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Growth of Non-agricultural Economic Activities in Java in the Middle Decades of the Nineteenth Century

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

M. R. Fernando
M. R. Fernando
Affiliation:
The Australian National University
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Extract

The indigenous population in Java, it is generally believed, remained by and large subsistence peasants under the colonial rule in the nineteenth century. It is argued that the Javanese could not participate in the estate plantation industry or ‘transform their general pattern of already intensive farming in an extensive direction, for they lacked capital, had no way to shuck off excess labor’. Their access to waste land to became restricted and consequently they sought refuge in the wet-rice cultivation which ‘soaked up almost the whole of the’ population in a process of ‘agricultural involution’, which ‘went on steadily’ during the nineteenthcentury.’ Thus Javanese were confined to the subsistence agriculture for their living because they had neither. capital nor opportunity to embark upon a path of economic development characterized by economic diversity.

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Articles
Information
Modern Asian Studies , Volume 30 , Issue 1 , February 1996 , pp. 77 - 119
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

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References

1 Geertz, C., Agricultural Involution (Berkeley, 1963), pp. 79–80.Google Scholar

2 van Niel, R., ‘The Effect of Export Cultivations in Nineteenth-century Java’, Modern Asian Studies, 15, 1 (1981), p. 48.Google Scholar

3 Different aspects of this economic transformation are discussed at length in following works: van Niel, R., ‘Measurement of Change under the Cultivation System in Java, 1837–1851’, Indonesia, 14 (1972), pp. 89–109;CrossRefGoogle Scholar‘The Effect of Export Cultivations in Nineteenth-century Java’, pp. 25–58;Google ScholarFasseur, C., Kultuurstelsel en Koloniale Baten (Leiden, 1975);Google Scholar‘Some Remarks on the Cultivation System in Java’, Acta Historiae Neerlandicae, 10 (1978), pp. 143–62;Google Scholar‘The Cultivation System and Its Impact on the Dutch Colonial Economy and the Indigenous Society in Nineteenth-century Java’, Bayly, C. A. and Kolff, D. H. A. (eds), Two Colonial Empires: Comparative Essays on the History of India and Indonesia in the Nineteenth Century (Leiden, 1986), pp. 137–54;CrossRefGoogle ScholarElson, R. E., Javanese Peasants and the Colonial Sugar Industry (Singapore, 1984);Google ScholarKnight, R. G., ‘Capitalism and Commodity Production in Java’, Alavi, Hamza et al. (eds), Capitalism and Colonial Production (London, 1982), pp. 119–58;Google ScholarFernando, M. R., ‘Peasants and Plantation Economy’, unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Monash University, 1983.Google Scholar

4 The basic unit of local Dutch administration in Java was the residency. There were twenty-two residencies including the two Princely Territories of Yogyakarta and Surakarta in the nineteenth century [see Map 1]. The latter areas are excluded from discussion for several reasons, and, except in a few instances where administrative divisions below the residency are cited, information presented in this paper covers the entire residencies.

5 Peter Boomgaard estimates some 20,000 people people worked in those workshops and factories; Children of the Colonial State (Amsterdam, 1989), pp. 118, 120.Google Scholar

6 In 1811 its work force amounted to 1,275;Google ScholarVan der Chijs, J. A., Nederlandsch–Indisch Plakkaatboek, 15 (Batavia, 1896), plakkat 27–6–1810.Google Scholar

7 Jepara, AJV and Joana, 1823, Collectie Schneither 93, ARA; AJV Surabaya 1824; ‘Statistiek van Residentie Soerabaja [1820]’, Collectie Schneither 96.Google Scholar

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9 Cirebon, AJV 1830, AD Cirebon 2, ANRI; AJV Pekalongan 1828, Collectie Du Bus de Gisignies 486, ARA.Google Scholar

10 Bagelen, AJV 1838, AD Bagelen 30, ANRI.Google Scholar

11 ‘Statistiek der Residentie Bezoekie 1820’, Collectie Schneither 98; Besuki, AJV 1838, AD Besuki 3, ANRI.Google Scholar

12 In Bagelen all potters were engaged in their craft as by-employment; ‘Statistiek der Residentie Bagelen [1837]’, AD Bagelen 30.Google Scholar

13 Brick makers are occasionally mentioned; Semarang, AJV 1823, Collectie Schneither 91; AJV Jepara and Joana 1823; AJV Rembang 1820, Collectie Schneither 94.Google Scholar

14 ‘Statistiek van Residentie Bantam over 1820’.

15 Krawang, AJV 1823; AJV Krawang 1824, Collectie Schneither 87; AJV Pekalongan 1823, Collectie Schneither 90; AJV Semarang 1823; AJV Kedu 1823, Collectie J. C. Baud 91, ARA; ‘Statistiek van Rembang [1820]’; ‘Statistiek van Residentie Soerabaja [1820]’; ‘Statistiek der Residentie Bezoekie [1820]’; ‘Statistiek der Residentie Banjoewangie 1820’, Collectie Schneither 99; AJV Cirebon 1825, AD Cirebon 2; AJV Banten 1836, AD Banten 1; AJV Rembang 1838, AD Rembang 2; AJV Bagelen 1838, AD Bagelen 30; AJV Besuki 1838; AJV Priangan 1838, AD Priangan 3, ANRI.Google Scholar

