Universitas Indonesia Conferences, International Conference on Chinese Indonesian Studies

Font Size: 
CHINESE LANDLORDS IN THE EARLY XIX CENTURY IN JAVA: THE RISE AND FALL OF THEIR ROLES
Djoko Marihandono

Last modified: 2017-07-08

Abstract


This paper discusses the roles of the Chinese landlords in Java in the XIX century. The Chinese, whose living spanned from Batavia to the eastern part of the island of Java, owned  vast amount of land, which was then called private lands (Particulieren landreijen). As the proprietors of huge lands, they were required to pay several kinds of tax. Moreover, the colonial government made the Chinese their financial resources, particularly in the early XIX century, when the island of Java was blocked by the British naval. How the Chinese acquired and protected their lands will be discussed in this paper, including the way they managed the lands, especially when the traditional officials mortgaged their lands to them, which caused several distinctive problems in local societies. The consequences of this situation were revolts evoked by the people in some regions. This paper is written based on colonial archives and secondary resources published in the colonial era.