1 Geertz, Clifford, Agricultural involution (Berkeley: Berkeley University Press, 1963).Google Scholar

2 Scott, James C., The moral economy of the peasant (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1976), p. 10.Google Scholar

3 The Geertzian paradigm refashioned the pre-war colonial explanatory paradigms of Java's economic transformation as formulated by Julius Herman Boeke in his concept of ‘dual economy’. Its main ideas are presented in Indonesian economics: The concept of dualism in theory and policy, ed. A. Van Marle (Hague: Van Hoeve, 1961). For a critical review of Boeke's conceptualisation of Indonesian economic development by one of his contemporaries, see Burger, Dionijs Huibert, ‘Boeke's dualisme’, Indonesie, 7 (1954): 177–98.Google Scholar Boeke's ideas became popular following the publication of his work in English under the title of Economics and economic policy of dual societies as exemplified by Indonesia (New York: Institute of pacific Relations, 1953). A noteworthy reappraisal of Boeke's ideas in the context of Indonesia's lack of economic growth and development in the 1960s was Higgins, B., ‘The “dualistic theory” of underdeveloped areas’, Economic Development and Cultural Change, 4 (1956): 99–115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar For a review of the critical literature on Geertz's agricultural involution hypothesis together with a sharp rebuttal of it, see White, Ben, ‘“Agricultural involution” and its critics: Twenty years after’, Bulletin of Concerned Scholars, 15, 2 (1983): 8–13.Google Scholar Geertz responded to his critics in ‘Culture and social change: The Indonesian case’, Man, 19, 4 (1984): 511–32. For a positive appraisal of Geertz's influence on Indonesian studies, see Elson, Robert E., ‘Clifford Geertz, 1926–2006: Meaning, method, and Indonesian economic history’, Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, 43, 2 (2007): 251–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

4 The pioneer studies of Robert van Niel, conveniently brought together in Java under the Cultivation System (Leiden: KLITV, 1992), ushered in the revisionist school of economic history of Java, challenging the conventional view of unqualified pernicious consequences of commercial agriculture for the Javanese peasantry. In his critique of colonial policy in the middle decades of the 19th century, Cornelis Fasseur presented similar ideas in Kultuurstelsel en Koloniale Baten (Leiden: Universitaire Pres, 1975), trans. Robert E. Elson and Ary Kraal, The politics of colonial exploitation (Ithaca, NY: Cornell, 1992). The conventional views were critically appraised and revised by several scholars in the 1980s and 1990s. For bibliographic information and a general survey of the current views based on revisionist writings, see Dick, Howard, Houben, Vincent J.H., Lindblad, J. Thomas and Wie, Thee Kian, The emergence of a national economy: An economic history of Indonesia, 1800–2000 (Sydney and Honolulu: Allen & Unwin and University of Hawaii Press, 2002), pp. 56–81, 111–52 and bibliography.Google Scholar

5 In his pioneer study of the economic history of Java, D.H. Burger made some observations on the commercialisation process affecting all peasants in Java; De Ontsluiting van Java's Binnenland voor het Wereldverkeer (Wageningen: H. Veenman, 1939). A couple of small studies focusing on specific areas of Java by Burger reveal different patterns of economic behaviour; Vergelijking van de Economische Toestand der Districten Tajoe en Djokenan (Regentschap Pati, afdeeling Rembang) (Weltevreden: n.p., n.d.) and ‘De Desa Ngablak (Regentschap Pati) in 1869 en 1929’, Koloniale Studien, 17, 1 (1933), pp. 226–40. Likewise, D.C.L. Van Doorn gives a detailed account of economic changes in one small area of Java, which was not involved in commercial agriculture, in the light of information in colonial records and surveys conducted in the early 1920s; Schets van de economische ontwikkeling der afdeeling Poerworedjo (Weltevreden: Kolff, 1926).

6 Rantoandro, , ‘Commerce et navigation dans les mers de l'insulinde d'apres les Dagh-Register de Batavia (1624–1682)’, Archipel, 35 (1988): 51–87;CrossRefGoogle ScholarKnaap, Gerrit J., Shallow waters, rising tide (Leiden: KILTV, 1996), pp. 109–20,Google Scholar and Knaap, Gerrit and Sutherland, Heather, Monsoon traders: Ships, skippers and commodities in eighteenth-century Makassar (Leiden: KILTV, 2004), pp. 81–122.Google Scholar

7 The decline in Java's rice cultivation in the 1790s and early 1800s is evident from contemporary records in anonymous, ‘De Rijstkultuur op Java’, Bijdragen tot de Taal, Land en Volkenkunde, 1 (1872), pp. 109–96.

8 Adas, Michael, The Burma delta: Economic development and social change on an Asian rice frontier, 1852–1941 (Madison: Madison University Press, 1974).Google Scholar

9 For instance, a detailed general account delineating the course of economic development of indigenous people can be pieced together from information contained in regular reports such as the Cultivation Report (Kultuur Verslag) (1834–51), the annual Colonial Report (Koloniaal Verslag and its sequel Indisch Verslag), covering the period of 1851–1940. A good example of this kind of scholarly writing of general economic history is van der Eng, Pierre, Agricultural growth in Indonesia: Productivity change and policy impact since 1880 (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1996).CrossRefGoogle Scholar

10 For information on private domains in Java, see Encyclopaedia van Nederlandsch-Indië, 2^nd edn, vol. 3, ed. D.G. Stibbe ('s Gravenhage: Nijhoff, 1919), s.v. ‘Particuliere Landerijen’, pp. 345–50.