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17 The wage they received in Rembang was 40 cents while in Madiun they received 80 cents; Madiun, AJV 1839, AD Madiun 2, ANRI. Some workers were, however, leaving Rembang looking for work elsewhere, presumably in Surabaya town where they could probably earn higher wages; AJV Jepara 1823; AJV Rembang 1823, Collectie Schneither 94.Google Scholar

18 Krawang, AJV 1824; AJV Pekalongan 1823; AJV Semarang 1823; AJV Kedu 1823; ‘Statistiek der Residentie Kedoe [1822]’, Collectie Schneither 92; ‘Statistiek van Soerabaja [1820]’; AJV Banyuwangi 1828, AD Banyuwangi 2, ANRI. In some places like in Pekalongan people reportedly made gold and silver fineries, brass wares for their own use, a practice widespread in the villages; AJV Pekalongan 1828.Google Scholar

19 Banyuwangi, AJV 1828.Google Scholar

20 Semarang, AJV 1823. In Cirebon there were seven gamelan makers in 1836, and, in adjacent Krawang, topeng players were found in 1823; ‘Statistiek van Residentie Cheribon over 1836’, AD Cirebon 2; AJV Krawang 1823; AJV Krawang 1824.Google Scholar

21 Bagelen, AJV 1838; ‘Statistiek van de Residentie Semarang [1820]’, Collectie Schneither 91.Google Scholar

22 Kedu, AJV 1823.Google Scholar

23 ‘Statistiek der Preanger Regentschappen over 1820’, Collectie Schneither 86.

24 ‘Statistiek der Residentie Preangerregentschappen over 1820’.Google Scholar

25 Kedu, AJV 1829, AD Kedu 2A.Google Scholar

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27 The estimate of non-agricultural workers given above is based on the evidence in the ‘statistical’ reports for 1820 cited above in addition to descriptive evidence from the annual reports of residents. Using these statistics Boomgaard has estimated that 8% of all households were engaged in non-agricultural occupations including fishing, salt-making and husbandry around 1820. He breaks this down to 3% of all households in fishing and saltmaking, 0.9% of all households in all industrial works, 1.7% of all households as artisans, 1% of all households in cottage industry as main occupation and 1% of all households as tertiary sector including commerce, trade, transport, public service, clergy and domestic service; Boomgaard, Children of the Colonial State, pp. 117, 131–3. In view of the absence of statistics of non-agricultural workers in rural areas, the fragmentary nature of data and lack of clear definitions, such precise calculations are somewhat far-fetched and misleading.Google Scholar

28 Information for this paragraph is from following sources. ‘Statistiek der Preanger Regentschappen over 1820’; ‘Statistiek van de Residentie Pekalongan [1820]’, Collectie Schneither 90; Kedu, AJV 1823; AJV Kedu 1829; AJV Surabaya 1824; ‘Beschrijving van Banjoewangie’ AMK 3068, ARA; Letter Resident of Rembang to Inspector of Finance, 26–2–1829–259, Collectie Du Bus de Gisignies 326, ARA; ‘Statistiek van Residentie Bantam over 1820’; ‘Statistiek der Preanger Regentschappen over 1820’; AJV Krawang 1823; AJV Pekalongan 1828; AJV Kedu 1823;Google ScholarRaffles, T. Stamford, History of Java [1817] vol. 1 (Kuala Lumpur, 1965), p. 107;Google ScholarDay, C., The Policy and Administration of the Dutch in Java (Kuala Lumpur, 1975), pp. 26–7;Google ScholarBurger, D. H., De Ontsluiting van Java's Binnenland voor het Wereldsverkeer (Wageningen, 1939), pp. 3–4;Google Scholarvan Doorn, C. L., Schets van de economische ontwikkeling der afdeeling Poerworejo (Residentie kedoe), Vereeniging voor Studie van Koloniale Maatschappelijke Vraagstukken no. 51 (Weltevreden, 1926), pp. 30–1.Google ScholarFor a well documented survey of the rural economy and society in early 1800s, see Elson, R. E., ‘Aspects of Peasant Life in Early 19th Century Java’Google Scholar in Chandler, D. P. and Ricklefs, M. C., Nineteen and Twentieth Century Indonesia: Essays in Honour of Professor J. D. Legge (Melbourne, 1986), pp. 57–81.Google Scholar

29 This paragraph is, unless otherwise stated, based on information from Raffles, History, vol. I, pp. 163, 166–7; Doorn, Van, Schets, p. 32–5; ‘Statistiek van Residentie Rembang over 1820’, Collectie Schneither 91; ‘Statistiek der Residentie Soerabaja [1820]’; AJV Banyuwangi 1828: ‘Statistiek van Residentie Banten over 1820’; ‘Statistiek van de Residentie Pekalongan [1820]’; AJV Semarang 1823; AV Kedu 1833, AD Kedu 2A; AJV Jepara 1823; Letter Resident of Rembang to Inspector of Finance, 26–2–1829–259; AJV Madiun 1839; AJV Pasuruan 1824, Collectie Schneither 96; AJV Besuki 1823, 1824, Collectie Schneither 98; ‘Statistiek der Residentie Bezoekie 1836’, AD Besuki 12, ANRI.Google Scholar

30 In Banten, there were 360 weaving plants, nearly half of whose production was exported; ‘Statistiek van Residentie Bantam over 1820’. Products of Cirebon were exported to Palembang; Cirebon, AJV 1830, AD Cirebon 2.Google Scholar

