him go to it.”
GOVERNMENTAL ACTIVITIES FOR BOTH WHITES
AND NATIVES
a) Railroads.—There are both government and
privately owned railroads, tramways, and automobile
service in Insulinde.
The first state railroad constructed in Java was
opened to the public on May 16, 1878. It was a small
section between Surabaya and Pasuruan of about
thirty-six miles. Since then the system has been
extended until there are now found fifteen hundred
miles of standard-gauge and sixty miles of narrow-
gauge railroads built by the government."
In Sumatra there have been constructed about six
hundred miles of standard- and narrow-gauge rail-
roads, and extensions are continuously under way.
In 1918, on the fifteen hundred miles of broad-
gauge railroad in Java, over fifty million passengers
were carried, and more than six million tons of
* These measurements are in accordance with the standards
accepted in the Netherlands East Indies, being the same as those
accepted in the Empire of Japan and in the Union of South Africa.
The railroad between Samarang and Djokjakarta is the same as
what would be called standard-gauge in the United States of America.
[211]
merchandise were transported. The net revenue of
these railroads was about sixteen million dollars. In
the same year the railroads on the west coast of
Sumatra transported about three and a half million
passengers with seven hundred and ten thousand tons
of merchandise.
In addition to the state railroads there are private
railroads and tramways. The first to be opened was
the private railroad between Samarang and Djokja-
karta in 1873. Since that time it has been consider,
ably extended. While it is by no means as important
as the state-controlled railroads, still it renders an
important service.
For instance, in 1918 the private roads between
Samarang and Djokjakarta transported over four
million passengers and One million tons of merchan-
dise, while the short Deli railroad, situated near Deli,
Sumatra, carried four and a half million passengers
and close to one million tons of merchandise. It is
safe to predict that both private and state railroads
will be continuously extended, and will slowly replace
the very extensive auto service which is now carried
on in connection with these lines. -
The railroads and steam tramways are very exten-
sively patronized by the natives, these constituting the
vast majority of the passengers. Every train seems
to be loaded to capacity with them, and generally
they are a happy, chattering, prosperous-looking lot.
All the minor officials, such as assistant train
masters, assistant station masters, station masters of
[212]
·ĐNIHWITO NIVLNO OWN NI GIHSO. TITILS ’NOI LVJLHOdSNV HJL HO GIGIOW HAWHO:ſ

small stations, conductors, and the like, are natives,
and appear to discharge their duties well.
b) Postal, telegraph, and telephone service.—The
postal service was inaugurated in 1862, and originated
as a government monopoly. In 1877 the Netherlands
East Indies joined the Universal Postal Union. From
that date the service has been steadily extended,
including postal money collections since 1881, foreign
and domestic money orders since 1892, and parcel post
service since 1893.
Special postal conventions were entered into with
Great Britain in 1905, with the Straits Settlements in
1911, with the Australian Commonwealth in 1912, and
with China in 1919, all of which tended to facilitate
the dispatching of special mails.
Internally the mail service is regulated partly on
the city delivery system and partly on the rural deliv-
ery system. Places not situated on seaboard, or on
railways, or tramways, are served by automobiles,
post-carts, pack-horses, mail-carriers, on foot, etc.
Even the smallest places, away up in the mountains,
are included and served by this system.
A very low tariff has been adopted for printed
matter, while the usual European or American tariff
prevails for postal cards, letters, and the like.
Five times every two weeks the foreign mails are
dispatched, or about once every three days.
In 1918 the post-offices in Insulinde handled
1,697,436 letters for foreign countries, besides 262,197
post cards, 419,735 pieces of printed matter and
[213]
84,981 Samples, all outgoing mail. In the same year
the service handled, as incoming mail from abroad,
2,38o,531 letters, 343,954 postal cards, 2,089,191 pieces
of printed matter and 55,393 samples, besides money
orders, etc.
The domestic mail service carried during the same
year 14,170,650 paid letters, 8,928,738 postal cards,
6,637,488 service letters (official business), 16,055,338
newspapers, and 223,730 samples. In addition it
handled 1,088,561 service letters and 1,857,914 general
pieces of registered mail, 1,794,446 postal money Orders
to the value of $78,170,000, and 574,385 Samples.
Except for the higher executive positions the vast
majority of the employees engaged in this service are
natives. - -
The first telegraph line completed in Java was a
short line between Batavia and Buitenzorg in 1858.
Since that time lines have been extended in every
direction, while cables are uniting the principal islands.
In 1918 there were about sixteen thousand miles of
telegraph lines and about six thousand miles of Sub-
marine cable in service. There has been a cable con-
nection between Java and Singapore since 1870, one
between Java and Australia since 1872, between
Penang and Medan since 1891, and between Batavia
and Cocos Island since 1908. There has also been a
cable from Menado via Yap, to Shanghai and Guam,
and from there to San Francisco since 1904. There
has been one between Pontianak, Borneo, and Saigon
since 1916.
[214]
Besides several minor radio stations, one was
erected in Bandong, Java, in 1919, for direct wire-
less connection with the Netherlands. In 1912 the
Netherlands East Indies joined the International
Radio-Telegraph Convention of London.
In the year 1918, 1,919,419 private domestic tele-
grams were handled, besides II 3,146 government
messages, while incoming and outgoing telegrams to
the number of 424,770, exclusive of 366,799 press
messages, were received or sent.
In 1883 a beginning was made with the construc-
tion of telephone lines by private companies, but it
Soon became apparent that the main trunk lines could
be successfully operated only by the government.
Since 1901 the main lines have been so operated, and
this service is also being continuously extended.
The telephone lines reach out in every direction.
In 1918 the service covered approximately 70,000
miles, with 189 regular telephone offices. The net
profits of the government were only $200,ooo, but an
excellent service was maintained. Of long distance
calls alone there were close to eight hundred thousand.
c) Roads.--It is impossible to say too many
laudatory things about the roads in Insulinde gener-
ally, and Java in particular. It is the only Oriental
country visited by the writer where a person can
travel with comfort for days and days by automobile.
Some of the roads are simply superb in the boldness of
their construction and the mode of their upkeep. The
writer traveled by auto from Padang, southwest
[215]
Sumatra, to Medan, in northeast Sumatra, over a
highway about five hundred miles. This road goes
via Fort de Kock, Kota Nopan, Sibolga, Taruntung,
Balige, Toba Lake, and Pematang Sir Antar. It
skirts ravines, crosses lofty mountains, and here and
there the roadbed is hewn out of the sheer rock. The
scenery is unbelievably beautiful, and the countryside,
with its ever-changing views of mountains, streams,
valleys, dessas of different tribes, virgin forests, all
unsurpassingly interesting.
The automobile traveled at an average speed of
twenty-five to thirty miles an hour, covering, with the
necessary halts, about one hundred and fifty miles a
day. We generally traveled from 5:30 in the morning
until one o’clock in the afternoon. In some of the lar-
ger places there were good country hotels, while in the
smaller places passagrahans (government rest houses)
were provided. These passagrahans are very clean,
comfortable, and reasonable in price. They are gen-
erally kept by one or more natives, principally for
government travelers, but on proper application to the
authorities private travelers are also made wel-
COHT162.
A road is now being constructed around Toba Lake
and will be finished some time this year. In 1919 the
road ended at Balige," on the lake, and one had to cross
* Balige is a fisherman’s village which is well worth visiting.
Here the Battaks may be seen in their native kampongs where the
houses are elevated ten or twelve feet above the level of the ground
on palings, and somewhat resemble boats. The space underneath
is occupied by livestock, etc., during the night, but during the day
[216]
the water by motor-boat, a journey of several hours,
and continue on the other side toward Pematang Sir
Antar.
The traffic on the roads, especially in Java, is
very heavy, and continuously increasing. Besides the
European automobile travel, one encounters a multi-
tude of natives and other Orientals on foot, on horse-
back, in pony-carts, and the like.
It is one of the most interesting sights to see, every
morning, these roads leading to the larger places
one may see women sitting there in the shade, doing their weaving
on huge frames.
The controller in charge, Mr. P. Scheffer, showed the same
courtesy and firmness in dealing with the natives as seemed to be
possessed by all the civil servants that one meets during one’s
travels, be it in lovely Java, or in the remotest wilderness of the
outlying possessions. His comfortable house was situated in the
immediate neighborhood of the kampong of the Battaks, a tribe
which only a comparatively few years ago were man-eaters. His
charming wife seemed on an excellent footing with the women of
the kampong. They all greeted her with courtesy wherever she
went her way as our guide. There was no trace of fear.
It is only a short time since the frequent sound of a trumpet
announced the arrival of a troop of Dutch cavalry, sent to investigate
and punish some barbaric outrage.
As we crossed Toba Lake in the motor-boat of the controller, he
suddenly stood erect and focused his field glasses on a speck on the
water. In the native tongue he gave a few short orders and soon
the boat shot in the direction of this speck. As we approached,
the outline of a large canoe became distinguishable. It was paddled
by about thirty natives, and carried several passengers in gay native
costumes, lending color to the scene. With a shrill blast of the
whistle, our boat sped away without interfering with the natives.
The controller read a question in the writer’s mind and explained
that he was looking for probable rice smugglers. Rice was short
i217]
literally covered with natives bringing their wares to
the pasars (markets). Motor driving becomes, for
several miles, as great an art as driving through the
traffic in a busy American city.
Formerly the roads were entirely under the super-
vision of the central government. They were there-
fore state roads. Now, within the municipalities, the
local administrations must care for the streets and
roads. Outside of the municipalities the provincial
councils are gradually being intrusted with their care.
at that time, and an effort was made to keep the natives from export-
ing it, as there would be the dire result of famine prices, and possibly
real famine afterward. In that district, as in many others, the
exportation of rice was strictly prohibited, in order to protect the
natives against their own follies, but tempted by higher prices they
tried to smuggle it out.
The writer inquired if it were possible to protect the native
against his own follies. The controller smiled and said, “Our first
sworn duty is to be the elder brother of these people, to guide them
and advise them. We try to be just, and we enforce the laws,
because we believe them to be just, too.”
These men often lead a very lonesome life in the wilderness.
It is especially difficult for the wives and children, deprived of many
advantages which they wish for as much as anyone. But there is
much work to do in Insulinde, and the men are wonderfully coura-
geous. *
The writer looked at the kindly but stern face of this young
controller, then at the small red, white, and blue boat flag of the
Netherlands, floating gaily over the waters of Toba Lake; he looked
at the rapidly disappearing canoe of the Battaks, singing as they
paddled, who only a few years ago had been Savages and occasionally
cannibals; he thought of that small country on the North Sea,
where the people were forever battling with the elements—the
seas and skies—and then verily understood the advice of Coen,
“Never despair, for great work is still to be done in the Indies!”
[218]
It is planned that by 1927 this work will be entirely
left in the hands of the local city and county authori-
ties. But the government by no means intends to
relinquish all supervision. There is a general road
plan for Java, and the local plans must conform with
this and supplement it.
Today the roads have been extended everywhere.
They are not makeshifts, but permanent macadamized
highways, with reinforced concrete bridges, culverts,
etc., of the newest and best designs. In North Cele-
bes (Province of Minahassa) the plans, when completed,
will account for three hundred miles of first-classroads;
in South Celebes for seventy miles; in Bali one hun-
dred and fifty miles; in Central Timor one hundred
and fifty miles, while on the large island of Sumatra
fifty-four roads have been projected, most of them
already finished or in the course of construction. The
total expense will be close to thirty millions; their total
length twenty-seven hundred miles. All this is on an
island still partly inhabited by half-savage tribes and
Only recently emerging to the knowledge of better and
higher living. -
d) Harbors, roadsteads, and shipping.—The care
of the harbors and roadsteads, and also with that the
care of foreign and domestic shipping, has had the full
attention of the government for many years; but
especially in late years problems of great magnitude
have presented themselves.
In former centuries it was not difficult to take care
of the inter-island and foreign shipments. Some
[219)
places, like Tjilatjap, Java, had natural harbors, but
as shipping was carried on in very small vessels, of
light draught (judging by modern standards), the
mouths of rivers and creeks could be used everywhere.
When shippers began to use larger vessels, it was still
possible to use sheltered stretches of water near the
river mouths. These stretches were variously shel-
tered by small islands, coral reefs, and the like, and
a lighterage system was maintained from the ships to
the shores. While this is still done in some places,
foreign commerce has so much expanded that new
means had to be devised.
The combined coastline of these islands is, of
course, emormous. Someone, loving calculations, has
figured that it exceeds in length the circumference of
the earth.
In 1918 there arrived at the various harbors and
roadsteads a total of II 2,900 ships. This includes
large and Small steamers, sailing vessels, and lighters,
with a net capacity of 62,171,000 cubic meters. The
total value of the exports carried in these ships was,
in 1916, about $350,000,ooo, and the total value of
imports, $200,ooo,000.
The largest harbors in Java are Tandjong-Priok
(Batavia) and Surabaya. The harbor of Tandjong-
Priok (Batavia) is a system of harbor basins con-
structed since 1877. In various years thereafter it
was improved and added to. The harbor is connected
by a canal, suitable for small vessels, with Batavia
proper at a distance of about six miles. In 1917 the
[220)
second inner harbor was completed, and a third inner
harbor is under construction. This last will admit
ships drawing thirty-six feet of water. The harbor of
Tandjong-Priok is well worth visiting and studying.
Fine railroad accommodations are immediately adjoin-
ing, and model quarters for native laborers and dock-
workers have likewise been constructed.
Besides a prow harbor, Surabaya, which is the
principal shipping point for East Java, is provided
with an excellent and safe roadstead. Since 1910 very
important works, such as a broad breakwater, ware-
houses, etc., have been constructed. The outer quay,
from the north pier, called the Rotterdam Quay, is
thirty-six hundred feet long, with a water depth of
forty-four feet, while the inner quay, called the
Amsterdam Quay, is twenty-four hundred feet long,
and admits ships with a draft of twenty-five feet.
Convenient railroad-tracks have been constructed,
and a magnificent harbor, with all modern facilities,
has been created here.
Among the other large harbors in Java may be
mentioned those of Samarang, with its magnificent
lighterage harbors, docks, warehouses, and roadsteads
Through this a large commerce flows, mostly derived
from Central Java and the principalities of Djokja-
karta and Surakarta.
In the outlying possessions we find the harbor of
Makassar, on the island of Celebes, the Sabang harbor,
on the island of Sabang, the Emma harbor, Padang,
and the harbor of Belawan, Deli, the last two on the
[221]
island of Sumatra. There are numerous smaller har-
bors throughout the archipelago.
Shipping has also the attention and encouragement
of the Home and Colonial Government, although it is
almost entirely in private hands. The Netherlands
Steamship Company, the Rotterdam-Lloyd, the
Ocean, the Java-China-Japan Line, and the Royal
Dutch Packet Company are the principal steamship
Companies doing foreign and inter-island shipping.
In 1918 there arrived under the Netherlands flag
4, IOA. Steamers; under foreign flags 3,360, and the
same number (4,104) departed under Dutch flag, and
3,257 departed under foreign flag. Next to the Neth-
erlands shipping interests the British are the most
important. While in 1911 only 15 ships under the
Japanese flag arrived in Insulinde, this number had
increased to 229 in 1918.
Ocean traffic with the United States has likewise
increased enormously, and is participated in by the
Pacific Mail Steamship Company, the Robert Dollar
Company, both of San Francisco, and the Clan Line
and Independent Steamship Company of New York,
Netherlands steamship companies are now main-
taining two direct routes to the United States, one
called the Java-Pacific Line, the ships of which are
plying between the Colonies and San Francisco and
other Pacific ports; and the other, known as the Java-
New York Line, which goes by way of Durban, Cape
of Good Hope, from Batavia to New York. The
* All ships over 1,000 tons net.
[2.2.2]
Royal Packet Company, besides maintaining a direct
service to Australian ports, sends its ships between
all inter-island points. It has a contract for carrying
the inter-island mail, and one hundred and one
steamers fly its home flag. Regular service is also
maintained by the Java-Bengal Line, the Java-South
American Line, and the Java-Antwerp-Hamburg Line.
e) The development of foreign trade.—The govern-
ment maintains a division of commerce, of the Depart-
ment of Agriculture, Industries, and Commerce.”
This Department, working along general lines,
occupies itself principally with the gathering of data
and statistics, the furnishing of information, etc. It
maintains two sample rooms in the United States, one
in New York and one in San Francisco, with other
Sample rooms and commercial exhibits in Japan,
Australia, and South Africa.
The government has likewise founded chambers
of commerce, seven in Java and five in the outlying
possessions. It publishes a most interesting weekly,
in which market reports, lists of importers and ex-
porters, and other valuable information are given.”
* The chief of the Division of Commerce of this department is
Mr. E. de Kruyff, who represented the Netherlands East Indian
government at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition at
San Francisco. It was principally due to his ability and tireless
energy, that the exhibit of Insulinde was a marked success at that
great fair.
* Private interests have formed commercial organizations
called “Handels Vereenigingen,” commerce associations, which are
likewise doing very effective work. These organizations are very
similar to the local boards of trade, or chambers of commerce, in the
United States.
