Dutch Scholarship in the Age of Empire and Beyond

Maarten Kuitenbrouwer (1947-2008), a historian from the University of Amsterdam, conducted a comprehensive historical research on Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde (KITLV; Royal Institute of Linguistics, Geography and Anthropology), a well-known institution for every researcher on Indonesia. His study was first published in Dutch in 2001 to commemorate the 150 years of KITLV. The abbreviated version in English appeared in 2014. Unfortunately, Kuitenbrouwer passed away on June 2008 and was unable to see this book finished. Harry Poeze wrote a brief epilogue to cover the 5 years span of 2007-2011.
This book consists of  five chapters and chronologically describes the development of KITLV through the colonial and postcolonial period. Kuitenbrouwer focuses on KITLV’s scientific activities and its extra-scientific as he argues these two aspects were often intertwined. He portrays KITLV’s prominent members to contextualize historical background and shows the academic and personal complexity within KITLV. Certain scholars such as the linguist H.N. van der Tuuk and the well-known sociology W.E. Wertheim, although not based at KITLV, were also included for their contributions to and influences on the Dutch academic world.
History records that J.C. Baud (Minister for the Colonies), Taco Roorda (Professor of Javanese) and Gerrit Simons (Director of Royal Academy in Delft) founded KITLV in 1851 in Delft. These three figures – known as ‘the conservatives’ – represent their domination in the foundation of KITLV. However, the increasing members of KITLV in the subsequent years varied from colonial administrators and scientists to missionaries and business people. A number of foreign members were also welcomed, such as the Scottish physician and diplomat John Crawfurd (1783-1868), the French Egyptologist Edouard Dulaurier (1807-1881), and even the Indonesian painter Raden Saleh (1811-1880) (p. 31). In the following years, a number of ‘liberal’ members – mostly from Leiden – rivaled the conservatives and replaced their domination.
This book provides major debates between the conservatives and liberals during the mid-19th century. One of the most heated topics in the 1860s was the question whether KITLV should merge with Indisch Genootschap (IG; founded in 1854, dominated by the liberals) due to financial and library problems. At the end of 1871, the merging proposal was refused with the argument that there would be more advantages for the members to have two affiliated institutions for scientific (KITLV) and political (IG) activities (pp. 33-37). For Kuitenbrouwer, this was an important step that shows KITLV had succeeded in maintaining its independence.
This book illustrates KITLV's involvement in the imperialist practices of the Colonial government. From 1870 (considered as the beginning of Dutch colonial expansion into Indonesia) to 1914, KITLV published numerous books and articles and also, organized various research expeditions to the Outer Territories (pp. 60-62). However, this involvement did not always end with success stories, nor was it free from critics. Kuitenbrouwer notes that local people resisted scientific expedition to Flores in 1889 to 1890. Similar failure occurred when research cooperation with the colonial administrator on Moluccas and Banda islands was discontinued in 1893 (p. 62).
Nevertheless, Kuitenbrouwer argues that the most important aspect of KITLV scholars in the colonial period was their orientalist vision. He shows, for example, how some scholars such as L.W.C. van den Berg, Snouck Hurgronje and C. van Vollenhoven had shared more or less a similar opinion on the superiority of the European. But, Kuitenbrouwer does not share Edward Said’s simplisitic definition of Orientalism for KITLV's activities. He points out the shifting opinion of Hurgronje who had a more humane perspective when he regularly objected to racist views from colonial officers, civil servants or private citizens in the Indies. However, after Hurgronje left his position in government and took professorship in Leiden, he firmly held to the common belief of the superiority of Western culture to Islam (p. 70).
In the late colonialism of the 1930s, KITLV’s orientalist perspective gradually disappeared. They started to see "the East" and "the West" with their proper bright and dark side, which Kuitenbrouwer has called "cultural relativism". These modern scholars also question the domination of Europe in the colonial period as presented in the work of a young Indologist, J.C. van Leur (Indonesian Trade and Society: Essays in Asian Social and Economic History),[1] who finished his studies in Leiden. His study was a breakthrough and the modern view it brings became an increasingly dominant perspective in postwar KITLV (p. 145).
The last two chapters deal with the postcolonial period. Kuitenbrouwer underlines how KITLV had remarkably succeeded to become an influential research institute due to the government subsidies. He argues that the 1960-1990 period was the Golden Years for KITLV with increasing numbers of members and works published (articles in journal BKI and monographs in VKI series) than the previous period. There were also various major changes, such as the move to a new building in Leiden in 1966 to accommodate the extensive collection, and the opening of the KITLV office in Jakarta in 1969. This is the time of transition from Indology colonial to multidiscipline Indonesian studies in the postcolonial period. Contrary to the colonial period, KITLV avoids involvement in politics.  
After 1990, KITLV gradually declined for various reasons. In 1991, the Dutch-Indonesia development cooperation was terminated, which impacted KITLV. The economic crisis in the following years complicated KITLV’s financial situation. In 2003 it extended its area of study and changed its name to the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies. Yet, Indonesia remains central to KITLV’s works. Another economic crisis in Europe in 2008 severely hit KITLV. This time financial pressure forced KITLV to close down its publication branch (the KITLV Press) and move its library to the University of Leiden, with the regrets of many scholars worldwide.[2]
This book is obviously an important account of “behind the scenes” KITLV, from its foundation to the present. Kuitenbrouwer clearly points out how the Orientalism perspective in KITLV’s scholarly works during the colonial period and decolonization process reduced their Eurocentric approach. But, it is an intriguing conclusion because in the Golden Years of KITLV (1960-1990) the KITLV enhanced its academic quality, whilst avoiding involvement in politics. This practice reminds us of the technocratic approach that was also dominant in developing countries. This book shows us how Dutch scholars have pioneered and spent their time and institutional resources on Indonesian studies. Therefore, it is necessary to bring this book for a wider audience in Indonesia by translating it into Bahasa Indonesia .

Yerry Wirawan, Sanata Dharma University (yerrywirawan@gmail.com)

Citation: Wirawan, Y. 2016. Review of Kuitenbrouwer, M. 2014. Dutch Scholarship in the Age of Empire and Beyond, KITLV. Posted on 22 Feb 2016 on New Asia Books; newbooks.asia/review/dutch-scholarship-age-empire-and-beyond

[1] The Hague, Bandung: W. van Hoeve, 1955.

[2] Andy Fuller, “KITLV Reading Room gone, collection remain” in Inside Indonesia 118: Oct-Dec. 2014.