It is interesting how an old painting can provide a snapshot of the past and make history come alive. Taylor (2006) has perfectly demonstrated this fact through his observation of the work of Dutch painter, Jacob Coeman, titled “Pieter Cnoll and His Family” (1665). The painting (above) shows Cnoll, a Dutch senior merchant in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), with his Eurasian (Dutch-Japanese) wife Cornelia van Nijenrode, their children, and their servants in the fading background. The painting provides us with a glimpse of the social relations within the Dutch colony during the time and the background to the political and gendered context. Sex, Power, and Concubinage The social relations reflected in Coeman’s painting illustrate the years of colonialism and imperialism that had taken place in the Dutch East Indies. Policies that regulate social relations, including race and gender relations, were put in place in order to support the political and economic domination of the colonial state. The regulation of gender and sexual relations, as discussed below, had played an important role in efforts to establish a superior western culture and secure power. The United East India Company (VOC, 1602–1799) and later the Dutch government, continuously adjusted gender-related policies and regulations to the changing goals of the colonial state. In the 17th century, due to the lack of European women in the East Indies, many VOC officials and officers practiced concubinage—the bondage of indigenous women, where under cohabitation, these women (referred to as nyai) worked to provide sexual and domestic services to VOC officials or officers and other Europeans. "The painting provides us with a glimpse of the social relations within the Dutch colony during the time and the background to the political and gendered context." For women who were concubines to high ranking Dutch officials, this relation was a means to acquire economic mobility, as they were awarded with money, clothing, and jewelries. However, children from these relationships were not legally recognized by their father and the colonial state (Republika, 2016). For the VOC government, the Eurasian children of the concubines manifested the taboo of interracial sexual relationships. The VOC government, particularly under the Governor-General and founder of Batavia (now Jakarta), Jan Pieterszoon Coen, had a conservative view of extramarital relationships and a discriminative stance toward interracial sexual relationships. The latter, in particular, was perceived as weakening the colonial government. In 1620, in an attempt to control these sexual relationships, Coen issued a prohibition of concubinage and launched a policy to bring single Dutch women to Batavia to become prospective wives. The policy lasted for about ten years and raised the number of marriages of the Dutch people in Batavia but was unsuccessful in curbing the practice of concubinage (Bosma and Raben, 2008). With the changing views of subsequent leaders, the practice of concubinage continued to be facilitated throughout the 18th century. Family Meal, Jan Steen (between circa 1658 and circa 1666) The Western Family and the Ethical Policy Women and the family were seen as playing an important role in maintaining political power by perpetuating the colonizer and colonized dichotomy as well as raising the superiority of western values and civilization. This was clearly reflected in the migration policies that targeted women in the 18th century and until the end of Dutch occupation. In the 18th century, the VOC government placed restrictions on Dutch women immigrating to the Dutch East Indies. Many of the women who previously came to Batavia were from the Dutch lower class and in the eyes of the colonial government did not exhibit the image of the ideal “respectable woman” of western society commonly represented by women of higher class. So except for male Dutch high officials, other men were not allowed to bring their wife and family to the East Indies (Tung 2011). Under the Dutch government, the second half of the 19th century saw a western style capitalist economy developing in the Dutch East Indies where agricultural, trading, mining, and extraction companies were founded to exploit corps and natural resources (Brill.com, 2016). Migration policies during this time were less rigid towards Dutch women who wanted to enter the East Indies. With the economic expansion, the government was seeking for long term occupation of the region and needed the strong presence of European families in the Dutch East Indies. Women were then coined the custodian of welfare and supporter of colonial men (Tung, 2011). "Policies that regulate social relations, including race and gender relations, were put in place in order to support the political and economic domination of the colonial state." Entering the 20th century, with the technological advancement in Europe, the Dutch government saw the need to modernize and transfer efficiency to its colonies. This was a way to mark their power, success, and prestige as a colonial state. In