This thesis focuses on the period at the end of the nineteenth century when knowledge of the colonized cultures and their histories became an integral part of European imperial policies. In the...Show moreThis thesis focuses on the period at the end of the nineteenth century when knowledge of the colonized cultures and their histories became an integral part of European imperial policies. In the search for tools legitimizing their overseas venture, architecture turned out to be one of the most visual and lasting tools for boosting such efforts. It is precisely by exploring this aspect of empire-building through architecture that my thesis attempts to redress the lacunae of historical research on colonial architecture as a measure for studying colonial history. Conventional historiography has largely neglected this aspect of empire-building, leaving much of it for architects, urbanists and art historians to deal with. Most of the scholarly contributions to colonial architecture have not yet been able to sufficiently expose the underlying imperial designs or the socio-cultural processes behind such building projects. In this thesis, I have made attempts to trace these processes and examine them from a comparative perspective using Foucault’s power/knowledge dimension. By pitching the three former Asian colonies of British-India, Dutch-Indies and French-Indochina next to each other and analysing the hybrid architecture found in their main public buildings, the ways in which the colonial government tried to impress the people through their building styles can be revealed. They resorted to the incorporation of often randomly mixed local architectural elements into buildings which looked European otherwise. This resulted in buildings depicting hybrid architectural styles. Such designs reflected a self-proclaimed European mastery in managing knowledge of the colonized cultures. In trying to claim their legitimacy as new rulers, colonial governments went to great lengths, using the visual qualities of architecture to shield a relatively weak system. The erection of confident and mighty stone facades, however, did little to bury the lingering orientalist prejudices and the inherent unequal status of the colonizers and the colonized. In fact, the knowledge on local histories generated by the colonizers helped create local identities that gave a boost to the upcoming nationalistic movements. But there were interesting differences among the colonies though, that this comparative exercise laid bare. The nuances manifested in the different colonies in terms of the willingness to spend financial resources, the often conflicting objectives between colonial institutions, the effects of shifting colonial policies and the paradoxical underlying principles that defined those policies, and other contextual factors, led to differences in imperial policies and their consequent architectural plans. By probing into these differences as well as by highlighting the similarities cutting across all the three colonies, my thesis contributes to understanding the varying shades of colonialism through the seemingly silent yet starkly telling structures.Show less
In 1646, Curaçao and New Netherland were united under Petrus Stuyvesant as director-general of both colonies. It was the culmination of several years of planning to improve the poor situation in...Show moreIn 1646, Curaçao and New Netherland were united under Petrus Stuyvesant as director-general of both colonies. It was the culmination of several years of planning to improve the poor situation in these territories. The aim was to provide Curaçao with food produced in New Netherland and cut the costs of the unprofitable island. The connection functioned poorly as a lack of shipping capacity made it impossible to supply Curaçao as planned, and food shortages remained common.Show less
De twee slagen bij de Guararapesbergen in 1648 en 1649 bleken een omslag in de geschiedenis van de WIC-kolonie in Nederlands-Brazilië. Het beleid omtrent die twee slagen van de Hoge Raad ofwel de...Show moreDe twee slagen bij de Guararapesbergen in 1648 en 1649 bleken een omslag in de geschiedenis van de WIC-kolonie in Nederlands-Brazilië. Het beleid omtrent die twee slagen van de Hoge Raad ofwel de Nederlandse regering in Nederlands-Brazilië is nog weinig onderzocht. Wel hield Van Hoboken er een negatieve mening op na met betrekking tot het beleid dat de Raad had gevoerd. L'Honore-Naber stelde al in 1925 dat hoe meer wij weten over het beleid van deze regering, hoe positiever ons oordeel - waarschijnlijk - zou zijn. Den Heijer herhaalde dat in 2005. Naar aanleiding daarvan is het beleid van de Raad in bredere zin bekeken door in de periode van de beide slagen het gehele beleid van de Raad in kaart te brengen aan de hand van de Dagelijkse en de Secrete Notulen. Doordat de hulp uit de Republiek te beperkt was en er een constant tekort was van middelen en troepen, kan er verklaard worden waarom de Hoge Raad er niet in kon slagen de kolonie van haar ondergang te behoeden. Zo beaamt deze scriptie de veronderstelling van L'Honoré-Naber en Den Heijer. Daarnaast blijkt de interpretatie van Van Hoboken over het beleid van de Raad te negatief en niet altijd in overeenstemming met de Notulen. Aangezien Boxer in zijn werk zich ook baseerde op Van Hoboken, voegt deze scriptie een nieuwe kijk op de Raad toe aan de geschiedschrijving over Nederlands-Brazilië.Show less
Wat voor soort relatie hadden de Nederlanders, met de Compagnie in het bijzonder, met de machtige confederatie Ashanti in het binnenland van de Goudkust? Dat is de hoofdvraag van dit onderzoek. Aan...Show moreWat voor soort relatie hadden de Nederlanders, met de Compagnie in het bijzonder, met de machtige confederatie Ashanti in het binnenland van de Goudkust? Dat is de hoofdvraag van dit onderzoek. Aan de hand van uitgebreid literatuur- en archiefonderzoek zal worden gepoogd een label te plakken op deze relatie. De focus zal daarbij liggen op de periode 1750-1772; een tijdvak van veel oorlogen in het binnenland, met blokkades van de handelswegen tot gevolgen. De mogelijke labels zijn geformuleerd op basis van politicologische concepten van relaties tussen verschillende volken of staten. Harvey Feinberg, historicus op het gebied van Afrika, heeft deze concepten eerder gebruikt om de relatie tussen de Nederlanders op de Goudkust en de inwoners van Elmina te kunnen duiden. Deze concepten blijken echter ook bruikbaar om de relatie tussen de Nederlanders en Ashanti te verklaren. Op basis van het descriptieve en analytische hoofdstuk kan worden vastgesteld dat hier sprake was van het politicologische concept dependent-independent, hoewel zo’n label nooit helemaal sluitend kan zijn. Ashanti als de onafhankelijke partij, de Compagnie daarentegen afhankelijk.Show less
