Human Enslavement: Indonesians' Encounter During Dutch Colonization
Abstract
This qualitative paper aims to explore slavery and genocide in Indonesia during the Netherlands colonial times from the standpoints of life and human dignity. The slave labour scheme (Rodi) was a violent slave labour system established by the Dutch against local indigenous Indonesians, leading to the deaths of vast numbers of the indigenous population (Pribumi) because of slavery and the Forced Cultivation strategy, all for the benefit of the Dutch economy. A further tactic would be to forcefully transport indigenous Indonesians from one area to another and then from Indonesia to overseas countries, including Suriname, as enslaved people for the Dutch. Many Indonesians died needlessly during such a period. Second, they forced Indonesian natives to work for the Dutch economy, inspired by Meillassoux's concept of slavery as a trading relationship. Third, they forcibly removed Indonesians from the community where they had grown up. As per this article, practiced slavery during the Dutch colonial era resulted in the loss of identity for many Indonesians and the perpetuation of rampant corruption. More research into Dutch slavery, the slave trade, and broader coercive labour and colonial regimes in Indonesia is required to elucidate the interplay and links of domestic and international structures.
References
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Walk Free. (2018). Global Slavery Index. https://www.globalslaveryindex.org/2018/findings /global-findings/#footnote:30
Welianto, A. (2020). Suriname, Negara dengan Keturunan Warga Jawa [Suriname, Country with Javanese Descendants], https://www.kompas.com/skola/read/2020/01/04/120000069/ suriname-negara-dengan-warga-keturunan-jawa
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Williams, H. (2011). The Family Life of the Enslaved, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, National Humanities Center. https://americainclass.org/family-life-of-the-enslaved/.
Agozino, B. (2021). Reparative justice: The final stage of decolonization. Punishment & Society, 23(5), 613–630. https://doi.org/10.1177/14624745211024342
Allen, P. (2011). Javanese cultural traditions in Suriname 1, Review of Indonesian and Malaysian Affairs 45(1):199-223.
Anti Slavery (2021). What is modern slavery? https://www.antislavery.org/slavery-today/modern slavery/#:~:text=Forms%20of%20modern%20slavery&text=The%20most%20common%20are%3A,Forced%20labour.
Baay, R. (2017). Belanda Sembunyikan Sejarah Perbudakan di Indonesia [The Netherlands Hides the History of Slavery in Indonesia]. Historia. https://historia.id/politik/articles/belanda-sembunyikan-sejarah-perbudakan-di-indonesia-P3exj
Basan, N. (2021). The Hidden Experiences of Modern Slavery Victims in Indonesia, Australian Institute of International Affairs. https://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/Australian outlook/the-hidden-experiences-of-modern-slavery-victims-in-indonesia/
Batavia Digital. (2020). Kisah Perbudakan Batavia [The Story of the Slavery of Batavia], Batavia Digital. https://bataviadigital.perpusnas.go.id/kisah/?box=detail&id_record=7&npage= 1&search_key=&search_val=&status_key=&dpage=1
Bayuni, E. M. (2018). COMMENTARY: How bad, how cruel were Dutch to us? The Jakarta Post, August 23. https://www.thejakartapost.com/academia/2018/08/23/commentary-how-bad-how-cruel-were-dutch-to-us.html.
Burnard, T. (2021). Introduction, Journal of Global Slavery, 6(1), 1-9. doi: https://doi.org/10.11 63/2405836X-00601010
Fahmi, C. (2020). The Dutch Colonial Economic's Policy on Natives Land Property of Indonesia, 5(2), 102-120, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jef.2017.12.002
Fathimah, F. A. (2018). The Extractive Institutions as Legacy of Dutch Colonialism in Indonesia: A Historical Case Study. Master Thesis, Uppsala Universitet, http://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1285721/FULLTEXT01.pdf
Finkelstein, L. S. (1951). Education in Indonesia. Far Eastern Survey, 20(15), 149–153. https://doi.org/10.2307/3023860
Frankema, E. (2013). Why was the Ducth Legacy so poor? Educational Development in the Netherlands Indies, 1871-1942, Masyarakat Indonesia, Jurnal Ilmu-Ilmu Sosial Indonesia, 39(2), 307-326. https://doi.org/10.14203/jmi.v39i2.595
Handoyo, C.C., Clarissa., Claudia, C., Milka., Syahnazia., & Firdayanti. (2017). Klappertaart: an Indonesian–Dutch influenced traditional food, Journal of Ethnic Foods, 5(2), 147-152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jef.2017.12.002
Historism. (2021). Pendidikan Masa Kolonial Belanda [Dutch Colonial Education], Museum Pendidikan Nasional, March 4. http://museumpendidikannasional.upi.edu/pendidikan-masa-kolonial-belanda/
Hoefte, R. (2008). The Javanese of Suriname, Inside Indonesia, June 8. https://www.inside indonesia.org/the-javanese-of-suriname
Lalor, A. (2021). What was the VOC? The Dutch East India Company explained. Dutchreview, May 7. https://dutchreview.com/culture/history/voc-dutch-east-india-company-explained/
Lewis, D. M. (2016). Orlando Patterson, Property, and Ancient Slavery. The Definitional Problem Revisited, https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119162544.ch2
Miers, S., & Kopitoff, I. (eds). (1977). Slavery in Africa: Historical and Anthropological Perspectives. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press.
