This thesis investigates the authority and the power of kingship under the Cirebon kings under the context of the alliance between the trifurcated sultanate of Cirebon with the Dutch East India...Show moreThis thesis investigates the authority and the power of kingship under the Cirebon kings under the context of the alliance between the trifurcated sultanate of Cirebon with the Dutch East India Company (or the VOC). Authority and power are two pillars of kingship that operated in different but intertwining realms. The former deals with the legitimacy that is either top-down descending on the king from a transcendent source and/or ascending from the bottom up by his “subjects.” By corroborating Cirebonese manuscripts and VOC archives, this study indicates that an ideal Cirebon sultan upheld spiritual commitments more than material achievements. When VOC’s interest to meddle in local politics grew, the company attempted to subjugate Cirebon through a series of treaties that detached the sultans from powers. However, the Cirebon sultans and the VOC had a different notion of power. Detachment from the material world allowed the Cirebon sultans to commit to spiritual endeavors. As shown by Cirebon’s founding father, Sunan Gunung Jati, an ideal king positioned Islam as the fulcrum of his universe. Thus, VOC’s entrenchment over Cirebon helped Sultan Sepuh I, Sultan Anom I, and Panembahan Kacirebonan to be ideal rulers. An idea which the company barely showed any interest in. This study accessed both Cirebonese chronicles and annals and documents produced by the VOC stored in The Hague and Jakarta. By delving into the sources, the present study presents a case study of the interaction between a local entity with the VOC as a colonial force that annuls the simplistic view of the anti-colonial history.Show less
When the Dutch East India Company (VOC) came to Asia, its presence was contingent on relations with Asian polities. Elephant gift-giving was one of the practices the VOC conducted and experienced...Show moreWhen the Dutch East India Company (VOC) came to Asia, its presence was contingent on relations with Asian polities. Elephant gift-giving was one of the practices the VOC conducted and experienced with Asian rulers alongside trade. The VOC acted as a giver and a receiver; it received gift-elephants from Southeast Asian polities plus Kandy and transferred them westward. This study examines the Dutch-Asian elephant diplomacy and sociocultural foundations behind the diplomatic scene during the seventeenth century. It argues that the existing Dutch acknowledgment of elephant gift-giving traditions and imaginations and perceptions of the emblematic elephant facilitated the elephant diplomacy between the VOC and Asian polities. In other words, these mentalities were integral to the commensurability in the Dutch-Asian elephant gift-giving. Furthermore, the case of the emblematic elephant imagined and perceived by the Dutch shows that the seventeenth-century historical change in worldview from emblematic to empirical was more nuanced and not linear.Show less
This thesis is about power relations behind the development of historically themed videogames set in the Global South. The thesis has taken into account games released in the Western World as well...Show moreThis thesis is about power relations behind the development of historically themed videogames set in the Global South. The thesis has taken into account games released in the Western World as well as in the Global South between 2000 and 2020. The main argument is that historically themed videogames set and developed in the Global South do not have the power to add to, differ from or change the representations made about their countries in the Western World.Show less
This thesis consists of a research on the information networks within the VOC. Within the paper an analysis is made on how violent events affecting the VOC are portrayed within their sources. Did...Show moreThis thesis consists of a research on the information networks within the VOC. Within the paper an analysis is made on how violent events affecting the VOC are portrayed within their sources. Did the contents of these sources and discription about the event change as the information passed higher in the hierarchy of the VOC? How was the use of violence justified? And which role do archival genres play in describing the violence? These questions are answered by means of two case studies. First about the massacre of the Chinese in Batavia in 1740. Second about the uprising on Ceylon in 1760 by Kandy.Show less
