Were the Dutch so harmful to the Indonesians?

The Dutch are often charged with being terrible for the Indonesian people. It was stated that they had placed greater and harsher burdens on the lower classes, forcing them to create extra export crops(4) and therefore harming their once more comfortable lifestyle. They have also been seen to be destructive for the Indonesian culture, having shown no respect for the customs of what they called an “inferior race” and had worked to convert many to Western ways of life(5). However, though the Dutch had taken much of the control out of Indonesian hands, they also provided new opportunities for the Indonesians to thrive in an urbanized culture.

            Before Dutch rule of Indonesia, its economy had been pretty unsophisticated in nature. Though they had, of course, traded and exported Indonesia’s valuable spices all throughout Asia, they had still mainly been an agriculturally sustained nation, where the peasantry grew crops to feed itself, not for exportation or economical growth.(6) Therefore, when the Dutch created its influence on the nation, though it is admitted that there was a lack of technological stimulus, it still gave the Indonesians the first inklings of economic development and industrialization.(7) This had set the grounds for a modernized nation in a region where, without European presence, would have remained undeveloped for centuries.

            As a result of this European touch, there grew a new urbanized culture that received the great benefits of economic advancement. A new Indonesian elite was created that were able to take advantage of the Capitalistic structure of the Dutch Society in Indonesia and achieve luxury and economic prosperity,(8) albeit slightly limited by Dutch oligarchy. These people had essentially been given chances to rise in society through talents that might have never been even recognized in a pre-Dutch Era. Without Dutch impact, at least some of this group of people would have been highly unsuccessful in the former aristocratic social structure.

            And when the Dutch fell from power, this group, which itself had mainly gained success due to Dutch influence, was the one that eventually became their replacement and filled the upper levels of the new Indonesian society.(9) It was apparent that even though the Dutch were opportunistically devastative for many, some Indonesian people did however greatly benefit from their existence.