Colonial Government Research Articles

Inclusive approaches for cumulative effects assessments

Abstract The cumulative impacts of human activities and natural disturbance are leading to loss and extinction of species, ecological communities and biocultural connections people have to those ecosystems. Exclusive and extractive western science methodologies often hinder the inclusion of Indigenous knowledge holders in cumulative effects assessments (CEAs), which can lead to regional conflict and ineffective assessment and management of cumulative effects. We offer our reflections on the development of a collaborative CEA process with the Kitasoo Xai'xais, Nuxalk and Wuikinuxv First Nations in what is now known as the Central Coast of British Columbia. We designed our CEA around the guiding principles of respecting Indigenous sovereignty and regional autonomy, designing for trauma‐informed approaches, and prioritizing inclusivity and reciprocity. We focused our efforts on identifying current and future pressures on species of the Nations' choice. We relied on expert elicitation and data‐driven approaches to identify and map current and future cumulative impacts to predict their consequences for species' health. We used combinations of visualizations, numerical, oral and written materials to convey, elicit and share complex information with experts. We found a diversity of elicitation processes fostered the involvement of a variety of experts (e.g. Indigenous knowledge holders and Nation staff, regional biologists, Crown managers, tenure holders). We mapped over 90+ impacts to species in the region and after conversation and facilitated elicitation processes with over 50 knowledge holders, emerged with predictions for the consequences of seven plausible scenarios of future cumulative impacts for eight species as well as broad themes for the management of cumulative impacts to the lands and waters of the Nations with whom we collaborated. Our shared lessons can support researchers, planners, proponents, and Indigenous and colonial government agencies to conduct inclusive, collaborative and accessible CEAs that inform regional land and marine use planning. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

MEMODERNISASI NEGERI DAN MENCIPTAKAN HARMONI: KOLABORASI MISIONARIS, PEMERINTAH KOLONIAL, DAN ELITE LOKAL DI POSO, 1892-1950

This article describes the process of modernization and harmony creation in Tanah Poso by missionaries and the colonial government involving local elites. So far Poso historiography states that the Poso area was relatively safe before the 1998 Poso conflict broke out. In fact, the Poso people in the pre-colonial period were always haunted by a fear of tribal wars and the tradition of headhunting which was the custom of the local community. The periodization of this study takes the period between 1892-1950. 1892 was the first year the missionary Albert Christiaan Kruyt arrived in Poso. At that time, he recorded war between tribes. Through an ethnographic approach and support from the Dutch East Indies government, the missionaries succeeded in 'modernizing' and creating harmony for the Poso people. This 'modernization' program also received support from Poso's local elite. This support even continued after the proclamation of Indonesian independence. Raja Poso Talasa welcomed the Netherlands Indie Civil Administration (NICA) and managed to prevent resistance against NICA in Poso. The speech by Lora Molindo, Poso's representative at the Malino Conference in 1946, also reflected the same wishes as other local elites. In 1950 colonial rule in Central Sulawesi officially ended with the dissolution of RIS.

Political Organizations of Russian Turkestan at the Beginning of the 20th Century

Abstract The article highlights the most important aspects of the political history of Russian Turkestan at the beginning of the 20th century. It deals with the formation of a multi-party system in the Russian Empire and the activities of the first national political organizations in the Central Asian region. The author reveals the underpinnings of a national movement taking place under the colonial regime. The article analyzes the main provisions of the political programs of all-Russian parties and national organizations, such as Shuroi-Islomiya, Alash, Shuroi-Ulamo, Turk Adami Markaziyat Firkasi (Party of Turkic Federalists), and others. Sections examine the origins of the ideological confrontation between progressive Jadids and Muslim traditionalists, and provide a brief history of the formation, and ensuing liquidation, of Turkestan as an autonomous entity. Despite the existence of ideological differences in the national movement, the author uncovers how many representatives of national political organizations were devoted to the idea of independence and sought a way out of cultural isolationism.

Soara Batak: The Batak People's Resistance Newspaper in the Colonial Period (1919-1932)

Newspapers have a very important position in the politics of the Indonesian independence movement. Soara Batak is the first independence movement newspaper published in Batakland. This newspaper became a medium of information and communication, for the political organization Hatopan Kristen Batak (HKB). The initial purpose of publishing this newspaper was to oppose Dutch colonialism and the threat of foreign plantation entrepreneurs who wanted to capitalize on Batakland for personal gain. This can be seen from the motto of this newspaper which is written: Oela tanom, Oelang digomak Oelando which means “Cultivate your land, so that the Dutch do not take it”. This newspaper's courage in criticizing the colonial rulers caused Soara Batak's movements to be closely monitored. Tuan M. H. Manullang and A. Soetan Soemoroeng, the dual HKB and Soara Batak received repressive measures from the colonial government for their bold and sharp writings. The presence of Soara Batak had an important role in the politics of the Batak people's movement, which succeeded in igniting the people's fighting spirit to want to oppose Dutch colonialism which was very oppressive.

