“Courageous but insolent”: African soldiers in the Dutch East Indies as seen by Dutch officials and Indonesian neighbours
Article Sidebar
Keywords:
Africa, Indonesia, colonialism
Main Article Content
Abstract
Labour shortages were endemic in colonial societies. Plantation and mining labour was notoriously unattractive, but the army posed problems of its own. In their search to satisfy the voracious appetite for labour in commercial empires and colonial societies, rulers developed racial and ethnic stereotypes as to which “race” was most suitable to perform certain jobs. Africans were deemed most suitable for hard physical labour in tropical climates. They were also portrayed as “martial races”, fit to fill the manpower needs of both Islamic and European armies. This article will first give a brief overview of the use of African labour in the Dutch East Indies. Next, I discuss in more detail one peculiar aspect of inter colonial labour migration in the Dutch colonial empire: the recruitment of West African soldiers for the Dutch East Indies army in the 19th century.
Article Details
Issue
Section
Articles
Authors submitting a paper to UTSePress publications agree to assign a limited license to UTSePress if and when the manuscript is accepted for publication. This license allows UTSePress to publish a manuscript in a given issue.
Copyright is retained by the authors who assert their moral rights. Authors control translation and reproduction rights to their works published by UTSePress.
Downloads of specific portions of the Transforming Cultures eJournal are permitted for personal use only, not for commercial use or resale.
Requests for permission to reprint or use any materials should be directed to the Author.
References
Akurang-Parry, K. (2001) "We Cast about for a Remedy: the Opposition of the Gold Coast Press to the Chinese Mine Labour Experiment in the Gold Coast, ca. 1874-1914", The International Journal of African Historical Studies, 34 (2): 365-84. https://doi.org/10.2307/3097486
Armstrong, J.C. & Worden, N.A. (1988) "The Slaves, 1652-1834", in R. Elphick & H. Giliomee (eds.) The Shaping of South African Society, 1652-1840, Middletown, Conn.
Barendse, R. (2002) The Arabian Seas: the Indian Ocean World of the Seventeenth Century, Armouk N.Y.
Blussé, L. (1997) Bitters bruid: een koloniaal huwelijksdrama in de gouden eeuw, Amsterdam.
Breman, J. (1989) Taming the Coolie Beast: Plantation Society and the Colonial Order in Southeast Asia, Delhi.
Buckley, R.N. (1979) Slaves in Red Coats: the British West India Regiments 1795-1815, New Haven.
Echenberg, M. (1991) Colonial Conscripts: The Tiralleurs Sénégalais in French West Africa, 1857-1960, Portsmouth, New Haven.
Ellis, A.B. (1885) History of the 1st West India Regiment, London.
Encyclopeadie van Nederlandsch Oost Indië (1917-21) (9 vols.) 's Gravenhage.
Gedenkboek KNIL (1961) uitgegeven in opdracht van de Vereniging van OudOnderofficieren van het Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger Madjoe, ter gelegenheid van haar 50-jarig bestaan, s.l.
Gedenkschrift Koninklijk Nederlandsch-Indisch Leger 1830-1950 (1990), Dordrecht.
Haan, F. de (1922-23) Oud-Batavia, gedenkboek uitgegeven door het Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen naar aanleiding van het driehonderdjarig bestaan der stad in 1919, drie delen, Batavia.
Harris, J.E. (1982) Global Dimensions of the African Diaspora, Washington.
Herreveld, M. van (2004) "Belanda Hitam: Afrikaan, Indonesiër, Hollander", De Gordel van Smaragd, 24 (1): 10-13.
Heshusius, C.A. (1986) KNIL 1830-1950: een fotodocumentaire over het dagelijks leven van het koloniale leger in Nederlands Indië, Houten.
Indische Gids (1886) "Iets over de militaire politiek in Indië", I: 611-617.
Anonymous (1881) "Het behoud van het Afrikaansche element bij het Indische Leger", Indisch Militair Tijdschrift 12 (1-6): 372-86.