This thesis adds a new chapter to the environmental history of Dutch Essequibo and Demerara in the second half of the eighteenth century. Mainly using Dutch maps, plans and reports, this paper...Show moreThis thesis adds a new chapter to the environmental history of Dutch Essequibo and Demerara in the second half of the eighteenth century. Mainly using Dutch maps, plans and reports, this paper studies how Dutch knowledge of hydraulic engineering was reflected in their construction projects in the wet tropical Guianas. It examines the construction processes, structure and layout of canals, plantations, fortifications and towns. The hydraulic engineering of these projects is compared to practices in the Netherlands, Europe and European colonies, to determine whether it was as typically Dutch and unique as scholars often assume. The paper concludes that although the construction projects were planned in such a way that these fit well with the wet natural environment of the Guianas, the hydraulic engineering was neither unique nor typically Dutch. Instead, the projects resembled practices in other European colonies more closely than Dutch practices. The hydraulic engineering was therefore not the result of Dutch experience in water management, but rather the result of the environment of Essequibo and Demerara that forced the British, French and Dutch inhabitants to adapt to it.Show less
This thesis examines the violent colonial penal practice in VOC’s Batavia by comparing it with the penal practice in Amsterdam. This thesis argues that colonial penal practice is different compared...Show moreThis thesis examines the violent colonial penal practice in VOC’s Batavia by comparing it with the penal practice in Amsterdam. This thesis argues that colonial penal practice is different compared to the penal practice in the metropole in various aspects. Using various primary sources, this thesis identifies these differences in five fields: the legal codex, the persons directly involved in the event, the location of execution, the procedure of execution, and the spectators at the event. The thesis seeks to find the extent of the use of violent measures in colonial penal practice resembles that in the metropole and to what extent does it differ.Show less
A search of the British Newspaper Archives finds that between 1850 and 1899, there are 92,641 hits for the term ‘cannibalism’, nearly double that of its closest competitor, 1900-1949, which has...Show moreA search of the British Newspaper Archives finds that between 1850 and 1899, there are 92,641 hits for the term ‘cannibalism’, nearly double that of its closest competitor, 1900-1949, which has only 51,634 hits. This begs the question, why were the Victorians so obsessed with those who consumed their fellow man? This thesis will propose that the answer to this lies in the connection between the discourse of cannibalism, and the ability to promote and maintain a desired imperial world-order.Show less
This thesis tries to demonstrate the value of reading primary sources within the context of their cultural history instead of interpretting them through a modern day lense. It did so by stuyding...Show moreThis thesis tries to demonstrate the value of reading primary sources within the context of their cultural history instead of interpretting them through a modern day lense. It did so by stuyding the works of Ibn Battuta and Ma Huan two writers of travelogues from distinctly different cultures that both traveled around the Indian Ocean prior to the arrival of Europeans in the region.Show less
The Black Panther Party grew out of the civil rights era in the 1960s to form a movement aimed at protecting African-Americans from police brutality and the social injustices that stemmed from...Show moreThe Black Panther Party grew out of the civil rights era in the 1960s to form a movement aimed at protecting African-Americans from police brutality and the social injustices that stemmed from living in a racist society hellbent on ensuring the underdevelopment of Black communities. In seeking to explore and understand the growth of the International section of the Black Panther Party (BPP) from its base in Oakland, California to the Mediterranean coast of Algeria, this project will come across a variety of primary and academic sources that address the various influences and actions partaken in this journey. Whilst relatively short lived in its mission, the internationalisation of the BPP involved numerous actors, among whom, many have released autobiographies and memoirs detailing the unfolding of events that occurred between the years 1969-1972, alongside video speeches and declarations pertaining to such events. Yet, in order to truly appreciate this often forgotten part of the Black Panthers’ history, the years of revolutionary struggle dedicated to fighting for the rights of Black people across the world, and in the case of this project notably in the United States, albeit not solely, must also be taken into account. This is particularly important as tracing the influences of Black philosophical thinkers of the 20th Century such as W.E.B. Du Bois, Frantz Fanon and Malcolm X on more contemporary movements, such as the Black Panther Party, is often not done so to the extent that such major influences deserve. The usefulness of highlighting the actions partaken by the BPP prove timely in assessing the current political climate faced by members of the African diaspora all over the globe, notably in the United States with the continued growth of the Black Lives Matter movement.Show less