Venereal Diseases Treatment for Merauke’s Marind (Marind-Anim) Tribe in the Dutch Colonial Period

This article provides some proofs that influenced the increasing number ofMarind-Anim people who suffering from venereal diseases. It also providesfactual efforts that had been done by the colonial government as well as Catholicmissionaries in Merauke to overcome this problem. This study applies historicalmethods with four stages: heuristics, verification (internal and external criticism),interpretation/explanation and historiography. Primary sources obtained fromNational Archives of the Republic of Indonesia i.e., Memorie van Overgave van hetBestuur over de Afdeeling Zuid Nieuw Guinea; letter of the Minister of Colonies to theGovernor General of the Dutch East Indies; Report of Assistant Resident ZuidAfdeeling Nieuw Guinea to the Director of Government; and official printed sources,e.g., Volkstelling 1930. Michel Foucault's power relations theory is used to analyzethe causes of venereal disease in the Marind Tribe. The results shows that the causeof the increasing number patients who had venereal disease in the Marind tribe,Merauke, was related to their traditional understanding which legalized free sexand deviant sexual activities in the Marind tribe. The imbalanced power relationsbetween men and their wives and between men and adolescence men causingvenereal diseases and sexual perversions in the Marind Tribe. The strategyimplemented by the colonial government was to involve Catholic missionarieswho were trusted to overcome the disease by building a housing model that canonly be occupied by nuclear families who are not infected with venereal diseases.The colonial government demolished men’s houses because there werepossibilities of homosexual intercourses which become one of the causes ofvenereal disease among the Marind Tribe. In addition, the government requiredthe cenderawasih bird hunterers to have their genital health checked as a huntingpermit. The government built hospitals and clinics and invented doctors whospecialize in venereal disease to treat the patients. These strategies has succeededin treating and eradicating venereal diseases among the Marind Tribe.

The History of Dictatorship: Custom, Authority, and Power in Precolonial and Colonial Uganda

Intervening in the enduring debate on the origins of the African state, this article examines the processes of producing custom in the Ugandan societies of precolonial Bunyoro and colonial Toro to trace the development of despotism. The participatory nature of generating customary truth in Bunyoro before European domination reflects the diffusion of power in a manner that hindered absolute rule. On the contrary, in colonial Toro, the inclusive mechanisms for making custom gave way to customary law produced by the colonial government and its native chiefs. This monopoly to determine customary law disguised as custom constituted the heart of the despotism of Toro Native Authority. Derivatively, the Rwenzururu resistance against Toro domination equally assumed a despotic character because it organised itself along the logic of the authority it confronted. The study interrogates the resurgent literature that associates the contemporary African state with precolonial history.

Burn to harvest, burn to sabotage: Between fire and water on a sugar plantation in Madagascar

AbstractSince 2009, the Chinese state‐owned corporation SINLANX has been managing the Anjava Sugar Plantation, previously managed by French, Malagasy, and Mauritian companies, in northern Madagascar. Built upon the infrastructure constructed by the French colonial regime and operating based on a collaboration agreement between SINLANX and the Malagasy state‐owned sugar company, Anjava presents a telling story of spatialized acts of survival and racialized conflicts over land and water in the interstitial spaces between capitalist production and subsistence economy. Malagasy villagers’ access to resources is often squeezed by multiple enclosures: a water‐delivery system and a land‐distribution system that prioritize sugar production and a bureaucratic system that punishes those who transgress the enclosures. Although Anjava villagers take advantage of the rhythm of sugar harvests and the nature of fire to sabotage sugar production or to make water claims for their livelihood, the agrarian and infrastructural arrangements at Anjava have perpetuated conditions of chronic precarity and profound marginalization of a landless population. The struggles at Anjava must be contextualized in the complex and ambiguous spaces between capital and labor, livelihood and resistance, dominance and adaptation, and ethnic collaboration and hostility.

