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The Rise Of Quantification In The Pacific (Indonesia 1830–1870), Parulian Silaen, Ciorstan J. Smark

Parulian Silaen

The “Culture System” was enforced in Java and other parts of Indonesia by the Dutch colonial government between 1830 and 1870. Under this system, Indonesian farmers were forced to put aside part of their land and labour for growing cash crops such as sugar, coffee, indigo, tobacco and pepper so that they could pay their land tax to the Dutch. This paper briefly examines some of the ramifications of this policy and how it supported the interests of the Dutch colonial masters. It also looks at how the policy promoted ideals of rationality, quantification and efficiency in the Indonesian archipelago. …