[223]
Furthermore, it maintains a regular registration office
for trade and factory marks, and gives foreign trade-
marks adequate protection when properly registered.
f) Mining operations.—There is a general mining
service which includes many activities, such as geo-
logical surveying, prospecting, and research work, all of
a mineralogical and metallurgical nature. The service
publishes a Year Book containing valuable information.
The government mines coal at Sawah Loentoh,
Tandjong (Sumatra), and at Pulu Laut (Borneo);
tin in the island of Banka; and silver and gold at Ben-
kulen, Sumatra.
Connected with the mining office at Batavia is a
mineralogical and geological museum, open to all
interested parties. Private mining companies are
encouraged by the grant of mining concessions on
reasonable terms.
g) Water-power and electricity.—The government’s
activities in this branch of the service are controlled
by the Department of Water-Power and Electricity.
This bureau was instituted in 1917. Originally the
problems involved were studied for the purpose
of the possible electrification of the state railways.
Since that time the scope of the service has been much
enlarged, and the whole problem has been taken in
hand, including concessions concerning hydraulic
power, the Supervision of water-power works, etc.
The great hydraulic energy of Insulinde still lies
dormant, for the most part, in the differentislands. It
is the duty of the central office established at Ban-
|224|
dong to develop this dormant power in the interest
of the state and of private industry. This office has
three divisions: the Division of Electricity, the Division
of Building, and the Division of Hydrotechnical Power.
Two great completed water-works have already
been put in operation, while the work of locating the
great sources of water-power in the outlying posses—
sions has the active attention of the bureau.
The work done by this bureau is highly scientific
and technical as well as practical, and this department
promises to develop into one of the most important of
the government’s activities. The work, is done so
effectively that there is very little occasion for “water
litigation,” which has been so vexing to the owners
and promoters of hydraulic projects in many coun-
tries. The ancient rights of the natives to water for
their rice lands are scrupulously respected.
According to a very rough estimate which does
not include the smaller islands, and the as yet little
known Dutch Guinea, the minimum capacity of
hydraulic power to be developed in Insulinde is
5,500,000 horse-power.”
The Netherlands East Indian government is very
alert to ascertain the newest developments in scientific
industrial fields. Its trained scientists are constantly
visiting foreign countries for the purpose of studying
foreign methods and comparing them with those
applied in the colonies.
* See Sluyters’ Monthly of November, 1920, “Present and
Future Utilization of Hydraulic Power.”
|225]
This service is no exception to the rule. The direc-
tor in charge, Engineer P. A. Roelofsen, visited the
United States within the last year, and carefully
studied the most advanced American methods, several
of which he applied in the Colonies, after adjusting
them to local conditions.
h) The police system.—The foregoing pages must
have brought to the attention of the reader the great
difficulty under which the government is laboring
properly to police a country of the extent and Com-
plexity of Insulinde. But one of the most important
duties of any modern government is to find the proper
solution of the policing question, and the Netherlands
government has apparently solved this question to the
satisfaction of natives and foreigners alike.
To accomplish this three classes of police are main-
tained: &
I. The municipal police forces, corresponding to
the city police departments of most American and
European towns.
2. The provincial police force, corresponding to
what are designated as “county peace officers,” such
as deputy sheriffs, constables, and deputy constables
in the different states of the American Union.
3. The armed police corps which has its counter-
part in the State Constabulary maintained in Penn-
sylvania, or the Northwestern Mounted Police.
The municipal police functions, of course, in the
large cities. The higher police officials, known as the
police commissioners and deputy commissioners, are
[226]
generally Netherlanders, while the members of the
department, detectives, and street police are both
natives and whites.
The provincial police corps consists largely of
natives, the heads being wedanas, with assistant
wedanas, mantris police, detectives, post commanders,
and general policemen. There is a special school for
training and graduating police officers at Batavia.
The armed police corps consists of twenty-two
divisions, of which three are in Java, and nineteen in
the outlying possessions. It is a semi-military organi-
zation, always ready at the call of the civil authorities,
and its main duty is to secure peace, tranquillity, and
safety throughout the archipelago. It is under a
rigid military discipline, is commanded by retired
army officers, and its activities cover a field lying
between ordinary police duties and the duties of the
military forces. It is, however, entirely under the
civil branch of the government, and has been of
immense value to protect the law-abiding population
against raids or other impositions of bad elements.
i) The prison system.—The prison system is not
different from that which is maintained in the most
enlightened countries. Unusual and cruel punish-
ments are banished. There are several penal institu-
tions scattered over the different islands, mostly for
natives. There is one penitentiary at Samarang
exclusively for white prisoners, while all female pris-
oners sentenced for more than one year are incar-
cerated in a special prison maintained at Samarang.
V}
[227]
Since 1918, there has been only one penal code
under which accused prisoners can be prosecuted and
convicted. This is the Penal Code of the Netherlands
East Indies, and is operative for white and native
people alike. Formerly a distinction was made
between the two groups of inhabitants. -
All persons sentenced to imprisonment are obliged
to work. While some of the labor is performed in the
open, such as coolie service, etc., other labor is done in
shops provided for this purpose. Among the latter
are tailor and shoe shops, tinsmithies, bleaching and
dyeing shops, rubber and tile factories, sail-making
and button-making establishments, and the like.
There are of course a multitude of other activities,
in which the government takes an interest, and which
are beneficial to whites and natives alike, as, for
instance, care of the insane, encouragement of religious
instruction, etc., but it would be tiresome to examine
all these separately. We will consider some of the
activities enumerated above, which are especially
designed to assist large groups of natives.
GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES SPECIALLY BENEFICIAL
EOR THE NATIVES
a) Native banking.—Oriental people are either
notoriously improvident, or notoriously trugal and
mercenary. To the former class belong most, if not
all, of the native inhabitants of Insulinde. To the lat-
ter belong many of the foreign Orientals residing there,
especially the Arabs and Chinese. The Arabs in par-
[228]
ticular are often usurers, and the government, as a
paternal one, endeavors to protect the natives against
them.
There are at the present time three kinds of native
credit institutions: (1) the village rice credit banks;
(2) the village cash credit banks; (3) the pro-
vincial, divisional, or district banks. The first are
owned by the native communities where they operate,
but under a set of regulations generally drawn up by
the resident or other Netherlands official. The di-
rectors are usually three farmers of the village, and
the dessa-head or native village mayor.
These little banks were especially intended to take
care of the storage of rice, to prevent local shortage,
etc. As a great deal of the business was done in
natura, and modern methods are now replacing the
older ones, these rice banks are gradually diminishing
in number, the regular credit banks taking their place.
In 1918 there were still Io,385 rice banks in operation,
and they had 167,122 tons of rice under their admin-
istration.
The village cash credit banks are slowly super-
seding the rice credit banks. The funds are local
deposits, and the amounts borrowed are usually very
small. Sometimes such banks take the form of
co-operative societies, and most of them maintain
cash balances in the provincial banks.
Although these financial institutions are still in
their infancy, they are growing rapidly in importance,
and the time does not seem to be far distant when they
|229]
will be the principal credit institutions for the small
warong-keeper, the farmer, and the craftsman. In
I918 there were about twenty-eight hundred of them
in operation with various assets.
The provincial, divisional, or district banks re-
semble the country banks in the United States. The
directors are both Europeans and natives, some
drawn from official and some from private life. Profit-
making by the directors is barred, and the institutions
are run on a strictly business basis. The tendency is
to eliminate the officials as quickly as possible, and
draw the directors entirely from the clientele of the
bank. Management of these banks is in the hands
of a director or manager, who has a mixed native and
European staff.
The banks are started with governmental aid, the
first capital being furnished by the government as a
loan. Many of them are still aided in this manner.
The real capital is formed from surplus earnings,
so-called “reserves,” as the original incorporators
were not called upon to put up cash capital, which in
many cases would have been impossible.
In 1918 there were eighty-three provincial or
divisional banks in operation, with assets and deposits
of nearly thirty million guilders.
In order to foster the growth of the banks the gov-
ernment has instituted a central bank of popular
credit, generally known as “Central Cash.” This
bank is located in Batavia, and works with a capital
of five million guilders. The management is intrusted
|230|
to a director and a Supervisory board. It is really a
Reserve Bank of the popular credit banks. It not
only furnishes capital when necessary, but also gives
advice for the operation of the local banks. In 1918
the Central Cash Bank granted credits to sixty-seven
of the subordinate banks.
b) Pawnshops.-In many of the American cities
efforts have been made to curb the usurious activities
of pawnbrokers. In some places charitably inclined
citizens have established remedial loan societies or
other institutions, where money can be obtained in
Small amounts at reasonable rates of interest. These
efforts, no matter how well-meaning, are only pallia-
tives and not cures. The government of Insulinde
has found a practical solution of this vexing question
by making pawnshop business a state monopoly.
The reorganization of this business began in 1903
and was gradually extended until 1917, when the last
licensed pawnshop ceased to exist. No one is now
allowed to make a loan under one hundred guilders
against any pledge, except the official pawnshop,
better called the “People's Loan Bank on Personal
Property Pledges.” -
How great was the necessity for such an institution
is proved by the fact that in 1918, in the 352 estab-
lished pawnshops, 44,816,673 individual loans were
made. The amount loaned was close to one hundred
and twenty million guilders. Only Io per cent of the
articles pawned were not redeemed, and had to be
sold at public auction. The net profits to the state
|231]
were about 7 per cent of the amount loaned." All
small loans proved to be an actual loss to the govern-
ment, partly on account of the heavy expense of a
complicated administration. The profits were made
on the larger loans. The net profits amounted to only
twenty cents, Dutch currency, on each loan.”
When unredeemed articles are sold, the possible
surplus is kept for one year at the disposal of the bor-
rower. After that time it reverts to the general funds,
c) Native health regulations.—Oriental people are,
from our Western standpoint, notoriously if not hope-
lessly, insanitary.” The health regulations of Insu-
linde are under the supervision of the Civil Medical
Service, which is divided into: (1) the general govern-
mental medical and sanitary supervision; and (2) the
care of the ill.
The first branch is under the direction of an
inspector-in-chief, who in turn is assisted by health
inspectors. A large staff of Netherlands and native
physicians assists the inspectors, whose first duty is
the prevention of the spreading of contagious diseases.
The first line of defense includes the harbor health
authorities and quarantine stations. This quarantine
* In 1918 the profits amounted to about nine million guilders.
* Eight cents in American money.
3 The natives in Java wash often and industriously, but they
are not particular as to the water which they use for their ablutions.
One often sees men and women bathing in a stream which neighbor-
ing towns use as an open sewer. The writer saw a native wash and
brush his teeth in a stream while a few feet above other natives
were blissfully responding to different calls of nature.
[232]
is not only against foreign countries, but also inter-
island. The second line of defense is the interior
health inspection. The service is intrusted with
stamping out local epidemics, improvement of sani-
tary conditions, etc.
Statistics of mortality are kept by the district
physicians in charge, and as soon as the charts show
an unusual rise in the mortality of a district or village,
the cause is investigated.
At Weltevreden a general vaccine and serum in-
stitute is maintained, where various serums are pre-
pared, including those against hydrophobia, typhus,
snake bites, tetanus, dysentery, cholera, etc. In years
gone by smallpox was a scourge of these islands. Now
the institute prepares and distributes a weekly supply
of vaccine throughout Insulinde, which is sufficient to
keep the whole population vaccinated at proper inter-
vals. In 1918 almost eight million of the natives were
vaccinated. Special native vaccinators operate under
the supervision of the Netherlands and native physi-
cians. In addition, a rigid pharmaceutical inspection
is maintained under the direction of a graduate
inspector. Europeans as well as natives fall under
the rules of these different inspection services.
The second branch of the service—care of the ill—
is fostered by the establishment and maintenance of
government hospitals and the holding of polyclinics.
In the smaller towns native hospitals are found,
where indigent native patients are treated free
of charge, while central municipal hospitals are
[233.
maintained by the government in Batavia, Samarang,
and Surabaya. They compare favorably with great
modern medical institutions. At each a training
school for native nurses is maintained. At Batavia
and Surabaya the students find an opportunity for
practical training as native physicians.
d) Agricultural information service.—The agri-
cultural information service is maintained for the
purpose of disseminating directly among the native
farmers the knowledge obtained by the colleges of
agriculture and other technical experimental institu-
tions. It therefore corresponds somewhat to the
university extension work done by the agricultural
colleges of the different state universities of the
United States. Only the service is much more inten-
sive and comprehensive, coming into closer contact
with actual farmer problems.
Insulinde is divided for these instruction purposes
into thirty departments. At the head of each depart-
ment stands a graduate agricultural engineer. The
staff of this service is both European and native. In
1918 the European members consisted of nineteen
agricultural instructors, one adviser, seventeen teach-
ers, and eleven overseers, while the native staff
consisted of forty-nine instructors and eight em-
ployees.
The service is very close to the people, instruction
being given right on the ground. The officials’ duties
are most comprehensive, including advice to the
farmers on all economic questions, the laying out of
[234]
TERRACED RICE FIELDS, JAVA
CINCHONA (QUININE) PLANTATION -


nurseries, the combating of plant diseases and plagues,
the establishment of experimental fields, etc."
e) Irrigation.—Irrigation is considered of such
importance that each resident has the immediate
supervision and management of it in his residency.
The technical part of the work is in charge of a special
governmental department, the Department of Irri-
gation. It is the duty of the engineer of this depart-
ment to divide the water so that each district will
receive its due amount; the distribution within the dis-
trict is left as far as possible to the farmers themselves.
In Java there are seven distinct irrigation districts,
and the water is so divided that native farmers have a
sufficient supply to be used mostly for their rice crops,
and the large agricultural industries of the Europeans
are furnished with enough water to be used mostly in
sugar- and tobacco-growing. New irrigation works,
such as reservoirs, dams, intakes, etc., are constantly
* Agriculture, in the form of rice-growing, is practiced on a huge
scale, as far as the general results are concerned, but these results
are made up of the individual efforts of innumerable small native
rice-growers. The government, fully realizing the values of mass
production, has made a determined effort to experiment in the pro-
duction of rice on large tracts of land. For this purpose the present
Director of the Department of Agriculture, Industry, and Commerce,
the Honorable Mr. J. B. Sibinga Mulder, requested Mr. M. B.
Smits, an agricultural expert connected with this department, to
visit the United States and carefully study the most improved
methods employed in California, Texas, Louisiana, etc. As a
consequence considerable American agricultural machinery of the
latest and most improved design was ordered. Experiments are
conducted by the government on a large scale, in rice culture in
the Palembang district (Sumatra), while in the Bandjermasin
district (Borneo) vast grounds are being prepared for the culture of
rice under modern irrigation and cultivation methods.
[235]
being constructed. In 1919 twenty-four important
irrigation works were under way, while plans were pro-
jected for several more. In Bali there are some works
which were constructed solely by the natives, but
generally speaking, Netherlands hydraulic engineering
skill is the leading factor in the situation.
For instance, in Java alone there are almost one
million, five hundred thousand acres under irrigation
of permanently constructed works. In addition there
are 8oo,ooo acres being irrigated by temporary works,
which will be replaced by permanent works, while
irrigation works are under construction which will take
care of about a million and a quarter more acres.
During the last five years the government spent over
forty-eight million guilders on this service alone.
f) Civil veterinary service.—The health of live
stock has the very careful consideration of the gov-
ernment. This service is under the direction of an
inspector-in-chief, whose staff consists of four assist-
ant inspectors, forty veterinary surgeons, twenty-four
assistant veterinary surgeons, four native veterinary
surgeons, two hundred thirty-seven native inspectors,
and one special instructor of shoeing.
The live stock, whose health is in the keeping of this
service, consists of 4,000,ooo head of beef, stock cattle
and dairy cows, 2,500,ooo buffaloes, 3oo,ooo horses,
3,000,ooo goats, 2,500,ooo sheep, and 1,000,000 hogs.
Besides the actual care of the health of these
animals, of which more than 90 per cent belong to
the natives, it is the duty of the inspectors to improve
|236]
the strain of the stock by the importation of thorough-
bred stallions, bulls, cows, etc. This is done on a
large scale; for instance, in 1914, five hundred thor-
oughbred cows were imported from Ongole (Madras).
These soon gave two hundred young thoroughbred
bulls for breeding, etc. Sandalwood stallions were
likewise imported for the Preanger Regencies (near
Batavia) and for the island of Sumatra. The inspec-
tors use quarantine measures wherever necessary, and
the benefical result of the activities of this service is
observable throughout Insulinde.
g) Fisheries.—The paternal government at Bata-
via has not overlooked the importance of fisheries,
to provide food for the population. A fishery di-
vision was instituted, which operates as a bureau of
the Department of Agriculture, Industry, and Com-
merce, while a laboratory of deep-sea fishing research
is likewise maintained, where trained scientists do
work of the highest order.