Japin, A. (2001) The Two Hearts of Kwasi Boachi, London.
Kalff, S. (1929) "Inlanders en Afrikanen in het O.I. leger", Indisch Militair Tijdschrift, 51: 779-88.
Kessel, I. van (2003) "African mutinies in the Netherlands East Indies: a nineteenth century colonial paradox", in J. Abbink, M. de Bruijn & K. van Walraven, (eds.), Rethinking Resistance: Revolt and Violence in African History, Leiden.
Kessel, I. van (2005) Zwarte Hollanders: Afrikaanse soldaten in Nederlands Indië, Amsterdam.
Kielstra, E.B. (1883) Beschrijving van den Atjeh-oorlog: met gebruikmaking der officieele bronnen, door het departement van Koloniën daartoe afgestaan, Vol. II, Den Haag.
Knaap, G.J. (1995) "Slavery and the Dutch in Southeast Asia", in G. Oostindie (ed.) Fifty Years Later: Antislavery, Capitalism and Modernity in the Dutch Orbit, Leiden.
Kusruri, E. (1979) "Orang-orang Afrika di Purworejo: Svatu Analisa Historis Sosiologis Atas latar belakang dan peranan mereka", Salatiga (unpublished MA thesis).
Kusruri, E. (2001) The dynamic of Immigrant People from Africa in Purworejo, Salatiga.
Kusruri, E. (2002) "Reminiscences of the African community in Purworejo, Indonesia", in I. van Kessel (ed.) Merchants, Missionaries and Migrants: 300 years of DutchGhanaian relations, Amsterdam.
Lange, H.M. (1852) Het Nederlandsch Oost-Indisch Leger ter Westkust van Sumatra (1819-1845), 's Hertogenbosch.
LaTorre, J.R (1976) "Birthplaces of Dutch East Indies Troops 'recruited' in Kumase, 1837-1842", Asante Seminar 1976, No. 5: 31-42.
Mann, G. (2006) Native Sons: West African Veterans and France in the Twentieth Century, Durham/London.
Northrup, D. (1995) Indentured Labor in the Age of Imperialism, 1834-1922, Cambridge.
Parsons, T.H. (1999) The African Rank and File: Social Implications of Colonial Military service in the King's African Rifles, 1902-1964, Portsmouth, New Haven.
Prasad, K.K. & Angenot, J-P. (eds.) (2008) TADIA: The African Diaspora in Asia, Bangalore.
Ranjeva-Rabetafika, Y., Baesjou, R. & Everts, N. (2000) "Of Paper and Men: A Note on the Archives of the VOC as a Source for the History of Madagascar", Itinerario, 24 (1): 45-67. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0165115300008676
Rees, W.A. van (1873) Historisch-Indische schetsen: leesboek voor den militair, Arnhem.
Richardson, P. (1984) "Chinese Indentured Labor in the Transvaal Gold Mining Industry, 1904-1910", in K. Saunders (ed.) Indentured Labor in the British Empire, 1834-1920, London.
Segal, R. (2001) Islam's Black Slaves: a History of Africa's other Black Diaspora, London.
Sertima, I. van (1985) The African Presence in Early Asia, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Shell, R. (1994) Children of Bondage: a Social History of the Slave Society at the Cape of Good Hope 1652-1834, Johannesburg.
Silva Jayasuriya, S. de (2007) "A forgotten Minority: The Afro-Sri Lankans", African and Asian Studies, 6 (3): 227-42. https://doi.org/10.1163/156920907X212213
Silva Jayasuriya, S. de & Angenot, J-P. (eds.) (2006) "The African Diaspora in Asia: Historical Gleanings", African and Asian Studies, Special Issue, 5 (3/4): 217-397.
Silva Jayasuriya, S. de & Pankhurst, R. (eds.) (2003) The African Diaspora in the Indian Ocean, Trenton, New Jersey.
Stuers, H.J.J.L. de (1849) De vestiging and uitbreiding der Nederlanders ter Westkust van Sumatra, Amsterdam.
