Customary law in South Africa was transformed by its incorporation into the colonial and later Apartheid state. In this regard, the work of colonial administrators and scholars were important as...Show moreCustomary law in South Africa was transformed by its incorporation into the colonial and later Apartheid state. In this regard, the work of colonial administrators and scholars were important as their visions of idealised ‘tribal’ society and chiefly rule with despotic and patriarchal qualities were often largely reproduced in official state policy, and served to legitimate white minority rule. Literature on this subject has tended to either be situated within a national narrative, or largely focus on British policies of indirect rule. Tracing the career and thought of F.D. ‘Frits’ Holleman in the first half of the 20th Century, as he moved from judicial and scholarly appointments in the Netherlands East Indies (NEI), to posts at Leiden University in the Netherlands and ultimately Stellenbosch University in South Africa, allows for a more explicitly global approach to the subject. It also demonstrates an insufficiently-acknowledged transfer of Dutch colonial expertise and experience from an established body of Indonesian adat law scholarship, originating at Leiden University, to an emerging field of customary law scholarship in the strongly Afrikaner Nationalist environment of Stellenbosch. While Holleman’s work on South African customary law was in some ways distinct from what he had worked on before, many of the concepts and characteristics he ascribed to African societies were straightforwardly transposed from his work on adat law, which stood within a tradition of scholarship that demonstrated both paternal/empathic concern for protecting non-Western law, and a strong essentialising impulse, leading to broad and enduring generalisations about supposedly ‘primitive’ societies. Beyond Holleman’s own trajectory, this study holds broader significance in the way it demonstrates the spread of theories of adat law far beyond their place of origin, and their influence on South African thinking about customary law. Moreover, the structural factors which allowed Holleman and his ideas to travel, suggest connections far deeper than a single individual; Holleman’s case has implications for how we think about the ongoing relationship between the Netherlands and South Africa, and indeed a triangular relationship between the Netherlands, Indonesia and South Africa. It may also offer a new lens with which to view the revival of traditionalist politics in both South Africa and Indonesia.Show less
From the beginning of the 18th century small groups of Chinese migrated to Southeast Asia. The Hakka from East Guangdong (China) migrated to West Borneo and founded kongsis, which were groups of...Show moreFrom the beginning of the 18th century small groups of Chinese migrated to Southeast Asia. The Hakka from East Guangdong (China) migrated to West Borneo and founded kongsis, which were groups of mining laborers who agreed to divide labor and financial responsibilities. The Hakka worked in gold mines, farms and trade. The kongsis had a high level of autonomy. Chinese autonomy started to decline in 1823, when several kongsis, like Lanfang, accepted Dutch rule and paid taxes to them. Migration from China ceased and it did not increase until the 1900s. In 1884, the last remaining kongsi federation, Lanfang, collapsed. Thus, the last institute of Chinese autonomy in WB ceased to exist. After a period of relative stability following the collapse of the last kongsi, between 1912 and 1942 a series of important politico-economic events came to shape the Chinese community of West Borneo in new ways. Between 1884 and 1912, the Chinese Districts remained autonomous, as the Dutch government did not formally proclaimed the territory as Dutch and the Dutch did little to intervene in Chinese economy and politics. From the end of the 19th century, the amount of Chinese who migrated to WB increased and the total Chinese population in the area became larger. Interestingly, the new gulf of immigration to West Borneo encompassed more women than during the migration movements of the previous century. The living conditions in China were bad, as there was a Civil War, political instability, the threat of Japanese imperialism threatened political coherence and stability. There was also a lack of land to farm – which obviously had dire economic repercussions. offered an opportunity for a better future. The thesis focuses on certain politcal-economic events, to show if there were any changes in the autonomy of Chinese in politics and economy, after the collapse of the last kongsi.Show less
Research master thesis | History: Societies and Institutions (research) (MA)
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This thesis describes and analyzes the famine that occurred in the Netherlands East Indies, c. 1900-1904. The famine affected Java and parts of the Outer Islands. It details (the principles behind)...Show moreThis thesis describes and analyzes the famine that occurred in the Netherlands East Indies, c. 1900-1904. The famine affected Java and parts of the Outer Islands. It details (the principles behind) the relief efforts of the Dutch colonial government. It also analyzes how the colonial government used the famine to accumulate knowledge on the subject, while politically representing and justifying its response. The thesis argues that famines and food shortages are integral to understanding the colonial state and colonial society. Further, it takes a comparative perspective by connecting the famine to famine experiences of other colonial powers in British India and French Indochina.Show less
