Indonesia, Dutch Indies: Kingdom of Holland, 1 Cent – 1857

Description

The Dutch colonies of the Eastern Indies became controlled by the Government in 1800, with the formal solution of the Eastern Indies Company (VOC), in the middle of the Republic of Batavia, under French control. After being largely invaded by the British during the Napoleonic war, Dutch control returned in 1816 with the conclusion of the wars following the treaty signed by British and Dutch in 1814. In 1824 some adjustments were made based on existing tensions by the British establishment of Singapore and the distribution of Johor”s sultanate. From this moment on, the exploitation of the colonies will be based on profitability and not on expansion as under the company in previous centuries. However, control would also be strengthened away from the main islands for various reasons, especially to move away other European powers in the area. At the beginning of the 20th century thanks to the technological jump produced by industrialization, the entire archipelago was controlled by the Dutch. The Dutch Indies had a lot of economic success with the plantation policy, because to finance the costs of expansion, it was forced to plant 20% of the land to this type of crop (indigo, coffee …). The system was abolished in 1870 due to the famine problems it caused. Subsequently, the coolies system was imposed (Chinese, Malaysian, Indian workers …) brought for large companies. The Netherlands had capitalized against Germany in 1940, but the oriental colonies were considered under the sphere of Japanese influence. In January 1942 the Japanese invaded the islands, as they considered rubber and oil supplies.