The Dutch Encounter with Asia 1600-1950

The Dutch Encounter with Asia, 16001950 tells the story of a fascinating and complex encounter: at once superficial and unjust, imbued with mutual suspicion but also admiration, occasionally leading to a genuine interest in the other's culture. This broad selection of objects and works of art introduces a story that spans the globe, bridging cultures, sometimes familiar, and then again alien. These objects tell their own tale of an enervating yet often tragic history. Which is what makes this book special.

The Dutch came to Asia to trade, and commerce is the central theme. Factors that dictate how markets function are discussed: administration, diplomacy, war and of course the players themselves. This book is about Dutch merchants, ambassadors, rulers, soldiers, scientists and artists, and about their Asian partners and counterparts, about slaves and potentates in India, China, Japan, Ceylon, Thailand and Java. At first, the Dutch operated all over Asia and the encounter was rich in diversity, after 1800 the Dutch realm was the East Indies archipelago.

Military victories of the late nineteenth century, made possible by the industrial revolution, enhanced the self-confidence of the colonial masters. As colonial authority expanded, the spread of Western culture went hand in hand with economic exploitation. The more the Dutch established their authority, the more unequal the encounter became. There was in the end no genuine exchange between cultures. The tight colonial grip led eventually to growing Indonesian resistance. Eventually, the Netherlands was forced to cede sovereignty in 1949.

Continuity and change are the themes of the seminal years 1800 and 1870: the former rooted in tradition, the latter a voyage into the unknown. A testimony to the continuity throughout this period is the series of portraits of governors-general now at the Rijksmuseum. For over three hundred years, they symbolised Dutch rule at Batavia (Jakarta).