31 ‘Well-informed people remark that the production of textiles has declined over the years’; Bagelen, AJV 1836, AD Bagelen 2A. ‘The weaving is mainly for one's own use, and does not increase because of the considerable import of European textiles which can be bought cheaply’; AJV Madiun 1838, AD Madiun 2.Google Scholar

32 There was some batiking in west Java, mostly for personal use and hence of coarse quality, but preferred by locals; ‘Statistiek van Residentie Bantam over 1820’; Cirebon, AJV 1830. Batiking as a domestic industry in central and east Java is often reported; AJV Pekalongan 1823; AJV Banyuwangi 1828; AJV Bagelen 1836, AJV Bagelen 1838; AJV Madiun 1839.Google Scholar

33 In Banten there were 233 people engaged in this work full-time, besides which the inhabitants of thickly populated Cimanuk and Kedulusong districts were also engaged in it as by-employment. The straw needed for this task grew wild so people could easily find it in this region; ‘Statistiek van Bantam over 1820’; Banten, AJV 1836. In Pekalongan bamboo work kept most inhabitants busy and they exported their products to Semarang, Tegal and Kedu; AJV Pekalongan 1828.Google Scholar

34 ‘Statistiek van Residentie Bantam over 1820’; Kedu, AJV 1823; ‘Statistiek der Residentie Kedoe [over 1822]’.Google Scholar

35 In Banten the indigenous sugar industry was widespread in the early 1800s. There were 110 mobile small sugar mills, all run by peasants as by-employment; ‘Statistiek van Residentie Bantam over 1820’. In Priangan production of palm sugar was popular. Some producers recruited helpers to replace family help or in addition to it; ‘Statistiek der Preanger Regentschappen over 1820’. There were sugar makers in Krawang who produced some 6 tons of sugar a year; ‘Statistiek der Residentie Krawang over 1824’. In Semarang peasants produced palm and coconut sugar; ‘Statistiek van de Residentie Semarang [1820]’. In east Java peasants often cultivated sugar cane and either produced sugar themselves or sold cane to Chinese and native millers.Google Scholar

36 There were so many craftsmen in Jepara town itself that their wages were low. So craftsmen looking for better wages are reported to have left the region to seek their fortune in remote rural areas. The young trainees probably received meagre wages under such conditions; Jepara, AJV 1823.Google Scholar

37 ‘Statistiek van Residentie Bantam over 1820’.

38 Pasuruan, AJV 1824.Google Scholar

39 ‘Statistiek van de Residentie Pekalongan [1820].’

40 ‘Statistiek van Residentie Bantam over 1820’ Tegal, AJV 1823, Collectie Schneither 89. There is very little information on wages before the mid-1830s when they began to rise due the growing demand for skilled and unskilled labour. In Besuki, for instance, a goldsmith carned f. 0.83 while blacksmiths, masons and carpenters all earned f. 0.42 a day each. There sixty brick suppliers had an annual income of f. 7,000 each while ten potters earned much less, some f. 2,000 a year each; ‘Statistiek der Residentie Bezoeki 1836’.Google Scholar

41 ‘Statistiek der Residentie Kedoe [1822]’.

42 Pekalongan, AJV 1828; AJV Banyuwangi 1828.Google Scholar

43 Kedu, AJV 1823.Google Scholar

44 ‘Jepara, AJV en Joana over 1823’.Google Scholar

45 Material for this paragraph is from the following sources. Bagelen, AJV 1838; AJV Bagelen 1840, AD Bagelen 1; AJV Madiun 1839, AJV Madiun 1840, AD Madiun 2; AJV Rembang 1840, AD Rembang 2; J. A. Hageman, ‘Overzigt van de Nijverheid in Nederlandsch–Indie in het jaar 1858, volgens de administratieve verslagen der verschillende gewesten’, TNLNI, vol. 7 [New Series] vol. 2 (1861), pp. 135–6, 138–9.Google Scholar

46 This paragraph is, unless otherwise stated, based on information from Bagelen, AJV 1838; AJV Madiun 1840; AJV Madiun 1856, AD Madiun 3; AJV Rembang 1840; AJV Rembang 1845, AD Rembang 2; AJV Rembang 1865, AD Rembang 11; AJV Surabaya 1856, AD Surabaya 9, ANRI; Monographs of sugar mills in Surabaya, compiled by Kommissie Umbgrove, AMK Exh 24–4–1862, ARA; Hageman, ‘Aanteekeningen’, p. 138; Hageman, ‘Overzigt’, pp. 126, 135.Google Scholar

47 720 carpenters were found in six residencies in 1836. Most of them were in Rembang (582) and Banyumas (53); the six residencies are, apart from the two already mentioned, Besuki, Probolingo, Banyuwangi and Pasuruan; ‘Statistiek der Residentie 1836’ for Banyumas, Banyumas, AD 20; ‘Statistiek der Residentie 1836’ for Rembang, AD Rembang 24; ‘Statistiek der Residentie 1836’ for Besuki, AD Besuki 12; ‘Statistiek der Residentie 1836’ for Pasuruan, AD Pasuruan 28.Google Scholar

48 In 1880 there were still 101 shipbuilders in Surabaya while Rembang and Madiun had respectively 170 and 41 shipbuilders. In Priangan and Cirebon respectively 75 and 26 ship-builders were found. In Semarang there were 30 shipbuilders and Banyumas had 33 shipbuilders; KV, 1882, appendix A.Google Scholar

