“Colonialism is a relationship between an indigenous (or forcibly imported) majority and a minority of foreign invaders. The fundamental decisions affecting the lives of the colonized people are made and implemented by the colonial rulers in pursuit of interests that are often defined in a distant metropolis. Rejecting cultural compromises with the colonized population, the colonizers are convinced of their own superiority and their ordained mandate to rule (Jurgen 16).”
Apart from the economic and political incentives, race too played an important role in the colonization process. It was the feeling of superiority and the need to enforce it that led to a lot of colonial atrocities. In Max Havelaar, Multatuli discusses the issues of race and colonialism using three perspectives. One is the version of the Dutch merchant Droogstoppel, pompous, ignorant and hypocritical, trying to use the tale to further his commercial interests, another from Stern, romantic in nature and finally the author himself who wants the truth of the colonial practices to be known among his countrymen and others. Through an analysis of these three versions, the thesis aims to answer how colonialism and race was viewed by different people during the time the book was written. The power dynamics between the Dutch and their colonies were different from that of the other powers, especially in the Southeast Asian region as they lacked the manpower. Hence the existing indigenous power structures were kept intact and Dutch officials were placed to oversee them. Multatuli/Max Havelaar was one such official. Multatuli cannot resign himself to the practices of his government and there begins his frustrations and desire to get the story out. Max Havelaar also deals with the issue of power and how race and colonialism play into it. Another question the thesis aims to analyze is the transculturation process in the novel. Multatuli at the end of the novel seeks to translate his books into “ the few languages I know, and into the many languages I can still learn (Multatuli 319).” The book not only changed the governance of the Dutch in their colonies in the East but also led to the nationalistic surge.
Graff and Birkenstein in their book, “ They Say/I Say : The Moves that Matter in Academic writing” say that it is important that an author does not only look into his own beliefs while writing but should also look into the views and beliefs of others to either substantiate his or her views or showcase the opposing view. James.C.Scott’s, “ From Domination and the Arts of Resistance; Hidden Transcripts helps understand the public, private and hidden narratives in the novel thereby telling the story of the colonized and the powers that rule over them. The novel is also similar to George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” where a colonial official has sympathies for the colonized and also details the complicated relationship between the two. History is written based on the perspective of the author. Small in his, “ On the Possibility of an Autonomous History of Modern Southeast Asia” talks about how some of the history of South East Asia as written by the Dutch and other Europeans was a mix of anti-colonialism and Europe-centric. These authors try as they might could not get over their cultural baggage. Max Havelaar is one such work. It is a record of the history of Dutch colonialism in East Asia, a work on anti colonialism and a fiction. It is thus a reflection of the author and of the times. The secondary sources help in understanding Max Havelaar as a historical, cultural, psychological as well as an anti-colonial text that deals with the issue of race and colonialism.
An analysis of Max Havelaar with specific emphasis on race and colonialism helps the reader understand the history of colonialism in the region as well as the power dynamics between the rulers and the ruled. It also goes a long way towards explaining the birth of nationalism in the colonies.
Works Cited
Osterhammel, Jürgen. Colonialism: A Theoretical Overview. trans. Shelley Frisch. Princeton: Markus Wiener Publishers. 2005.
Small. R. W. John. On the Possibility of an Autonomous History of Modern Southeast Asia. Journal of Southeast Asian History. 2.2 (1961): 72-102.
Orwell, George. Shooting an Elephant and Other Essays. London: Harcourt Brace & Co. 1950.
Multatuli. Max Havelaar, Or, The Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company. Trans. Roy Edwards. New York: University of Massachusetts Press. 1982.
Gerald, Graff and Birkenstein, Cathy. They Say/I Say’ The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. 2006.
Scott, James C. Domination and the Arts of Resistance: Hidden Transcripts. Yale University Press, 1990.