To foster the industry of deep-sea fishing, it was
necessary to teach the people the use of modern fishing
tackle and accessories. Before these could be used
successfully, it was necessary to construct modern
fishermen’s harbors. This has been done; also six
fishing associations were founded with government-
loaned capital. Two of them have already repaid
the advanced capital and are now operating on their
own capital, accumulated from surplus profits. These
associations make loans to their members, the native
fishermen, and otherwise foster the industry.
|237]
Fishing-banks have been established with capital
advanced by the government, at a yearly interest
charge of 5 per cent, and these banks are also doing
fine work by extending cheap credits to their clients.
In a country where usury has ceased to be a vice, but
has been elevated to a fine art, such institutions are
doing untold good. In Java alone there are fish ponds
Covering over one hundred thousand acres, and practi-
cally all owned by the natives. Fish of many varieties
are grown here, and an Institute for Inland Fisheries
is maintained at Tasik Malaja. Finally, a fish
technologist has been appointed by the government,
and it is his duty to advise the natives in regard to
the proper preservation of fish, such as salting, etc.
h) Forestry.—Deforestation has been one of the
most serious blights inflicted on many tropical and
Semi-tropical countries. Spain, for instance, has been
a sufferer from this national misuse for centuries, its
climate, water supply, etc., having been materially
affected. While in the last ten years the question of
scientific reforestation has had the active attention
of the American government and the American people,
the Netherlands government in Insulinde was fully
alive to its importance eighty years ago. As culti-
vation advanced, as plantations of tea, rubber, etc.,
in the foothills made continuous inroads on the virgin
forests, the soil of which was particularly adapted to
this cultivation, it was necessary to counterbalance
this destruction of native lumber by planting forests
in other localities.
[238]
The care of the forests in Insulinde is intrusted to a
special forest service. For more than seventy years,
trained forest officials have been employed in this
service. It is especially in Java, where the needs of
course were most keenly felt, that this service has
reached its highest development. There is not yet a
practical “forest question” in the outlying possessions.
The duties of the forest service are very extensive.
An endeavor is made to cover the whole situation, and
the following matters have the skilled attention of
its officials: forest organization, forest management,
forest guard, and scientific forestry research.
The first of these subjects covers the regulation
of the forest boundaries, the adoption of exploitation
Schemes, etc. The second includes exploitation, re-
forestation, and new plantings on new soil.
The forests of Java are divided into: (1) the teak
forests, both natural and artificial; (2) the other
forests, known as wild timber forests.
The teak forests are also known as djati forests,
(Tectona gradis L.). These forests are chiefly found
in the regions of the lower hills, generally less than
two thousand feet above sea-level. The timber does
not need rich soil, but abhors swampiness or impenetra-
bility. The lumber is much in demand on account of
its durability and because it withstands the white
ants. It is used in great quantities in the tropics for
shipbuilding, houses, furniture, railroad ties, etc.
The forests have been exploited for centuries, but
about 1840 the government awoke to the desirability
|239)
of putting trained forest scientists in charge. Several
forms of experimentation were tried, until the present
forest—agricultural system was adopted, which allows
the natives to plant catch crops between the rows of
the young teak trees. After a period of five or ten years
(depending on the growth made), the first thinning
takes place, and each year this thinning grows in
importance. The forest is generally “ripe” for total
cutting in eighty years after the planting. Then a
series of tramways and monorails is constructed to
remove the timber. In 1918 there were about one
million seven hundred and fifty thousand acres of
teakwood in Java. In the previous five years, the
forest service had replanted about eighty-five thou-
sand acres. In that year alone, the teak forest of
Java furnished 218,693 cubic meters of first-class
timber, or, in accordance with American measure-
ments, about sixty million running board feet, while
over half a million cords of stove wood were produced."
* The yearly cut is generally sold at auction or by sealed bids.
While Tjepu, Java, is the central market-place for teak, a large
amount of the wood is prepared for the market at Samarang, one
of the loveliest cities in Insulinde. Samarang has a suburban
residence district, named Tjandi, situated on a hill overlooking
Samarang proper. Here many of the more prosperous citizens have
their residences. Not far from Tjandi is another small residence
city named Salatiga, which, on account of its elevation, has a very
agreeable climate. Here is the home of Baron C. W. van Heeckeren,
the president of the great Samarang Administration Bureau, which
operates the famous quinine factory at Bandong, discussed else-
where.
In Samarang, the writer had the good fortune to receive the
personal attention of Mr. A. Mees, one of the leading merchants of
[24ol
i) The wild timber forests.--The total area of Java's
virgin forests is about thirty million acres, of which
about three million are in permanent forest reserves.
Bare mountain slopes are constantly reforested by
artificial planting under the guidance of the forest
*
that city, to whose courtesy and influence it was due that a thorough
inspection could be made of the leading industrial plants in that
neighborhood, including the modern and up-to-date plant of the
great Hardwood Lumber Industry. Representatives of this corpora-
tion had visited the United States, and a complete modern lumber-
ing plant and mill had been installed, with the latest electrical
devices. This mill reminds one of the largest lumber mills in the
western states of the Union. Huge teakwood logs, a very heavy
lumber, of course, are handled with the greatest ease.
It was explained by the manager, who was kind enough to act as
guide throughout the visit to this plant, that many American mechan-
ics and foremen had been employed in the beginning to instal and
operate the new machinery, and to direct the different crews. From
a technical standpoint their service was very satisfactory. They
experienced, however, a great deal of trouble in the management
of the native crews under them, and seemed often puzzled that
the superintendents of divisions demanded courteous and decent
treatment of the natives, at the hands of the men over them.
Anyone who has been on the ranches, in the camps and plants
in the western parts of the United States, and has seen the rough and
ready way in which an “efficient” foreman handles his crews, and
has heard the contemptuous way in which he spoke to or about his
“hunkies,” will readily understand the difficulty which arose when
these methods were tried in Insulinde.
The Netherlands managers are very anxious not to create
breeding-places for native I.W.W.’s, and hence stop any and all
strong-arm arguments on the part of the foremen.
As a matter of curiosity it may be noted here that the same
difficulty was experienced with several of the American bore-masters
and foremen in the oil fields of Java. After a while they were
either obliged to quit or accept the wisdom of kindly treatment, in
which case complaints were no konger heard.
[241]
experts. In these new plantings, varieties are selected
which are important not only from a hydrological
standpoint, but also because they will eventually
produce a superior timber. -
The felling of wild timber, both by natives and by
those who have acquired long-time leases, is under the
Supervision of the Forest Service, which likewise orders
and controls reforestation wherever desirable.
The staff of the forest service consists of one
inspector-in-chief, eight inspectors, one director of the
Experimental Station, Ioé trained foresters and as-
sistant foresters, 337 overseers, assistant overseers,
and student overseers, 494 native guards, belonging to
the forest police, and 774 forest watchmen.
[242]
CHAPTER XI. INSULINDE OF TODAY,
Concluded
Government, a paternal one—Great power of private indus-
tries—Netherlands East Indian Company hostile to outside
capital—Forced cultivation system also hostile–Last seventy
years attitude changed—Present broad scope for develop-
ment—Investments mostly agricultural-industrial—Difficulties
to be overcome—Sugar industry—Tobacco industry—Quinine
industry—Tea industry—Petroleum industry—Rubber in-
dustry—The long-lease land system—Protection given to
industries—Dangers of losing land–Policy of government to
keep land for natives—Remnant lands in fee simple—Division
of lands—Those under direct government rule—Those under
qualified rule—Laws governing leasing under each division—
Long leases—Concessions
INSULINDE OF TODAY, Concluded
as ºf THE foregoing pages have given the reader
fºlº the idea that the development of Insulinde
is entirely or mainly dependent on govern-
ment effort, the writer must apologize for
* * causing such an erroneous impression. The
government, being a paternal one (more so in the
immediate past than at present), it is but natural
that government influence and direction are much
more felt in guiding the destinies of the country
and its people, the shaping of their prosperity, and
the acceleration of their evolution, than would be the
case if the people were ripe for a more advanced
democracy. But for all that, in modern times the
real power for sustained and progressive development
must be determined by and derived from the energy
engendered by individual enterprise and industry.
The Netherlands East Indian Company was far
from hospitably inclined during the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries toward “outside capital.” On
the contrary it was decidedly hostile to it, for it
desired, and generally obtained, a monopoly.
After the colonies had been acquired by the
state the prevailing desire to introduce the forced-
cultivation system, and thereby produce state revenue,
was likewise not conducive to private enterprise in the
colonies. For the last seventy years, however, this
* For nearly half a century (since 1875) the treasury of the
mother country has failed to receive any contribution from the
treasury of Insulinde. Before 1875 regular contributions, averaging

|245]
whole attitude has slowly but definitely changed,
with the result that Insulinde today offers both
Netherlands and foreign capital wide scope/for
development and investment.
As Insulinde is principally a great agricultural-
industrial country, these investments have largely
taken the form of extensive plantations. In most
instances the necessary manufacturing plants to make
the product available for shipment to distant markets
were likewise established.
At the end of 1919 the number of estates where
perennial crops are grown, such as essential oils,
kapok, cocoanut oil, cinchona, coffee, oil palms,
rubber, tea, and fibrous plants was about 2,045. The
total acreage actually under cultivation was 577,ooo
hectares, being equal to 1,442,500 acres. Sugar and
tobacco, being annual crops, are not included in these
Statements.
The greatest number of estates are found in the
Preanger Regencies immediately south of Batavia,
where 289 are operated. The next largest number
are on the east coast of Sumatra, where there are 233.
Although these estates are fewer in number, they are
greater in extent than those in the Preanger Regencies.
The former cover about four hundred thousand acres,
while the latter cover two hundred and fifty thousand.
between four and six million dollars yearly, were made by the colonies
to the mother country. Today the finances of the colonies are,
as they have been for many years, entirely separate, and Insulinde's
public means are used exclusively for Insulinde’s benefit.
[246]
The average estate in Insulinde consists of about one
thousand acres. In 1919 the percentage of total acres
under cultivation which had reached the producing
stage were: cocoa, 67 per Cent; COCa, 95 per cent;
kapok, 38 per cent; cinchona, 81 per cent; Cocoanut,
31 per cent; Coffee, 75 per cent; oil palm, 35 per
cent; rubber, 64 per cent; tea, 64 per cent; fibrous
plants, 75 per cent. -
These agricultural-industrial enterprises are many
and various. The history of the birth, growth, and
flowering of each of these white men’s enterprises is
an epic by itself. Untold difficulties had to be over-
come, great energy, foresight, and patience had to be
exercised. It was not only the untamed forces of wild
nature which had to be subjugated, but also the
inertia and sloth of the population, and the Cunning
and graft of their leaders. Instinctive opposition to
new conditions and many other antagonistic agencies
had to be laid bare and conquered.
It would take us too far afield even to describe
each of these white men’s industries, let alone to trace
in all details their history, growth, and present
condition. It must be sufficient to devote a few pages
to this very important side of colonial life—just
sufficient to show the tremendous influence that these
industries have exerted in the past and are exerting
now on the people, their economic condition, and
their growth in Insulinde.
Sugar.—The principal industry of the islands is
the growing and manufacturing of sugar cane. The
[247]
bald truth has been many times stated that, if it were
not for the manufacture of sugar, Insulinde would be
a burden to the mother country. It has been stated
with equal force and truth that the sugar industry of
Java is suspended above destruction by a rope of
sand. The truth of this assertion is easily ascertained
by a comparative study of the land laws affecting Java
and those affecting other countries where sugar is
grown and manufactured.
The world’s sugar is principally obtained from
Sugar cane or sugar beets. In countries other than
Java, where sugar is derived from crushing cane, as
in the Philippines, the Hawaiian Islands, Cuba, and
the southern states of the United States, the factory
Stands on land owned in fee simple absolute, and the
Company usually owns large tracts of land on which
the cane is raised. While in some of these countries
the factory management prefers to have its own
agricultural department and to raise its own cane On
its own land, local conditions often make it possible
to rent part of these lands to experienced tenant
farmers, who raise sugar cane thereon for a contract
price under general factory supervision.
This system is also quite largely followed by beet
Sugar companies, especially in the western part of the
United States. Almost invariably the sugar com-
panies own large tracts of land in the immediate
neighborhood and either take the planting of these
lands under their own management, or furnish seeds,
implements, etc., and often irrigation water to the
[248]
tenant farmers, who then either raise beets to be
delivered at a stated price (based on the percentage
of sugar and coefficient of roughness), or otherwise
raise the beets on shares. The factory, of course,
buys beets offered by outside farmers also, but the
ownership and control of these tracts of land assure
each individual sugar-mill a sufficient supply of beets
or cane, in the event that the independent farmer, for
some reason or other, desires to devote his lands to
different crops.
In Insulinde, and particularly in Java where all
the sugar-mills are located, there is quite another
story.
In the first place no European or American
individual or corporation can own any land.* The
native is and must remain the landowner, save and
except for the ground on which the factory itself and
the immediately surrounding yards are situated.
In some parts of Java there exists native owner-
ship of land, which is hereditary and approaches a fee
simple absolute; while in other parts there is owner-
ship in common by the village, the latter ownership
being divided into two classes, viz.: those villages
where each villager has a designated and definite piece
of ground with a usufructory right, and those where
periodically, generally every year, new divisions are
made.
* With the very few exceptions hereinbefore indicated, which
lands are however progressively reacquired by the government by
taxation.
|249
In maintaining this form of land tenure, in accord-
ance with the old adat and usages, the Netherlands
law-givers prove their statesmanlike vision.
The great majority of the natives in Java are most
improvident, and consequently always hard up for
cash. It would therefore be only a short while before
they would fall prey to rapaciously inclined white
men as well as foreign Orientals, and be divested of
their rights to the soil, with the result that soon the
multitude of dessamen would form a great army of
agricultural proletariat. That this is not an idly
conceived danger is proved by the fact that some of
the shrewder natives seem to be able, often by usury,
to acquire quite extensive holdings in places where
land can be owned in fee. *
But while this land system proves beneficial to the
natives it makes the investment of capital for the
manufacturer of Sugar far more precarious in Java
than in other sugar-producing countries. It is there-
fore but natural that capital, under these circum-
stances, should demand a larger return, part of
which is considered as an insurance premium
against the possible loss which ever threatens the
industry.
Sugar, like tobacco, is most exclusively raised on
the level valley land where fields can be irrigated and
are free from changing temperatures. This precludes
new sugar enterprises from taking up wild government
land under long leaseholds, but compels the raising
of the sugar cane on lands which otherwise would be
[25ol
used by the population as sawahs, or rice fields.
Too great an extension of the industry might, there-
fore, threaten the food supply of the natives. The
government consequently has thrown a great many
restrictions around such land-leasing by Sugar com-
panies, the object being to prevent leasing more land
for European agricultural-industrial purposes than
is for the best interest of the native population,
especially in view of ever-increasing food costs.
No lease is valid unless approved by the controller,
that is, the government administrator of the district,
whose special duty it is to look after and protect the
interests of the natives. After the controller has
approved the lease, it must have the further approval
of the assistant resident. That functionary may
refuse to grant his approval for several reasons:
a) If the ground is leased from a dessa, the land
of which is held in common, and if one-third of all the
tenants in common should object.
b) If more than one-third of the sawahs (rice
fields) are contracted for.
c) If there is reason to believe that the natives
do not quite understand the conditions of the leases,
or have been in any way imposed upon.
In the last few years a new law has gone into effect
by which a minimum rent has been established.
That means that no lease is valid unless the native
receives in cash, for rent, the equivalent of what he
would have received had the land been devoted to
native cropping.
|251]
About one million acres are devoted to this indus-
try, about one-third of which is planted yearly. Dur-
ing the active months of the industry about seven
hundred and fifty thousand natives find remunerative
employment in the sugar fields, and about one hun-
dred thousand more in the mills.
From the very fact that such huge numbers of
natives are employed, and that the mills are compelled
to pay yearly rents, it is obvious that an important
part of the return from the sale price of sugar remains
in the islands, and while the government realizes, on
one hand, that continuous protection of the natives
against the sugar-mills’ management is necessary, On
the other hand, it is alive to the fact that regulating
these industries to such an extent that capital would no
longer be attracted, would mean killing the goose which
lays the golden egg, for white man and native alike.
In 1919 there were 179 of these mills in operation,
producing a total of 1,336, II2 tons of Sugar. The
principal customers for this huge amount of Sugar
were Japan (364,176 tons), Calcutta (213,350 tons),
Great Britain (212,624 tons), and Hongkong (206,708
tons).
The industry is organized on the most scientific
lines. At Samarang and other places it maintains an
“experimental station for the sugar industry.” This
experimental station has a division for agricultural
affairs, a technical, and a chemical division. A visit
to the station is of absorbing interest. It is difficult
to imagine anything more thoroughly competent and
[252]
complete in experimental and control work. One
could not meet scientists who are more courteous,
able, or enthusiastic in the discharge of their duties
than the gentlemen in charge of the different divisions
of this important station. -
While each large sugar-mill in Java has its general
manager, to whom the heads of departments make
their daily reports, these general managers in turn
report daily to the experimental station. Here all
the returns are carefully tabulated and checked over.
