Indië, geïllustreerd weekblad voor Nederland en koloniën

Indië, 1e jaargang, nummer 1
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Indië 1, no. 1, 1917

In the program statement of the first issue of Indië. Geïllustreerd weekblad voor Nederland en koloniën from 1917, the editors state that the Dutch generally have a serious lack of knowledge about the Dutch East Indies and the other colonies. The weekly magazine Indië wants the Dutch to realize the importance of the colonies, because: 'The Netherlands owes its rank among the powers to its rich colonies.' The Dutch people must 'be made aware of the fact that the prosperity of our colonies is a national matter!'

Knowledge about the colonies

Spreading knowledge about the colonies on the home front is therefore the first objective of Indië. It does this in a clear form (sixteen pages, with two columns of text), a handy format and many photos. The weekly magazine offers extensive reports on expeditions to the interior, on customs and habits and religion of the various population groups, but also on cultural life in Batavia and on the political changes in the government, such as the establishment of the Indische Volksraad (East Indian People's Council).

The magazine does not limit itself to spreading knowledge, it also actively tries to recruit Dutch people for a future in the Indies: 'The Dutch Indies have long since ceased to be the country of adventurers and lost sons, which a large part of the Dutch people still consider it to be, but demands the best of the best of the rising generation for its development.' The weekly magazine therefore reserves a page in each issue for the recruitment campaigns of the Ministry of Colonies. Teachers and doctors in particular appear to be in great demand: 'The teachers to be sent out are subjected to a medical examination before their departure...'.

Questions and answers

The weekly also offers a question and answer column every week for those considering a career in the Indies: Question 243 reads: 'I would very much like to work in the East Indies in the large crops (coffee, sugar, rubber, etc.) at the Botanical Garden in Buitenzorg or at similar companies. I am 18 years old and have a diploma from a National Horticultural Winter School'. Answer 243 provides clarity: 'With your agricultural training, although still a bit young - the best time to come out is from 20 to 25 years old - you could apply to the Directors of various cultural companies...' 

Columns like this one give an image of a colonialism in which Dutch rule is not questioned in any way. This image is also found in the in memoriam of General J.B. van Heutsz in 1924, in which not the slightest comment is made on his bloody subjugation of Aceh: 'Johannes Benedictus van Heutsz will not be judged by time, because Order and Authority are the first conditions for the prosperity of a people in all times.'

Changing times

Yet the columns of Indië also show that times were changing. For example, there are contributions from Javanese themselves who advocate more autonomy. There are also missionaries and other ethically oriented people among the contributors who dare to question the Dutch supremacy. In several contributions, the realization seeps through that 'our colony' could well be a finite concept. In 1924, a report on a meeting of the PKI, the communist party in the Indies, noted about what was said: 'Words that, believe it, are not friendly to our authority. People listen... and hear many things that they had not yet thought of.'

  • Indië, jaargang 3, nummer 45
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    Page from: Indië 3, no. 45.

The editorial staff of Indië remained fairly stable in the ten years of its existence. The core was formed by the historian Anton Willem Nieuwenhuis and (presumably) his brother Gerrit Jacob Nieuwenhuis, pedagogue, who represented the editorial staff in the Indies and was later succeeded in that position by Mrs. M.E. Reitsma-Brutel-de la Rivière. 

The weekly Indië went bankrupt in 1927. The changing times it reported on were probably at odds with the mission of the magazine in the long run: recruiting young people for the administration and development of the Indies. The possibilities for long Indian careers would soon be a thing of the past.

Indië in the KB

The magazine Indië is present in the KB in its entirety: from volume 1, issue 1 (11 Apr 1917) to volume 11, issue 17 (23 Nov 1927). You can request the issues for inspection via the KB catalogue under request number 3041 C 23 [-33]. The magazine has also been fully digitized and is available on Delpher. 

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