49 This paragraph is based on material from the following sources. ‘Statistiek der Residentie 1836’ for Rembang, Besuki, Probolinggo and Banyuwangi; AJV Bagelen 1838; AJV Madiun, 1838; AJV Madiun 1840; AJV Madiun 1862, AJV Madiun 1870, AD Madiun 4–5; AJV Rembang 1840; AJV Rembang 1845; AJV Banten 1840, AJV Banten 1870, AD Banten 6, 9; AJV Tegal 1868, AD Tegal 18; AJV Banyuwangi 1862, AJV Banyuwangi 1867, AD Banyuwangi 5; AJV Jepara 1867, AD Jepara 6; AJV Malang 1866, AD Pasuruan 31; AJV Rembang 1865; Hageman, ‘Overzigt’, p. 138; KV 1892, appendix C, Residentie Bagelen p. 10.Google Scholar

50 Information for this paragraph is, unless otherwise stated, from Tegal, AJV 1840, AJV Tegal 1864, AJV Tegal 1866, AD Tegal 12, 16–17; AJV Bagelen 1833, AJV Bagelen 1854, AJV Bagelen 1866, AD Bagelen 1; AJV Madiun 1838, AJV Madiun 1856; AJV Madiun 1862; AJV Madiun 1870; Rembang 1840; AJV Rembang 1845; AJV afdeeling Ngrowo, Koninlijk Instituut voor Land-, Taal en Volkenkunde library, manuscript collection H 479; AJV Malang 1866; AJV Banyuwangi 1862, AJV Banyuwangi 1867, AD Banyuwangi 5; KV 1892, appendix C, Residentie Kediri, p. 2;Google Scholaribid., Residentie Soerabaija, p. 3; Von Faber, G. H., Oud Soerabaja (Surabaya, 1931), pp. 170–7;Google Scholarvan Hoevell, R., Reis over Java, Madura en Bali, vol. 2 (Amsterdam, 1851), pp. 100–3;Google ScholarHageman, ‘Overzigt’ p. 138.Google Scholar

51 ‘Statistiek der Residentie 1836’ for Cirebon, Rembang, Banyumas, Bagelen, Besuki, Probolinggo, Banyuwangi, Pasuruan and Madiun.Google Scholar

52 Information for this paragraph is, unless otherwise stated, from Bagelen, AJV 1836; AJV Bagelen 1866; AJV Madiun 1838; AJV Madiun 1840; AJV Madiun 1854; AJV Madiun 1866, AD Madiun 2–4; AJV Rembang 1840; AJV Rembang 1845; AJV Tegal 1864, AJV Tegal 1868; AJV Kediri 1853, AJV Kediri 1862, AD Kediri 4, 6; AJV Banyuwangi 1862, AJV Banyuwangi 1867; AJV Jepara 1867; AJV Malang 1866; Kommissie Umbgrove Monographs; KV 1892, appendix C, Residentie Kediri, p. 3.Google Scholar

53 In 1836 there were a total of 866 earthenware manufacturers in seven residencies; ‘Statistiek der Residentie 1836’ for Rembang, Besuki, Probolinggo, Banyuwangi, Pasuruan and Madiun.Google Scholar

54 Information for this paragraph is, unless otherwise stated, from Kommissie Umbgrove Monographs for Surabaya residency; Rembang, AJV 1840; AJV Rembang 1836, AD Rembang 1; AJV Rembang 1865; AJV Madiun 1838; AJV Madiun 1839; AJV Madiun 1840; AJV Kediri 1862; AJV Banyuwangi 1867; AJV afdeeling Ngrowo; KV 1892, appendix C, passim; Hageman, ‘Aanteekeningen’, p. 138.Google Scholar

55 Jepara, AJV 1862, AD Jepara 6 I; AJV Jepara 1866, AD Jepara 6 II; AJV Jepara 1867, AD Jepara 6 II.Google Scholar

56 In Tegal ‘copper workers who make domestic utensils and leather workers making saddlery are increasing in number’ by 1840; Tegal, AJV 1840; AJV Tegal 1864; AJV Tegal 1868. Rembang had 22 coppersmiths and 33 leather workers; AJV Rembang 1840; AJV Banyuwangi 1862.Google Scholar

57 ‘Statistiek der Residentie 1836’ for Cirebon, Banyumas, Bagelen, Madiun, Rembang, Besuki, Probolinggo, Pasuruan and Banyuwangi.Google Scholar

58 Rembang, AJV 1840; AJV Rembang 1845.Google Scholar

59 ‘Residentie Madioen verslag van den Resident ter gelegenheid der inspectie van den Gouverneur-Generaal in de maand Julij 1838’, AD Madiun 2. In 1839 127 goldsmiths were found to be active in the area; Madiun, AJV 1839.Google Scholar

60 Rembang, AJV 1838; AJV Rembang 1839, AD 2, AJV Rembang 1840; AJV Bagelen 1854; AJV Bagelen 1860, AJV Bagelen 1866, AD Bagelen 1.Google Scholar

61 KV 1892, appendix C, passim.Google Scholar

62 There were 180 shoemakers and 124 tailors in Surabaya town in the late 1850s, and, in Rembang town there were 33 shoemakers in 1840; Hageman, ‘Aanteekeningen’, p. 138; AJV Rembang 1840.