The main scope of this thesis is the use of the State of Emergency as a tool in colonial counterinsurgency. The State of Emergency allows us to draw connections between three colonies in three...Show moreThe main scope of this thesis is the use of the State of Emergency as a tool in colonial counterinsurgency. The State of Emergency allows us to draw connections between three colonies in three different continents, Malaya, Kenya and Cyprus. The comparison, assists in adding the Cyprus Emergency within the colonial framework and analyse it as a colonial case. The state of emergency is seen as a tool in counterinsurgency. Finally, the thesis is also connected to scholaraship on Human Rights.Show less
This thesis investigates the influence of kinship networks on the lives of individuals of mixed ancestry across the early nineteenth-century British Atlantic context. It does so by analysing the...Show moreThis thesis investigates the influence of kinship networks on the lives of individuals of mixed ancestry across the early nineteenth-century British Atlantic context. It does so by analysing the evolution of the Thomas and Ostrehan families, from manumission to their respective cross-Atlantic diasporas. The picture emerging from primary sources, mainly last wills and contemporary accounts on the conditions of individuals of mixed ancestry in the colonial context, shows how the latter turned to long-term inter-generational strategies in order to secure freedom and better living conditions. The research expands the perspective of the previous historiography on actors of the colonial society by highlighting the influence of kinship networks over the lives of single individuals. Moreover, it proves the essential role of female members in expanding familial assets and preventing their dispersion.Show less
In deze scriptie is gepoogd de publieke rol die Mans Spoor-Dijkema vervulde te analyseren en af te zetten tegen de krantenartikelen die Nederlandse journalisten over haar publiceerden. De...Show moreIn deze scriptie is gepoogd de publieke rol die Mans Spoor-Dijkema vervulde te analyseren en af te zetten tegen de krantenartikelen die Nederlandse journalisten over haar publiceerden. De Nederlandse pers gebruikte grofweg drie termen om haar te beschrijven: als echtgenote van generaal Spoor, als legervrouw en tenslotte als soldatenmoeder. Deze termen zijn de basis geworden voor de drie hoofdstukken in dit onderzoek. In hoeverre waren deze publieke rollen waarin de media haar beschreef waarheidsgetrouw of, integendeel, een resultaat van goedlopende propaganda? Deze scriptie onderzocht dan ook de volgende hoofdvraag: hoe oordeelden de Nederlandse krantenmedia over de werkzaamheden van Mans Spoor-Dijkema?Show less
The thesis examines the shift in exclusion mechanisms used by British slaveholders in order to prove that modern racism originated from transatlantic slavery and more specifically: British America....Show moreThe thesis examines the shift in exclusion mechanisms used by British slaveholders in order to prove that modern racism originated from transatlantic slavery and more specifically: British America. It does this by comparing the dominant exclusion factors over time. We can see a shift from religious arguments to a transition period, wherein religious and racial arguments mix with one another to form truly racial justifications for black enslavement in the end. The thesis also compares British American and Iberian exclusion mechanisms to pinpoint the location of origin to British America and to explore the different forms of racial prejudice in both worlds.Show less
This thesis examines the motives behind the Dutch East India Company’s decision to enter a relationship with Buton sultanate, a small sultanate in the eastern Archipelago of Indonesia. The analysis...Show moreThis thesis examines the motives behind the Dutch East India Company’s decision to enter a relationship with Buton sultanate, a small sultanate in the eastern Archipelago of Indonesia. The analysis focuses on the seventeenth-century East Indonesia as this period was considered crucial for the Company’s objectives in reinforcing their power and influence in the spice-producing region. To achieve the objectives, the Company needed more than just a military excellence because at the time they also dealt with strong opponent such as Makassar. As a result, the Company designed a strategy to overcome the challenge in which Buton, together with Ternate and Bone, became a part of it although the VOC’s sources identified Buton as not profitable. To answer the research question, this thesis investigated the Butonese materials and the VOC’s materials those were found in the Netherlands. The effort to bring together these sources is an attempt to understand the Butonese and the Company’s perspectives and to see whether their perspectives aligned or distinct with one another. Regarding this issue, this study shows that the Butonese materials and the VOC materials were never in harmony. As the Butonese considered the Company as their “dear friends” throughout the seventeenth century, the Company did not seem to share the same idea.Show less