If it is found that the returns of any of the mills are
not up to the very highest standard, an “advice” is
immediately sent by telegram to the mills’ general
manager, who can then confer with his mechanical
engineer, his chemical engineer, or his agricultural
manager, in an effort to locate the difficulty. If it is
not promptly found, and the slack taken up, an expert
is dispatched from the station. He generally reaches
the mill within twenty-four hours, and gives the neces-
sary advice and assistance. Throughout the cam-
paign this work is conscientiously kept up.
During the month of August, 1919, the writer was
given the opportunity of thoroughly inspecting this
station. Two of the division directors were kind'
enough to conduct him through the splendid experi-
mental buildings, offices, etc.
It was quite a novel sight to see native office
employees successfully using a great number of the
most complicated American office devices, such as
tabulating machines, calculating machines, phonetic
[253]
typewriters, etc. “Efficiency” was written with
large letters over the whole institution.
One of the many model sugar factories in Java
represented at this institution is situated near
Djokjakarta. It is known as Bantool, and engineer
P. W. M. Trap is the general manager. Under the
guidance of this efficient and kindly gentleman the
writer, who had seen many of the largest sugar-mills
in the world, was given the opportunity of intimately
acquainting himself with the processes in use. In
this sugar-mill, as in most, if not all of those operating
in Java, the very latest scientific methods are applied
in the most practical way.
Tobacco.—Tobacco has had the attention of the
European planters for a long time. While it has
been cultivated in a great many places, at present the
east coast of Sumatra (Deli) and the principalities
of Java (Djokjakarta and Surakarta, and Bezuki, in
the eastern part of Java) are the chief localities where
tobacco is raised on a large scale for the European
markets.
Tobacco culture is likewise the subject of most
careful attention from agricultural experts. While
formerly tobacco was easily grown on virgin soil where
the forests had just been removed, as in Sumatra
today, the utmost attention is paid to irrigation,
drainage, artificial fertilizing, seed selection, etc., so
that other lands may be utilized.
During the war the export of tobacco was much
Curtailed. In 1914 it was about sixty-five thousand
[254]
tons, in 1915 about eighty-two thousand tons, in 1916
close to one hundred thousand tons. Since then
there has been a slump in the export.
Amsterdam is the great market for this product."
Coffee.—Java coffee, or Java-Mocha, is well known
in all English-speaking countries. Under the en-
forced cultivation system (cultuur stelsel) special
attention was given to this crop, as it promised to
become the most profitable.
The industry has had its ups and downs. Among
the latter a leaf disease caused by a fungus—the
Himeleia Vestratrix—deserves special mention. At
one time the inroads of this fungus were so severe
that it was feared the whole industry would be
wiped out.
The old and reliable coffea arabica proved to be an
easy prey. All kinds of experiments were indulged
in to stop the ravages caused by this plant pest, such
as extra fertilizing, heavy pruning, etc. Finally the
* During the writer’s visit in Insulinde in 1919, two large tobacco
plantations were visited, one situated near Djokjakarta, named
“Sorogedoog,” of which Mr. J. J. Struben is general manager, and
where a very high state of tobacco culture has been attained; the
other near Deli, Sumatra. The latter was visited under the guidance
of the Honorable V. Obdeijn, assistant resident at Medan, who at
the request of Governor Grijzen had courteously consented to be our
guide. While the labor on the former plantation consists entirely
of free Javanese, the work on the latter was mostly done by coolie
contract labor. This consisted partly of Chinese and partly of
Javanese. The Javanese men and women working there appeared
to be well fed and happy, and seemed to receive as kind treatment
as they could enjoy in their native habitat. Moreover, their wages
were very much higher.
[255.
importation of hybrid coffee plants, such as the liberia
and robusta, proved to be the most promising remedy.
Today the industry is again flourishing, and Java
coffee is exported to all parts of the world. -
The crop in 1918 was:

Arabica Liberia Robusta Sundries Total
Java. . . . . . . . 42,582 | I 7,487 797,986 24,056 882, III
Sumatra . . . . . 68,686 2, I54 I2I,2O4. I,57I I93,615
Bali and
Celebes. . . . 75,00I I, I83 2,643 I 2 78,839
Total. . . . . I96,269 | 20,824 921,833 25,639 I,I54,565
The weights in the foregoing table are all piculs,
One picul being equal to 136 pounds. The total of the
coffee crop was therefore I 57,020,840 pounds.
The coffee of commerce is of course the dried part
of the berry. The preparation of these berries, after
they are picked, is most important. Several methods
are followed, each taking considerable labor. The
cultivation and final production of coffee therefore
gives employment to a multitude of native laborers,
not to speak of the many small farmers who raise
coffee for local consumption, or for sale to the
exporters. Amsterdam is the main market for this
product also.
Quinine.—One of Java’s industries which attracted
world-attention during the Great War is the quinine
industry. This enormous industry, which has proved
of untold value to humanity, is purely of govern-
mental conception and birth.
[256]
THGH-H-HOO ONI>{OICH NGHWOAXA GHS-INVAVI

Kina, or quinine, first drew the attention of the
white race in 1638 when Countess del Chinchona, the
wife of the Spanish Viceroy of Peru, was suffering from
persistent and malignant fevers. She was given a dry
powder as medicine by Don Juan Lopez de Cauizores,
who had learned the secret of this cure from the
natives. The medicine administered had the desired
effect, and the noble lady became the “booster”
of this new medicament. After her it was called
chinchona or cinchona, and sometimes “Powder of
the Countess.” Later it was known as “Powder of
the Jesuits.”
About thirty or forty varieties of trees, the bark
of which was pulverized, proved to have this medical
value. All of them grew in the Andes mountain
forests from Bolivia to Ecuador, at an elevation of
4,500 to 7,000 feet. For years these trees were cut
down whenever quinine was needed, and the fear
gained ground that eventually the supply would be
destroyed by the ever-growing demand.
In 1829 Dr. Blume proposed to plant some of
the trees in Java, but it was not until 1852 that the
botanical garden of the University of Leyden sent the
first two small quinine plants to Java. As these small
plants found a congenial climate and surrounding in
Java, the botanical expert, Hesskart, was sent as a
special representative to South America. He suc-
ceeded in bringing back 5oo plants to Batavia, 367
of which survived. The Dutch government, with
its usual foresight, had sent a warship to Peru to
[257]
bring the botanist and these valuable plants to
Insulinde.
Many trees were propagated from these original
plants; in fact as many as I3o,ooo, but they did not
prove to be of the best variety.
In 1865 Mr. George Ledger, an Englishman,
succeeded in acquiring a large package of seeds of
cinchona trees, part of which were sold to the Nether-
lands East Indian government. The trees growe from
these seeds proved a success, on account of their
high qualities for the production of quinine, and in
honor of Mr. Ledger they were called Ledgeriana.
They belong to the family of the Rubiaceae, to which
coffee also belongs.
Cinchona trees grow at an altitude of 4,000 to
6,ooo feet above sea-level. Grounds exceptionally
fertile allow the successful growth of the trees as low
as 3,000 feet, but this is not the general rule. The
trees grow best on gently sloping ground in a damp
climate. They need an average yearly rainfall of
Ioo inches.
As fresh forest grounds are best for the cultivation
of quinine, the plantations of this, as well as of tea,
coffee, and rubber, may be located on the wild govern-
ment lands and do not encroach on the native sawahs
of the low lands.
The time when the bark from the young trees may
be first collected depends entirely on the space in
which the trees are grown. If the trees are four feet
apart, it is generally considered that in the third year
[258]
(that is five years after seeding) the first crop may be
taken by reducing each tree to One stem, and removing
all the lower branches. The following year thinning
out may begin by selection, the rule of experts being
to thin out often and on a scientific and selective
basis.
The bark, as a general rule, is divided into fac-
tory bark and pharmaceutical bark. The latter is
obtained by peeling off pieces as large as possible with
a knife. These are then graded in certain lengths
and thicknesses. They are rolled up like pipes and
shipped in bundles.
Factory bark is packed in sacks made of jute fiber
after it has first been crushed on a wooden block by
hand, or ground by motor-power in a mill. This dry
bark is pressed in bales of two hundred pounds.
The writer had the privilege of observing the
quinine industry from the moment the seeds are
placed in the beds until the manufactured article is
placed in especially prepared tubes. For that pur-
pose he was hospitably and kindly received on the
“Soekawana” plantation of cinchona trees, situated
in the foothills above Bandong, in the Preanger
Regencies. Bandong has an elevation of 2, Ioo feet,
and the climate is delightful. In the evening Euro-
pean clothes are worn with comfort. The planta-
tion in question was situated about five thousand
feet above sea-level.
The manager, Mr. J. J. Holtzapffel, courteously
explained and demonstrated the tedious processes
[259]
necessary to grow the desired trees; the seed beds,
their protection against the morning cold and hot
afternoon suns; the transplanting of the young plants
from seed beds to nursery rows; afterward from there
to permanent places in the cleared forest grounds;
their cultivation and protection during growth; then
the thinning out, the cutting of the trees, and the
peeling of the bark. The latter process reminds one
strongly of the process of obtaining tan oak bark in
the United States hill districts. Finally, the pounding
of the bark into a powder was shown, and the baling
and shipping of the same to the great factory at
Bandong or to the godowns, where it would be further
shipped as cinchona bark to European markets.
By 1873 the first quinine was brought to Amster-
dam and sold at public auction—41o pounds at about
two dollars a pound. While the culture of quinine
was, in its inception, a government-fostered enterprise,
private interest soon took hold, and the industry was
extended to an enormous degree. In 1919 the export
of cinchona bark from Java was about twelve million
pounds from January to October, while in the same
period about one million one hundred thousand
pounds of manufactured quinine were likewise ex-
ported from Java. About 90 per cent of the quinine
used in the world is now supplied by Insulinde.
At Bandong an enormous quinine factory has been
established. Although this factory is absolutely
closed to visitors, the writer and his party received
Special permission to see it under the personal guid-
[26o]
ance of its director, Mr. J. van den Bos. It is here
that huge quantities of cinchona bark are made into
sulphate of quinine, white or gray, to conform with
the requirements of the different standard pharma-
copias. American factory efficiency is here blended
with careful, scientific Holland management, and this
factory offers one of the most impressive industrial
sights in the Orient.
The chief alkaloids found in quinine bark are
quinine, quindine, chinchonidine, cenchonine, quena-
acid, qunamine, and a few others.
An estimate of the amount of suffering which was
alleviated during the Great War by this Javanese
quinine baffles computation. Verily the foresight of
the Netherlands government in 1852 has been of
untold benefit to humanity during this crucial period.
Insulinde offers an additional number of other
industries, in agricultural and mineral lines, such as
the production of vegetable oils, copra and copra
cakes, tapioca, indigo, Coca and cacao, tin, gold, coal,
* The manufacturing and export of copra oil has received a
tremendous impetus during the last few years. The cocoanut palm,
from which copra oil is derived, is a native of Insulinde where it is
called kalapa. It belongs to the family of fan palms. It is essen-
tially a native culture, as a great number of these valuable palms
are grown by the natives on their own lands. Since the middle of
the last century large new plantations have also been started on
long-lease government lands, and for extraction of the oil there are
now factories with up-to-date machinery, etc. The value of the
export from Java and Madura alone was, in IQI9, as follows: for
Copra oil, 67,279,244 florins, or $26,911,697; for copra cakes, 5,679,429
florins, or $2,371,771; and for dried copra, 39,441,748 florins, or
$15,776,992—a total of about forty-three million dollars.
[261]
etc., all of which greatly influence the development of
the Colonies. But there are three industries which
deserve special mention, as they have been developed
in huge proportions entirely due to Netherlands enter-
prise, to-wit: (a) the tea industry; (b) the petroleum
and allied industries; (c) the rubber industry.
Tea.—Tea was introduced in 1826, when a Dutch
physician in Japan sent seeds to the botanical garden
at Buitenzorg. A small start with tea culture was
made in the next year when the tea expert of the
Netherlands Trading Society, Mr. J. Jacobson, arrived
in Java, after having studied in Canton. He returned
to China for further investigations and in 1829 sent a
collection of Chinese tea seeds and plants to Java.
In 1832 he returned to Insulinde, bringing with him
two Chinese tea experts.
Up to 1842 the tea industry remained a govern-
ment monopoly, but after that the culture of tea was
opened to private enterprise. -
At first the fragrant Chinese tea was almost
exclusively cultivated, but in 1878 the tea plant of
Assam was imported. This lent itself better to the
production of tea leaves in greater quantities. Today
the Assamica in pure and hybrid form is almost
exclusively cultivated in Insulinde.
While tobacco and sugar are mostly grown on the
level, irrigated lands, and therefore almost entirely on
rented lands, the cultivation of the tea plant lends
itself to the foothills, and the land given under long
lease by the government.
[262]
One who desires to see a tea plantation which is a
real show-place of beauty and efficiency should
endeavor to obtain an introduction to one of the
owners of the famous “Malabar” and adjoining plan-
tations, situated in the Preanger Regencies above
Bandong. Mr. K. A. R. Bosscha is the presiding
director. This gentleman has many different inter-
ests to occupy his mind, not the least being the
Volksraad at Weltevreden, of which he is an important
and valued member. We are fortunate enough to
obtain through him an introduction to his junior,
Mr. R. A. Kerkhoven, a gentleman belonging to an
old planter family, who represents what in England
would be called a prominent county family. Mana-
ging estates seems to come as naturally to these
members of the landed aristocracy in the Indies as it
does everywhere else on the globe. It is in the blood.
Mr. Kerkhoven is not an exception to this rule.
Besides being a charming host and guide, he appeared
to have a firm grasp on all the details of his enormous
tea enterprises. Nothing apparently escaped his eye,
and it was easily imagined that he was as much at
home in his office as in the saddle.
The plantation itself is situated in the hills, with
wide vistas over the valleys below, and the back-
ground of magnificent forests, with the immaculate
buildings in the foreground, the splendid roads, and
cultivated fields, is an unending delight to the eye.
The writer has visited many famous estates in
many places of the world, but seldom had he seen one
[263]
where efficiency, combined with excellent taste, was
so much in evidence.
The tea plant generally grows at an elevation of
from one thousand to four thousand five hundred feet
above sea-level, and, while the plants need a great
deal of rain, still they are sensitive to stagnant water
around their roots. Rolling hills, well drained, are
preferable. Plenty of Sun is required, and it is neces-
sary for this reason to prevent any and all other
vegetation between the rows.
While sugar cane and tobacco must be quickly
harvested, whenever the time for gathering has
arrived, the harvesting of tea is a process which lasts
the year round. It is generally done by women and
children, as each little leaf must be picked carefully
and individually from the stem. Immediately after
picking, the leaves must be taken to the factory, which
is situated in the center of the plantation, to be as-
sorted, wilted, and dried.
It is customary to divide the plantations into
parcels of land which are indicated by dracaenas, and
the work is so regulated that every seven to ten days,
each of the bushes in each of the plots is carefully gone
over and the leaves picked.
After the tea is dried in the factories by modern
dehydrating machinery, it is again carefully assorted.
Then it is brought on the market under different
Ila,IſleS.
Contrary to general belief, the different names do
not indicate different varieties of tea, for it is all of
|264]
the Assam variety, but the difference comes from pick-
ing various sorts of leaves in accordance with their age.
For instance, the famous Pekoe is made of the very
young leaves, the Souchong from the smallest leaves,
and the Oolong and Congo, from different grades of
leaves of the same plant.
For the last few decades the natives have cultivated
a great deal of tea on their own grounds, and it is the
custom to offer these leaves for sale to the adjoining
plantation factories.
In 1918 Insulinde exported over 60,000,ooo pounds
of tea. This was below normal, for both in 1915 and
I916 it exported close to IOO,Ooo,ooo pounds, and in
I917 nearly 80,000,ooo pounds. The export of Java
alone in 1919 was close to 45,000,ooo guilders.
Tea culture had to contend with a great many
difficulties during the war, but in 1919 many impedi-
ments were removed, and the auctions of tea at
Amsterdam and London were again started. In the
London markets alone Io'7,ooo cases of Netherlands
East Indian tea were placed, while at the Amsterdam
auctions about 180,000 cases were disposed of from
Java, and 8,000 cases from Sumatra."
While formerly tea was almost exclusively grown
in the island of Java, lately the culture has had con-
siderable attention in Sumatra, especially near Pa-
dang and in the Deli district near Pematang Sir Antar.
* See article “Conditions in Dutch East Indies,” from Report
of Igrg by the Chamber of Commerce at Amsterdam in Economic
Intelligence Bulletin of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Hague,
dated December Io, Ig20.
[265]
{
Netherlands, English, and German capital is inter-
ested, and it is expected that about twenty-five
thousand acres of tea will soon be in full production.
