THE COLONIAL ECONOMY IN

THE NETHERLANDS INDIES

PART 2: THE COMMISSION FOR INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE NETHERLANDS INDIES, 1915-1926

Nationaal Archief, Den Haag

on microfiche

Background

In spite of the opening up of the Netherlands Indies to investment by Dutch and foreign capital from about 1870 onwards, the colonial economy remained largely agrarian into the opening decades of the twentieth century. The stagnation of world trade and shipping that followed the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 soon made it painfully apparent just how dependent the Netherlands Indies still was on imported manufactured products. The ensuing shortages of all kinds of necessities turned the colonial government’s mind to developing industry in the Indies and in 1915 the governor-general established a special commission for this purpose composed of both experts from the colonial civil service and members of the private business community. The commission was called on to investigate the possibilities for setting up industries in the colony to process its many raw materials, which would at the same time provide useful employment for the growing indigenous population. The commission surveyed the existing situation, made reports and issued recommendations for industrial development and also engaged actively in attempts to bring new industries to the country. The creation of an iron and steel industry in the colony was a special priority and occupied most of its time after 1921. Although ultimately most such efforts proved in vain and the commission was disbanded in 1926, its records and related materials micropublished in this collection provide valuable sources for the economic history of the colony and the history of economic development policy in a colonial context. A more extensive history of the Commission in Dutch by archivist Senya Kala Yahya is published below (pp. 9-16).

The archive

The Commission’s own archive, which remained in Indonesia after independence, has been lost, but that of its “delegated member” (in charge of day-to-day activities) (1919) and chairman (1920-1926), the engineer J. van der Waerden, has fortunately survived. It contains, among others,

•     minutes of the commission’s meetings (1915-1921)
•      documents concerning its organization and tasks
•      changes in government economic organs
•      cooperation with private industry
•      the status of government-run businesses
•      efforts to set up an iron and steel industry, including

       —studies of the presence and exploitability of natural resources such as iron ore, coal, and derivative products such as charcoal

       —reports and correspondence with foreign steel companies, in Germany, Sweden, the USA,

       —attempts to found steel companies in Borneo and Celebes

       —the founding of the company ENIHOM (Eerste Nederlandsch-Indische Hoogoven Maatschappij)    in the Lampong District of Sumatra and its subsequent bankruptcy, etc.

In addition to these materials directly related to the work of the Commission, Van der Waerden’s archive also contains interesting documents from other positions he filled as a member or (vice) chairman of:

• the Arbeidscommissie in Nederlandsch-Indië (1920-1922) (member), a commission charged with     investigating working conditions
• the Voorlichtingscommissie Technisch Onderwijs in Nederlandsch-Indië (member), a commission             to promote technical education with the goal of furthering industrial development

the associations or committees

• Vereeniging voor studie van Koloniaal-Maatschappelijke Vraagstukken te Batavia (c. 1919-1923)         (vice-chairman) (study of colonial social questions)
• Vereeniging “Indie Weerbaar” (1920) (member) (for defense of the colony)
• Comité voor de Autonomie van Indie (1921-1922) (member) (to increase the colony’s autonomy)