Evading Colonial Authority. Rebels and Outlaws in the Borderlands of Dutch West Borneo 1850s–1920s

Abstract

Borderlands in Southeast Asia are frequently portrayed as being outside state influence, as zones of anarchy where identities are flexible, loyalties ephemeral and state authority largely avoided. Depicted by shifting state administrators as rebels and outlaws roaming the border hills the populations inhabiting these edges of states further seem especially resistant towards officialdom through their engagement in law-bending practices and a heightened sense of autonomy. This paper examines these dynamics as they unravel on the island of Borneo during the Dutch colonial administration in the mid-19th century and thus aims to contribute to the growing historiography of Southeast Asian borderlands and the more localized dynamics of state formation. By contrasting local Iban narratives and discourses with colonial records in the border regency of Boven-Kapoeas in Dutch West Borneo I show how renowned rebel leaders did their best to take advantage of the differing terms and conditions that colonial rule offered on either side of the border and thus openly challenged colonial state authority. The rebel defiance of colonial authority forced the colonial administrators to impose strict control along the Dutch and British border of Borneo. It is argued that the rebellions and consequent Dutch attempt to establish law and order, largely contributed to the territorial demarcation of the colonial state.