Perkembangan Historiografi Indonesia

The development of historiography in Indonesia cannot be separated from the historical background of the Indonesian nation. In the development of historical writing in Indonesia, several patterns or patterns of historiography stand out, namely, traditional historiography, colonial historiography and finally, national historiography or modern historiography. Each of these historiography certainly has its own characteristics. Like traditional historiography which is still thick with elements of myth and existed before the colonial period, even traditional historiography existed during the royal period. After that, traditional historiography changed to colonial historiography due to the entry of colonialists into this country. Colonial histiriography was also written by historians or people from the colonial government, the essence of which was that it was westerners who made it. Then after Indonesia was able to defeat the invaders, it changed to national historiography. The author is an Indonesian historian, and in writing, he genuinely knows Indonesia.
 
 Keywords: Historiograf, Indonesia, Tradisional, Kolonial, Moder.

Against Christianization: Socio-Religious Movements in Magelang after the Java War

This paper explores the aftermath of the Java War on the socio-religious climate in Magelang. The rate of Christianization in that landscape accelerated following the war between the colonial regime and local residents. The discussion reconsiders the strategies of two leading figures of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah in stemming Christianization in the 19th-century Magelang. The Christian missionary agenda in Magelang was accomplished by eliciting the community’s sympathy. The missionaries built public hospitals and churches for local residents and hence held the congress of Catholic political associations and De Gereformeerde zending in Midden-Java in Magelang. The Dutch government also issued various policies to suppress Islamic movements. This paper finds that Dalhar Abdurrahman and Ahmad Dahlan responded to the missionary agenda in Magelang with non-confrontational strategies. Dalhar divided the socio-religious landscape of Magelang into two regions, the South and the North, based on the situation of Christian development. Dalhar also build a pesantren in Watucongkol and initiated the foundation of the Magelang Branch of NU to coordinate Muslim reformists. Dahlan halted Christianization by establishing a modern educational institution called Kweekschool Islam in an effort to compete with Dutch schools in Magelang. Dahlan also frequently engaged in dialogues and debates with the Christian missionaries.

Policy Review and Regulatory Challenges and Strategies for the Sustainable Mangrove Management in Zanzibar

The aim of this study was to examine the challenges of the policies and regulatory framework and strategies for the sustainable mangrove management in Zanzibar, from 1890 to present. The study collected both primary and secondary data. The secondary data were collected through the a review of previous policies, legal documents, by laws, ministry/department reports, research reports, newspapers and articles. The primary data were mainly collected through focus group discussions (FGDs) and semi-structured interviews. The study found that, before Zanzibar became a British protectorate in 1890, the forests were communally managed with the guidance of forest guardians, chiefs and elders. The colonial government enacted a number of land administration laws, policies, and arrangements aimed at conserving the natural resources, including the mangrove forests. From 1930 to the end of the Second World War (WWII), mangrove forests were severely degraded because the colonial government paid little attention to their conservation and management. The policy arrangements put in place after independence, such as the National Forest Conservation and Management Act of 1996, laid the legal groundwork for the introduction of the participation of the local communities in the conservation of mangroves. However, they were not sufficient enough to promote the sustainable use of mangrove forests. This study proposes that there is a need for more inclusive and diverse regulations. Furthermore, for the effective conservation and management of mangroves, conflicting laws and responsibilities between government departments should be harmonized.

Breaking the Spirit of Poverty in African Pentecostal Christianity

Abstract Poverty is one of Africa’s most intractable problems. Decades of deliberate and strategic socioeconomic policies have not yielded considerable concrete results to eradicate it. Upon succeeding the brutal colonial administration, the burgeoning African governments promised their citizens material well-being through socioeconomic development. A half century later the continent is perpetually witnessing a blatant betrayal of dreams. Just like the African governments that succeeded colonial governments, religious organizations continue to promise poverty eradication by divine means to their adherents, whose numbers keep exploding across the continent. The Pentecostal variant of African Christianity is particularly renowned for its promises of wealth, health, and prosperity through supernatural divine power: in the Bible, God has promised to deliver immense material goods to those who believe in Jesus Christ. The expediency of these promises to alleviate poverty and bring about social transformation is debatable. Some scholars argue that African Pentecostalism is an elaborately complex increase in religious activities devoid of social structural transformation, while others opine that it contributes positively to development. In asking whether African Pentecostal Christianity is a move toward or a distraction from development, this article broadly explores discourses on Pentecostalism and development in Africa. Arguably, in the endeavor to preach and live out the experiential power of the Holy Spirit, Pentecostal Christianity in Africa inadvertently plays a role in the broader ongoing development discourse. Although they do not view themselves as ‘religious’ or ‘religion’, Pentecostal churches’ attempts to make the teachings of Jesus Christ relevant to the mundane help individual believers cope with life’s stresses and vulnerabilities. However, it does not transform the social conditions that create problems for individuals. The liberating hope of African Pentecostal Christianity lies in theologically nuancing its discourses to meaningfully engage in global development discourses.