11 Dick, Houben, Lindblad and Thee, Emergence of a national economy, pp. 76–81; Boomgaard, P., Children of the colonial state: Population growth and economic development in Java, 1795–1880 (Amsterdam: Free University Press, 1989), pp. 116–35;Google ScholarElson, R.E., Village Java under the cultivation system, 1830–1870 (Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1994), pp. 251–77;Google ScholarFernando, M.R., ‘Growth of non-agricultural economic activities in Java in the middle decades of the nineteenth century’, Modern Asian Studies, 30, 1 (1996): 77–119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

12 For a detailed discussion of the famine in west Indramayu in 1883–84, see Fernando, M.R., ‘A famine in the land of plenty: Subsistence crisis in west Indramayu, 1883–84’, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies (henceforth, JSEAS), 41, 2 (2010): 291–330.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

13 The statistics are from Regeringsalmanak, 1886, appendix GG, p. 236 and Regeringsalmanak, 1911, appendix MM, p. 662. The population of Cirebon Residency rose at the rate of 0.5 per annum, from 1,327,243 to 1,518,840 between 1885 and 1912; Boomgaard, Peter and Gooszen, A.J., Changing economy in Indonesia, vol. 11, Population trends 1795–1942 (Amsterdam: Royal Tropical Institute, 1991), pp. 116, 119.Google Scholar The local officials were reluctant to draw firm conclusions about the steady decline in population, because the figures were far from reliable. But they admitted depopulation occurring during the 1901–03 period; letter, Resident of Cirebon (Oudemans) to Governor-General, 11 Mar. 1910, no. 70, Mail Rapport (hereafter MR) 1910, no. 357, V 30 May 1910, no. 67, National Archives of the Netherlands (hereafter NAN). The crop failures in Kandanghaur are noted in Nederlandsch Handel Maatschappij, ‘Inspectie van het land Kandanghauer’, 20 Mar. 1910, enclosure, V 30 May 1910, no. 67. The health problems are discussed in Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van het Indramajoe-West, ‘Verslag over het boekjaar van 1 Juli 1909–30 Juni 1910’, pp. 8–9, enclosure, AMK V, 15 Aug. 1910, no. 10, NAN.

14 The average household size is calculated from the statistics of population count for 1905; KV 1907, appendix A, p. 25. In 1905, the total number of children was 66,449 while the total population of west Indramayu amounted to 154,065; Koloniaal Verslag (hereafter KV) 1907, appendix A, p. 25. For information on the average household size in the second half of the nineteenth century, see Fernando, ‘Famine in the land of plenty: Subsistence crisis in west Indramayu, 1883–84’, pp. 291–320.

15 The area of sawah under cultivation in Indramayu rose at the rate of 1% a year from 16,389 hectares to 21,048 hectares between 1883 and 1909; in Kandanghaur it rose at the rate of 2.2% a year from 15,322 hectares to 26,290 hectares during the same period; Heyting, ‘Rapport omtrent den toestand, vooral der particuliere landerijen Kandanghauer en Indramajoe West en in het algemeen, als omtrent de aldaar aanwezige voedingsmiddelen in het bijzonder’, AMK, V 7-3-1884-2; Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van het land ‘Indramajoe-West’, ‘Verslag over het boekjaar van 1 July 1909–30 Juni 1910’ and ‘Inspectie van het land Kandanghauer’.

16 In Indramayu, the area harvest under paddy was below 86% of the planted area and occasionally it declined to 82% between 1903 and 1909; in Kandanghaur it was much lower in the early 1900s – 76% in 1906 – and remained below 86% of the planted area in 1909. The figures are from ‘Gegevens nopens het in de residentie Cheribon, afdeeling Indramajoe, gelegen particulier land Indramajoe-West, ter beoordeeling van de koopwaarde en de rentegevenheid van dit landgoed by de terugbrenging daarvan tot het Staatsdomein’, enclosure, MR 1910, no. 928, V, 15 Aug. 1910, no. 10 and ‘Inspectie van het land Kandanghaur’.

17 The rice crop declined from 56,172 tons of paddy in 1890 to 38,595 tons of paddy in 1891; the situation improved a little the following year when the crop was estimated at 44,202 tons of paddy; KV 1892, p. 219, KV 1893, p. 228 and KV 1894, p. 222. The low rice production was commensurate with a fall in the area of land cultivated under rice from 33,360 hectares to 26,945 hectares between 1890 and 1893; KV 1892, p. 219 and KV 1894, p. 222. The effects of bad weather and inadequate irrigation facilities are noted in ‘Gegevens nopens het …Indramajoe West’; Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van het land ‘Indramjoe-West, ‘Verslag over het boekjaar van 1 July 1907–30 Juni 1908’ and ‘Verslag over het Boekjaar van 1 July 1909–30 Juni 1910’, enclosure, V 15 Aug. 1910, no. 10. The management of Indramayu domain often mentioned the lack of co-operation of the local government of Cirebon to improve irrigation as a reason for crop failures; Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van het land ‘Indramjoe-West, ‘Verslag over het boekjaar van 1 July 1907–30 Juni 1908’.

18 The peasants in Luwangmalang district once complained against their district head (demang) who added 100 kati (1 kati was equivalent to 0.62 kg) of rice more to the tax; letter, Resident of Cirebon (Oudemans) to Governor-General, 8 Jan. 1910, no. 6, MR 1909, no. 528, V 10 Mar. 1910, no. 2. The administrator of Kandanghaur, D. Buttingschap, apparently told the district head to add extra charges to the land rent and Buttingschap sacked the village heads who complained about the matter. The hardship suffered by the peasants in Kandanghaur domain was highlighted by E.W.E Dowes Dekker, editor of Bataviaasch Nieuwsblad, in his novel Het Boek van Siman den Javaan (Amersfort, 1908).

19 ‘Inspectie van het Land Kandanghauer’.

