Merchant Kings : Corporate Governmentality in the Dutch Colonial Empire, 1815–1870

In the nineteenth century, the Netherlands and its colonial holdings in Java were the sites of dramatically increased industrialization. Led by a group of “merchant kings” who exemplified gentlemanly capitalism, this ambitious trading project transformed the small, economically moribund Netherlands into a global power. __Merchant Kings__ offers a fascinating interdisciplinary exploration of this episode and reveals not only the distinctive nature of the Dutch state, but the surprising extent to which its nascent corporate innovations were rooted in early welfare initiatives. By placing colony and metropole into a single analytical frame, this book offers a bracing new approach to understanding the development of modern corporations. Intro Contents Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction: Corporate Governmentality Part I State Formation in the Greater Netherlands Chapter 1 Aristocratic Restoration in Nineteenth-Century "Greater Netherlands" Part II Corporate Governmentality in the Realm of the Merchant King Chapter 2 Policing the Pauper in the Realm of the Merchant King Chapter 3 The Cultivation System Chapter 4 Manufacturing Commodity Chains: The NHM and Cotton Chapter 5 "Sweetening the Pot": Rule by Experts in the Sugar Industry Chapter 6 Weaving an Empire: G. & H. Salomonson and the "Social Question" Part III The Credit Mobilier and Corporate Assemblage Chapter 7 Political Economy, the "Self-Regulating Market," and "Economic Governance" Chapter 8 The Credit Mobilier: Constructing an Economic Sovereignty Chapter 9 The Crédit Mobilier and the Railways Conclusion: Assemblage, Corporatization, and the Government of the Economy References Index

In the nineteenth century, the Netherlands and its colonial holdings in Java were the sites of dramatically increased industrialization. Led by a group of "merchant kings" who exemplified gentlemanly capitalism, this ambitious trading project transformed the small, economically moribund Netherlands into a global power. Merchant Kings offers a fascinating interdisciplinary exploration of this episode and reveals not only the distinctive nature of the Dutch state, but the surprising extent to which its nascent corporate innovations were rooted in early welfare initiatives. By placing colony and metropole into a single analytical frame, this book offers a bracing new approach to understanding the development of modern corporations.

Offers an interdisciplinary exploration of the rapid industrialization of the Netherlands and its colonial holdings in Java during the nineteenth century. By placing colony and metropole into a single analytical frame, it offers a bracing new approach to understanding the development of modern corporations within the context of empire.