Leiden University Student Repository

Hsu, Tzu-Yi (2021)

The Perkeniersstelsel: Banda Plantation System in Comparative Perspective, 1621-1640

Master thesis | History (MA)

After the conquest of Banda in 1621, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) introduced the perkeniersstelsel to ensure a monopoly on nutmeg and mace. Due to the commercial nature of the spices and the use of slave production, the perkeniersstelsel is often compared to the Atlantic plantation system. This study traces the development of the perkeniersstelsel between 1621 and 1640 and compares it to the Atlantic plantation system. This study argues that although the VOC was attempting to develop the perkeniersstelsel in the direction of the Atlantic mode, Banda’s unique environment and the VOC’s weaknesses in accessing terrestrial resources led the system down its own path. Furthermore, it proposes that Banda slavery should be regarded as the first expansion of slavery into rural areas in Southeast Asia, rather than the first penetration of European slavery into Southeast Asia.

Dutch

VOC

perkeniersstelsel

Banda

plantation

slavery

Author

Hsu, Tzu-Yi

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

Colonial and Global History

Supervisors

Gommans, J.J.L.

ECTS Credits

20

Language

en