Ethical Policy, Netherlands Indies

In the 1901 annual speech by Queen Wilhelmina (1880–1962), the Dutch government for the first time introduced into government policy the idea of an "ethical calling" toward its main colony, the Netherlands Indies. With this statement, the ethical policy is regarded to have started. The term itself was coined by the journalist Pieter Brooshooft (1845–1921) in a pamphlet published that same year titled De ethische koers in de koloniale politiek (The Ethical Direction in Colonial Policy). The ethical policy was the third in a series of three policies characterizing Dutch colonial strategy between 1830 and 1942: the cultivation system, the liberal policy, and the ethical policy.

The ethical policy can be defined as a policy aiming at the submission of the complete Indonesian Archipelago under Dutch authority and the development of the country and people towards self-rule under Dutch control within a Western political framework. The first part of the definition covers the final conquest of the outer regions of the archipelago, more specifically Aceh in northern Sumatra, where the Dutch fought a protracted colonial war between 1894 and 1903. The second part refers to the importance of the role of indigenous but Western-educated elites in the administration of the Netherlands Indies and characterizes the four main areas in which the ethical policy made headway: the development of an indigenous civil administration, a social policy to combat poverty and improve welfare, support for nationalist currents, and support for agricultural development.

Three distinct periods characterized Dutch ethical policy in the Netherlands Indies: 1894 to 1905, when the emphasis was on the establishment of imperial control over the entire Indonesian Archipelago; 1905 to 1920, which saw important social and economic developments; and 1920 to 1942, which was a period of consolidation, shifting emphasis, and growing conservatism.

Ethics and an ethical approach to the Netherlands Indies first became an issue as early as the 1870s, at a time when Christian democratic parties became part of the political establishment of the Netherlands. In parliament and in the political program of his party, Christian democratic leader Abraham Kuyper (1837–1920) spoke about the "ethical calling" of the Dutch toward the East Indies. During the last decade of the century, the final colonial expansion into the outlying areas of the archipelago took place under the administration of governor-general C. H. A. van Wijck (1840–1914), in office from 1893 to 1889. On the advice of military commander and governor of Aceh J. B. van Heutsz (1851–1924) and government adviser Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje (1857–1936), the development of new ideas about pacification took root, marking the real beginning of a new colonial policy.

The idea was that the expansion of the colonial state should benefit the peoples of the Netherlands Indies, and in time lead to a multiracial independent state. The development of the country included the exploitation of natural resources, the extension of agricultural businesses, and the development of the infrastructure. The development of the indigenous population comprised education and administrative policies, including initiatives as diverse as credit for small entrepreneurs, agricultural education, poverty alleviation, irrigation, health care, the removal of tutelage from indigenous administration, tolerance for nationalism, and the development of an indigenous legal system.

The second phase of the ethical policy saw the implementation of most of the policy's aims around 1905. The civil pacification process was well under way, the economy flourished, and there was a budget for the implementation of social, health, and educational policies. Ambiguities were visible too, however. Strong expressions of nationalism were curbed, and to implement the many aspects of the ethical policy, more and more European officials were appointed. This development hampered the growth of an indigenous civil service, originally part of the ethical development agenda.

It is important for the understanding of the formulation of the ethical policy in the period between 1901 and 1920 to make a distinction between ethical policy as such and the ethical movement in Dutch colonial politics. In many cases, the ideas formulated about ethics in colonial policy were radically different from the ethical policy in action. A. W. F. Idenburg (1861–1935), a Christian democrat, was three times minister for the colonies (1901–1905, 1908–1909, 1918–1919), governor of Surinam (1905–1908), and governor-general of the Netherlands Indies (1909–1916). A sympathizer of Abraham Kuyper, Idenburg showed himself to be a socially minded colonial administrator during his terms of office in the colonies. However, as minister he was responsible for the appointment of J. B. van Heutsz to the post of governor-general in 1905, putting someone in charge who championed military and political pacification instead of the more social aspects of the ethical policy, and who was no friend of the ethical movement. With Idenburg's successors, the differences between ethical policy and ethical ideas continued to dominate the political debate. In addition, the diversity of opinions between politicians and opinion leaders in the Netherlands on the one hand, and administrators in the Netherlands Indies on the other, influenced the way ethical policy was interpreted and valued.

Between 1920 and 1942, the ethical policy took on a more conservative character, with strong shifts in emphasis during the economic crisis of the 1930s. The growing population of Java made agricultural reforms a more challenging task, and the shrinking economy pushed poverty levels up again. The development of Western-style education was halted out of fear of "half-intellectuals" entering the overstretched labor market. In addition, nationalism was increasingly regarded as a threat to Dutch authority and social order; consequently, political and administrative reforms leading to a more democratic system were halted under the administration of the conservative and autocratic governor-general B. C. de Jonge (1875–1958), in office 1931 to 1936.

Still, the final goal remained the implementation of reforms leading to a European political and societal model. The last governor-general of the Netherlands Indies, A. W. L. Tjarda van Strakenborgh Stachouwer (1888–1978), in office 1936 to 1942, undertook new initiatives in this direction. Assisted by an upward economic trend after 1935, his administration promoted the transmigration of Javanese farmers to other parts of the archipelago, as well as industrialization and the production of food crops. In education, large strides were made with the expansion of basic education, the extension of higher education to include the humanities, and the establishment of a school of governance in the administration of the colony. Additionally, the decentralization of government jurisdiction was taken up again, and the relationship between the government and the colony's representative body, the volksraad (peoples' council) was normalized. In the end, however, the events of World War II (1939–1945) and its immediate aftermath brought the ethical policy to an abrupt end.

see also Empire, Dutch; Snouck Hurgronje, Christiaan.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Boeke, J. H. "De ethische richting in de Nederlandsch-Indische politiek." De Gids 104 (1940), I, 21-35.

Creutzberg, P., ed. Het ekonomisch beleid in Nederlandsch-Indië. 3 vols. Groningen, Netherlands: 1972–1975.

Locher Scholten, E. B. Ethiek in fragmenten. Vijf studies over koloniaal denken en doen van Nederlanders in de Indonesische Archipel, 1877–1942. Utrech, Netherlands: HES Publishers, 1981.

Schmutzer, E. J. M. Dutch Colonial Policy and the Search for Identity 1920–1931. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers, 1977.