63 Bagelen, AJV 1840.Google Scholar

64 Bagelen, AJV 1866.Google Scholar

65 Surabaya, AJV 1854, AD Surabaya 8.Google Scholar

66 Banyuwangi, AJV 1855, AD Banyuwangi 4; AJV Banyuwangi 1862.Google Scholar

67 Rembang, AJV 1865.Google Scholar

68 Unless otherwise stated, this paragraph is based on information from following sources. Priangan, AJV 1836, AD Priangan 2; AJV Priangan 1862, AD Priangan 5; AJV Priangan 1866, AD Priangan 6; AJV Tegal 1837, AJV Tegal 1839, AD Tegal 11; AJV Pekalongan 1857, AD Pekalongan 1; AJV Bagelen 1838; AJV Bagelen 1839, AD Bagelen 1; AJV Bagelen 1840; AJV Bagelen 1866; AJV Rembang 1839, AD Rembang 2; AJV Rembang 1845; KV 1852, p. 117; KV 1863, p. 232; KV 1864, p. 208; KV 1870, pp. 172–3; KV 1872, p. 210.Google Scholar

69 de Waal, E., Aanteekeningen over Koloniale Onderwerpen, vol. 1 ('s Gravenhage, 1865), pp. 505–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

70 Material for this paragraph is, unless otherwise stated, from KV 1853, p. 187; KV 1858, p. 133; KV 1861, p. 196; KV 1864, p. 208; KV 1866, p. 208; KV 1870, p. 173; KV 1874, p. 227; ‘Algemeen Overzigt van den toestand van Nederlandsch Indie, gedurende het jaar 1846’, TNI, 1848, pt. 1, pp. 35–1; Doorn, Van, Schets, pp. 44–5.Google Scholar

71 Material for this and next two paragraph is, unless otherwise stated, from Bagelen, AJV 1877, quoted in Van Doorn, Schets, p. 56; AJV Rembang 1839; AJV Rembang 1845; AJV Rembang 1852, AD Rembang 38; AJV Rembang 1857, AD Rembang 10; AJV Madiun 1838, AJV Madiun 1839, AJV Madiun 1840; AJV Madiun 1856; AJV Madiun 1867, AD Madiun 5; AJV Madiun 1870; AJV Kediri 1839, AJV Kediri 1842, AD Kediri 2; AJV Kediri 1853, AD Kediri 3; AJV Kediri 1862, AD Kediri 4; AJV Kediri 1867, AD Kediri 5; KV 1852, p. 116; KV 1853, pp. 186, 188; KV 1859, p. 145; KV 1860, p. 160; KV 1861, p. 196; KV 1862, p. 240; KV 1866, p. 208; KV 1870, p. 173; KV 1871, p. 233; KV 1874, p. 227.Google Scholar

72 The revenue farmers were severe on traders visiting pasars under their control and derived as much income as possible from them, well above what they paid to the government themselves. The frictions between pachters and people patronizing markets are discussed in anon., ‘Chinese Pachters’, TNI, vol. 12, 1850, pt 1, pp. 305–7;Google Scholar‘Een Javanese Markt’, TNI, vol. 12, 1850, pt 2, pp. 440–2;Google Scholar‘Nadeelen door de Chinezen in de Dessa's op Java veroorzaakt’, TNI, vol. 12, 1850, pt 2, pp. 216–18;Google Scholar anon., ‘Een warung’, TNI, vol. 15, 1853, pt 1, pp. 54–6.Google Scholar

73 KV 1854, p. 162; KV 1860, pp. 159–60.Google Scholar

74 Besuki, AJV 1839, AD Besuki 4.Google Scholar

75 KV 1852, p. 117; KV 1864, p. 208; KV 1871, p. 173.Google Scholar

76 KV 1852, p. 117.Google Scholar

77 Besuki, AJV 1865, AD Besuki 8.Google Scholar

78 Besuki, AJV 1838; AJV Besuki 1844, AD Besuki 4; AJV Besuki 1865; KV 1874, pp. 227–8.Google Scholar

79 In Semarang, native wholesale traders had difficulties; KV 1892, appendix C, Residentie Semarang p. 9. There were a few big native traders in Bagelen who dealt with textiles;Google Scholaribid., Residentie Bagelen, p. 6. In Kediri ‘just a few natives can be said to be engaged in wholesale trade’; ibid., Residentie Kediri, p. 4. There were a few native wholesale traders in Madiun town; ibid., Residentie Madioen, p. 4. A few native traders were engaged in rice trade on a large scale in Pasuruan; ibid., Residentie Pasoeroean, p. 7.

80 KV 1892, appendix C, Residentie Krawang, p. 5; Residentie Tegal, p. 4; Residentie Pekalongan, p. 9; Residentie Banjoemas, p. 3; Residentie Bagelen, p. 6; Residentie Kedoe, p. 4; Residentie Jepara, p. 5; Residentie Rembang, p. 5; Residentie Madioen, p. 4.Google Scholar

81 KV 1892, appendix C, Residentie Preangerregentschappen, p. 14.Google Scholar

82 KV 1892, appendix C, Residentie Soerabaja, p. 5.Google Scholar

83 KV 1892, appendix C, Residentie Preangerregentschappen, p. 15.Google Scholar

84 ‘Kommissie Umbgrove Monographs’ of sugar mills in Surabaya residency.

