This thesis unearths the reasons and process behind the late eighteenth century codification projects of the Dutch East Indies Company (VOC) and examines their translation into legal practice in...Show moreThis thesis unearths the reasons and process behind the late eighteenth century codification projects of the Dutch East Indies Company (VOC) and examines their translation into legal practice in colonial court. Drawing from records of official correspondence and original civil and criminal case files archived at the Arsip Nasional Republik Indonesia (Jakarta) and the Nationaal Archief (The Hague), it presents an analysis of (Dutch) colonial legal practice in a legally plural environment in which both colonial structures of power and local agency are considered.Show less