The Dutch Empire between Ideas and Practice, 1600–2000

Description

This volume explores the intellectual history of the Dutch Empire from a long-term and global perspective, analysing how ideas and visions of empire took shape in imperial practice from the seventeenth century to the present day. Through a series of case studies, the volume critically unearths deep-rooted conceptions of Dutch imperial exceptionalism and shows how visions of imperial rule were developed in metropolitan and colonial contexts and practices. Topics include the founding of the Dutch chartered companies for colonial trade, the development of commercial and global visions of empire in Europe and Asia, the continuities and ruptures in imperial ideas and practices around 1800, and the practical making of empire in colonial court rooms and radio broadcasting. Demonstrating the relevance of a long-term approach to the Dutch Empire, the volume showcases how the intellectual history of empire can provide fresh light on postcolonial repercussions of empire and imperial rule. Chapter 1, Chapter 3, Chapter 7 and Chapter 8 of this book are available open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com. Front Matter ....Pages i-xiv Introduction: Intellectual History in Imperial Practice (René Koekkoek, Anne-Isabelle Richard, Arthur Weststeijn)....Pages 1-15 Front Matter ....Pages 17-17 Birthing Empire: The States General and the Chartering of the VOC and the WIC (Cátia Antunes)....Pages 19-36 Empire of Riches: Visions of Dutch Commercial Imperialism, c. 1600–1750 (Arthur Weststeijn)....Pages 37-65 Hyper-Imperialism: The Dutch Vision of Empire and the Expansion of the European World (Benjamin Schmidt)....Pages 67-87 Comparatively Exceptional: The Paradoxes of Twentieth-Century Dutch Imperialism and Decolonization (Jennifer L. Foray)....Pages 89-108 Front Matter ....Pages 109-109 Institutional Memory in the Making of Dutch Colonial Culture in Asia (1700–1870) (Alicia F. Schrikker)....Pages 111-134 Envisioning the Dutch Imperial Nation-State in the Age of Revolutions (René Koekkoek)....Pages 135-157 Rule of Lawyers: Liberalism and Colonial Judges in Nineteenth-Century Java (Sanne Ravensbergen)....Pages 159-182 The Glass House Revisited: Radio Broadcasting and the Blind Spots in the Late Colonial State in the Netherlands Indies, 1920s and 1930s (Vincent Kuitenbrouwer)....Pages 183-204 Epilogue. Colonial Distances: Dutch Intellectual Images of Global Trade and Conquest in the Colonial and Postcolonial Age (Remco Raben)....Pages 205-232 Back Matter ....Pages 233-239