Nu de treinkaping bij De Punt door de nabestaanden van de gijzelnemers weer in het nieuws gebracht is, wordt historisch onderzoek rondom de Molukkers hoogst relevant. Het doel van mijn MA-scriptie...Show moreNu de treinkaping bij De Punt door de nabestaanden van de gijzelnemers weer in het nieuws gebracht is, wordt historisch onderzoek rondom de Molukkers hoogst relevant. Het doel van mijn MA-scriptie is om beter inzicht te krijgen in de Molukse identiteit in de twintigste eeuw. Om te achterhalen hoe de Molukse identiteit eruit zag, heb ik onderzocht hoe deze beschreven wordt in historische bronnen zowel door de Molukkers zelf als door Nederlanders. Hiervoor onderscheidt de scriptie drie perioden: de koloniale periode tot de Indonesische revolutie, een korte tussenperiode waarin de RMS werd uitgeroepen die duurt tot de migratie van Molukse soldaten naar Nederland in 1952, en de periode in Nederland tot de treinkaping in 1977. Deze scriptie is uniek in die zin dat ze alle drie de perioden bestrijkt. Tot de geraadpleegde bronnen behoren onder meer de memories van overgave en tijdschriften uitgebracht door Molukkers in Nederland. Op deze manier ga ik na welke veranderingen optraden in de Molukse identiteit in de twintigste eeuw, in zowel Indonesië als Nederland. Uit de bronnen worden inderdaad meerdere veranderingen zichtbaar, en ze laten zien dat er meerdere Molukse groepen bestonden met ieder hun eigen idee van wat de Molukse identiteit inhield. Er blijkt dus eigenlijk niet zoiets is als dé Molukse identiteit te bestaan.Show less
The Dutch East India Company formally started their trade operations in Bengal in the early 1630s. Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the VOC employed officers and servants of...Show moreThe Dutch East India Company formally started their trade operations in Bengal in the early 1630s. Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the VOC employed officers and servants of various ranks to secure their "kantoor‟ or regional trade office as well as fortifications and establishments. Apart from this, many travelers, explorers, and merchants visited Bengal during the peak days of the Dutch connection with the Indian Ocean world. This study aims to explore the social lives of the Dutch people in the society of Bengal and analyze the nature of the cross-cultural relationship between the two communities.Show less
Held on 18-24 April 1955, the Bandung Conference became a watershed in international and diplomatic history. Described by President Sukarno of Indonesia as “the first intercontinental conference of...Show moreHeld on 18-24 April 1955, the Bandung Conference became a watershed in international and diplomatic history. Described by President Sukarno of Indonesia as “the first intercontinental conference of colored peoples in the history of mankind”, it marked what Nehru described as “the political emergence of over half the world’s population in world affairs”. Many scholars have attempted to discuss the history and legacy of this conference, yet there is still no comprehensive studies that present the complexity of the Bandung Conference. The thesis attempts to examine the roots, moments and legacies of the Bandung Conference. It investigates how did the concept of the Bandung Conference emerge and present itself as a vision during the Cold War. It also discusses the discourse, dispute and result of the conference and to what extent did the Bandung Conference have implications for the Asian and African countries and international politics.Show less
In the historiography about education for Indonesian children in the Netherlands Indies, a legislative approach predominates. This causes a disregard for non-governmental educational initiatives,...Show moreIn the historiography about education for Indonesian children in the Netherlands Indies, a legislative approach predominates. This causes a disregard for non-governmental educational initiatives, and for those that that occurred outside Java. In this thesis, through in-dept analysis of schools in Java, the Minahasa and South New Guinea, educational ideologies and practices are researched while focusing on the question of how, and why, native childhoods were constructed in these contexts. 'Age' is a leading category of analysis here. This thesis shows that educational projects were not about 'uplifiting' children in the sense of social mobility. On the contrary, educators aimed at maintaining social hierarchies. This conclusion opens up space for a revision of the meaning of the Dutch 'civilizing mission' in the Netherlands Indies.Show less
Three remarkable minds shaped the computer world as we know it today. Douglas Engelbart invented the man-machine interaction system and Theodor Holm Nelson laid out the basic structure of hypertext...Show moreThree remarkable minds shaped the computer world as we know it today. Douglas Engelbart invented the man-machine interaction system and Theodor Holm Nelson laid out the basic structure of hypertext, which serves as the underpinning principle of the Internet. Both men were inspired by Vannevar Bush, the science advisor to president Roosevelt during World War II and an influential information theorist after that. The question is, were these authors already thinking about the future of humanism as an intellectual discipline? As it turns out, formative ideas for humanism in the computer were already present from the outset.Show less
