Leven in de schaduw van de Compagnie: Vestigingskolonialisme in Nederlands-Indië in de jaren 1850

Abstract

This article examines Dutch plans from the 1850s to establish settler colonies in the Dutch East Indies archipelago. Although parts of the Dutch East Indies had been under Dutch rule since the seventeenth century, it had never become a typical settler colony. The Indies remained an administrative society, where the Dutch governed while the local population performed the hard labor. Plans were launched in the 1850s to change this situation. Proponents hoped that settler colonies would not only stimulate the Indies’ economy but also help solve overpopulation in the Netherlands and strengthen the Dutch character of the Indies. Given the far-reaching implications of these proposals, King William III decided to establish a commission to thoroughly investigate them. This article analyzes the commission’s report and the responses to it. Notably, the VOC (Dutch East India Company) past – despite the Company’s dissolution in 1799 – was central to the arguments of both supporters and opponents. They studied VOC experiments with settler colonies and historical VOC contracts to identify suitable and available lands. The commission ultimately advised against the plans, particularly due to concerns about the tropical climate and potential damage to Dutch prestige and stability in the region. The complexity of acquiring sufficient land also played an important role in this negative advice. Although the plans were rejected, the discussions demonstrate the continuing colonial ambitions of the Netherlands in the mid-nineteenth century.