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The Social World of Batavia
Europeans and Eurasians in Colonial Indonesia, Second Edition
by Gelman Taylor, Jean
In the seventeenth century, the Dutch established a trading base at the Java 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, the author 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—this book forged new paths in the study of colonial society. In this second edition, the author offers a new preface as well as an additional chapter tracing the development of these themes by a new generation of scholars. An ideal book for anyone wishing insight into their own Dutch East Indies family history and context for genealogical research in Indonesia.
Paperback, 312 pages, Illustrated
USD 22.95 / CAD 29.95