Publisher's Synopsis
Based on extensive archival research in Indonesia and Holland, this book attempts to understand and explain the transformation undergone by the peasants of Java under the system of forced crop cultivation imposed upon them by the Dutch colonial government between 1830 and 1870. It paints a detailed portrait of Javanese village life in the early years of the 19th century - a time when villagers were only peripherally affected by Dutch colonial policies - and then provides an analysis of the operations of the system of forced cultivation from 1830 onwards, from rapid expansion to stagnation and then decline. The latter half of the book presents an analysis of the key features of peasant social and economic life in Java and how they were affected by the experience of decades of forced labour.