20 In Kandanghaur, the landlord provided 1,240 tons of paddy or unhusked rice for consumption and another 310 tons of paddy for seed, in addition to f.120,000 in cash; letter, Director of Internal Administration to Governor-General, 25 June 1910, no. 1924, MR 1910, no. 1010, V 9 Aug. 1910, no. 51.

21 ‘Inspectie van het Land Kandanghauer’.

22 Ibid.

23 ‘Gegevens nopens het … Indramajoe-West Land’.

24 Hoekendyk's letter to S. Coolsma was published in Nieuw Rotterdamsch Courant, 20 May 1903. This and other newspaper articles mentioned below are enclosed in MR 1903, no. 575, AMK V 18 Aug. 1903, no. 17, NAN.

25 An inquiry into the subsistence crisis of 1903 was conducted by Lawick van Pabst, the Chief Inspector of Cultivations, and his report appeared in Javasche Courant, extra-bijvoegsel, 19/6 – 1903 no. 49, a copy of which is enclosed in V 18 Sept. 1903, no. 17. In 1900, rice production amounted to 29,016 tons of paddy in Indramayu and 28,520 tons of paddy in Kandanghaur. In 1901, Indramayu harvested 14,198 tons of paddy and Kandanghaur harvested 11,160 tons of paddy. In 1902, it was respectively 13,613 and 13,585 tons of paddy; report by Lawick van Pabst, Javasche Courant, extra-bijvoegsel, 19/6 – 1903 no. 49, AMK V 18 Mar. 1908, no. 17.

26 Javasche Courant, extra-bijvoegsel, 19/6 – 1903 no. 49. The figure for land rent is from AMK V 3 Mar. 1911, no. 21, NAN.

27 Javasche Courant, extra-bijvoegsel, 19/6 – 1903 no. 49.

28 K. Wijbrands, ‘“Schaarste” en Rapporten’, Het Nieuws van den Dag voor Nederlandsch-Indie, 31 May 1903, pp. 1–2.

29 Several writers took up the cudgel on behalf of the landlords of private domains. One writer claimed that the landlords had not derived any income from their domains in recent years and consequently had insufficient wherewithal to support the distressed people; Anonymous, ‘Nood in Indramajoe’, Algemeen Handelsblad, 20 Mar. 1903; Anonymous, ‘De nood in Indramajoe’, Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant, 6 Apr. 1903, and Anonymous, ‘De nood in Indramajoe’, Het Volksdagblad, 14 May 1903, all enclosed in MR 1903, no. 575.

30 The amount of tax collected declined drastically from 5,239 tons of rice in 1900 to 2,068 tons of rice in 1901. Next year, it was slightly higher, 2,492 tons of rice; AMK V 15 Aug. 1910, no. 10. The position of landlords was stated in Anonymous, ‘Nood in Indramajoe’, Algemeen Handelsblad, 20 Mar. 1903. The administrators of private domains told the local officials that there was no need for the government to come to the aid of people in view of the relief measures adopted in consultation with the landlords; Javasche Courant, extra bijvoegsel, 19/6, 1903 no. 49. This statement was probably an effort to prevent any interference in the management of private domains. In 1901–02, the landlords set aside for this purpose f.12,236 for Indramayu and f.22,121 for Kandanghaur. During the same period, in Indramayu f.67,901 was allocated for seed paddy and loans while in Kandanghaur, f.27,066 was set aside for the purpose together with 1,304 tons of seed paddy. During 1902–03, f.60,000 and f.16,008 was set aside for lending respectively in Indramayu and Kandanghaur, while 1,483 tons of seed paddy was also supplied. Furthermore, 190 tons of rice for consumption was provided to the needy; Javasche Courant, extra bijvoegsel, 19/6, 1903, no. 49.

31 Hoekendyk reportedly supplied 4,091 meals between 27 January and 31 March 1903, possibly involving around 300 people; in his report, Van Pabst gives the number of meals and the number of people is surmised on the basis of information in the aforesaid newspaper articles and Hoekendyk's letter.

32 Coolsma, ‘De nood in Indramajoe’.

33 The Director of Internal Administration proposed to close the file on the affair after van Pabst submitted his report, which concluded that there was not enough evidence to suggest a widespread scarcity of food let alone a famine in the private domains; letter Director of Internal Administration (P.A. Arends) to G.G., 29 May 1903, no. 3410, MR 1903, no. 575, AMK V 18 Sept. 1903, no. 17.

34 Letter, Resident of Cirebon (J.W. Mesman) to G.G., 23 Sept. 1903, no. 146 geh., MR 1903, no. 927, AMK V 21 Jan. 1904, no. 10, NAN.

35 According to Mesman's information, the rice crop in all three districts of Indramayu Regency had declined considerably. In Kandanghaur private domain, the outlook of the crop was far from favourable and it was also likely to fall in Indramayu private domain. The decline in rice production in the last year led to the cancellation of land rent on 1,120 hectares of sawah in the government-controlled area; Letter, Resident of Cirebon (J.W. Mesman) to G.G., 23 Sept. 1903, no. 146 geh.

36 This paragraph is based on information from letter, Resident of Cirebon to Governor-General, 23 Sept. 1903, no. 146 geh.; letter, Resident of Cirebon to Governor-General, 9 Sept. 1903, no. 142 geh., and Letter F.H.J. Wessels to Governor-General, 17 July 1903, all enclosed in MR 1903, no. 927. The estimated rice production of Cirebon Residency (excluding the private domains) declined from 313,200 tons in 1902 to 288,100 in 1903, a fall of 8%, which implies a local problem confined to Indramayu Regency, where the rice cultivation is reported to have declined in 1903; figures are from Changing economy in Indonesia, vol. 10, Food crops and arable lands, Java 1815–1942, ed. Boomgaard and van Zanden, p. 119. In his report, van Pabst denied any scarcity of rice in Indramayu Regency; according to some newspapers, the local officials also denied any scarcity of rice in Indramayu Regency.

