Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis - Volume 136, Nummer 3, 2023

Group formation and political ritual in Dutch patriotic societies (1782-1787)

In the early 1780s citizens began to organize themselves in patriotic societies that were meant to change the existing political constellation. They organized themselves locally in order to form a national patriotic organization, with an ideological and a military section. This political and social movement drew people from all walks of life and from all religious groups. Traditionally, group formation took place along lines of profession, socio-economic background and religion, but now group formation took place around political-ideological positions. This meant that people from all social strata and different cultural backgrounds were active in this movement, so the movement required a new way of forging these groups into unity. Physical rituals were rigged with patriotic rhetoric, making the rituals function as an emotional practice that strengthened mutual bonds and devotion to the patriotic cause. Partly because of these practices, this movement was very successful.

Colonial deficiencies. Explaining inequality and exploitation in the Dutch East Indies from a practical-administrative perspective

This article explores Dutch colonial policy, inequality and exploitation through the prism of practical issues of governance. It draws upon examples from the richly documented history of coerced labour and taxation in Indonesia to argue that colonial policy and resulting forms of exploitation, inequality and malpractice were not simply enacted from the heights of bureaucracy, but constructed on the spot, in daily realities shaped by local circumstances and the responses (rather than the initiatives) of local civil servants to complex governmental issues. For these local officials, striving to maintain balanced budgets and keeping up the overall facade of a stable and successful administration took precedence, which they were rarely able to unite with grander ambitions of governance. Therefore, the consequences of colonialism and how it was experienced should not solely be explained by what colonizers achieved and accomplished but also by their failures and errors, and by what they did not achieve.

Beyond the success story. New questions and approaches in the historiography of Dutch agriculture

This article reviews developments in Dutch agricultural history from c.1900. It argues that, for example, contemporary environmental and social issues have encouraged renewed interest in this field. Other (historical) sub-disciplines have also become interested in agricultural history, resulting in new research themes and questions. Agricultural history is no longer studied as an isolated economic-industrial system but as an integral part of society and food systems. Questions concerning agricultural modernization have dominated the field. The authors argue that to understand the complexity of international food systems in modern times, future research must focus on food value chains. Food value chains encompass everywhere, everything, and everyone that adds value to foodstuff in the food chain. This article highlights two promising research domains that remain underdeveloped in Dutch agricultural history: international perspectives and (new) materialism.