85 The rest of this paragraph is, unless otherwise stated, based on information from KV 1892, appendix C, Residentie Preangerregentschappen, p. 15; Residentie Cheribon, p. 6; Residentie Tegal, p. 4; Residentie Pekalongan, p. 10; Residentie Banjoemas, p. 4; Residentie Bagelen, p. 7; Residentie Kedoe, p. 4; Residentie Madioen, p. 4; Residentie Soerabaja, p. 5; Residentie Pasoeroean, p. 8; Residentie Bezoeki, p. 4.Google Scholar

86 In west Java the main railway line connecting Batavia and Buitenzorg was finished between 1871 and 1881. There were light railway lines in Surabaya-Pasuruan region in the late 1870s.Google Scholar

87 Figures are from KV, 1882, appendix A.Google Scholar

88 As early as the late 1830s over 3,000 prahu operators were found to be working in Madiun; Madiun, AJV 1839, AD Madiun 2; AJV Madiun 1840.Google Scholar

89 A large number of them were Madurese fleeing from economic difficulties at home, but the pressure on Surabaya's hinterland to supply labour was great. Bik, P. Freede, De Vrije Arbeid le Soerabaija getoetst aan de waarheid ('s Gravenhage, 1859), p. 5.Google Scholar

90 Regeeringsreglement 1854, article 57; KV 1855, p. 20. For a survey of reforms,Google Scholar see Paulus, J., Stibbe, D. G. et al. (eds), Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch-Indie, vol. 2, second ed. ('s Gravenhage, 1917), under heerendiensten.Google Scholar

91 KV 1856, p. 37. Initial surveys were conducted in 1859, following which some revisions in the use of heerendiensten were implemented. The next revision took place in late 1864 and was implemented in the following year.Google Scholar

92 Stb. 1851 no 59 and Stb. 1857 no. 93. The government drew a fine distinction between public works mainly for government use and those for the benefit of the people; in the latter case, which included the largest building works, the heerendiensten were be used as usual; KV 1857, p. 36. See Bijblad 1857 no. 239 for a statement of the official policy.Google Scholar

93 KV 1858, p. 18.Google Scholar

94 KV 1858, p. 18; KV 1859, p. 20. By besluit 17 January 1860 no. 60 it was decided to pay 25 cents a day to labourers recruited through heerendiensten to work in Surabaya city; similar measures were introduced in Semarang too; KV 1860, p. 23.Google Scholar

95 KV 1867, pp. 47–8; KV 1870, p. 48.Google Scholar

96 KV 1880, p. 72.Google Scholar

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98 KV 1857, p. 36.Google Scholar

99 Collecting accurate information from householders was a difficult task because villagers knew very well such information would increase their tax burden. They often described themselves as coolies to avoid taxes. For a discussion of problems and difficulties in collecting population statistics, see Bergsma, W. B., ‘Hoe de bevolkingcijfers van de Inlanders op Java en Madoera worden verzameld’, TBB, 7 (1892), pp. 310–11;Google ScholarVerwijk, J. J., ‘Het verzamelen van gegevens voor de bevolkingstatistiek op Java en Madoera’, TBB, 2 (1888), pp. 7–26.Google Scholar

100 With a view to comparing labour force statistics over time, I have grouped people engaged in different activities into several broad categories following a scheme adopted by Jones, G. W., ‘The Growth and Changing Structure of the Indonesian Labour Force, 1830–81’, Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, 4 (06 1966), p. 52.Google Scholar

101 The peasants, too, were obliged to pay a tax on all cultivated land, the land rent, which usually amounted to the value of two-fifths of its production. It was levied on a village basis and all peasants with access to land paid it in equal parts. So all peasants could describe themselves without being inhibited by tax considerations.Google Scholar

102 Some 43% of the work-force were landholders in Java in 1905 according to a detailed survey; KV 1907, appendix A. The situation a quarter century earlier would not have been much different.Google Scholar

103 The number of natives who paid the ‘bedrijfsbelasting’ was 666,369 in 1880; KV 1881, appendix OO. This figure is much smaller than the total of manufacturers and traders in the work-force statistics. Hence Bergsma's observation that many natives avoided the income tax by false declarations of their means of living seems to be correct. Some manufacturers, craftsmen and traders in the work-force statistics were probably untaxed because of their low income level, but some others clearly managed to escape official scrutiny. The high figure of non-agricultural workers reported in the population enumerations does not lend support to a charge of considerable underestimation arising from such discrepancies.Google Scholar

104 In 1881 only 1,640 skilled workers were hired in 42 factories and workshops in Java (including 2 in the Princely Territories); KV 1882, pp. 230–1.Google Scholar

105 For instance, according to Boomgaard, ‘in many Residency reports between 1830 and 1850 we can read that due to the vigorous building activities following in the wake of the introduction of the Cultivation System, the number of carpenters and masons was increasing. As will be shown presently, this observation also applied to other occupational groups’; Children of the Colonial State, p. 126. Referring to artisans, he concludes, that ‘given the fact that a number of these occupations were in high demand due to the economic expansion under the Cultivation System, this growth [of artisans between 1830 and 1880] is not surprising’;Google Scholar

ibid., p. 131. The growth of non-agricultural sectors was ‘reinforced’, he agrees, ‘by the monetization and specialization of the peasantry away from the (subsistence) production of nonagricultural commodities like textiles’, which were ‘side-effects’ of the Cultivation System; ibid., pp. 134.