Veer, P. van 't (1980) De Atjeh-Oorlog, Amsterdam.
Verstege, J.J.W.E. (1886) Een beroep op het Nederlandsche volk inzake het Atjehvraagstuk, Amsterdam.
Yarak, L.W (1987) "Kwasi Boakye and Kwame Poku: Dutch-educated Asante 'Princes'" in: E. Schildkrout (ed.) The Golden Stool: Studies of the Asante Center and Periphery, New York.
Yarak, L. W (1996) "New Sources for the Study of Akan Slavery and Slave Trade: Dutch Military Recruitment in the Gold Coast and Asante, 1831-72" in R. Law (ed.) Source Material for Studying the Slave Trade and the African Diaspora: Papers from a conference of the Centre of Commonwealth Studies, Stirling.
Zwitser, H.L. & Heshusius, C.A. (1977) Het Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch leger 1830-1950, Den Haag.
Armstrong, J.C. & Worden, N.A. (1988) "The Slaves, 1652-1834", in R. Elphick & H. Giliomee (eds.) The Shaping of South African Society, 1652-1840, Middletown, Conn.
Barendse, R. (2002) The Arabian Seas: the Indian Ocean World of the Seventeenth Century, Armouk N.Y.
Blussé, L. (1997) Bitters bruid: een koloniaal huwelijksdrama in de gouden eeuw, Amsterdam.
Breman, J. (1989) Taming the Coolie Beast: Plantation Society and the Colonial Order in Southeast Asia, Delhi.
Buckley, R.N. (1979) Slaves in Red Coats: the British West India Regiments 1795-1815, New Haven.
Echenberg, M. (1991) Colonial Conscripts: The Tiralleurs Sénégalais in French West Africa, 1857-1960, Portsmouth, New Haven.
Ellis, A.B. (1885) History of the 1st West India Regiment, London.
Encyclopeadie van Nederlandsch Oost Indië (1917-21) (9 vols.) 's Gravenhage.
Gedenkboek KNIL (1961) uitgegeven in opdracht van de Vereniging van OudOnderofficieren van het Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger Madjoe, ter gelegenheid van haar 50-jarig bestaan, s.l.
Gedenkschrift Koninklijk Nederlandsch-Indisch Leger 1830-1950 (1990), Dordrecht.
Haan, F. de (1922-23) Oud-Batavia, gedenkboek uitgegeven door het Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen naar aanleiding van het driehonderdjarig bestaan der stad in 1919, drie delen, Batavia.
Harris, J.E. (1982) Global Dimensions of the African Diaspora, Washington.
Herreveld, M. van (2004) "Belanda Hitam: Afrikaan, Indonesiër, Hollander", De Gordel van Smaragd, 24 (1): 10-13.
Heshusius, C.A. (1986) KNIL 1830-1950: een fotodocumentaire over het dagelijks leven van het koloniale leger in Nederlands Indië, Houten.
Indische Gids (1886) "Iets over de militaire politiek in Indië", I: 611-617.
Anonymous (1881) "Het behoud van het Afrikaansche element bij het Indische Leger", Indisch Militair Tijdschrift 12 (1-6): 372-86.
Japin, A. (2001) The Two Hearts of Kwasi Boachi, London.
Kalff, S. (1929) "Inlanders en Afrikanen in het O.I. leger", Indisch Militair Tijdschrift, 51: 779-88.
Kessel, I. van (2003) "African mutinies in the Netherlands East Indies: a nineteenth century colonial paradox", in J. Abbink, M. de Bruijn & K. van Walraven, (eds.), Rethinking Resistance: Revolt and Violence in African History, Leiden.
Kessel, I. van (2005) Zwarte Hollanders: Afrikaanse soldaten in Nederlands Indië, Amsterdam.
Kielstra, E.B. (1883) Beschrijving van den Atjeh-oorlog: met gebruikmaking der officieele bronnen, door het departement van Koloniën daartoe afgestaan, Vol. II, Den Haag.