37 For a detailed account of the rice trade in Indramayu Regency in the mid-19th century, see Fernando, M.R, Famine in Cirebon Residency in Java, 1844–1850: A new perspective on the Cultivation System (Monash University: Centre of Southeast Asian Studies Working Papers no. 21, 1980).Google Scholar The role of Chinese traders in collecting rice in Indramayu Regency is reflected in the reports of the inquiries into the so-called ‘diminishing welfare’ of indigenous population in Java during 1903–05; Onderzoek naar de Mindere Welvaart der Inlandsche Bevolking op Java en Madoera (hereafter OMW), Overzicht van de Uitkomsten der Gewestelijke Onderzoekingen naar de Economie van de Desa in de Residentie Cheribon (Buitenzorg, 1907), pp. 19–20, 25 and 53, and OMW: Overzicht van de Uitkomsten der Gewestelijke Onderzoekingen naar de Handel en Nijverheid in de Residentie Cheribon (Buitenzorg, 1907), pp. 1, 5, 8, 10 and 11.

38 During the 1884–1913 period, Java and Madura exported 40,1000 tons of rice, a peak not repeated before or since except during 1939–40, and much of the rice exported came from west Indramayu; Changing economy in Indonesia, vol. 4, Rice prices, ed. Creutzberg (The Hague: Nijhoff, 1978), p. 17.

39 The amount of rice imported by Indonesia increased after 1880, attesting to the growing local demand for rice; ibid. pp. 67–70.

40 On Chinese economic activities, see Cator, W.J., The economic position of Chinese in the Netherlands Indies (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1936), pp. 65–84;Google ScholarPurcell, V., The Chinese in Southeast Asia (London, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong: Oxford University Press, 1965), pp. 428–34.Google Scholar The best account of Chinese influence on the indigenous economy and society is Rush, J.R., Opium to Java (Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1990).Google Scholar

41 Furnivall, J.S., Netherlands India (Amsterdam: B.M. Israel BV, 1976), pp. 213–14.Google Scholar

42 In 1903, export quality rice from Indramayu was sold for f.13.52 per 100 kg while that from Kandanghaur was sold at f.14.09 per 100 kg. These prices were indeed high in comparison with f.4.03 per 100 kg of normal paddy from east Indramayu; Changing economy in Indonesia, vol. 4, Rice prices, p. 57.

43 Letter, Wessels to Governor-General, 17 July 1903.

44 Prime quality rice from Indramayu fetched f.19.49 per 100 kg and that from Kandanghaur f.19.89 per kg in 1883, the year of the famine. This was obviously a result of the scarcity of prime quality rice from the region. In the following decade, the price of rice from the private domains remained high; Changing economy in Indonesia, vol. 4, Rice prices, pp. 57–8.

45 ‘Memorie van Overgave’ of J.W. Mesman, V 9 Mar. 1909, no. 50, NAN.

46 Letter, Resident of Cirebon to Governor-General, 9 Sept. 1903, no. 142 geh., MR 1903, no. 927.

47 Boeke, J.H., ‘Inlandsche Budgetten’, Koloniale Studien, 10 (1926): 296–300.Google Scholar

48 Ibid., pp. 239–45.

49 M.R. Fernando, ‘Dynamics of peasant economy in Java at local levels’, in Nineteenth and twentieth century Indonesia: Essays in honour of Professor J.D. Legge, ed. David P. Chandler and Merle C. Ricklefs (Clayton: Monash University, Centre of Southeast Asian Studies, 1986), pp. 97–121.

50 Fernando, ‘Peasants and plantation economy’, p. 346.

51 OMW: Samentrekking van de Afdeelingsverslagen over de Uitkomsten der Onderzoekingen naar de Economie van de Desa in de Residentie Cheribon (Weltevreden, 1907), appendix 3.

52 The enquiries into the indigenous economy in the early 1900s yielded a good deal of information on peasants producing rice and other crops for sale in local markets and what colonial officials considered to be the entrepreneurial conduct of peasants in Indramayu Regency; ibid., pp. 12, 20–1, 47, 49–50 and 60–1.

53 Letter, Resident of Cirebon to Governor-General, 9 Sept. 1903, no. 142 geh., and letter, Assistant Resident of Indramayu (E.J.W. van Dyk) to Resident of Cirebon, 24 July 1903, no. 2605/20 geh., and letter, Assistant Resident of Indramayu to Resident of Cirebon, 24 July 1903, no. 2605/20 geh., MR 1903 no. 927.

54 Rice production in west Indramayu had recovered by 1904, when it was estimated at 55,751 tons of paddy, and an equally good crop of 55,305 tons of paddy was gathered in the following year; KV 1906, appendix QQ, and KV 1907, appendix TT. In late 1906, the prospects of a good crop loomed large because of the timely rainfall in Nov.–Dec., but heavy rainfall and floods in Jan. 1907 wrought great damage on the rice crop. Still, it did not cause great anxiety until March when the crop caught a disease that reduced the rice harvest of 1907, paving the way for a scarcity of rice the next year; Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van het ‘Indramajoe-West’, ‘Verslag aan de Algemeene Vergadering van Aandeelhouders, te Houden op Zaterdag 14 Dcember 1907’, V 15 Aug. 1910, no. 10. The administrator of Kandanghaur private domain imported 16 tons of rice from the adjacent Pamanukan private domain and set up relief work, which provided people with a daily wage from 0.30 to 0.35 cents, to alleviate the shortage of food supply; this account is based on information from letter, Resident of Cirebon (J. Oudemans) to Governor-General, 19 Mar. 1908, no. 2180; letter Resident of Cirebon to Governor-General, 12 Mar. 1908, no. 1943; letter, Assistant Resident of Indramayu (Kruseman) to Resident of Cirebon, 30 Mar. 1908, no. 906; letter, Resident of Cirebon to Director of Internal Administration, 14 Apr. 1908, no. 3005 and letter, Resident of Cirebon to Governor-General, 8 May 1908, no. 3551, all enclosed in MR 1908 no. 604, AMK V 20 Oct. 1908, no. 24, NAN.

