Compulsory Planting System in Indonesia (Cultuurstelsel)

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Since 1816, the Dutch colonial government had authority over Indonesia again. The Governor General for Dutch East Indies at that time was Baron van der Capellen. He tried to apply liberal policy during his authority, but he failed.

From the failure, in 1830, the dutch government inaugurated Johannes van den Bosch as Governor General for Dutch Indies. Van den Bosch followed Daendels and Raffles styles, especially in exploiting indigenous power. The van den Bosh program was known as Compulsory Planting System or Cultuurstelsel. The main purpose of the program was to get much income from the obligatory to plant demanding and best selling trees in the Europe Market. The Obligatory plants were sugar cane, indigo, coffee, tobacco, cinnamon, and cotton.

The main rules for Compulsory Planting System, among others as follows.

1. One fifth or 20% frim peasants' land was devoted to government crops to be exported. The crops were determined by the colonial government.
2. The land for government crops was free tax.
3. The crops from the compulsory planting were given to the Dutch government.
4. Power and time for compulsory planting must less than the time and power to plant rice.
5. Crops failure was government responsibility.
6. For those who did not own some lands, they had to work for government for 66 days/year in government plantation.
7. Land cultivation for obligatory plants were supervised by indigenous authority, meanwhile, in general, the dutch officer only made sure that the cultivation and transportation were run well.

In the implementation, the determined rules often were broken up. The followings were the deviation on the implementation of Compulsory Planting System.

1. Peasant's rice field and field were uncontrol and uncultivated because they only focus on the obligatory crops.
2. People who did not own land had to work more than 66 days/year.
3. Peasants must cultivate more than 20% of their land.
4. Lands for obligatory plants were charged by tax.
5. The colonial government did not pay crops after peasant paid tax.
6. The crops failure became peasant responsibility.

All deviation in implementation of Compulsory Planting System had caused big suffering for villagers in Java Island. There were famine and disease epidemic, So that mortality more increase. Famine danger generated horrible victim. This happened in Cirebon (1843), Demak (1849), and Grobogan (1850). This thing caused number of residents in the areas downwards drasctically, also happened malnutrition ailment (hongerodeem).

Compulsory Planting System made Indonesia people lived in suffering and pushed them to struggle was done by sugar peasants in Pasuruan at 1833. Although Compulsory Planting System gave big profit for Dutch government, there were many Dutchmen opposed it. It could be done by individual or parliament. The followings are the opponent of Compulsory Planting System.

a. Edward Douwes Dekker (1820-1887)

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E. Douwes Dekker was a residence in Lebak, Serang, West Java. He was very sad to look the unlucky fate of Indonesian people because of Compulsory Planting System. He wrote a book entitled Max Havelaar that published in 1860. In that book, he used pseudonym Multatuli.

Its contents described Indonesian people suffering because of the implementation of Compulsory Planting System. Douwes Dekker's written made the Dutch opened their mind when looking the bad effect of Compulsory Planting System and they want the system was abolished.

b. Baron van Hoevel (1812-1879)

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Formerly, Baron van Hoevel lived in Jakarta. Then, he went home to the Netherlands to become parliament member. During in Indonesia he did know much about the suffering of Indonesian people because of Compulsory Planting System. Baron van Hoevel with Fransen van de Putte rejected Compulsory Planting System. Fransen van de Putte wrote a book entitled Suiker Contracten (Sugar Conrtract). These both figures struggled hard to abolish compulsory planting System through The Dutch Parliament.

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