Knaap, G.J. (1995) "Slavery and the Dutch in Southeast Asia", in G. Oostindie (ed.) Fifty Years Later: Antislavery, Capitalism and Modernity in the Dutch Orbit, Leiden.
Kusruri, E. (1979) "Orang-orang Afrika di Purworejo: Svatu Analisa Historis Sosiologis Atas latar belakang dan peranan mereka", Salatiga (unpublished MA thesis).
Kusruri, E. (2001) The dynamic of Immigrant People from Africa in Purworejo, Salatiga.
Kusruri, E. (2002) "Reminiscences of the African community in Purworejo, Indonesia", in I. van Kessel (ed.) Merchants, Missionaries and Migrants: 300 years of DutchGhanaian relations, Amsterdam.
Lange, H.M. (1852) Het Nederlandsch Oost-Indisch Leger ter Westkust van Sumatra (1819-1845), 's Hertogenbosch.
LaTorre, J.R (1976) "Birthplaces of Dutch East Indies Troops 'recruited' in Kumase, 1837-1842", Asante Seminar 1976, No. 5: 31-42.
Mann, G. (2006) Native Sons: West African Veterans and France in the Twentieth Century, Durham/London.
Northrup, D. (1995) Indentured Labor in the Age of Imperialism, 1834-1922, Cambridge.
Parsons, T.H. (1999) The African Rank and File: Social Implications of Colonial Military service in the King's African Rifles, 1902-1964, Portsmouth, New Haven.
Prasad, K.K. & Angenot, J-P. (eds.) (2008) TADIA: The African Diaspora in Asia, Bangalore.
Ranjeva-Rabetafika, Y., Baesjou, R. & Everts, N. (2000) "Of Paper and Men: A Note on the Archives of the VOC as a Source for the History of Madagascar", Itinerario, 24 (1): 45-67. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0165115300008676
Rees, W.A. van (1873) Historisch-Indische schetsen: leesboek voor den militair, Arnhem.
Richardson, P. (1984) "Chinese Indentured Labor in the Transvaal Gold Mining Industry, 1904-1910", in K. Saunders (ed.) Indentured Labor in the British Empire, 1834-1920, London.
Segal, R. (2001) Islam's Black Slaves: a History of Africa's other Black Diaspora, London.
Sertima, I. van (1985) The African Presence in Early Asia, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Shell, R. (1994) Children of Bondage: a Social History of the Slave Society at the Cape of Good Hope 1652-1834, Johannesburg.
Silva Jayasuriya, S. de (2007) "A forgotten Minority: The Afro-Sri Lankans", African and Asian Studies, 6 (3): 227-42. https://doi.org/10.1163/156920907X212213
Silva Jayasuriya, S. de & Angenot, J-P. (eds.) (2006) "The African Diaspora in Asia: Historical Gleanings", African and Asian Studies, Special Issue, 5 (3/4): 217-397.
Silva Jayasuriya, S. de & Pankhurst, R. (eds.) (2003) The African Diaspora in the Indian Ocean, Trenton, New Jersey.
Stuers, H.J.J.L. de (1849) De vestiging and uitbreiding der Nederlanders ter Westkust van Sumatra, Amsterdam.
Veer, P. van 't (1980) De Atjeh-Oorlog, Amsterdam.
Verstege, J.J.W.E. (1886) Een beroep op het Nederlandsche volk inzake het Atjehvraagstuk, Amsterdam.
Yarak, L.W (1987) "Kwasi Boakye and Kwame Poku: Dutch-educated Asante 'Princes'" in: E. Schildkrout (ed.) The Golden Stool: Studies of the Asante Center and Periphery, New York.
Yarak, L. W (1996) "New Sources for the Study of Akan Slavery and Slave Trade: Dutch Military Recruitment in the Gold Coast and Asante, 1831-72" in R. Law (ed.) Source Material for Studying the Slave Trade and the African Diaspora: Papers from a conference of the Centre of Commonwealth Studies, Stirling.
Zwitser, H.L. & Heshusius, C.A. (1977) Het Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch leger 1830-1950, Den Haag.