As many gardens yield one thousand pounds yearly
per acre, it is believed that Sumatra will bring a hand-
some quantity of tea. On the market, especially as the
total area is subject to vast expansion.*
The petroleum industry.—The history of this indus-
try is closely interwoven with that of the Royal Dutch
Petroleum Company, which began its operations in
I89o, with a capital of one million three hundred
thousand guilders. In 1919 its capital had increased
almost three hundred fold, that is, to about four
hundred million guilders. The profits during that
year were over one hundred million guilders. Dur-
ing its years of existence enormous dividends have
often been paid, and its activities have been continu-
ously extended. -
After several financial transactions, the Royal
Dutch Petroleum Company allied itself with others,
and has become exclusively a parent or holding com-
pany. It holds in its treasury 6o per cent of all the
shares of the Bataafsche Petroleum Company, which
company operates extensively in Insulinde. In 1907
the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company and the Shell
Company fused their interests. By the terms of this
fusion, the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company acquired
in perpetuity 60 per cent of all the property of the
* See Dr. Charles Bernard’s “Tea Growing on Sumatra's East
Coast” in Sluyter’s Monthly Magazine, December, 1920.
[266]
combine, while the Shell Company obtained the re-
maining 40 per cent. The principal Seats of business
are in London and The Hague.
The allied and subsidiary companies have spread
all over the world, for instance in Roumania through
the “Astra Romana,” in Egypt through the Anglo-
Egyptian Oilfields, Ltd., in Oklahoma and the mid-
continent of the United States of America through
the Roxana Petroleum Corporation of Virginia, in
California and the western states of America through
the Shell Oil Company of California, in Mexico
through the La Corona Petroleum Company and the
so-called Mexican Eagle (Compañia Mexicana de
Petroleo El Aguilla), etc.
The Bataafsche Petroleum Company aforesaid has
several magnificent establishments in Insulinde. It
maintains two refining plants on the island of
Sumatra, two on the island of Java, one on the island
of Borneo, which is the largest of them all, while on
the island of Ceram is located a distilling plant. There
are also important tank installations on different
islands of the archipelago.
The center of the oil industry in Java is at Tjepu,
a small town half-way between Surabaya and Sama-
rang. Here a great modern factory has been estab-
lished, where the oil is refined and all by-products
are manufactured, such as candles, etc. It is a real
joy to visit this factory. The writer was most hospi-
tably received there, and an opportunity was extended
to see the oil industry from top to bottom. Under
[267]
the personal guidance of the courteous and able
manager, Mr. J. G. Pouw, we visited the oil wells
situated several miles from the factory in the middle
of a teakwood forest, where chattering monkeys were
having an enjoyable time. Several new wells were
being drilled, some under the guidance of American
bore-masters. More wells were in operation, three or
four being pumped at the same time, by means of one
electrical device. Geologists were engaged in Survey-
ing the ground and indicating spots where new trial
wells should be sunk. Several pipe lines were convey-
ing the oil to the factory. On our return to the plant
several hours were spent within the factory, where,
with the aid of modern machinery, a vast multitude
of native mechanics and laborers were at work in the
refineries, machine shops, can factories, etc.
Only the higher employees, such as the assistant
manager, analyzing chemists, engineers, etc., were
Hollanders. All the others were natives. The fac-
tory had all the appearances of a huge American
manufacturing plant in full blast. Private railroad
tracks crossed the yards in every direction, shunting
the cars before the different sheds and buildings. To
make the picture complete, armed native policemen
were patroling the yards, for a strike among the
native workmen had just ended, and the ringleaders,
though defeated and repudiated by the better elements
of workingmen, still needed watching.
The oil derived from the various wells is very
different in appearance and in consistency. For
[268]
instance, the oil of Sumatra is lighter than that of
Borneo. The Sumatra oil contains a greater percent-
age of benzine and less paraffine, the latter substance
being found mainly in Javanese and Borneo oil.
Most of the geologists of the oil companies are
graduates from the College of Engineers at Delft,
Holland, but in former years many Swiss geologists
were employed, who rendered very important and
valuable service. Many of the young Dutch geolo-
gists were trained under the direction of Swiss experts.
In late years a great deal of boring machinery has
been imported from the United States, and American
bore-masters and other chief mechanics are employed.
The Royal Dutch and Shell Combine maintain a
fleet of tank steamers. This fleet is under the
management of the Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Company,
Ltd., of London. Sixty per cent of the shares of the
latter company are owned by the Royal Dutch Pe-
troleum Company. The tank ships owned in 1919
by this combine measured 544,669 tons, and several
chartered ships in addition operated under its house
flag.
Years ago this combine found a practical and rea-
sonable solution of the grave question of encouraging
saving and thrift among the officials and employees.
For that purpose it created a thrift and provident
fund. The employees are required to deposit to the
credit of this fund between 5 and Io per cent of their
monthly earnings, and the combine at once adds the
same amount to their credit, the whole amount earning
|269)
interest. On December 31, 1919, 7,300 officials and
employees were members of this fund, and paid in
a total of one and one-half million guilders during
that year alone. The different companies of the com-
bine added three million seven hundred thousand
guilders to the fund, and at the end of the year (1919)
there stood to the credit of the employees about
twenty-five million guilders. This huge amount is
separately administered and invested. Each em-
ployee is provided with his own pass book, showing
the amount to his credit in the fund. Except when he
is discharged for good cause, he is entitled, when
leaving the employ of the company, to draw the full
amount, and even in the case of discharge, he draws
the full amount of his own deposits with accumu-
lated interest. In this industry, also, a vast army of
natives is employed.
The company does not deserve the exclusive
credit of this system, for the reason that several of the
large agricultural companies, such as the sugar and
tobacco companies, have a system which more or less
resembles it.
In 1914 (the last normal year) there were exported
from Insulinde approximately: IIo,ooo,000 gallons of
kerosene; 76,000,ooo gallons of benzine and gasoline;
5o,ooo,ooo gallons of fuel oil; 35,000,000 pounds of
lubricating oil; 20,000,ooo pounds of paraffine; and
4oo,ooo pounds of asphaltum. In 1919 the total
production of crude oil in Insulinde was 2,092,917
tons.
[276]
On several occasions the Royal Dutch groups were
attacked by the Standard Oil Company and other
large rivals, but they were able to beat off their com-
mercial antagonists.
Rubber.—The rubber industry has attracted the
attention of European capital since 1839, when the
American, Mr. Goodyear, invented the process of
vulcanization through sulphur. *
The substance which is known as rubber or India
rubber in English, and caoutchouc in Dutch, is found
in several of the native plants, but only after the
manufactured substance came into great demand for
industrial purposes was the culture of rubber trees
undertaken as a great agricultural enterprise.
In the beginning a mistake was made by planting
the ficus elastica, and much capital was lost, as these
trees, while producing a certain kind of rubber, did not
give a product of satisfactory quality and quantity.
Since that time the Hevea Braziliensis has been exten-
sively planted with the most satisfactory results.
Great plantations of these trees are found in Java and
Sumatra.
The trees seem to thrive at different elevations,
but rolling forest ground is generally considered the
most adaptable.
A few years ago large American plantations were
started in Sumatra, where the labor is imported
from Java.
Those who have the time, when visiting Insulinde,
should endeavor to visit Sumatra and spend a few
[271]
days at Medan, the governor’s seat in East Sumatra.
In the neighborhood are found extensive rubber
plantations, second to none in the world. American
as well as other foreign capital is profitably engaged
here. Those who can visit only Java will find many
flourishing rubber estates on this island also.
One of the best of these is the estate named “Pasir
Ajoenan,” in the Residency of Bantam. It is beauti-
fully located in the foothills, and its rolling acres of
rubber trees offer, especially when the leaves turn
scarlet before dropping, a most pleasing sight. Here
one may see hundreds of intent laborers, mostly
women, moving from tree to tree, tapping the rubber
by cutting with a sharp knife a small strip of the
bark and inserting a catch cup at the lower end of
the cut.
If one has the good fortune to enjoy the personal
acquaintance of the manager of this estate, the esti-
mable Mr. L. C. de Voss tot Nederveen Cappel, one is
given a wealth of information besides a most hospi-
table welcome at the headquarters. One soon learns
that managing a rubber estate is a skilled undertaking
in the tropics. From the moment that the virgin
forest is being cleared to the time when the sap is
finally placed in the vats in the factory, a constant
alertness is necessary.
The long-lease system.—It may well be asked
what protection is given to Netherlands and for-
eign capital engaged in these large agricultural en-
terprises P. This question is especially appropriate
[272]
TAPPING RUBBER TREES IN SUMATRA

in view of the fact that the white man cannot acquire
a fee to the land.
The answer is that some of the industries are better
protected than others. Those whose aim is the grow-
ing of Sugar or tobacco, which is dependent on renting
the soil from the natives, always run the risk that at
some future time these natives may change their
minds and either refuse to rent their land at all, or
else demand such exorbitant rents that the industries
cannot be maintained on a paying basis.
For the purpose of giving some kind of protection
the law recognized the validity of leases running from
six to a maximum of twenty years, given by natives
to Netherlands planters. This, however, is only when
each of these leases has been individually approved by
the Netherlands official in charge.
The policy of the government to maintain the use
of all cultivated lands, which are included within
a reasonable sphere of the dessas, definitely and per-
manently for the natives, is so well established on
historical as well as on moral and equitable grounds
that there is not a remote chance that this plan will
be changed. It may even be assumed that this
agrarian policy of the government will be strengthened,
and that, as the growing population may need more
lands for its own existence, the government will allow
the boundaries of the dessa lands to be gradually
extended into what are now called domain lands.
As was pointed out in a former chapter, there is
still a remnant of rights in fee simple absolute to the
[273]
soil, held by Europeans, which was granted under
Governors General Daendels and Raffles. These
rights, however, are continuously condemned by the
government under eminent domain proceedings, and,
inasmuch as the government pays only the true and
actual value, it is very dangerous to purchase land
under this ancient fee simple absolute, for the buyer
is liable to be deposed at any time, and the price which
the government gives may be less than that which
he paid.
However, there are vast tracts of land which for
years, and possibly for centuries to come, will not be
needed for these native purposes, and these lands offer
a large field for investment to foreign capital. The
government does not part with the title to these lands.
It could not, for it considers itself the trustee obligated
to hold the final title forever in trust for the natives
and their future wants, but in the meantime it grants
long-lease rights to white people.
For the purpose of these long-lease rights the
territory of Insulinde is divided into two main divi-
sions: (1) the lands which are under direct Nether-
lands rule; and (2) the lands which are still under
qualified native rule, with Dutch supervision, so-called
self-governing communities.
The principal of obtaining leases on either division
of the territory, while the same in general, varies in
details.
I. In the territory directly under Dutch rule the
granting of long-lease rights is regulated under the
[274]
agrarian law of April 9, 1870. This law provides that
no leases shall be granted for a longer period than
seventy-five years; that the governor general, or his
deputy, the director of the Department of the Interior,
shall grant the leases, and that before this is done, the
land must be surveyed and mapped, and that, as a
general rule, not more than five hundred bouws (eight
hundred and seventy-five acres) shall be given under
one surveyed right. Several of these surveys may be
united into one leasehold. -
In 1913 and IQI4 additional ordinances and decrees
were promulgated, further regulating the granting of
these rights, while Book II of the Civil Code of the
Dutch East Indies was likewise made applicable.
The leases are generally for agricultural purposes
only, and are extended to Dutch subjects or citizens
of the Dutch East Indies only, or otherwise to corpora-
tions or copartnerships established in accordance
with the laws of the mother country or the Colonies.
There is, however, nothing in the law which prevents
foreign capital from participating in these corpora-
tions or copartnerships. The law simply requires
that the articles of these corporations or copartner-
ships be drawn up and approved under the Nether-
lands or Netherlands East Indian law, and that they
have their principal place of business in the Nether-
lands or the Netherlands East Indies, also that some
of the directors be residents.
A yearly rental must be paid to the government
by long-leaseholders, which is called “canon,” and
[275]
which usually starts five years after the granting of
the lease, giving the holder an opportunity to bring
his land under cultivation and derive some profit
therefrom before his payments begin.
The leaseholder may not transfer his right without
the permission of the chief of the department, except
when all rents and taxes have been paid; neither can
he relinquish his right without the foregoing consent;
and he is fined in case he does not promptly pay to the
state treasury the amounts of the canon, when they
become due. He often runs the chance that his lease
may be forfeited for non-payment of rent, or if he
fails to bring yearly under cultivation that part of the
ground stipulated in the leasehold. There are several
Other minor stipulations, for instance, that he cannot
construct water-works without special permit, etc.
A person desiring to obtain one of these long-
leaseholds must file a written petition, directed to the
governor general, and this request must be accom-
panied by a survey, made by the official surveyor, at
the expense of the petitioner. A map must accompany
the petition. The petition must be handed to the
resident or governor of the province, who thereupon
places the same before a permanent commission,
charged with the local examination of long-lease
requests. If there appear to be no serious obstacles
to the granting of the request, notice of the petition
is posted in public places in the dessas and neighboring
villages, with the information that the population has
thirty days in which to file protest if it so desires.
[276]
In the meantime the local commission aforesaid
makes a thorough examination and incorporates the
results in a report. Likewise the protest of the
population, if any, is incorporated in this report, and
finally the commission adds its recommendation,
which includes the amount which should be paid
yearly as canon. The petition with the reports are
laid before the resident, who, if he so desires, asks for
additional opinions from the division heads of irriga-
tion, or forestry service, etc., and finally the whole
matter is sent to the governor general for decision.
If the decision is favorable, the decree of the
governor general stipulates that further surveys must
be made before the final rights are granted, and it may
likewise demand that any indemnification due to the
population of a certain dessa be paid before the
Concession is granted.
After a few more formalities have been complied
with, all of which tend toward the protection of the
native dessas, the lease becomes effective. It is then
recorded on the public registers, and a legal leasehold
deed is issued.
The yearly rent as a rule is very reasonable, sel-
dom over one guilder (normal exchange 40 cents in
American money) per bouw, with an exemption from
payment of this amount for the five or sometimes
ten years.
2. In the self-governing communities concessions
are granted instead of leaseholds. These concessions,
however, very much resemble the leaseholds prevailing
[277]
in the territories under direct government. For
instance they, like the others, cannot be granted for
more than seventy-five years, and in all cases they
must be granted by the native ruler of the countryside
and approved by the Dutch resident or governor, or
if the central government should assume the function
of granting rights, the lease is granted by the local
government official in the name of the governor
general.
Generally speaking, only Dutch subjects or Dutch
corporations and copartnerships can obtain these
concessions, but an exception has been made on the
east coast of Sumatra (Deli, etc.), where foreigners
and foreign corporations and copartnerships are
placed on the same footing as the Netherlanders.
In every case where the long-term lease or the
concession is granted, if the leaseholder or conces-
sionaire lives up to the spirit and letter of the contract,
he enjoys the fullest protection of the Dutch law.
[278]
CHAPTER XII. THE FUTURE OF
INSUL INDE
Java a paradise—Aloem—aloen—The Parisiennes of the Orient—
The plantations—The fish ponds—The appearance of an
Arcadia—Industrial unrest—The public press and trades
unions—Division of opinion—Conservatives—Liberals—Com-
parison of natives and American negroes—Liberals believe cure
for unrest lies in (1) sensible education, (2) more political
autonomy, (3) better social and financial conditions; conflict
of capital and labor—“Lock outs” and strikes in the United
States—Necessity of government protection in Insulinde—
Probable future methods of protection are (1) fixing minimum
wages and maximum hours of labor, (2) fixing surplus profits;
law of supply and demand—Minimum wage in the United
States—Deficit of 250,000,ooo guilders in Java–Profits of
agricultural enterprises—Risks of these enterprises—Dangers
of unwise taxation—Dangers of paternalistic government—
The inferior paternalism of Russia—The superior paternal-
ism of Germany—Failure to awaken social responsibility—
Insulinde’s government by necessity paternal–Process of
change to representative government—Two schools of indus-
trial and political thought—Liberals—Conservatives—Great
promise for future of Java
THE FUTURE OF INSULINDE
Rºn E who travels on the great highways of the
§§ island of Java," “the gem of the Indian
Ocean,” travels indeed through a paradise
the beauty of which is unsurpassed by any
other country on the globe. The road winds
through a lovely landscape where the sawahs or rice
fields of the natives, bordered by the graceful cocoanut
palms, follow one another in endless procession. Some
of the sawahs are level stretches of irrigated agricul-
tural lands; others have been constructed on ter-
raced grounds, while all are subdivided into small
plots, giving the whole scene the character of one
intensively cultivated garden. Garbed in the light
green color of the young rice, or in the darker green
of the taller blades, or showing the golden hue of the
ripening paddie, the sawahs present to the tourist a
land rich in promise.
One sees the native men and women busily engaged
in plowing with their carabaos, irrigating, planting,
or harvesting, as the season demands. As one travels
along the magnificently kept roads, bordered by
canarien or other stately trees, one sometimes passes
* Those who desire to visit this Eden will find a very competent
and agreeable guide in the Director of the Bureau for Tourists’
Travel, Mr. N. A. Wymenga. This gentleman has a most astonish-
ing knowledge of travel and local conditions in the islands, for he
knows Insulinde from end to end. His office, subsidized by the
government, is situated in the neighborhood of the hotels at Welte-
vreden. His courtesy, simplicity, and kindliness, combined with
painstaking thoroughness, make a visit there a real joy.

[281]
patches of vandoe trees, producing freely the famous
flossy kapok of commerce. Beneath them there are
myriads of smiling little brown children, capering
and playing as children are wont to do everywhere.
