International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS)

This book narrates the story of a hundred years of social, economic, and political change in both Europe and Java.

When in the 1740s the Dutch East India Company (VOC) became the governing authority in the coastal area (pasisir) of the Javanese Kingdom of Mataram, change was started that brought about ever stronger control over Javanese society. At first the Europeans were satisfied to put themselves at the top of the existing Javanese hierarchy and obtain economic gains through traditional tribute. New ideas in Europe relating to personal and economic freedom, financial rationalization, administrative reform, and democratic politics began to affect the control patterns in Java. However, these ideas were not an easy fit in Javanese society resulting in difficulties that impacted on profits. Eventually a compromise was devised between the old and the new that restored the colony's profitability but also created greater dominance.