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...Show moreAfter 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.Show less
This thesis analyses the production and trade of palm oil and rubber from the plantations of East Sumatra in the late colonial period. The aim of this thesis is twofold. Firstly, it shows that the...Show moreThis thesis analyses the production and trade of palm oil and rubber from the plantations of East Sumatra in the late colonial period. The aim of this thesis is twofold. Firstly, it shows that the production of palm oil and rubber in East Sumatra was strongly integrated into the world market and that its evolution was dictated by the Western economies and industries. Secondly, this thesis reconstructs the value distribution and creation within the value chain and shows that the majority of the value creation of soap (a palm oil product) lay in Indonesia, whereas the majority of the value creation of a rubber tyre lay in the West.Show less