- ISSN: 0040-7518
- E-ISSN: 2352-1163
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oa ‘Trying to fulfil our destiny’
Ambassadeur Emile Schiff en de Nederlands-Indonesische betrekkingen tussen 1963 en 1968
- Amsterdam University Press
- Source: Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis, Volume 129, Issue 3, Aug 2016, p. 373 - 392
Abstract
‘Trying to fulfil our destiny’: Ambassador Emile Schiff and the Dutch-Indonesian relations between 1963 and 1968
After the Netherlands lost control of New Guinea in 1962, it took less than five years for them to regain a prominent role in Indonesia. This new role had as its vehicle the Inter-Governmental Group on Indonesia (IGGI), an international aid consortium chaired by the Dutch Minister for Development Cooperation. Between 1963 and 1968 Dutch civil servants faced an impossible task: to establish a neo-colonial relationship without appearing to do so. How did they achieve this? The Dutch ambassador Emile Schiff was the key player throughout these turbulent times. It is in his correspondence that we find the answer to this question: colonial ideas couched in post-colonial rhetoric. Schiff strove to realize sustainable Dutch-Indonesian relations in order to facilitate trade, garner international prestige, and further the mission to civilize Indonesians.