55 The two private domains were initially integrated into the Indramayu Regency, but before long it was evident that the area was too big to be administered from one centre so the Regencies of Indramayu and Majalengka were reorganised as an independent residency in 1925. The administrative reforms in 1925 are dealt with in Staatsblad van Nederlandsch-Indie 1925 no. 404.

56 The new turn in colonial policy dubbed as Ethical Policy has been re-examined, just like many other aspects of colonial economic policy, in recent years; E.B. Locher-Scholten, Ethiek in Fragmenten: Vijf Studien over Koloniaal Denken en Doen van Nederlanders in de Indonesische Archipel (Utrecht: Hes, 1981). For a brief discussion on the economic implications of the Ethical Policy, see Howard Dick, Vincent J.H. Houben, J. Thomas Lindblad and Thee Kian Wie, The emergence of a national economy: An economic history of Indonesia, 1800–2000, pp. 146–8.

57 Increasing rural unrest in Java is discussed in Kartodirdjo, Sartono, Protest movements in rural Java: A study of agrarian unrest in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1973)Google Scholar, and Kartodirdjo, Sartono, ‘Agrarian radicalism in Java: Its setting and development’, in Culture and politics in Indonesia, ed. Holt, Claire (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1972), pp. 71–125.Google Scholar For a new dimension of rural protests, see Fernando, M.R., ‘The trumpet shall sound for rich peasants: Kasan Mukmin's uprising in Gedangan, East Java, 1904’, JSEAS, 26, 2 (1995): 242–62Google Scholar and Fernando, M.R., ‘In the eyes of the beholder: Discourse of a peasant riot in Java’, JSEAS, 30, 2 (1999), pp. 263–85.Google Scholar

58 This view was expressed by some writers who dealt with agrarian problems in Java in the early 1900s; Lette, J.R., Proeve eener Vergelijkende Studie van het Grondbezit in Rusland, zooals dit zich heeft Ontwikkeld tot de Revolutie, en op Java (Leiden, 1928).Google Scholar

59 J. Oudemans, Resident of Cirebon, who introduced similar reforms elsewhere in the residency in the early 1900s, suggested this measure. Oudemans wasted no time in drawing the attention of his superiors to the need for rural credit facilities in the former private domains; letter, Resident of Cirebon (J. Oudemans) to Director of Internal Administration, 20 June 1910 no. 4907, AMK, MR 1910, no. 1010, V 9 Aug. 1910, no. 51, NAN. Following Oudeman's suggestion, Carpentier Alting, who was in charge of the rural credit service, compiled a detailed report entitled ‘Schema van Voorziening ter zake van het Credietwezen op het land Kandanghauer’, dated 22 June 1910; enclosure, MR 1910, no. 1010. His proposal was subjected to further discussions documented in numerous letters and reports enclosed in AMK, MR 1911, no. 1004, V 27-2-1912, no. 64. Carpentier Alting's proposal was approved by resolution of 10 Sept. 1910 no. 6; MR 1910, no. 1342, V 3 Mar. 1911, no. 21, NAN. Carpentier Alting's second report on the subject entitled ‘Schema voor de Credietverstrekking aan de Inlandsche bevolking op voormalige particuliere land Indramajoe-west’ (dated 15 Oct. 1910) is enclosed in MR 1911, no. 1004, V 27 Feb. 1912, no. 64. His proposals for supplying credit to people in Indramayu were approved by the resolution of 8 Feb. 1911 no. 45; MR 1911, no. 350, V 27 Feb. 1912, no. 64.

60 Resolution 13 July 1910, no. 1; MR 1910, no. 1080, V 27 Feb. 1912, no. 64; resolution 8 Feb. 1911, no. 45; ‘Schema voor de Credietverstrekking aan de Inlandsche bevolking op voormalige particuliere land Indramajoe-west’.

61 ‘Eerste Jaarverslag 1911. Commissie voor West-Indramajoe’, AMK, MR 1912, no. 2112, NAN.

62 The government's failure to secure rice supplies from peasants in return for credit was discussed at length by various officials concerned; AMK, MR 1917, no. 2242, NAN.

63 The amount of rice exported from Java to the Netherlands rose from 29,000 tons in 1898 to 44,000 tons in 1913; Changing economy in Indonesia, vol. 4, Rice prices, pp. 68–9.

64 Verslag van den Economischen Toestand der Inlandsche Bevolking 1924, vol. 1 ('s Gravenhage: M. Nijhoff, 1926), pp. 178 and 181.

65 This paragraph is, unless otherwise noted, based on information from ‘Nota in zake de voor-en nadeelen van het rijstbedrijf en het geldpadiebedrijf respectiewelijk op de voormalige particuliere landerijen Kandanghauer en Indramajoe-west’, 24 Aug. 1917, MR 1917, no. 2242.

66 In 1909, the landlords ordered from a company in Hamburg a modern rice mill capable of processing 4,000 pikul of paddy a day. The total cost including the mill building was estimated to range between f.118,000 to f.120,000. The mill began operation in 1910, but not in full capacity; Maatschappij to Exploitatie van het Indramajoe-West, ‘Verslag over het boekjaar van 1 Juli 1908–30 Juni 1909’. The failure of the new mill is discussed in letter, Director of Internal Administration to Governor-General, 13 Feb.1912, no. 734, AMK, MR 1912, no. 451, NAN.