One passes through dessas and villages, where young
women, in the glory of their motherhood, nurse their
babies unhindered by false modesty.
In each little dessa is a stately aloen-aloen, or
public gathering-place, where, sheltered by some
magnificent waringen trees, the home of the regent or
wedana stands in dignified aloofness." The waringen
trees are enormous as well as graceful, and of such
antiquity that several writers believe that they were
never planted artificially. The regents or native
princes are supposed to have selected these places for
their residences on account of the existence of these
sacred trees.
In the Preanger Regencies especially, and in the
eastern part of Java generally, the Sundanese inhab-
itants give the impression of a carefree, if not gay,
people. The women of this race are truly called the
Parisiennes of the Orient. Bare-footed and bare-
headed, with multicolored sarongs,” and kabayas,”
generally provided with gold coins for buttons or
ornaments, they make a picture never to be forgotten.
* These aloen-aloen remind one of the “plaza” in the presidios
of the old Spanish Colonial times, which one still finds in some of the
Western American cities.
* A colored strip of battik cloth, six feet long and about three
or four feet wide, wrapped about the lower part of the body.
3. A long waist of thin white material worn over the Sarong.
[282]
Especially in the evenings, when the girls, small
of stature, but erect and graceful, stand in long rows
in front of their houses, stamping the paddie to husk
the rice and singing their melodious folk-songs, the
spirit of Java enters one’s soul. Suddenly the native
villages are left behind, and one beholds the great
plantations of the white men, where huge quantities
of produce are grown for the world-markets. One
sees shimmering in the distance, under the palms and
amid the bamboo groves, the big white houses of the
Dutch planters, and near by the numerous out-
buildings, reminding one of the landed estates of old
colonial days in the southern states of America.
The scenic beauty is unending in variety and
gorgeousness. One can never forget a visit made to
the fish ponds at Garut," where in a series of artificial
lakes a multitude of colored fishes are disporting
themselves. Each pond is separated from its neigh-
bor by levees, planted with graceful palm trees which
reflect their lovely images in the clear and limpid
waters. Especially on moonlit nights, if one climbs
* Garut is a small city east of Bandong, connected therewith
by rail and auto road. Here is found one of the best hotels in Java,
the Hotel Papandayan, where mine host, Mr. J. A. C. Hacks, is not
only willing but anxious to make his guests comfortable, and show
them the glory of the surrounding country. One who can spare the
time should spend several days, if not weeks, at Garut, visiting
the famous craters of the Papandayan and Kawah Kamodjan.
Those who are visiting Java, or any other country where customs,
ideas, and especially ideals are totally different from those prevailing
at home, are very fortunate indeed when some inhabitant of the
country, thoroughly imbued with its spirit, consents to act as cicerone.
[283]
an eminence and looks down on the valleys of the
Tjipanas where these ponds are located, one can easily
imagine that this is fairyland.
No matter which way one travels in the early
morning, one meets a multitude of natives inbound for
the pasars or markets in the towns and villages, or
outbound for their sawahs. In the evening the two
processions are repeated.
One or two days a week are devoted to the pasar
in each village. These days are always important in
the economic life of the villagers, who flock together
from the surrounding country, offering a multitude of
articles for sale, such as meat, poultry, rice, spices,
notions, wearing apparel, in fact everything that is
produced on the farms or in the homes. Formerly
a tax was levied, a small percentage on all sales. The
right to collect this tax was generally “farmed out”
to Chinese who were not slow to take advantage of the
How much one learns in a few hours that would otherwise take
months of observation and study!
During their travels in the Orient, the writer and his party
were singularly fortunate in that respect. At Garut, Mr. J. F.
Waal, managing director of the important commercial firm of Deuti-
kom & Waal of Bandong, a gentleman who has lived for years in
Java, not only conducted them personally from Bandong to Garut,
but remained there several days to see that the itinerary covered the
most striking points of interest. He combined a thorough knowl-
edge of the native language with love for the beauties of nature in
the place of his residence. It was chiefly due to his sustained kind-
ness that we saw this part of Java in its full glory and beauty.
* By passer, passar, or pasar is indicated the public market-
place. The word is derived from the Persian word bazar.
[284]
native population. Since 1855 these taxes have been
abolished and trading at the pasars is free and
unobstructed. In addition, the government is doing
splendid work in improving the market-places. They
are now provided with reinforced concrete floors, suit-
able roofs, sanitary appliances, etc. Order is main-
tained by the market police. s
- The pasars offer scenes of constantly changing.
color. Here the Chinese, Malays, Javanese, Arabs,
and occasional white men mingle in friendly bartering.
The natives on the highways and in the fields and
villages seem quiet, contented, and courteous. It is
seldom that one sees an unseemly act or hears a rough
word. One almost never sees a native strike a child
or even speak harshly to one. It is truly said that a
Javanese, no matter how humble, is a gentleman in
his manners. Verily Java seems to be an Arcadia.
However, nothing is perfect in this world, and
Insulinde is no exception to the rule. For even in
this Arcadia the serpent of discontent has entered.
How could it be otherwise? This spirit of discontent
now sweeps over the whole world. It is felt in Japan
as well as in France, in Soviet Russia, as well as in
conservative China. It is the spirit which makes the
man in the street demand a larger share of the good
things of this world than he has had before. It is
the spirit of self-determination politically, no matter
whether the people are ripe for self-government or not.
Such feelings are epidemic and contagious. How
then could Java in particular, and Insulinde in general,
[285]
escape the backwash in this tide of the world’s
thought? Even if it could, it should not; for reason-
able discontent must forever be the mother of reason-
able progress. That such a feeling will materially
affect the future of this Island Empire must be ob-
vious.
The feeling of unrest expresses itself in Insulinde
in much the same way that it does all over the rest of
the world. It is evidenced by a demand for greater
political freedom, a demand for better social condi-
tions, and a demand especially for better financial
conditions. The cry for greater political freedom
finds vent in two movements:
a) A general movement, demanding more accen-
tuated autonomy in all local matters, and less interfer-
ence from the mother country in those matters which
pertain particularly to Insulinde. In this demand
the educated colored brethren are supported by a
material part of the white population, and by many
voices in the white man’s daily press and periodicals.
b) A specific movement, existing among the
natives, which finds its organs of expression in the
native press, and in several native societies, of which
the Society Sarakat Islam is the principal. The
Society Insulinde is prominent among the half-
CaSteS.
The demand for better social and financial condi-
tions, in other words the industrial unrest, finds
utterance in the public press and in different trade
unions and societies especially devoted to this aim.
[286]
It may be remarked here that these trade unions and
societies by no means have the vitality which their
sisters have in more advanced countries.
It is a good omen for the future that there is a
healthy division of opinion as to how to solve this
vexing problem, for du choc des opinions jaillit la
verite is a maxim especially applicable to public
politics. Those whose interests are more directly
affected by the social, industrial, and financial
demands of the population are firmly convinced that
this movement is primarily a political one, and they
deny its industrial character. Inasmuch as these
gentlemen are of necessity large property owners, or
at least represent large property interests, they are
naturally conservative in their political views, and
may therefore be called the Conservatives. They
blame the so-called political unrest almost entirely on
the “too liberal” views which the government holds,
and which they believe to be detrimental to the best
interests of all concerned. Their theory is largely
based on the thought that the only government suit-
able to a colony is a strong centralized government,
leaning for its main support on powerful battalions,
preferably with fixed bayonets. It finds its counter-
part in the implicit trust which the old conservative
corporation managers in other countries place in the
policeman’s club to settle all industrial differences.
It is probably needless to say that the majority of
the old planters and industrials belong to this school
of thought, and, as is the wont of their class, they
[287|
are not bashful about expressing their views. They
witnessed “the good old times” when natives were
subservient to white people, even to the extent of
crouching in the dust when the white children and
their baboes (colored nurses) passed by.
These big industrials are the lions of the con-
servative movement. They are firmly convinced that
the good God has made some people to direct and rule
while others were destined to be hewers of wood and
Carriers of water; that no good can come of a policy
the ultimate aim of which is the transformation of
good burden-carriers into indifferent if not vicious
aspirants to higher ideals—ideals which the burden-
carriers will never be able to reach and of which they
would soon tire, should they make the effort. They
are likewise convinced that such a policy would breed
in the people a desire to fill positions in the scheme of
things for which nature never intended them; that it
would teach them to look with contempt on the useful
manual work for which they are best fitted. This
class of conservatives has its sycophants, flatterers,
and retainers, just as the lion has the jackal to hunt
in its tracks. But their influence is negligible, and
their opinions variable at the best.
As for the true exponents of this conservative
theory, it is idle to say that they are all prompted by
selfish and material motives. On the contrary, many
of these gentlemen have a profound knowledge of the
psychology of the natives of Insulinde, a knowledge
based on years and years of close contact, study,
[288]
and observation. It is especially due to their energy,
courage, and foresight, that a splendid industrial
empire was built. We may well believe that they
are firmly convinced of the righteousness of their
arguments.
To prove their contentions, they point with
considerable force to the fact that many of the planta-
tion managers have made an earnest effort to better
the living and moral conditions of the natives; that
they have built model kampongs where their laborers
and families could live under sanitary and otherwise
improved conditions; that their efforts have met with
only lukewarm sympathy, if not indifference and
downright hostility, from the intended beneficiaries.
It is further pointed out that the so-called educated
native is, as a rule, an educated impossibility; that
he becomes pompous and lazy; that he evidences a
violent love for all the white man’s rights, but does
not welcome even a speaking acquaintance with the
white man’s duties; that unless a firm hand is held
on the situation, the agitators—full-blood natives,
half-breeds, and degenerate whites alike—will con-
tinue to stir up trouble, which can bring only disaster
to everyone concerned; that the native press is often
preaching sedition, and inciting people to rebellion,
thereby threatening the islands with untold misery.
There are many other strong arguments of a similar
tenor, all of which are advanced with energy and
earnestness. Several of them have a solid historical
background.
[289)
As we have seen, the native government was in
the past a government of satraps and petty despots
over serfs and slaves. The first white man’s govern-
ment was not much better. It was in many instances
worse. It was a government of spoliation, for it was
essentially mercenary. As the white man himself
raised his ideals of colonization, his government
slowly developed into a benevolent despotism, but the
native peoples did not keep pace; they clung to the
idea that their native rulers were the masters and
owners of their bodies and souls. Even though it is
very evident today that they are rulers in name only,
paid servants of the white man in fact, this does not
seem to impress itself on the average native.
Even a cursory observer who travels through
Insulinde knows that the natives do not pay the
slightest attention, of their own accord, to such mat-
ters as cleaning and flushing, to Sanitary engineering,
to the curbing of pestilence and dreadful diseases.
Take the white man away, and Insulinde would once
more be the breeding-place of epidemics. Even now,
in cases of smallpox and cholera epidemics, the health
service has little co-operation from the native quarter,
and sometimes it is met with bitter opposition.
Improvement is not simply a question of instruction
and education. The Conservatives remind us that
the majority of the natives, who have lived for years
in close contact with the Hollanders, are as insanitary,
as superstitious, and as adverse to progress as ever;
also that those who have lived as servants in white
[290]
men’s homes for decades, and who have been taught,
nay compelled, to employ hygienic methods, promptly
revert to type when they are released from the white
man’s influence.
The Conservatives are not opposed to education,
but they believe that this education should be very
slowly extended. They point out that education of
the native at present is generally a failure, as was the
education of the negro in the United States after his
emancipation. Then each one wished to be educated
as a lawyer, a preacher, or a clerk, with as little effort
as possible," but scorned the idea of being trained
along manual lines. It took heroic efforts by men
like Booker T. Washington to lead their people out
of the intellectual bog and to inspire in some of them
that feeling of nobility of character which is always
the handmaiden of useful endeavor and service in
this world. The subject race in either case does not
furnish sufficient intellectual force or material means
to satisfy the demand of their leaders for racial
improvement.
Many of the Conservatives of Insulinde are men
of sterling principles who have an intimate knowledge
of native character. They have devoted the best
years of their lives to useful endeavor in Insulinde,
and have greatly contributed toward the material
wealth and the general improvement of this Island
* A counterpart of this feeling we find in the recent demand of
one of the sultans who insisted on a European university education
for his son, although he had not even sent his son to the grammar
school, to say nothing of the high school.
[291]
Empire and its inhabitants. And they view with
alarm the government’s activities.
Their opponents, whom we may call the Liberals,
claim that these statements, while partially true, are
much exaggerated. In the first place they claim that
the comparison of the native with the American negro
is unfair, inasmuch as the former stands much higher
culturally and racially than the colored race from
Africa. This of course is true.
These Liberals admit that the native population
would slump back to its old conditions of anarchy and
strife, if the white man’s capital and directing genius
were taken away; that it will take several centuries
more under the direction of the white race before these
islands can take their place as an independent and
orderly organization in the family of nations. They
also admit that while the problem of the education
of the negro race was difficult of solution in the
American Union, where the white people outnumbered
the colored citizens eight to one, this problem will
reach heroic dimensions in a country like Insulinde
where the colored population outnumbers the white
five hundred times.
The Liberals believe that the cures for the unrest
now prevailing in Insulinde are: (1) sensible educa-
tion, (2) more political autonomy, (3) better social
and financial conditions for the natives. These re-
forms are already under way.
That the government must necessarily be extremely
cautious and slow in guiding this progress is evident
[292]
to anyone knowing the Oriental character. Educa-
tion must be not only scholastic, but vocational,
political, and moral as well. At least for the present,
little can be expected from the initiative of the
population. The guidance must come from the
government. During the last two decades, some
natives have been educated in the white man’s ways
with excellent results. These men prove to be good
citizens, and may become a strong leaven in the
native multitude. So far, however, their number has
been small, and they constitute only a promise for
the future.
The time is past when the ruling race can occupy,
to its own exclusive satisfaction and profit, the posi-
tion of absentee landlord. As far as political evolu-
tion is concerned, more freedom is constantly granted.
There need be little or no doubt that it will be granted
just as fast, and let us hope no faster, than the popula-
tion is prepared to receive it.
The third proposed remedy is a tender point, for
improved financial conditions for the natives mean
less profit and more taxes for the white men’s indus-
tries. From time immemorial capital and labor have
had unity of interest as far as general results were
concerned, but a marked diversity of interests when
it comes to the division of the profits which accompany
good commercial results.
In a country like the United States, where a very
important percentage of the laboring classes is organ-
ized, this question is generally solved by compromise
[293]
between the representatives of capital and the repre-
sentatives of labor, that is, the trade-union officials.
If no compromise can be reached, employers some-
times use “lock out” methods, and labor leaders the
“strike.” In the event of either, it is safe to say that
the really interested party, though so far silent in the
matter, has the deciding voice. This party is of
course the general public. It is now recognized that
neither a lock out nor a strike has much chance of
success unless supported by public opinion.
But how about a country like Insulinde where the
rank and file of labor stand so far below the represen-
tatives of capital in intelligence that from the outset
they are at a great disadvantage P. This disadvan-
tage is accentuated because public opinion in this
country has no influence as it has in countries where
the mass of the people is very much advanced.
It is obvious that in Insulinde, where the vast
majority of the people, the workers, are intellectually
very inferior to the small minority, their employers,
the government must give the industrial protection
which this majority is unable to give itself. For is
not a good government always based on the principle
of promoting the most good for the greatest number
of people? Very probably the method of this protec-
tion will eventually take the forms of: (1) fixing
minimum wages and maximum hours of labor; (2)
taxing surplus profits heavily and progressively. Of
Course both propositions will meet with determined
opposition.
[294]
The first is bound to be looked upon by the
Conservatives as an economic heresy. Shades of
Adam Smith and all the other ancient political
philosophers! and what will become of the law of
supply and demand P Has it not been accepted for
years that sound political Science always recognizes
that the price of any commodity is regulated by this
ancient and bewhiskered law P If the merchant or
the manufacturer has goods for sale, are they not his
commodity? And if the laborer has his work for sale,
is that not his commodity? Fortunately for the good
of mankind, it is not. As august a body as the
Congress of the United States, the President concur-
ring, has solemnly declared, within the last few years,
that by Article 6 of the Clayton Act, human labor is
no commodity or article of commerce.”
One is often earnestly assured that the native of
Java does not care for higher wages; that if he
received them, he would work just so much less; that
it would simply bring down upon him a horde of poor
relatives to squat in his bamboo house and eat him
Out of house and home, etc.
These are old arguments, such as it may safely be
presumed were used by the members of the Babylo-
nian Chamber of Commerce when they resisted a
demand for higher wages. They remind one some-
what of the arguments which were used at the time
when the labor unions in the United States came to
* Samuel Gompers, the veteran president of the American
Federation of Labor, called this act the Magna Charta of labor.
[295]
the rescue of the shopgirls, demanding higher wages,
and especially a stated minimum wage, shorter hours,
better shop conditions, such as chairs where they
might sit when not occupied in waiting on customers,
decent lunch- and rest-rooms, etc.
