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Léonard du Bus de Gisignies (1780–1849), Belgian Commissioner-General in the Dutch East Indies: A Reassessment1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 April 2010

Bart De Prins
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Extract

In his speech of throne of October 17, 1825, the Dutch king William I expressed his concerns on the extremely loss-making Dutch colonial enterprise of that moment. The aftermath of the closing down of the Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC) in the 1790s and the transfer of the company's indebtedness to the state, threatened to bring about the loss of the Dutch first-rate position on the international colonial forum. Moreover, the fiasco of the so-called liberal interlude of the enlightened Governor-General G. van der Capellen and his often frivolous politics in Java during the period 1816–1826, deeply disillusioned the king. Therefore, William officially announced the appointment of a commissioner-general, a representative provided with extraordinary power and authority who was only supposed to give account direcdy to the king himself. He also informed the States General of the appointment of the governor of the province of SouthBrabant in the Southern Netherlands Leonard du Bus de Gisignies as his commissioner-general on August 10 of the same year.

Type
Articles
Information
Itinerario , Volume 24 , Issue 3-4 , November 2000 , pp. 192 - 206
Copyright
Copyright © Research Institute for History, Leiden University 2000

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References

Notes

2 de Waal, E., Nederlands-Indië in de Staten-Generaal sedert de grondwet van 1814: eene bijdrage tot de geschiedenis der koloniale politiek in Nederland I (The Hague 1860) 159Google Scholar.

3 On Van der Capellen and his government on Java: Stevens, Th., Van der Capellen 's Koloniale Ambitie op Java: Economisch Beleid in een Stagnerende Conjunctuur (1816–1826) (Amsterdam 1982) 216–230.Google Scholar An older, but still useful book: Ottow, S.J. ed., De Oorspnmg van de ConservatieveRichting: Het Kolonisatierapport-Van der Capellen (Utrecht 1937)Google Scholar; and Rengers, D.W. van Welderen, The Failure of a Liberal Colonial Policy: Netherlands East Indies 1816–1830 (The Hague 1947)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

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6 William I to Elout, General State Archive The Hague (ARA), Staatssecretarie, 2245, letter number 112 of June 4, 1825.

7 Royal order of 25 June 1825, ARA, Staatssecretarie, 2260.

8 Copies of the royal orders 79 and 80 of September 1825: ARA, Family Archive Du Bus de Gisignies, 80.

9 ARA, Family Archive Du Bus de Gisignies, 80, royal order ‘79’ article ‘49’

10 ARA, Family Archive Du Bus de Gisignies, 80, royal order ‘80’ article ‘1’ and ‘2’

11 Scalliet, M.O. ed., Antoine Payen, peintre des Indes Orientates: vie et ecrits du XIXe siecle (1792–1853) (Leyden 1995) 488–490Google Scholar.

12 These pamphlets can be found in: ARA, Family Archive Du Bus de Gisignies, 84. A draft can be found under number 85, a first draft by Du Bus in French can be found under number 80.

13 General information on these historical events: Blom, J.C.H. and Lamberts, E. eds, History of the Low Countries (Oxford 1999) 297–310Google Scholar.

14 On the Kultuurstelsel and the Dutch colonial policy from the early nineteenth century on: Fasseur, C., Kultuurstelsel en Koloniale Baten: De Nederlandse Exploitatie van Java 1840–1860 (Leyden 1978),Google Scholar translated in English: The Politics of Colonial Exploitation: Java, the Dutch and the Cultivation System (Ithaca, NY 1992)Google Scholar; dejong, J., Van Batigslot naarereschuld: De Discussie over de Financiele Verhouding tussen Nederland en Indie en de Hervorming van de Nederlandse Koloniale Politiek 1860–1900 (The Hague 1989)Google Scholar.

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17 The painting of Navez belongs to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, but is permanendy exhibited to the museum Bronbeek in Arnhem. A twin portrait by Navez belongs to the community of Malle.

