The Social World of Batavia: Europeans and Eurasians in Colonial Indonesia (New Perspectives in SE Asian Studies)

In the seventeenth century, the Dutch established a trading base at the Indonesian site of Jacarta. What began as a minor colonial outpost under the name Batavia would become, over the next three centuries, the flourishing economic and political nucleus of the Dutch Asian Empire. In this pioneering study, Jean Gelman Taylor offers a comprehensive analysis of Batavia?'s extraordinary social world--its marriage patterns, religious and social organizations, economic interests, and sexual roles. With an emphasis on the urban ruling elite, she argues that Europeans and Asians alike were profoundly altered by their merging, resulting in a distinctive hybrid, Indo-Dutch culture. Original in its focus on gender and use of varied sources--travelers accounts, newspapers, legal codes, genealogical data, photograph albums, paintings, and ceramics; The Social World of Batavia, first published in 1983, forged new paths in the study of colonial society. In this second edition, Gelman offers a new preface as well as an additional chapter tracing the development of these themes by a new generation of scholars.

In the seventeenth century, the Dutch established a trading base at the Indonesian site of Jacarta. What began as a minor colonial outpost under the name Batavia would become, over the next three centuries, the flourishing economic and political nucleus of the Dutch Asian Empire. In this pioneering study, Jean Gelman Taylor offers a comprehensive analysis of Batavia’s extraordinary social world-its marriage patterns, religious and social organizations, economic interests, and sexual roles. With an emphasis on the urban ruling elite, she argues that Europeans and Asians alike were profoundly altered by their merging, resulting in a distinctive hybrid, Indo-Dutch culture.
    Original in its focus on gender and use of varied sources-travelers’ accounts, newspapers, legal codes, genealogical data, photograph albums, paintings, and ceramics-The Social World of Batavia, first published in 1983, forged new paths in the study of colonial society. In this second edition, Gelman offers a new preface as well as an additional chapter tracing the development of these themes by a new generation of scholars.

Frontmatter List of Illustrations (page ix) List of Maps (page xi) Acknowledgments (page xiii) Guide to the Text (page xv) Preface to the Second Edition (page xvii) Introduction (page xxv) 1: Origins of the City of Batavia (page 3) 2: Growth of the Settlement Society (page 33) 3: The Web of Colonial Society: Batavia and Environs in the Eighteenth Century (page 52) 4: The Assault on Indies Culture (page 78) 5: The Destruction of VOC Society and the Creation of the New Colonial (page 114) 6: The Inner Life of Late Colonial Society (page 135) Epilogue (page 159) New Explorations of European-Asian Encounters (page 175) Maps (page 199) Appendix 1: Family Trees (page 205) Appendix 2: Governors-General and Their Wives (page 221) Appendix 3: Family and Position in VOC Batavia (page 225) Notes (page 231) Glossary (page 257) Selected Bibliography (page 259) Index (page 273) In the 17th century, the Dutch established a trading base at the Indonesian site of Jacarta. What began as a minor colonial outpost under the name Batavia would become, over the next three centuries, the flourishing economic and political nucleus of the Dutch Asian Empire. This study offers a comprehensive analysis of Batavia's social world.