Well-upholstered dowagers came together in their
clubs, Solemnly supporting the pronunciamentos of
well-fed employers to the effect that the proposed
conditions, if granted, would eventually prove to be
detrimental to the workers themselves, for they—all
supposedly young and beautiful girls—would have too
much free time on their hands, would leave the shop
earlier, and would flirt with disreputable men, while
promenading the streets, etc., ad nauseam. The wages
were raised and the hours were shortened, but none of
the predicted calamities of the alarmists came to pass.
In Insulinde a very difficult factor enters the labor
situation, and that is the lack of energy on the part of
the native workmen. This is a natural result of the
ease with which the laborer can satisfy his reasonable
desires and wants.
Some extremists in the movement for bettering
native conditions are advocates of a minimum wage
which is several times higher than that paid now.
Experienced planters and industrialists point out that
it would be impossible to pay the suggested wages,
and that if they were insisted upon, the result would
be the replacement of native labor by Chinese coolies.
The latter are more industrious, and even at higher
wages their greater diligence would assure the business
[296)
A NATIVE BELLE (ISLAND OF BALI)

a remunerative basis. In other words the claim is
that theory and practice should be very carefully
reconciled, as otherwise extreme measures might de-
feat the very purpose for which they were adopted.
As far as taxes are concerned, who is not opposed
to an increase when he has to pay these taxes himself P
Such taxes are always “oppressive, inequitable, and
unjust.” Only those which touch our neighbors or
our dearest enemies, and not us, are “statesmanlike
in their conception, highly moral and beneficial” in
their execution.
But the government of Insulinde needs money and
needs it badly, for notwithstanding that it has taxed
even its own officials and all the white persons living
in the Indies in almost every conceivable way, still it
has failed to raise sufficient revenue to carry out its
purposes. For the last ten years the deficit has
amounted to 250,000,ooo guilders, which amount will
increase to 362,000,ooo guilders by the end of this year.
In the meantime, some of the great agricultural
enterprises have made huge profits, profits which by
no means are indicated by the dividends they have
paid, for, in accordance with the prevalent Dutch
financiering, large sums are continually used either
for the creation of reserves or for the “writing off.”
process, and sometimes for both.* -
*To give only one example: The average dividend for the last
six years, of nine of the most important tobacco companies, has
been a fraction more than 28 per cent per year. Some companies
have paid in other years as high, as 30, 6o, or even 80 per cent.
[297)
|
}
Taxation, to be sure, is one of the most perilous
enterprises in which a government can indulge. This
is especially true in Insulinde for the reason that
capital has already taken considerable risks, such as
lack of dividends in the first years, plant and insect
diseases, unstable markets (see sugar, rubber, etc.),
and unless capital gets a liberal return when all condi-
tions are favorable it may not wish to invest at all.
In other words, the government must step warily, lest
it kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. Moreover,
living conditions in the tropics are such that the white
men who go there for twenty years, more or less, to
engage in these enterprises naturally expect a far more
substantial return for their endeavors than if they had
remained in their own country where conditions were
more to their taste. Still it becomes more and more
evident that these large industries are the ones which
will eventually have to pay the lion’s share of the
pecuniary benefits derived from the stability of social
conditions.”
One of the difficulties to be solved finds its origin
in the very form of government now existing.
Paternalism has always within its own organism the
seeds of great danger, for it almost invariably fails to
develop in its beneficiaries that feeling of individual
social consciousness So necessary for the sound
advancement of the people. The inferior paternalism
* Recently a progressive income tax has been enacted which,
though in a very mild way only, endeavors to reach these surplus
profits.
[298]
of former Russia, the superior one in the former
German Empire prove this.
In Russia the “Little White Father” was pre-
sumed to be the fountain-head of all governmental
endeavors, and the result was a lack of all govern-
mental responsibilities in the masses. Even today
the Soviet government cannot awaken the great bulk
of the peasantry to anything which looks like active
participation. The peasant was land-hungry for
centuries. He got his land, but he knows that he
holds title by possession only, and has no real legal
title. He realizes that any return of the old régime,
in whatever form, will cancel his possessory title, and
he is therefore opposed to any change which would
deprive him of his cherished possession. He has the
strongest possible incentive actively to support and
participate in the present government, but he does
nothing of the kind, allowing a small but compact
organization to ride him.
In Germany there was the most highly and
scientifically developed paternalism possible. It gave
magnificent service to the people. Bismarck was
convinced that a well-satisfied laboring population
was the best agency to bring the Fatherland to great-
ness, and he instituted this form of government. But
it brought war, and war brought defeat and chaos,
for the great mass of the people had not been taught
social responsibility.
Both cases prove that a government can only lead.
As soon as it begins to drive, it kills in the hearts of
[299)
the people the very essence of self-reliance and social
responsibility so necessary for their continuous
SUICCeSS.
Insulinde’s government is paternalistic. Of course
it is. The country could not have any other form of
government at the present time or in the past, and be
able to maintain order and promote progress. Of
necessity this paternalism affects not only the natives
but also the white inhabitants, the Dutch merchant,
agriculturist, manufacturer, etc., who, while deriving
on the one hand all the benefits of such a form of
government, are, on the other hand, unconsciously
handicapped by its drawbacks.. One of these draw-
backs is the lack of any feeling of moral and social
responsibility toward the man in the street, who in
this case is of course the native worker. The idea that
a substantial part of the rich profits of enterprise—
if such profits there be—should be devoted, not as
a matter of charity but as a matter of simple justice,
to public welfare work such as schools, visiting nurses,
local private hospital clinics, dispensaries, the encour-
agement of native arts, etc., does not seem to have
occurred to many of the corporation officials.
This does not mean that there are no corporations
which voluntarily undertake such welfare work. The
hospitals of almost all the large tobacco companies,
especially in Sumatra, are models which attract the
attention of people even outside the boundaries of
Insulinde. The Royal Dutch Shell group of oil
Companies are also splendid examples on account of
[3ool
the care which they take of their native employees.
It is therefore with full acknowledgment of what has
already been done in this line that the suggestion is
made that those who are lagging behind in voluntary
endeavor should be placed under Some compulsory
direction.
The line of demarkation between the schools of
political and industrial thought is pretty accurately
ascertainable. If the country’s form of government
had already accomplished its change from paternalism
into a more representative government, it would be
safe to assume that these schools would soon evolve
into two established political parties, as at some time
in the future they very likely will. But while one
may not as yet speak of political parties in the
Indies, as this term is understood in Western coun-
tries, still the difference of opinion between the adher-
ents of the schools already has all the earmarks of
a healthy political strife.
The Conservatives, naturally, are firmly and hon-
estly convinced that the Liberals are well-meaning
gentlemen who indulge in day-dreams which, if
realized, will mean the beginning of total disaster.
The Liberals are not slow in returning the compli-
ment by asserting that the Conservatives are often
hide-bound income-producers, who refuse to recognize
the fact that it is always a mistake to withhold
the granting of reforms until they are rebelliously
demanded; that the government and the large inter-
ests should keep well abreast of popular evolution to
[3OI]
prevent a longing for revolution. They point out that
the future of Insulinde is assured, if the social condi-
tions of the natives are steadily and progressively
improved; that with improved social conditions
political unrest will materially diminish, if not
disappear.
The element in the Liberal party which is bound
to exercise the most potent influence in the future is
composed of practical men who recognize the necessity
of facing facts as distinguished from theories only.
The Conservatives are all rowing against the tide of
public opinion, and some of the Liberals somewhat
ahead of it. It now rests with the element last
mentioned to assume a middle course, and influence
their brethren to make haste slowly, lest in their
enthusiasm their cause be lost. These men, who are
generally the most experienced in Insulinde matters,
agree with the more decided element of their school,
that the tide of improvement should never be dammed,
in fact they heartily favor a progressive system of
improvement. Still from the depths of their past
experience they sound a note of warning. They fear
too fast a tempo of progress. They point out that
many of the natives, when relieved from proper re-
straint, do not become orderly reformers, but often
destroyers; that much freedom too hastily granted
will prove destructive instead of constructive for
them. gº
So far many of the natives who have arisen from
the population, proclaiming themselves messiahs of
[302]
the better things to come, have unfortunately proved
to be unworthy stewards of the talents intrusted to
them by their confiding countrymen. Absconding
with funds belonging to the different lodges of the
Sarakat Islam is not an unusual thing with these
trusted leaders.
While men of moderate views subscribe to the
theory of constant improvement and liberation, they
know that they must keep progress in Insulinde within
reasonable bounds. In the course of human events
these men and their followers will doubtless be called
upon to furnish the energy and the brains to lead the
natives to the promised land. And in the gardens of
this promised land must be cultivated the flowers of
self-discipline, responsibility, and duty. Much culti-
vation is needed, for these blooms are rare in the
average native’s life.
In the meantime the government of Insulinde is
slowly becoming less centralized and more represen-
tative in form. With greater political rights and
duties will come a keener feeling of social account-
ability. The ballot-box has always been a wonder-
ful accelerator of public conscience toward social and
industrial justice.
Insulinde as a whole, and Java in particular, is
gradually becoming more self-sustaining industrially.
In the last few decades, important cement plants have
been started and are now in successful operation.
Sulphuric acid, that barometer of industrial develop-
ment, is being manufactured in Java, and slowly but
[303)
surely the islands are emerging from their cocoon state
as an agricultural colony.”
Insulinde today provides a shining example of
good white man’s government among a native popula-
tion. Insulinde of tomorrow is bound to become a
still more brilliant star in the constellation of colonial
governments. As far as the past stewardship of the
Netherlands is concerned, the verdict of mankind
cannot be otherwise than that of the Lord, when he
spoke to his servants to whom he had intrusted his
talents: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant,
thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make
thee ruler over many.” For no matter how numerous
these intrusted interests have been in the past, they
are few compared with the many which will develop
in the future. The greater part of these islands
stands only on the threshold of its development.
The good work of the past, the better work of the
present, will go on in the future to the benefit of
Insulinde and the mother country alike—aye, to the
* That the United States will be an important factor in the

industrial development of Insulinde is proved by statistics of the
last eight years: •
Exports from Dutch | Imports from United
Year East Indies to the States to Dutch
United States East Indies
I912~I3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 6,221,954 $ 3,151,693
I913-14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,334,361 3,676,895
I9I4-15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,245,784 2,77I,779
1915-16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27,716,589 7,401,026
1916-17. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62,OII,236 2I,I39,3O5
1917-18. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79,314,233 I9,777,504
1918-19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71,036,606 44,845,561
I919-2O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95,801,266 45,647,245
[3O4]
benefit of humanity. And the best omen for the
coming years is that the banner which the Netherlands
holds aloft in the Island Empire is still emblazoned
with the motto: “Never despair, for great work is
still to be done in the Indies!”
[305)
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INDEX
INDEX
Abjuration, Act of, 63
Achinese, I42
Adat, 93, 167, I76, 177, 179, 249
Agrarian law, 275
Agricultural information, 234 ft.
Alang-alang, 26
d'Albred, Antonio, 56
Alexandria, 61, 132
“Alfoers,” 34, 55
Aloen-aloen, 282
Amboina, IoA, I49
Ambon, 45, 55
Amiens, Treaty of, I24
American Commonwealth, 4;
concessionnaires, 205; for-
estry, 238; oil workers, 268;
orators and writers, 9; psy-
chology, 7; thought, 9-II
Amfioen Society, II 7 f.
Ampel, 55
Amsterdam, xiii, 62,81, I:27, 255,
26o, 265; Quay, 22I
Ananas, 27
Anjer, I52
Anoesapati, 48
Antilles, The, 68
Antwerp, 61, 148
Arabic characters, 33
Arabs, 32, 36, 54, go, I81, 228
“l’Archipel Asiatique,” 16
Ardjuna Wiwaha, 42
“Arfaks,” 34
Arragon, Admiral of, 79
Asiatic Council, 124
Assamica, 262
Atjeh, 55; rebellion in, 159;
Sultan of, 89
Australasia, 7, 15
Australia, 8, 15, 213 f., 223;
fauna and flora, 28
Automobile Service, 211
Azores Islands, 69
Babads, 41
Baboes, 288
Balemboang, Sultan of, Io9
Bali, 15, 17, 33, 35, 45, 49, 58,
87, I52, 219, 236
Balige, 216
Balinese, 58
Balkan States, 199
Bamboo, 25
Banana, 26
Banda Islands, 45, 55, 56, II5
Bandjermasin, 52, 235 n.
Bandong, II8, 178, 215, 224, 259
Banjuwangi, I52
Banka, 20, 36, 45, 195, 224
Banking, I89, 228 f.
Banks: rice credit, 229; district,
229; village cash credit, 229 f.
Banos, 55
Bantam, 50, 70, 89, Ioo, IoI, Io2,
Io3 f., IoS, IIo, II9, 122, 153,
272
Banting, 28
Bantool, 254
Barends, Willem, 7o
Bataafsche Petroleum Company,
266
Batavia, 36, IoI, Io.3–6, II9,
125, 127; “Central Cash”
bank, 230; Civil Service
College at, 167; court, 175;
harbor of, 220; hospitals, 234;
Queen of Insulinde, Io?; qui-
nine plants, 257; steamship
lines, 222; telegraph, 214
[309]
Batavian Republic, I23, 125
Battaks, 34, 216
Battik cloth, 282 n.
Belawan, harbor, 221
Belgium, 61, 148
Bengal, Ig3
Benkulen, 224
Bernard, Charles, 266
Bert, J. Chailley, IIg
Bezuki, 254
Bilangas, 58
Billiton, 2d, 36
Blume, Dr., 257
Borneo, I5–19, 49, 52; TXayaks
of, I38; emigration to, 207;
oil, 267; religions, 87; rulers,
Io9; salt monopoly, Igo;
suzerainty, I22; unknown to
white men, I 27
Boro-Budur, 44, 46
Bos, J. van den, 261
Bosch, Governor General van
den, I57
Both, Governor General Peter,
IO
Bra widjºjº V, 49
Brahmans, 33, 87
Brandes, Dr. J., 46, 51
Brătă–Joeda, 4I
Brata Yuda, 42
British, shipping, 222
Brito, Antonio de, 56
Broek, W. Palmer van den, 43, IoA
Broenei, Sultanate of, 52
Bromo, Crater, 25
Brown, J. M., 57, I34 n.
Bruges, 61
Brussels, I48
Buddha, 47
Buddhism, 7, 53, 54
Buginese, 33, 52
Buitenzorg, I26, 164, 2I4, 262
Burges, 33
Burginys, 76
Buru, 55
Cacao, 261
Calcutta, 252
Campbell, Donald MacLain, 71 n.
I43, ISI Il.
Canada, 7, 9, II
Canarien trees, 281
Canon, I88, 275, 277
Cape Verde Islands, 68
Carabao, 28, 9.4, 281
Cassava, Ig
Casuarina, 25
Cauizores, Don Juan Lopez, 257
Celebes, I5-I9, 27, 3I, 33, 51,
I27, 138, 169, I75; roads, 219;
Sea of, I6
“Central Cash” bank, 230
Ceram, 31, 55, 267
Ceylon, 45, II5
Chauvinism, 65
Cheng Ho, 54
Cheribon, 5o, 55, Io&
China, 7,49, 193, 213
Chinchona, Countess del, 257
Chinese, 32, 36, 15o; annals,
44, 53–54; in Borneo, 52;
in Celebes, 51; expedition, 48;
handicrafts, 187; in Java, 90,
96, III, II4; massacre, II6;
mercenary, 228; merchants,
132; opium, 193; schools,
181; tea, 262
Chinese Sea, 16
Christian religion, 87, I22
Christians, I22
Cinchona, 246, 247
Civil Code, 275
Clayton Act, 295
[3Iol
Cloves, 55
Coal, 20, 36, 224, 26I
Coca, 261
Cocoanut, 19, 26; oil, 246, 247
Cocos Island, 214
Coen, Governor General J. P.,
Io3, Ioa, IoS, 218 n.
Coffea Arabica, III, 255; liberia,
256; robusta, 256
Coffee, I2O, I27, 138, I39, I53,
I57, 246, 255 f.
Congo tea, 265
Conservatives, 287
Constantinople, 61, 132
Copra, 261
Council of the Indies, 83, IoI,
I22, I63
Council of Seventeen, IoI
Crusades, 61
Cultuur stelsel, I55, 255
Daendels, Governor General,
I 25, I27, I52, 274
Dayaks, 34,52,53, 138; Tring,53
Declaration, Abridged, 173
Dekker, Douwes, I4o, I4I, I55
Delft, 81
Deli, 36, 203, 212, 221, 254, 265,
278
Demak, 55, 90. See Mataram
Dessa, 91, 94, 25I, 273, 277
Deventer, M. L. van, Io2 n.,
IO4 n., IIo n., IIQ n.
Director General, 83
Djajanagaro, 49
Djakatra, IoA; Pangéran of, IoS
Djaksa, I 76
Djambi, 54
Djaro, 168
Djali, Ig, 239
Djeroek, 27
Djokjakarta, 42, 46, 2II n., 212,
221, 254; Crown Prince of,
97 n., Sultan of, I53, 154,
I7o; Sultanate of, II9, I52
Dordrecht, 62
Dradjat, 55
Drake, Sir Francis, 56
Dry season, 23 f.