67 By the resolution of 28 Feb. 1912, no.1, the government allocated f.240,000 to provide peasants with credit in return for repayment of debts in paddy; MR 1912, no. 451. The peasants were quick to obtain credit but slow to repay their debts in prime-quality paddy as insisted on by the government. In the case of Losarang mill, out of f.335,000 lent only f.285,000 had been repaid by the end of 1916. In the case of Princes Juliana mill in Indramayu, peasants still owed the government a sum of f.84,000; letter, Director of Internal Administration to Governor-General, 15 Oct. 1917 no. 10,536/^B, MR 1917, no. 2242.

68 This matter was decided by resolution of 8 Mar. 1913, no. 6, MR 1913, no. 560 and resolution of 29 Apr. 1913, no. 40, MR 1913, no. 969.

69 Letter, Director of Internal Administration to Governor-General, 15 Oct. 1917, no. 10,536/^B.

70 By resolution of 30 Oct. 1917, no. 4, it was decided to authorise the Resident of Cirebon to make the necessary arrangements; enclosure, MR 1917, no. 2242. The arrangements are elaborated in the letters of Resident of Cirebon to the Director of Internal Administration, 20 Sept. 1917, no. 8960/30 and 19 Sept. 1917, no. 8882/3^G, MR 1917, no. 2242.

71 By 1930, railway and tramlines had all been completed and offered competition to other forms of transportation; ‘Memorie van Overgave’ of A.A. de Vloten, Resident of Indrmayu, 1931, Instituut voor Tropen Library, Amsterdam, manuscript no. Aae.3, p. 52.

72 The population figures are from KV 1902, appendix A; Uitkomsten der in de maand November 1920 gehouden Volkstelling (Batavia: Ruyrok, 1922) and Volkstelling 1930, vol. 1 (Batavia: Landsdrukkerij, 1931). Migration of people as the main cause of population growth is mentioned in letter, Director of Public Works to Governor-General, 30 Sept. 1919, no. 19837/B, MR 1920, no. 732.

73 ‘Memorie van Overgave’ of Vloten, p. 19.

74 Indramayu's population density rose from 153 persons per square km in 1900 to 161 in 1920 and then to 335 in 1930, whereas that of Kandanghaur rose much more slowly given its larger area of land — from 59 in 1900 to 65 in 1920 and to 146 in 1930; KV 1902, appendix A; Uitkomsten der in de maand November 1920 gehouden Volkstelling (Batavia: Ruyrok, 1922) and Volkstelling 1930, vol. 1 (Batavia: Landsdrukkerij, 1931).

75 The figures are from ‘Inspectie van het Kandanghaoer’; Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van het Land ‘Indramajoe-west’, ‘Verslag over het Boekjaar van 1 July 1909–31 Juni 1910’ and ‘Memorie van Overgave’ of Vloten, p. 34.

76 Details of this crop failure are not available. It was noted that a large area of land planted under rice was destroyed by flood in 1916; letter, Director of Public Works to Governor-General, 4 Feb.1923, no. 13,604/E, MR 1924 no. 339. The crop failure is also noted in ‘Memorie van Overgave’ of F.Ch.N. van der Moore, MR 1915 no. 816, V 1 July 1915, no. 80.

77 This account of the 1920–21 crisis in food supply is based on information from ‘Memorie van Overgave’ of van der Marel, J. in Memori Serah Jabatan 1921–1930 (Jawa Barat), ed. Kartodirdjo, Sartono (Jakarta: Arsip Nasional, 1976), pp. 192–5.Google Scholar

78 There are no figures for rice production in Indramayu Regency and hence the scale of the crop failure should be gauged from the figures for Cirebon Residency as a whole. This exercise is imprecise, because in addition to the area covered by the former private domains, some other parts of Indramayu Regency were also affected by the crop failure. The figures nevertheless give a fairly reliable impression of the magnitude of the crop failure. The rice production in the residency declined from 437,000 tons of (unhusked) rice in 1913 to 384,700 tons of rice in 1916 and continued to fall for the next two years. It reached the level of 354,000 tons in 1918 and, in the next year, rose to 402,000 tons, but declined sharply once again to 355,100 tons in 1920 and then to 265,800 tons in 1921; Changing economy in Indonesia, vol. 10, Food crops and arable lands, Java 1815–1942, pp. 119 and 121.

79 Letter, Resident of Cirebon (van der Marel) to Director of Agriculture, Industry and Trade, 16 May 1921, no. 4384/20, MR 1921, no. 1468.

80 The price of rice in Cirebon Residency was reportedly high at the beginning of 1920, f.20, f.18 and f.17.50 per pikul of respectively first, second and third grade rice. The price slowly declined in the course of 1920 and reached the level of f.18, f.16.50 and f.15 per pikul for three types of rice by the end of the year. The slight fall in the price of rice was ascribed to the import of Saigon rice; ‘Memorie van Overgave’ of J. van der Marel in Memori Serah Jabatan, ed. Sartono Kartodirdjo, p. 194.

81 Letter, Resident of Cirebon to Director of Agriculture, Industry and Trade, 16 May 1921, no. 4384/20.

82 Changing economy in Indonesia, vol. 4, Rice prices, pp. 69–70.

83 Indramayu appears to have exported no rice during the 1915–16 period or in 1919. It did export a little rice during the 1917–18 period, for which very low prices are recorded; Changing economy in Indonesia, vol. 1, Rice prices, p. 58.

