Four years of protracted negotiations and bitter warfare passed between the declaration of Indonesian independence on 17 August, 1945, and the official transfer of sovereignty on 27 December, 1949.... Show moreFour years of protracted negotiations and bitter warfare passed between the declaration of Indonesian independence on 17 August, 1945, and the official transfer of sovereignty on 27 December, 1949. Whereas the newly proclaimed Republic of Indonesia rejected the colonial regime and hence any attempt at ‘recolonization’ by the Dutch after the Japanese occupation (1942-1945), the Dutch framed their return to the archipelago as a mission to restore ‘order and peace’. Images of the Indonesian War. Many of these materials, alongside photographs and oral history collections, ended up in the collections of the KITLV and eventually the Leiden University Libraries. This trilingual (English, Dutch and Indonesian) catalogue accompanies a digital exhibition of some fifty unique items. The selection made demonstrates the sharply contrasting perspectives on the legitimacy of the Republic and Dutch colonialism, and also offers first-hand testimonies of a bitter war with a huge imbalance of casualties. Show less
Although the Netherlands remained neutral during the First World War, its population was nonetheless affected by the war. Already in the 1920s and 1930s, Dutch journalists wrote about the... Show moreAlthough the Netherlands remained neutral during the First World War, its population was nonetheless affected by the war. Already in the 1920s and 1930s, Dutch journalists wrote about the possibility of a war in which the Netherlands would also be involved. From the early 1920s to the German invasion in May 1940, journalists, political commentators, politicians, military officials and civilians were occupied by the question what tomorrow’s war might look like. This book captures their efforts and brings to life the cultural memories of the First World War and the expectations for the war to come.By focusing on the dynamics of cultural memories, predictions for the future, and the resultant fear and anxiety, this book provides a better understanding of the ways in which the cultural memories of the Great War and expectations for a future war were part of Dutch society. It draws from a wide array of sources, ranging from newspaper clippings, novels, films and theatre plays to political cartoons and paintings. Most importantly, this study has a unique perspective. Whereas most existing studies look back from the Second World War, this book instead looks forward from the interbellum. Show less
Arguing that landscape is culturally constructed by social relations and power, my analysis of Frans Post’s landscapes has shown two things: Post’s first canvases, commissioned by Johan Maurits,... Show moreArguing that landscape is culturally constructed by social relations and power, my analysis of Frans Post’s landscapes has shown two things: Post’s first canvases, commissioned by Johan Maurits, Count of Nassau-Siegen, depict specific Brazilian sites according to chorographical and accurate topographical profiles. Frans Post was representing Brazil as a New Holland in the Tropics, a visual strategy due to a Nassau-orangist colonial project. The later paintings, done in the context of colonial defeat, were related to a market of the “Exotic”. They seem to show a crack that revealed two distinct Dutch attitudes to Brazil: a) General expectations about Brazilian landscapes were related to economical interests about sugar production, slave trade and naturalia for cabinets of curiosity. Therefore, these pushed Frans Post’s production toward an indiscriminating image, depicting Brazil as Amoenitates exoticae; and b) Some other few images, that still depicted Brazil in straight reference to specific Brazilian localities, used the motif of ruins to evoke vanitas conventions in order to mark a visual memento of colonial failure. This smaller public for Brazilian landscapes were probably discontented with civil rule after the end of stathouderate in 1650. Show less