Kekerasan Terhadap Golongan Tionghoa pada Masa Revolusi di Malang, 1945–1949

This article discusses mass-violence during the revolutionary period directed to the Chinese, who were considered to have received economic and political benefits during the colonial period. It aims to examine the roots of violence perpetrated against the Chinese since the Dutch colonial period in the city of Malang. To do so, this study uses primary sources such as archives, newspapers and photographs that were produced during the revolutionary period. In addition, this study also collected oral history through interviews with the survivors and other related parties. Based on the conducted research, it was found out that the violence against the Chinese during the revolution period in Malang occurred as a result of the accumulation of anger among the local population over the injustice policy of the colonial government benefitting the Chinese economically as well as politically.

Pendidikan Islam di Indonesia Zaman Penjajahan Belanda dan Jepang

Islamic education during the Japanese colonial era was closely related to mutual need. Japan needs Indonesian Muslims related to the Greater East Asia war, so that the Japanese side gets help from Indonesian Muslims. Meanwhile, Muslims hope that Indonesia's independence will be obtained. The Islamic education policy during the Japanese colonial era was essentially the same as that of the Dutch colonialists, it's just that the Japanese colonialists seemed a little softer than the Dutch colonial government. Maybe because of their presence on earth, Indonesia, which is still as old as corn, so they feel the need to ingratiate themselves with Muslims. It is undeniable that the education of the Dutch colonialists also brought benefits to the Indonesian people, especially to Muslims. Indigenous people are familiar with the modern education system, for example the class system, the use of blackboards, tables and benches. In terms of modern learning methods, and general knowledge. The other side of this colonial educational institution is that it promises more employment opportunities for students after they finish their studies.

Decolonising the Gateway of India

This article interrogates how a colonial monument, the Gateway of India in Mumbai, former Bombay, continues to carry and be endowed with a title that is a misplaced embodiment of Indian social histories. Built in the 1920s, this monument, definitely a work of architectural grandeur, continues to carry its erroneous rendition and confines India’s vast social histories to the colonial moment, with an anglo-centric focus. As the monument symbolises the memory of the colonial regime, it also signifies its oppression as well as its exit from the subcontinent, rather than witnessing anyone coming to India, except King George in 1911, as the monument’s title seems to suggest. A mnemonic device of colonialism, this misleading label needs to be seriously revisited, for it not only romanticises the colonial past but also fails to lead our memories back to certain crucial episodes in earlier social histories, from which the monument and its specific place, Mumbai, are more or less fully absent.

The Empty Gift: Citizenship, Imperialism, and Political Development in Puerto Rico

AbstractAfter nearly two decades under U.S. rule, the 1917 Jones Act granted American citizenship to Puerto Ricans. I argue that the United States strategically granted collective citizenship in order to strengthen its colonial rule. The convergence of two conditions prompted the grant of citizenship: Congress determined that the islands were strategically valuable to the United States; and Congress registered an independence movement on the island that could threaten colonial control. When Puerto Ricans demanded independence, Congress enveloped them in a bear hug that granted citizenship to weaken their movement. While citizenship was an attractive solution to many of the problems of colonial rule, there were strong objections within the United States to granting citizenship to a population considered to be nonwhite. As a result, Congress created a workaround by disentangling citizenship from statehood and from many of the rights and privileges that typically accompany it. Though citizenship is often associated with democracy and equality, American officials turned citizenship into a mechanism of control for the empire they were building. This work uncovers strategies of American territorial expansion and colonial governance and confronts deeply held notions about American citizenship and political community.

The Challenges to Prohibition: Opium Law, Opium Smuggling, and Chinese in the Philippines, 1910–1935

Abstract Opium was one of the issues that had to be resolved by the Americans upon their colonization of the Philippines. The debate on the potentialities of opium dates back to the Spanish colonial period, when the colonial government framed the opium issue as both economic and moral in nature. In the end, the economic potentialities of opium outweighed its moral repercussions because the Spanish colonial government allowed its regulated use among the Chinese. In contrast, the American officials in Manila crafted a progressive prohibitionist policy based on the recommendation of the investigative Opium Committee in 1905. In terms of opium in the Philippines, the majority of research has focused on the American policies on opium and their international consequences. This study focuses on the aftermath and challenges of the American prohibitionist policy from 1910 to 1935, particularly as they related to smuggling. Using archival documents such as annual reports from the governor-general of the Philippines and other government records, the paper aims to demonstrate how and in what ways opium was smuggled in the Philippines and to analyze the various motivations, reasons, and methods used by smugglers. Furthermore, the paper explores the involvement of the Chinese in various notable opium-related cases in the Philippines. I also argue that an increase in the smuggling of opium was an unwanted aftermath of the American prohibitionist policy. The present study hopes to contribute to the growing body of literature on narcotics, drug policies, and empire building.