Minasni, M. (2020). The dark history of slavery and racism in Indonesia during the Dutch colonial period, The Conversation, July 2. https://theconversation.com/the-dark-history-of-slavery-and-racism-in-indonesia-during-the-dutch-colonial-period-141457
National Geographic Indonesia. (2020). Kisah Perbudakan Rasis di Perkebunan Medan Pada Era Penjajahan Belanda [The Story of Racist Slavery in Medan Plantations During the Dutch Colonial Era]. https://nationalgeographic.grid.id/read/132240713/kisah-perbudakan-rasis-di-perkebunan-medan-pada-era-penjajahan-belanda?page=all
Nuraeny, H. (2015). Migrant Workers, a New Modern-Day Form of Slavery, is a Part of Human Trafficking Crime, Jurnal Hukum dan Peradilan, 4(3): 501-518. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.25216/jhp.4.3.2015.501-518
Patterson, O. (2018). Slavery and Social Death: A Comparative Study, With a New Preface, Harvard University Press.
Prianti, D. D. (2019). The Identity Politics of Masculinity as a Colonial Legacy, Journal of Intercultural Studies, 40:6, 700-719, DOI: 10.1080/07256868.2019.1675612
Ramerini, M. (1998). The Dutch East India Company: VOC (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie), Colonial Voyage. https://www.colonialvoyage.com/dutch-east-india-co mpany-voc-verenigde-oostindische-compagnie/
Scott, C. (2017). Renewing the ‘Special Relationship’ and Rethinking the Return of Cultural Property: The Netherlands and Indonesia, 1949–79. Journal of Contemporary History, 52(3), 646–668. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022009416658698
Sio, A. A. (1965). Interpretations of Slavery: The Slave Status in the Americas. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 7(3), 289–308. http://www.jstor.org/stable/177794
Soeters, C., van Zeijl, M., & Meijerink, R. (2019). The Dutch post war recovery was financed by Indonesia. Historia Bersama. https://onedrive.live.com/view.aspx?resid=6B1C928F8 D082421!113&ithint=file%2cpptx&authkey=!AL8ohc2Pi4EF1CI
Tamma, S., & Duile, T. (2020). Indigeneity and the State in Indonesia: The Local Turn in the Dialectic of Recognition. Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 39(2), 270–289. https://doi.org/10.1177/1868103420905967
Tampubolon, M. (2020). Discriminatory Labour Market For Indonesian Migrant Workers In Taiwan, The Migration Conference 2020 Proceedings, Migration and Politics. https://www.ceeol.com/search/chapter-detail?id=912592
Tasevski, A. (2020). The Dutch Are Uncomfortable With Being History’s Villains, Not Victims, FP News, August 10. https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/08/10/dutch-colonial-history-indonesia-villains-victims/
Tifada, D. A. (2021). Prosperous Elite, Miserable Farmers: A Look Back At Dutch Forced Planting, VOI November 21. https://voi.id/en/memori/103791/prosperous-elite-miser able-farmers-a-look-back-at-dutch-forced-planting
Vivar, C. (2013). Imperialism in Indonesia. Prezi, January 18. https://prezi.com/bcddxwvv_1ap/ imperialism-in-indonesia/
VOI (Voice of Indonesia). (2021). Sejarah 'Babu': Istilah yang Lahir dari Rahim Perbudakan Kolonial. https://voi.id/memori/8682/sejarah-babu-istilah-yang-lahir-dari-rahim-perbu dakan-kolonial
Walk Free. (2018). Global Slavery Index. https://www.globalslaveryindex.org/2018/findings /global-findings/#footnote:30
Welianto, A. (2020). Suriname, Negara dengan Keturunan Warga Jawa [Suriname, Country with Javanese Descendants], https://www.kompas.com/skola/read/2020/01/04/120000069/ suriname-negara-dengan-warga-keturunan-jawa
Wibisono, J. (2020). Why Indonesia Never Really Became Dutch, but Is Now Becoming Anglicised, The Low Countries, October 6. https://www.the-low-countries.com/ article/why-indonesia-never-really-became-dutch-but-is-now-becoming-anglicised
Williams, H. (2011). The Family Life of the Enslaved, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, National Humanities Center. https://americainclass.org/family-life-of-the-enslaved/.
Published
2022-03-01
How to Cite
TAMPUBOLON, Manotar; L. TOBING, Gindo; WAHYUNINGTYAS, Woro.
Human Enslavement: Indonesians' Encounter During Dutch Colonization.
Asian Journal of Research in Education and Social Sciences, [S.l.], v. 4, n. 1, p. 44-52, mar. 2022.
Available at: <https://myjms.mohe.gov.my/index.php/ajress/article/view/17400>. Date accessed: 13 oct. 2024.
Section
Articles