84 The evolution of government rice policy is set forth in Het Ekonomisch Beleid in Nederlandsch-Indie, vol. 2, ed. P. Creutzberg (Groningen: H.D. Tjeenk Willink, 1974), pp. 171–547. There was a strong feeling that more could be done to increase rice production in Java by curbing the expansion of the sugar industry, which competed with the cultivation of food crops for access to wet-rice land, improving irrigation and credit facilities, in addition to making new technological developments available to the peasants. For a brief account of the problems affecting rice production in Java and the proposed measures to be taken to alleviate them, see P. van der Elst, ‘De crisis in de padicultuur op Java’, Koloniale Studien, 8, 2 (1924):106–7; Anonymous, , ‘Het rijsttekort in Nederlandsch-Indie’, Koloniale Studien, 8, 2 (1924): 184–7Google Scholar and Scheltma, A.M.P.A., ‘De voeding van de Inlandsche bevolking van Nederlandsch-Indie’, Koloniale Studien, 14, 2 (1930): 368–94.Google Scholar

85 The rice crop of 19,632 hectares of wet-rice land failed in 1928, but it was a modest crop failure in comparison with the subsequent crop failures, for the area of wet-rice that failed during the period of 1929–31 amounted to respectively 32,122, 31,696 and 48,145 hectares; ‘Memorie van Overgave’ of A. van Vlooten.

86 Changing economy in Indonesia, vol. 4, Rice prices, pp. 70–2. For details of rice imports, see ibid., pp. 65–72. The restrictions affecting rice imports in the wake of the depression are presented in Ekonomisch Beleid in Nederlandsch-Indie, vol. 2, ed. Creutzberg, pp. 398–420.

87 The increase in rice production in Indramayu Regency as an index (with the base 1926 = 100) amounted to 119,146 and 139 for the three years in question whereas West Java as a whole achieved 110,116 and 121 during the same period; Departement van Economische Zaken, Jaarcijfers met Toelichting Betreffende den Economischen Toestand der Inheemsche Bevolking op Java en Madoera over 1937 en 1938 (mimeograph) (Batavia, 1939), (hereafter Jaarcijfers), appendix 1.

88 Anonymous, ‘Rijstvervoer langs de Javakust en uitvoer naar de Buitengewesten’, Economisch Weekblad, 15 Dec. 1933, p. 987.

89 Jaarcijfers, appendix 6.

90 Anonymous, ‘Rijstpellerijen in Nederlandsch-Indie’, Economisch Weekblad, 13 Oct. 1933, p. 635; Anonymous, ‘Rijstpellerijen in Ned.-Indie in 1933’, Economisch Weekblad, 5 Oct. 1934, p. 1575; Anonymous, ‘Rijstpellerijen in Ned.-Indie in 1934’, Economisch Weekblad, 11 Oct. 1935, p. 1605; Anonymous, ‘Rijstpellerijen in Nederlandsch-Indie’, Economisch Weekblad, 30 Oct. 1936, p. 2069; Ibid., 17 Sept. 1937, p. 2005; Ibid., 16 Sept. 1938, p. 1782; and Ibid., 1939, p. 1865.

91 Anonymous, , ‘Rijstpellerijen in Ned.-Indie in 1933’, Economisch Weekblad, 3, 40 (1934), 1575;Google Scholar Anonymous, ‘Statistische gedeelte’ and ‘Rijstpellerijen in Ned.-Indie in 1934’, Economisch Weekblad, 11 Oct. 1935, pp 1604–06.

92 Total rice production in West Java for 1928 amounted to 1,224,499 tons and 886,794 tons in 1938. The amount of rice milled amounted to 163,294 tons and 227,349 tons respectively; ‘Rijstpellerijen in Nederlandsh-Indie’, Economisch weekblad, 13 Oct. 1933, p. 635 and ‘Rijstpellerijen in Nederlandsch-Indie’, Economisch Weekblad, 1939, p. 1865.

93 The following account is based on J.L. Vleming's work on Chinese economic activity in Java reproduced in Chinese economic activity in Netherlands India, ed. M.R. Fernando and D. Bulbeck (Singapore: ISEAS, 1992), pp. 180–1.

94 The Chinese population in west Indramayu declined from 5,480 to 5,286 between 1901 and 1920; the figures are from KV 1902, appendix A and Uitkomsten der in de maand November 1920 gehouden Volkstelling, p. 30.

95 For an account of Chinese money lending, see Cator, The economic position of the Chinese in the Netherlands Indies, pp. 79–84.

96 Chinese economic activity in Netherlands India, p. 181.

97 The economic and social consequences of the expansion of rice milling in the 1930s is discussed at length in letter, Director of Economic Affairs to Governor-General, 24 June 1939, in Het Economisch Beleid, vol. 2, ed. Creutzberg, pp. 473–85.

98 This account is based on two letters, Director of Economic Affairs (G.H.C. Hart) to Governor-General (de Jonge), 5 Mar. 1935 and 15 July 1935; Economisch Beleid in Nederlandsh-Indie, vol. 2, ed. Creutzberg, pp. 421–33.

99 The price of rice rose by 22% between May 1934 and May 1938, due to the shortage of rice in the local markets; Jaarcijfers, appendix 5. The rice imports into Indramayu region amounted to 1,587 tons and 5,141 tons between 1936 and 1938; letter, Director of Economic Affairs to Governor-General, 24 June 1939, in Het Economisch Beleid, vol. 2, pp. 473–85.

100 Letter, Director of Economic Affairs (G.H.C. Hart) to Governor-General (De Jonge), 5 Mar. 1935, in Economisch Beleid van Nederlandsch-Indie, vol. 2, p. 423.

