Decolonization in the Jember estate economy

Abstract

This chapter reviews the development of Western, mainly Dutch-owned private estates in East Java during the Revolutionary and immediate post-Independence period against the historical background of the policies pursued by the Dutch colonial government prior to the Japanese occupation. It focuses on the economic decolonization, using the agricultural estate sector in Jember, East Java, as a case study. The chapter surveys the public debate on estate agriculture during the Indonesian Revolution and traces the ideological roots of the various strands of the debate to the late colonial era. It also pays attention to peasant movements in the late 1940s and early 1950s, demonstrating that attitudes of radical labour often deviated from the strategies adopted by the Republican government. In addition, a historical explanation was offered of the social process that united planters with the colonial state, creating a situation that was radically altered after Indonesia had gained Independence. Keywords: agricultural estate sector; Dutch; East Java; economic decolonization; Indonesian Revolution; Jember