The First World War and Constitutional Law for the Netherlands Indies

Abstract

In the nineteenth and part of the twentieth century, the Kingdom of the Netherlands had colonies both in the West Indies and in the East Indies. This article will focus on the Dutch colonies in the East Indies, i.e., the Netherlands Indies – present-day Indonesia, and will discuss whether the First World War had an impact on the constitutional law for the Netherlands Indies.This article discusses whether the First World War in any way caused two aspects of constitutional law for the Netherlands Indies: the introduction in May 1918 of the People’s Council, a representative body in the Netherlands Indies, and the promises made in November 1918 about the acceleration of constitutional reforms in the Netherlands Indies. The conclusion is reached that the introduction of the People’s Council was not caused by the First World War, but that the First World War was a cause for the promises made in November 1918.