Cultivation System

E3959

The Cultivation System was a 19th-century Dutch colonial policy in the East Indies that forced Javanese peasants to grow export crops for the benefit of the Netherlands, leading to widespread exploitation and hardship.

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Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form Occurrences
Cultivation System in the Dutch East Indies 1

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf agricultural production system
colonial policy
forced labor system
administrativeMechanism quota-based crop deliveries
village heads as intermediaries
appliedInRegion Java
appliedInTerritory Dutch East Indies
characterizedBy compulsory cultivation contracts
fixed delivery prices set by colonial state
state control over crop choice
use of traditional authority for colonial extraction
contributedTo Dutch Ethical Policy
country Netherlands
criticizedBy Dutch liberals
humanitarian reformers
criticizedInWork Max Havelaar
economicEffect increased export revenues
large profits for Dutch state
endedBecauseOf administrative difficulties
economic changes in world markets
political criticism in the Netherlands
endTime 1870
historicalPeriod 19th century
historicalSignificance key example of exploitative colonialism in Southeast Asia
major source of Dutch 19th-century wealth
implementedBy Dutch colonial government
implementedUnderGovernorGeneral Johannes van den Bosch
inspiredAuthor Multatuli
legalForm colonial regulation
mainBeneficiary Government of the Netherlands
surface form: Dutch treasury

Netherlands
mainExportCrop coffee
indigo
sugar
tea
tobacco
mainParticipants Javanese peasants
purpose increase colonial revenue
produce export crops
replaced earlier forms of tribute and corvée labor
requiredShareOfLabor one-fifth of peasants' labor time
requiredShareOfLand one-fifth of village land
socialEffect famines in parts of Java
food shortages in some regions
increased corvée-like obligations
peasant impoverishment
widespread exploitation of peasants
startTime 1830

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Dutch East Indies implementedPolicy Cultivation System
Johannes van den Bosch notableWork Cultivation System
this entity surface form: Cultivation System in the Dutch East Indies