order to achieve this transition to modernization, attempts were made by the colonial government to secure control over the population by increasing the number of Dutch families in the East Indies. Modernization for the government also meant reaching a level where superior European values ruled over the local values. To strengthen western values, stable Dutch middle-class families were needed to end the current social promiscuity and populate the East Indies. To achieve its economic and political objectives, the Dutch government lifted family restrictions and sponsored Dutch families to migrate to and start a new life in the plantations of Sumatra. The Dutch empire also reopened its gate to single Dutch women who wanted to settle in the East Indies. Before departure there were courses in the Colonial School for Girls and Women (founded in 1920) that a Dutch woman had to take to ensure that she would adapt easily to her new home in the East. These courses were mainly on cooking and cleaning, as these Dutch women will not only be doing these chores in their new home, but through culinary and domestic lifestyle, they were expected to bring along a set of western values to transfer to the colony (Brill.com, 2016). With the arrival of these new modern women who were sent to be agents of change, came the strengthening of the Dutch middle-class ideology in the East Indies. School for indigenous girls The 20th century saw a more liberal attitude towards women’s role and the education of the indigenous people. This was the period of the ethical policy where education was made available for indigenous people. Schools for indigenous women were also established. This era produced middle-class educated local women’s political groups which were critical of the local tradition of the family and marriage institutions. One of the issues they advocated was the elimination of polygyny (Locher-Scholten, 2000). This was of course in line with the colonial government’s agenda of making the western nuclear family and monogamy the norm in the East Indies. In 1937, with the support of a number of local women’s groups, the colonial government launched the draft of Ordnance 1937 which required the marriage institution to be monogamous. However, this draft was soon dropped as it raised so much opposition, first from Islamic groups and later from nationalist groups, causing the women’s groups to withdraw their support. Interestingly, according to Locher-Scholten (2000), this opposition emerged more as a nationalist reaction to colonial government intervention of local institutions rather than the support of polygyny itself. The rise of the educated younger generation in the East Indies and their awareness of right to sovereignty constituted a challenge for the Dutch Government in furthering their goals in the 20th century. Moreover, the colonial government was disrupted during World War II with the Japanese occupation of the East Indies. The subsequent events that led to the independence of the East Indies ended all attempts by the Dutch to reclaim power over the region. In 1949, after plans to reopen, the women’s schools which aimed to send Dutch women on the task of modernizing a colony finally closed its doors for good. The 20th century saw the rise of women's political groups Gender and Colonialization Coeman’s painting of Cnoll and his family provides the backdrop against the economic and political power the VOC had over the indigenous people and the reality of the racial and gender hierarchy, as well as the marginalization of the slaves who in the painting are standing in the shadows. However, the painting does not exhibit the western family and their moral values which the colonial government wished to present in the 18th century and onwards. Gender relations have always been at the core of a culture’s moral values. Colonialization is not only about economic exploitation and political subordination, but also cultural hegemony, which aims to establish the superiority of the colonizer’s moral values. Thus, as shown in the Dutch East Indies case, the regulation of sexual relations, gender roles, and women’s mobility were adjusted around the economic, political, and hegemonic interests of the colonial state. References Bosma, Ulbe and Remco Raben (2008) Being "Dutch" in the Indies: A History of Creolisation and Empire, 1500-1920 [online] [31 May 2020]. Brill.com (2016) Women in the Netherlands East Indies, Parts 1–2 [online] [25 May 2020]. Locher-Scholten, Elsbeth (2000) Women and the Colonial State, Essays on Gender and Modernity in the Netherlands Indies 1900–1942. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. [online] [27 May 2020]. Republika (2016) ‘Kisah Nyai dan Pergundikan di Batavia.’ Bagian 2 [online] [27 May 2020]. Taylor, Jean Gelman (2006) ‘Meditations on a Portrait from Seventeenth-Century Batavia.’ Journal of Southeast Asian Studies Vol. 37, No. 1, pp. 23-41 [online] [26 May 2020]. Tung, Justin (2011) Gender Regulation in the Dutch East Indies in the 19th and 20th centuries [online] [26 May 2020]. Illustrations: Wikipedia, Pinterest