Metropolitan History of the Dutch Empire

Dr. Matthijs Kuipers lectured on (post)colonial history, humanitarianism, human rights, and racism at Utrecht University and is now employed by Nationaal Comité 4 en 5 mei. He defended his PhD thesis on popular imperialism in the Netherlands in 2018 at the European University Institute in Florence and has published on topics ranging from colonial propaganda to the imperial dimension of the Dutch boy scouts.

"Kuipers’ characterization of patchy imperial enthusiasm bears profoundly on questions of colonial memory today. In this respect, Kuipers’ study adds important historical pretext to a growing scholarly and popular interest in the contemporary legacies of colonialism in the Netherlands. [...] by historicizing how notions of a strict metropole colony divide emerged in the Netherlands, Kuipers’ study leaves us much better equipped to challenge other inherited paradigms that cleave the study of the Dutch empire." - Chelsea Schields, BMGN — Low Countries Historical Review, Vol. 138 (2023)

• List of Abbreviations On Names and Terminology Introduction: The Still Waters of Empire Run Deep Dutch Indifference The Metropole in the Colonial World Conquering the Metropolitan Mind The Politics of History Case Studies from a Fragmented Empire 1 Food and Indifference: A Cultural History of the Rijsttafel in the Netherlands Dichotomies of a Colonial Dish The Metropolitan Rijsttafel Who’s Cooking? The Politics of Colonial Food The Limits of Permeation (Conclusion) 2 Indonesians and Cultural Citizenship: The Metropolitan Microcosm of Empire Dissent and Cultural Citizenship Wim Tehupeiory: Naturalization and Social Mobility Tjipto Mangoenkoesoemo: Political Dissent in the Metropole Jodjana: The Arts and the Idea of Association Imperial Citizenship and Double Consciousness (Conclusion) 3 Schools and Propaganda: History Books and Schools as Sites of Imperial Campaigns Schools, Teachers and Pupils History Lessons ‘Classroom Collections’ Maps on the Wall (Conclusion) 4 Scouting and the Racialized Other: Imperial Tropes in the Dutch Scouting Movement The Advent of Dutch Scouting An Empire without Boys Imperial Imagery in Dutch Scouting The 1937 Jamboree Scouting and Dutch Imperialism (Conclusion) 5 Missionary Organizations and the Metropolitan Public: The ‘Inner Mission’ and the Invention of Mission Festivals Internal Colonialism Mission Festivals The Choice of a Missionary Career Gendered Role Models Finding Funds (Conclusion) Conclusion: A Fragmented Empire Sources Archives and Libraries Published Primary Sources Published Secondary Sources Index List of Figures and Tables Figures Figure 1 A modern-day Javanese tumpeng Figure 2 Mrs. Catenius-van der Meijden Figure 3 A rijsttafel in a colonial domestic setting Figure 4 Drawing of Oost en West’s coat of arms Figure 5 Boeatan’s tearoom Figure 6 Portrait of the Indiërs Comité Figure 7 Jodjana performing in Germany Figure 8 Poster announcing the 1937 World Scout Jamboree in Vogelenzang, Netherlands Tables Table 1 Annual number of classroom collections sent out by the Koloniaal Museum and the reported number requested by schools Table 2 Number of annual visitors to the Koloniaal Museum Table 3 Annual balance of the Nederlandsch Zendelinggenootschap in the 1880s