101 Scott, James C., The moral economy of the peasant (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1976), pp. 114–56.Google Scholar

102 Letter, Director of Economic Affairs (G.H.C. Hart) to Governor-General (De Jonge), 5 Mar. 1935, in Economisch Beleid van Nederlandsch-Indie, vol. 2, p. 424. There are no figures for rice prices in Indramayu Regency during 1935–36. But between May and November 1934, the price reportedly rose by 125% and, between May and November 1937, by 154%, whereas in Cirebon Residency as a whole the price of rice rose by 75% and 132% respectively during the same periods; Jaarcijfers, appendix 5.

103 Letter, Director of Economic Affairs (H.C. Hart) to Governor-General (De Jonge), 5 Mar. 1935, Economisch Beleid in Nederlandsch-Indie, vol. 2, p. 424.

104 Brown, Ian, ‘Rural distress in Southeast Asia during the World Depression of the early 1930s: A preliminary re-examination’, Journal of Asian Studies, 45, 5 (1986): 995–1025.CrossRefGoogle Scholar For a discussion of the impact of the Great Depression on people in a sugar cane growing area of Java, see Elson, R.E., Javanese peasants and the colonial sugar industry (Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1984), pp. 239–47.Google Scholar A detailed discussion of the impact of the Great Depression in most parts of Southeast Asia is found in Weathering the storm: The economies of Southeast Asia in the 1930s Depression, ed. Peter Boomgaard and Ian Brown (Singapore: ISEAS, 2000); and Brown, Ian, A colonial economy in crisis: Burma's rice delta and the World Depression of the 1930s (Abindon: RoutledgeCurzon, 2005).CrossRefGoogle Scholar

105 G.J. Schimmel, ‘De Rijstpolitiek in de Jaren 1933 tot 1937’, in Handelingen van de Twaalfde Dienstvergadering van Landbouw en Nijverheidconsultanten in Nederlandsch-Indie (Buitenzorg: Departement van Economische Zaken, n.d.), pp. 156–72; and E. de Vries, ‘Maatregelen op het Gebied van Voedingsgewassen en Voedseldistributie’, in ibid., pp. 173–201. For a general survey of the food supply issue, see Het Ekonomisch Beleid in Nederlandsch-Indie, vol. 2, appendix 1, pp. 751–84.

106 The statistics are from Jaarcijfers, appendix 8.

107 The statistics are from ibid., appendix 9.

108 The figures of debts are from ibid., appendix 12.

109 Fernando, ‘Peasants and plantation economy’, pp. 338–63.

110 Breman, Jan, Control of land and labour in colonial Java: A case study of agrarian crisis and reform in the region of Cirebon during the first decades of the 20^th century (Dordrecht: Foris, 1983).Google Scholar

111 Djoko Surio, ‘Social and economic life in rural Semarang under colonial rule in the later 19th century' (Ph.D. diss., Monash University, 1982).

112 The notion of peasants as victims of exploitation of supra-village agencies is embedded in the popular formulations of economic transformation in colonial Southeast Asia advanced by Geertz, and Scott, Moral economy of peasants. For a critical review of Scott's views, see King, Victor, ‘Moral economy and peasant uprisings in Southeast Asia’, Cultures et Developpement, 10, 1 (1978): 123–49.Google Scholar The idea that peasants were rational decision makers with a keen awareness of making profits is strongly projected by Popkin, Samuel L., The rational peasant: The political economy of rural society in Vietnam (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1979).Google Scholar A similar point is also made by Michael Adas with reference to the situation in lower Burma.

113 A great deal of information encompassing all parts of Java supporting this conclusion is presented in several studies cited such as Dick et al., Emergence of a national economy; Boomgaard, Children of the colonial states; Elson, Village Java under the cultivation system, 1830–1870; Fernando, ‘Growth of non-agricultural economic activities in Java’. Further evidence covering the last quarter of the 19th century is to be found, strangely enough, in the voluminous reports of the ‘diminishing welfare’ enquiry conducted in the early 1900s. For a convenient summary of its results, see Hasselman, C.J., Algemeen Overzicht van de Uitkomsten van het Welvaart-onderzoek, gehouden op Java en Madoera in 1904–1905 (Batavia: Landsdrukkerij, 1919).Google Scholar A series of peasant budget studies conducted by J.H. Boeke between 1880 and 1930 mentioned earlier also provide evidence on the phenomenon.

114 Ken Young presents a fascinating case of peasants allocating household resources, particularly labour, to derive maximum benefit from both subsistence and commercial agriculture in West Sumatra under colonial rule; Islamic peasants and the state: The 1908 anti-tax rebellion in West Sumatra (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994). A similar view is advanced in Kahn, Joel S., Minangkabau Social Formation: Indonesian peasants and the world-economy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980).Google Scholar

115 It is noteworthy that Geertz found Javanese peasants enthusiastically embracing the opportunities to produce agricultural crops for sale and commerce, all linked with the sugar industry, in a corner of east Java between 1880 and 1930s; The social history of an Indonesian town (Cambridge, MA: M.I.T. Press, 1965). This important study has not received the scholarly attention it deserves. The fact that Javanese and Malay people were enthusiastic in commerce and profit-oriented economic activities has been elucidated in several recent studies dealing with the period from 1400 to the early 1800s. For a broad picture of this state of affairs, see Anthony Reid, Southeast Asia in the Age of Commerce, vol. 2 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1993).

116 Sen, Amartya, Poverty and famines: An essay on entitlement and deprivation (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981), pp. 45–51.Google Scholar

117 Larkin, John, The Pampangans: Colonial society in a Philippine province (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1972);Google ScholarOwen, Norman G., Prosperity without progress: Manila hemp and material life in the colonial Philippines (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984);Google Scholar R.E. Elson, Javanese peasants and the colonial sugar industry: Impact and change in an East Java residency 1830–1940.