Constructing colonial legitimacy in the Moluccas, 1750–1870

Abstract

This dissertation examines how Dutch colonial officials in Ambon and Ternate justified their authority between 1750 and 1870. At its core the analysis highlights a paradox: nineteenth-century administrators criticised the Dutch East India Company (VOC) as corrupt and promised enlightened reform, yet in practice they continued to rely on the Company’s laws, routines, and traditions. The shift from Company to colonial state rule was therefore less a break than a reshaping of old patterns under a new story. The analysis looks into these dynamics by studying the role of governors and the narratives they created.

In the VOC era, governors exercised enormous power. They ruled as administrators, commanders, judges, and protectors of the church, and defended this authority through elaborate narratives. In their many writings, the governors portrayed the Company not only as a trading enterprise but also as guardian of the spice monopoly, mediator between rival rulers, and defender of the Christian faith. The nineteenth-century colonial state adopted a different tone. Officials distanced themselves from the VOC, denounced its abuses, and spoke the language of civilisation, welfare, and progress. Their rhetoric suggested the birth of a new, more humane age. Yet behind these claims, various forms of continuity can be perceived in practice. In diplomacy, slavery, and land policy, colonial governance remained rooted in VOC traditions—revealing how exploitation could be reframed as reform, a legacy that continues to shape debates about Dutch colonialism today.