106 Kuznets, S., ‘Underdeveloped Countries and the Pre-Industrial Phase in the Advanced Countries’ in Agrawala, A. N. and Singh, P. (eds), The Economics of Underdevelopment (New York, 1963), pp. 135–53;Google ScholarSmith, T. C., ‘Pre-modern Economic Growth: Japan and the West’, Past and Present, 60 (1973), pp. 127–60;CrossRefGoogle ScholarJones, E. L., Growth Recurring (Oxford, 1988), pp. 149–67.Google Scholar

107 Madiun, AJV 1839.Google Scholar

108 Semarang, AJV 1854, ADK 1625, ANRI.Google Scholar

109 Surabaya, AJV 1856.Google Scholar

110 The ranks of landholding peasants amounted to nearly 80% of all households in 1840, and, in 1870, three quarters of all households were still landholders. Calculated from statistics in ‘kultuur verslag’ 1840 and KV 1873 appendix A.Google Scholar

111 The growth rates are calculated from the statistics in Boomgaard, P. and van Zanden, J. L. (eds), Changing Economy in Indonesia, vol. 10, Food Crops and Arable Lands, Java, 1815–1942 (Amsterdam, 1990),Google ScholarTables 1, 3B.2.1, 8 and 10. The raw statistics on which these calculations are based, it should be noted, are far from complete or accurate, particularly with regard to the beginning of the period under review. The area of land under rice in Java excluding Banten, Krawang, Bagelen, Banyumas, Madiun and Kediri is reported to have been 599,400 ha. in 1829; ‘Algemeen Verslag wegens den Staat van den Landbouw over het Jaar 1829’. I have assumed it was about 900,000 ha. to cover those areas. The rice production, according to the same source, amounted to 897,000 ton in 1829 excluding the areas referred to; I have assumed it was about 1000,000 including those areas.Google Scholar

112 Kediri, AJV 1835, AD Kediri 5.Google Scholar

113 Priangan, AJV 1832, AD Priangan 29A.Google Scholar

114 This estimate is based on W. Bosch's measurement of the per capita rice need of a family of five people at 0.13 ton of rice a year; Vermeerdering van Java's Bevolking Beschouwd als een Bron van Welvaart (Rotterdam, 1871), pp. 45–6. This is a somewhat high estimate, it should be noted, and my conversion ratio of 0.68 from dry stalks of rice to rice is a little low. Therefore the actual per capita rice production should have been a little higher than the figure given above.Google Scholar

115 Bagelen's rice exports ‘could be greater’, it was reported in 1836, ‘if the means of communications were easier and cheaper for the peasants than they are now’; Bagelen, AJV 1836. In Banyumas, ‘thousands of men were engaged in the rice trade’ in the late 1840s; ‘Algemeen Overzigt’, TNI, 1848, p. 218. The pasars in Madiun played an important role in gathering rice from adjacent areas in central Java to export to east Java; Madiun exported 3,335 ton of rice a year in the late 1830s, a trade controlled by Chinese in the mid-nineteenth century; AJV Madiun 1838; AJV Madiun 1839; AJV Madiun 1856. Kediri, too, was a rice supplier of some note which exported an equally large amount of rice to the rest of east Java; AJV Kediri 1839; AJV Kediri 1842. The peasants in the lower Brantas delta are reported to have sold a large amount of rice every year in the mid-1850s, mostly in Surabaya city; ‘Umbgrove Kommissie’ monographs on sugar mills in Surabaya residency.Google Scholar

116 Statistics are from ‘kultuur verslag’ 1836–1851 and KV 1850–1880. It should be noted that the crop payment for coffee planters was made after deducting one-third of it for the land rent whereas that for peasants cultivating indigo and sugar was made without any deduction. I have not made an effort to redress this imbalance, which should be taken into account in a realistic estimate of the money income of peasants.Google Scholar

117 Priangan, AJV 1840, AD Priangan 3; AJV Besuki 1840, AD Besuki 4.Google Scholar

118 This was the case with the textile industry; Elson, Javanese Peasants and the Colonial Sugar Industry, pp. 83–4.Google Scholar

119 Besuki, AJV 1839.Google Scholar

120 Kediri, AJV 1839; AJV Kediri 1853.Google Scholar

121 In 1842 Kediri exported 3,700 ton of rice, 790 ton of cotton, 150 ton of tobacco, 49 ton of castor, 6 ton of oil, 51,000 coconuts, 13,160 of lengths of cotton yarn, 13,650 pieces of firewood, 25,550 coconut mats, 51,090 pieces of kloewek, among other goods. Income from trade amounted to f. 39,860 in silver and f. 308,593 in copper currency; Kediri, AJV 1842.Google Scholar

122 Kediri, AJV 1853.Google Scholar

123 Bagelen, AJV 1838.Google Scholar

124 Bagelen, AJV 1838. For a description of increased trade and its causes in the Bagelen area, see van Doorn, Schets, p. 42.Google Scholar