Dutch: East Indies, I5; Guinea,
225; language, 87, 167, 179,
I89, Igo; navigators, 68;
people, 56; possessions, I43;
Republic, vii; ships, embargo
on, 65; subjects, 278
East India Islands, I2, I31
East Indian Company: British,
Ioo, IoI, IoA, I49; Dutch,
72, 92 n., Io9, II2, I36
“Edele Heeren,” IIo
Education, 121, 178–86
Electric service, I89, 224 ft.
Emma harbor, 22I
England, admitted to free trade,
I23
English language, I67, Ig8
Enkhuizen, 62, 81
Equator, 16, 23
Erdbrink, G. R., 164
Erlangga, 48
Fa Hieii, 46
“Far Away Company,” 71
Far East: Netherlands empire
in, 72; language of, 86
Federated Malay States, xiv,
I5, 33
Fendall, John, I24
Ficus elastica, 271
Fisheries, 189, 237 ff.
Flores Island, I5, 31, 58
[31I]
Forestry, 189, 238 ft.
Fort de Kock, 216
Gamalang, I 71
Garut, 283
Genoa, 61
Ghent, 61
Gillespie, Colonel, 151
Gilolo, 31
Giri, 49, 5o; Priest Prince of, 55
Gold, 20, 36, 224, 261
Gowa, 51
Graeff, A. C. D. de, I64
Great Britain, Ig8, 2I3, 252
Greater Sunda Islands, 15
Grotius, Hugo, 76
Guam, 2I4
Gunung, Sultanate of, 52
Hague, The, 163, 267; Civil
Service Academy of, I67
Halmahera, 55
Handels Vereenigingen, 223 m.
Hanse cities, 62
Harbors, 20, 189, 219 f.
Harloff, A. J. W., 17o
Hatuloes, IQ
Havelaar, Max, I4o
Hawaiian Islands, 248
Hazen, Dr. G. A. J., 51
Health, 189, 232 ft., 290
Heeckeren, Baron C. W., 24o n.
Heemskerck, 69, 7o
“de Heeren”. I7 (The Seventeen
Gentlemen), 82, IoI
Hesskart, 257
Hevea Braziliensis, 271
Himeleia Vestatrix, 255
Hindu: civilization, 9o, 95; cus-
toms, 93; influence, 88; mer-
chants, 132; people, 32, 42,
43, 47, 51, 58, 8.7; traders, 53
Holland, under Napoleon, I24
Hollanders, 37, 52, 89, 96–98,
Io'7 n., 122, 135; coffee intro-
duced by, I27; lost colonies to
English, I23
Holtzapffel, J. J., 259
Home Government, I49, I55, 222
Hongkong, 252 -
Hoorn, 81
Houtman, Cornelis de, 69, 7o
Humme, H. C., 42
Indian Ocean, 16
Indigo, Ig, III, 140, 157, 261
Indragiri, 54
Inquisition, 75
Insulinde, 15, 24, II2, I24, 142,
I49, I55, 228, 245 n., 286; agri-
cultural, 246; climate, 24;
colonial administration, I60;
education, 178; English and
Dutch, I32 n.; English rule,
I5o; fauna and flora, 25–
27; forestry, 238; govern-
ment, 3oo, 3o4; hydraulic
power, 225; industries, 261;
languages, I95–200; native
Councils, 168; oil, 266, 270;
opium, IQ3; at Panama-Pacific
Exposition, 222 n.; pawnshops,
23I; post-offices, 213; quinine,
26o; representative govern-
ment, I64ff, 175; subdivisions,
I66, I69; tea, 265; title to, I44;
transportation, 2II; vaccine,
233
Internaat, I74
Iron ore, 20
Irrigation, I89, 235 ft.
Islam, 53
T-Tsing, 53, 54 n.
Japan, 252
Japanese, 222
[312]
Java, xiv, I5, 41, 43; advanced,
85; cable lines, 214; coffee, I27;
colonized by Dutch, II8;
coolies, 20I; courts, I75;
fauna and flora, 25-27; fertile,
I9; fisheries, 238; history,
46; irrigation, 236; oil, 267;
opium, IQ3; people, 57;
police, 227; population, 16, 35,
89, I37, 208; possibilities, Ioo;
post-offices, 213; quinine, 257;
religion, 87; roads, 152, 219;
rubber, 271; salt monopoly,
Igo; schools, 180; slavery,
78, 156, in State of Madjapa-
hit, 49; sugar companies, 82,
248; Sultanate of Bantam in,
Ioo; tea, 265; volcanoes, I 7;
War, I54; wealth of, I55
Javanese, 35, 86, 187, Ig&, I99,
2O7, 2Io
Javanese-Hindu, 58, 121
Jonquiere, P. W., 17o
Judson, Harry Pratt, vii
Kabayas, 282
Kalapa, 26L n.
“Kaling,” 46
Kalinga, 45
Kampong, 35, 216 n., 289
Kapok, IQ, 246, 247, 282
Karons, 34
Karta, IoI, Io&
Kartanagara, 48
Kartasura, Iro, 116–17, 150
Kavi, Basa, 41
Kawah Kamodjan, I8, 283 n.
Kawi, 33, 41
Kawi Studies, 41
Kedu, 46
Ken Arak, 48
Kern, H., 41, 51
Kertaradjasa, 49
Keyser, Pieter Dirckzoon, 70
Kina, 257
Klut, The, 18
Kock, General de, 154
Koran, 177
Kota Nopan, 216
Krakatau, I8
Kraton, 171
Krom, Dr. N. J. K., 51
Kruyff, E. de, 222 n.
Kudus, 55
Kutei, Sultanate of, 52
Lahar, 18
Lamoeri, 55
Lampong district, Ioo, II9
Land, ownership of, 249
Landgerecht, I 76
Landraad, I 20, 176, 177
Language, 195 ft. See
Celebes, etc.
Law Merchant, II 7, 178
Ledger, George, 258
Lesser Sunda Islands, 15
Leyden, University of, 166, 257
Liberals, 292
Linschoten, Jan Huizen, 68, 69
Lisbon, 63, 69
Lombok, I5, 33, 45, 58, 87;
volcanoes in, I 7
London, 265, 267
Loudon, James, 159
Loudon, Jonkheer Dr.
I59 m.
Java,
John,
Ma Hoean, 54
Mace, 55
Madjapahit, 49, 58, 9o
Madura, 16, Io9, 201; opium in,
I93; Prince of, II6; Salt
monopoly, 190; Schools, 18O
Madurese, 35, 86
|313]
Magellan, 62
Makassar, 33; harbor of, 221;
Sultan of, 89, Ioff; Sultanate
of, 51 n.
“Malabar,” 263
Malacca, I5, 27, 33, 45, 49
Malay Archipelago, I 5, 16, 41
Malay (language), 86, 179, 199
Malays, 31-34, 52, 96 n., I4I, I42
Malaysia, 7
Mango, 27
Mangosteen, 27
Mangrove, 19
Marco Polo, 41, 54
Mas Said, II9
Mataram, State of, 46, 48, 9o,
I52; alliance with Makassar,
Ioé; King of, 89, IoI, Io2,
Io9; Soesoehoenan of, III
Mecca, 9o
Medan, I9, 173, 204, 2I4, 216,
272
Mees, W. Fruin, 51
Menado, I38, 139, 2I4
Menangkabau, 54, 93, I42
Merapi, 48
Merbabu, 48
Middleburg, 62, 81
Minahassa, I38, 219
Mining, 189, 224 ft
Minto, Lord, 124
Mocha, 127
Mohammedanism, 7, 49, 88
Mohammedans, 33, 34, 36, 47,
58, 87, I22, 154
Molucca Islands (Spice Islands),
I6, 46, 55, 56, 57, 132 n., I43
Money, J. W. B., 137, 155
Monopoly of trade, IoI, Iod,
I IO
Monsoons, 23
Near East, 6, 7
Negora, Depo, I54
Netherlands: colonial policy, 134,
I36; embargo on trade,65; East
Indian government, I4o, IQ6,
2O5, 2II n., 222 f., 225, 258;
under Philip II, 63; possession
of Insulinde, I47; powerin Col-
onies, I22; psychology, I2;
Republic of the Seven United,
63, 79, 148; Steamship Com-
pany, 222; title to Insulinde,
I31; war with Spain, 63, 99
Netherlands East Indian Colo-
nies, I2, I5, 33, 36, 41, 5o, 96,
I37, I88, IQ2, 2II n., 213,
215, 228, 275
Netherlands East Indian Com-
pany, 75, 79, 97, 98, Io3, Io9,
I22, 15o, 245; charter, 80–82;
monopoly of trade, IoI, Ioff,
IIo; penal code, 228; shares,8I
Netherlands Navigation Com-
pany, xiii
New Guinea, 15, 16; area, 17;
not fertile, Ig; fauna and
flora, 27, 28; farmers, 36;
Savages of, I42
New Netherlands, vii
New Zealand, Dominion of, 8,
9, I?
Nias, Island of, I42
Nickel, 20
Nutmeg, 55
Obdeijn, V., 255
Obi, 55
Oil, 270. See Java and Sumatra
Oil-fields, 20
Oldebarneveldt, 72, 75
Ombilin, 20
Ongole, 237
Oolong tea, 265
“Oost-Indisch Archipel,” 16
[3I4]
Opium, state monopoly of, 189;
trade, 191 ff.
Orang blanda, 96
Orang-outang, 27
Pacific Ocean, 7, 16, 18
Padang, 215, 221, 265
Palembang, 2O, 36, 44, 54, 89,
I5I, 235 m.
Palms, 25; oil, 246
Pangéran Ratu, I5o
Papuans, 31, 32, 36
Parve, Stein, 156 n.
Pasars, 218, 284, 285
Pasei-Samunden, 55
Passagrahans, 216
Pasuruan, 2II
Patih, I68
Pawnshops, 231 ff.
Pekalongan, 49
Pekoe tea, 265
Pematang Sir Antar, 173, 216,
217, 265
Penal Code, 228
Penal sanction, 189, 200 ft., 2Io
Penang, 2I4
Pepper trade, Ioo, III, II9
Perfumes, 61
Peru, 257
Petroleum, 262, 266 f. See Oil
Philippine Islands, 15, 181, 248;
volcanoes in, I 7
Pisang, 26
Pithecanthropus erectus, 31
Plancius, Reverend, 68, 70
Pol, Hulshoff, 164
Police system, 189, 226 f.
Pompolomoes, 27
Pontianak, 214
Portugal, 61
Portuguese, 51, 52, 56,62, 64, 89;
Colonies, 63, 69, 71; dis-
coverers, Ioo; missionaries,
I21; in Moluccas, 143
Postal service, I89, 213 ff.
Preanger Regencies, 44, IoS, 118,
I69, 237, 246, 259, 263, 282
Priest-Prince, 49
Prison system, I89, 227 ff.
Pulu Laut, 20, 224
Putte, Fransen van de, 158
Quinine, 256 ft.
Raffles, Sir Stamford, 41, 47, II9
Il-; I24, ISI, I54, ISQ, 274
Railways, 189, 2II f.
Rainfall, 23
Raleigh, Sir Walter, 76
Rangawoeni, 48
Rice, Ig
Roads, 189,215 ft.
Rºsen, Governor General,
IS
Roelofson, P. A., 226
Roffaer, G. P., 51
Roosevelt, Theodore, 5
Rotterdam, 62, 81; Quay, 22I
Royal Dutch Petroleum Com-
pany, 266
Royal Dutch Shell group, 3oo
Rubber, 204, 208, 246, 262,
271 ff.
Ryp, Captain de, 69
Rysens, F. van, 71 m.
Sabang, 221
Saigon, 2I4
Salatiga, 240 n.
Salt monopoly, 189 ft.
Samarang, 36, IIo, I 20, 2II f.,
221, 227, 234, 252, 267; Sultan
of, IoI,
[315]
Sambaleung, Sultanate of, 52
San Joao, Fort, 56
San Lucas, closed, 68
Sandalwood stallions, 237
San Francisco, 214
Sanskrit literature, 42
Santa Maria, closed, 68
Sarong, 282
Sasaks, 58
Sawah Loentoh, 224
Sawahs, 19, 94, 251, 258, 281, 284
Schools, 179–81
Scidmore, E. R., 119
Selor Islands, 15
Shanghai, 214
sh. Company, Royal Dutch,
2
Shinto, 43
Sibolga, 216
Silks, 61
Silver, 224
Singapore, 57, 15I n., 2I4
Singkep, 20
“Sjamaan,” 43
Sloot, Captain, Iof
Soaps, 61 -:
Society: Insulinde, 286; Sarakat
Islam, 286, 303
Soenan Mas, IIo
Soerapati, Io9–Io
Soesoehoenan: Amangcoerat,
Io9, IIo; Ingalaga, IoS, Iod,
Io8; Pakoe Boewana, of Java,
II O
Souchong, 265
South African States, Federated,
8, 9, IQ8 n., 2II n.
Spain, 61, 63
Speelman, Governor General, Io'7
Speelwyk, Fort, Io9
Speyer, Dr. J. S., 51
“Spice Islands,” 15, 62. See
Molucca Islands
Spice trade, 53, 61, 63, 97 f., 153
States General, 72, 8o, 82, 84,
Ioo, I63, I66
Steamship lines, 222
Stirum, J. P. Count van Lim-
burg, I 72
Straits Settlements, 213
Struben, J. J., 255
Stuart, Cohen, 42
Sugar, 19, 246; Companies, 82,
270; industry, III, I.20, 139,
I57, 247 ff.
Sula, 55
Sumatra, I6, 17, 19, 20, 127; civ-
ilization, 44; colonization, 2Io;
coolies shipped to, 203, 207;
courts, 175; in 1872, 159;
estates, 246; gold, 20; harbors,
222; history, 53; motoring,
I51; oil, 267; population, 208;
races, 35; roads, 219; rubber,
271; salt monopoly, Igo; Sul-
tanate of Bantam, Ioo; trade
routes by, 45; worst natives,
I42.
Sumba, I5, 58
Sumbawa, I5, 58, Io9;
and languages of, 33;
canoes, I 7
Sunda Islands: Greater, 15, 27;
Small, 58
Sundanese, 35, 86, 199, 282
Surabaya, iii, 36, 55, I2O, 211,
220, 234, 267; King of, IoI
Surakarta, 42, 46, II 7, II9, 152,
221, 254; Sultan of, I 71
Tabur, Sultanate of, 52
Tak, Major, Io8
Tamarind, 27
Tandjong, 224
Tandjong-Priok, 220, 221
Tantiemes, 82
Tà CeS
vol-
[316]
Tapioca, 261
Tapir, 27
Taroema, 46
Taruntung, 216
Tasik Malaja, 238
Tea, 246, 247, 261 ff.
Teak, I8, 19, 239; see Djati
Tegal, 55
Telegraph, 189, 213, ff
Telephone, 189, 213 ff.
Ternate, 55; Sultan of, 56, 57, 89
Thousand Temples, 44
Tideman, J., 173
Tidore, 55; Sultan of, 56, 57
Tiger, 27
Timber, 241
Timor, I5, 58, 219
Tin, 20, 36, 195, 224, 261
Tjahraningrat, Prince of Ma-
dura, II6
Tjandi, 240 n.
Tjandi Sewoe (Thousand Tem-
ples), 44
Tjepu, 240 n., 267
Tjilatjap, 220
Tjipanas, 16, II8, 284
Toba Lake, I 73, 216
Tobacco, 19, 208, 246, 254, 270,
3OO
Toemapel, 48
Tohdjaja, 48
Tokos, 96
Torchiana, H. A. van Coenen, 178
Towerson, Gabriel, 15o
Trade, foreign, 189, 222 ff.
Troeno Djojo, Ioë
Tuban, 55.
Turkish, 86
United States, 24, 136, 187, 198,
203 ff., 209, 2II n., 222, 223,
226, 234, 248, 26o, 293, 295,
3O4. Il.
United States Rubber Company,
2O4.
University of Leyden, 167, 257
Vaccinium, 25
Walkinier, Governor
II.5, II 7
Van der Lith, 44
Van Imhoff, Governor General,
II.5, II 7, II8, I26
Van Neck, 71
Van Speyk, I48
Venice, 61
Vere, 62
Verre, Maatschappy van, 71 m.
Veterinary service, civil, 189,
236 ft.
Veth, Dr. Jan, 51, II9 n.
Vienna, Treaty of, 124, 147
Volcanoes, 17
Volksraad, I65, 263
Vreeland, Hamilton, 76
Walcott, Arthur S., 57, 141
Wallace, Alfred Russell, 17, 26,
27, 3I, I37, I55
Waringen trees, 282
Warongs, 96, II4
Water power, 189, 224
Wayungs, 42
Wedana, I66, I68, 177, 199, 227,
282
Weltevreden, 125, 233,281
Westminster, Treaty of, Io2
Wetar, 15
Wilde, de, IIo
William the Silent, vii, 63, 149
General,
Yap, 2I4
Zutphen, 153
PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.
III
00368 4522
5
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