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20 Du Bus to H.M. de Kock 15–07–1826, General State Archive Brussels (ARAB), Family Archive de Renesse-Breidbach, 46.

21 Du Bus to Melville van Carnbee 16–01–1829, ARAB, Family Archive de Renesse-Breidbach, 45.

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32 These figures can be found in Suykens, F. et al., Antwerp: A Port for all Seasons (Antwerp 1986) 296–309Google Scholar.

33 On the expansion of the Belgian textile industry during the period 1815–1830: Coppe-jans-Desmet, H., De Overzeese Expansie van de Belgische Katoenindustrie: Van het Afsluiten van de Nederlandse Koloniale Machl, tothel Uitbreken van de Amerikaanse Secessieoorlog (Brussels 1965)Google Scholar On the ‘Société Générale’, established in 1822: Buyst, E., Cassiers, I., Smedt, H. Houtman-de et al. eds, De Generale Bank, 1822–1997 (Tielt 1997)Google Scholar.

34 On the military aspect of the Belgian input in the Dutch colonial enterprise: Bossen-broek, M., Volk voor Indië: De Werving van Europese Militairen voor de Nederlandse KolonialeDiensl: 1814–1909 (Amsterdam 1992) 19–82Google Scholar;Anciaux, L., La participation des Beiges à I ‘oeuvre coloniale des Hollandais aux Indes Orientates (Brussels 1955) 96–153 andGoogle Scholar Ch. Terlinden, , Histoire militaire des Beiges (Brussels 1966) 281–301Google Scholar.

35 On Du Bus’ biography: De Prins, B., Leonard Du Bus du Gisignies, 49–202Google Scholar.

36 Beterams, F.G.C., The high-society belgo-luxembourgeoise au debut du gouvernement de Guillaume Ier, roi des Pays-Bas (Wetteren 1973)Google Scholar V-XVI and 214.

37 De Waal, Nederlands-Indie, 22–23: ‘De koning bij uitsluiting het opperbestuur over de volksplantingen en bezittingen van het rijk in ander e werelddelen heeft’.

38 ARA, Kabinet des Konings, 6545 and 6548.

39 ARA, Family Archive Du Bus de Gisignies, 9–11.

40 Wijck, H. van der, De Nederlandse Oost-Indische Bezittingen onder het Bestuur van den Kommissa-ris-Generaal Du Bus de Gisignies (1826–1830) (The Hague 1866)Google Scholar.

41 Coolhaas, W.Ph., Het Regeeringsreglement van 1827: Het Werk van 1818aan deErvaring Getoetst (Utrecht 1936)Google Scholar; Boerma, J. J. Westendorp ed., Briefwisseling tussen f. van den Bosch en f.C. Baud, 1829–1832 en 1834–1836 (Utrecht 1956)Google Scholar.

42 Serrière, G. de, ‘Levensschets van L.PJ. Du Bus de Gisignies’, Tijdschrift voorStaathuishoud-kunde en Statistiek door Mr. B.W.A.E. Sloet tot Oldhuis VII (1852) 43Google Scholar.

43 A written copy of the report: ARA, Archief van het Ministerie van Kolonien, 3199. By order of the Second Chamber of the Dutch States-General of December 23, 1850, the report has been printed. A copy can be found in ARA, Family Archive Du Bus de Gisignies, 529. The report is also edited in a scientific publication: Parvé, D.C. Steyn, Het Koloniaal Monopoliestelsel Getoetst aan Geschiedenis en Staalhuishoudkunde (The Hague 1850–1851)Google Scholar.

44 Wyck, Van der, De Nederlandse Oost-Indische Bezittingen, 53Google Scholar.

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46 Leclercq, J., Le Congo peut devenir notrefava (Brussels 1897)Google Scholar.

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48 For example: Duchesne, A., L'expansion mondiale de la Belgique sous le règne de Léopold II (Brussels 1949) 18–53Google Scholar; and: Stengers, J., ‘Léopold II et le modèle colonial hollandais’, Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis 90 (1977) 46–71Google Scholar.