THE UBUNTU PHILOSOPHY, AFRICAN DEMOCRATIC HERITAGE AND DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

Sixty-two years after gaining Independence from the British colonial government with promises of socio-economic development by the founding fathers, Nigeria is faced with a Plethora of development challenges. Minority issues, religious conflicts, ethnic politics, resource control, youth unrest, and the related crisis of disintegration of the productive sector, food insecurity, social insecurity, deterioration of physical and social infrastructures, a drop in living standards and poverty for millions of Nigerians, and a general disenchantment with the political system are all symptoms of these larger problems. Some pertinent questions are, why is Nigeria still struggling to develop and failed to address the poor living standard of citizens. Why has leadership not able to meet the development challenges, and what are the measures that can ensure effective leadership? Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to analyze the country’s problems vis-àvis the implementation of the Ubuntu philosophy and the African democratic heritage in governance and leadership that would ensure the country’s socioeconomic and political progress. The social development theory is adopted as a guide for the paper

The Tragedy of Colonialism in a Non-Colonised Society: Italy’s Historical Narratives and the Amhara Genocide in Ethiopia

In its attempt to colonise Ethiopia, Italy challenged Ethiopiawinet, claiming that Ethiopia is a mere collection of discrete ethnic groups brought together by Amhara colonialism. Extracting data from a variety of sources including secondary materials, opinions expressed in the broadcast, print and social media platforms, party documents, official letters and key informant interviews, this paper provides a critical reflection on how the colonial presence of Italy made a political mess in Ethiopia by asserting ethnic nationalism. The paper argues that the narratives invented by the Italian colonisers greatly contributed to the emergence of ethnic nationalism following the advent of Marxism-Leninism in Ethiopia. Borrowing narratives from the Italian colonial regime, Ethiopian ethnic elites of the 1960s, who were the advocates of Marxism-Leninism, simplistically categorised the Amhara as oppressor while ‘others’ as oppressed. This categorisation negatively shaped the attitude of ‘others’ towards the Amhara and instigated genocide against these people.

Maroon justice in Suriname: pasts and presents worth fighting for

ABSTRACT Maroon societies are seriously understudied in the restorative justice (RJ) field, which is odd considering their age-old struggle against retributive justice systems. Precisely because the rise of Maroons can be understood as an attempt to ‘reappropriate conflict’ and bring back legal protection to formerly enslaved African-Americans who had been subjected to the crudest of laws under colonial regimes, we should not forget that history when considering how RJ can contribute to or replace criminal justice systems in the 21st century. In Suriname, a renewed interest in the Maroons has recently boosted the RJ movement. Against the background of a discussion between maximalists and abolitionists, we reactivate the ‘transferability debate’ by asking if and how maroon justice in the country’s interior can be brought to the city and help its criminal justice system to develop RJ. Our answer combines 20th century anthropologists’ work on maroon justice in Suriname with the first steps that we have taken in our own ethnography with ex-detained Maroon and Creole youth in Paramaribo and their receptiveness to hypothetical RJ measures.

Borderlessness and the 20th-Century Rise of the Ndau People’s Subaltern Economy in the Zimbabwe–Mozambique Borderland

The Ndau society in the Zimbabwe–Mozambique borderland has seemingly been neglected by colonial and post-independence governments. Exclusion from the mainstream economies of the region by the Zimbabwean and Mozambican governments has forced the Ndau to rely largely upon themselves to survive in the remote, poverty-stricken borderland. This survival practice means that many borderland residents embrace an economy of illegality in which trade in drugs, used clothes, game meat and fuel has become a coping mechanism against hardships in the borderland. Among other reactions, the Ndau people take advantage of the remoteness of the borderland to criss-cross the border to seek opportunities and resources to sustain themselves. Relentless cross-border transgressions have thus contributed to a virtual state of ‘borderlessness’ in the region, and this is manipulated by the Ndau to participate in a variety of informal cross-border survival pursuits. The discussion that follows provides a critical review of the lives and economic practices of the marginalised Ndau communities within an illegal borderland economy. It is the authors’ contention that the borderland illegal economy has sustained the Ndau community’s existence.