125 Rembang, AJV 1854, AD Rembang 10.Google Scholar

126 Buddingh, S. A., Neerlands-Oost-Indie (Rotterdam, 1859), p. 85.Google Scholar

127 Semarang, AJV 1854. Similar observations were made elsewhere; AJV Besuki 1853, AD Besuki 6.Google Scholar

128 KV 1858, p. 133.Google Scholar

129 The value of imported textiles rose from f. 4,348,000 to f. 21,378,000 between 1830 and 1860. The total imports of Java rose from f. 11,989,000 to 42,249,000 during the same period;Google ScholarReinsma, R., Het Verval van het Cultuurstelsel ('s Gravenhage, 1955), appendix A, columns C and D.Google Scholar

130 On the decline of peasant by-employment see Burger, Ontsluiting, p. 141; Elson, Javanese Peasants, pp. 83–4;Google ScholarBoomgaard, P., ‘Female labour and population growth on nineteenth century Java’, Review of Indonesian and Malasian Affairs, 15, 2 (1981), pp. 16–18. There was a resurgence in peasant by-employment towards the end of the nineteenth century as some peasant households found it necessary to earn more money to cover their increasing expenses.Google Scholar

131 The number of peasant households with access to sawah rose by 54% whereas the total number of households rose by 87% during the 1840–1870 period. The differentiation of peasantry is dealt at length and in detail in a number of studies; Elson, Javanese Peasants, pp. 90–6; Knight, ‘Capitalism and commodity production in Java’, pp. 132–41; Fernando, ‘Peasants and Plantation Economy’, pp. 155–75.Google Scholar

132 OMW: Overzicht van de Uitkomsten der Gewestelijke Onderzoekingen naar de Ekonomie van de Desa en daaruit gemaakte gevolgtrekkingen, vol. IXa, deel I: eigenlijk overzicht (Batavia, 1911), pp. 58–60 and appendix 3;Google ScholarOverzicht van de Uikomsten der Gewestelijke Onderzoekingen naar de Ekonomie van de Desa en daaruit gemaakte gevolgtrekkingen, vol. IX (Batavia, 1912), pp. 60–2.Google Scholar

133 OMW: Samentrekking van de Afdeelingsverslagen over de Uitkomsten der Onderzoekingen naar de Ekonomie van de Desa in de Preangerregentschappen (Weltevreden, 1906), p. 51;Google ScholarOMW: Samentrekking van de Afdeelingsverslagen over de Uitkomsten der Onderzoekingen naar de Ekonomie van de Desa in de Residentie Soerabaja (Weltevreden, 1909), p. 36.Google Scholar

134 Madiun, AJV 1842, AD Madiun 2.Google Scholar

135 OMW: Samentrekking van de Afdeelingsverslagen over de Uitkomsten der Onderzoekingen naar de Ekonomie van de Desa in de Residentie Semarang (Weltevreden, 1906) p. 56.Google Scholar

136 In Purworejo kabupaten where making coconut oil was a popular industry, all 400 oil makers were operating as households with very little or no outside labour hired at any stage of the work. Four thousand oil producers in Tuban kabupaten also worked in a similar fashion. In Malang kabupaten 150 households in one village produced pots and pans, some of them working as part-time workers; OMW: vol. VIb Overzicht van de Uitkomsten der Gewestelijke Onderzoekingen naar den Inlandschen Handel en Nijverheid en daaruit gemaakte gevolgtrekkingen, part 2 (Batavia, 1909), appendices, 3,4 and 5.Google Scholar

137 There were a few big oil producers in some parts of Kedu who belonged to the economically stronger elements in the villages and hired some hundreds of people to produce oil on a large scale for export; ibid.

138 In twenty-five weaving workshops in Pekalongan town 200 men, women and children worked while and another 1,240 people, mostly women worked in 345 batik workshops in rural areas of the same kabupaten. In Banyumas 22 people in one village produced lime in small workshops while in Grise there were 15 workshop owners who seem to have hired some outsiders as well; ibid.

139 This and the following paragraph are, unless otherwise stated, based on information from OMW: vol. VIa Overzicht van de Uitkomsten der Gewestelijk Onderzoekingen naar den Inlandschen Handel en Nijverheid, pt. 1 (Batavia, 1909), pp. 30–1.Google Scholar

140 ‘Umbgrove Kommissie Monographs’.Google Scholar

141 KV 1881, p. 212.Google Scholar

142 In Lumajang regency in Pasuruan residency where tobacco producers were in competition, a master craftsman usually received a daily wage ranging from f. 1.00 to f. 1.50. In Semarang town skilled workers were paid from f. 0.70 to f. 2.00 daily whereas in rural areas daily wages were low and ranged from f. 0.50 to f. 0.60; KV 1881, p. 212.Google Scholar

143 In east Java coolies were paid more, from 30 to 40 duit a day; KV 1853, p. 149; KV 1856, pp. 103–4; KV 1860, pp. 118–19.Google Scholar

144 KV 1881, p. 212.Google Scholar

145 These estimates are from following sources; Gelpke, Sollewijn, Naar aanleiding van Staatsblad 1878 no. 110, p. 56;?Google ScholarGelpke, Sollewijn, Gegevens voor een nieuwe landrenteregeling: eindresume der onderzoekingen (Batavia, 1885), p. 133.Google ScholarThe annual income of taxpaying skilled workers and self-employed workers is estimated on the basis of the ‘bedrijbelasting’, which totalled to f. 1.7 million by 670,000 workers; KV 1882, appendix OO.Google Scholar

146 Smith, , Nakahara (Berkeley, 1982).Google Scholar