Provincies overzee: koloniën in de Oost en in de West
Abstract
Chapter 7, ‘Provincies overzee’ (‘Provinces overseas’), describes the way Sloet, together with baron Van Hoëvell, the militant ex-clergyman in the East Indies, initiated the discussion on colonial policy and launched ideas to emancipate the colonies in the East and the West and to make them more profitable. His actions are mainly highlighted by his role in the Second Chamber. Especially his interpellations on several issues and on a few particular items: a colonization project in Surinam, his proposal to sell land on Java, the ‘Cultuurstelsel’ (cultivation system) and the Government Regulation for the Dutch East Indies which came into force in 1854. Moreover his attitude towards the Dutch Trading Company (Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij, in short ‘NHM’) and the issue of slavery, which he strongly condemned, are discussed here. The results of his actions should be regarded in the light of the question what his contribution has been towards the development of the political culture after 1848. Where the issue of the ‘colonies’ was concerned, Sloet brought about a change of culture. He endured storms without being able to harvest but he opened up possibilities for others, especially with regard to the East. Several interpretations with regard to the abolishment of the ‘Cultuurstelsel’ were congruent with his ideas on the topic. Firstly, as a classic liberal, he fought against forced labour and the monopoly of the colonial government, and especially the NHM. The amendments and changes which were attributed to criticism of leftwing liberals were mostly due to Sloet’s work. Already in 1849 Sloet started discussions in the Second Chamber on various matters, thereby uncovering abuses which were unheard of at that time. What is more, in doing so he specifically drew attention to the interests of the native people. Secondly, he did not mind reforms made by civil servants in, as Fasseur states, removing or softening the aggravating burdens of the ‘Cultuurstelsel’ (Cultivation system). On the contrary, by making these changes (which could only be realised in a government system based on transparency) the ‘Cultuurstelsel’ could – according to Sloet - actually coexist with a system based on free labour and Western entrepreneurship. Finally, the interpretation that in the Dutch Indies there was a growing group of entrepreneurs with sufficient knowledge and capital to change the ‘Cultuurstelsel’ into a system based on free labour and Western enterprise, was very much in line with Sloet’s ideas. However, he also wanted to make it possible for new initiatives from the Netherlands and from the Western world in general to exploit the potential riches of the Dutch East Indies (including the Outer Provinces). If he thought fit Sloet looked not only across the regional, but also across the national borders. For him the general interest took precedence over the private interest. In his perception of the colonies Sloet agreed with the French economist and colonial propagandist Paul Leroy-Beaulieu (1843-1916) who spoke of ‘colonisation moderne’ as exploitation based on free production and private capital. ‘Such colonization does not recognize a difference between colonials and the colonized, exploiters and the exploited, but is beneficial to both’. Proper colonial policy should not impoverish or deprive the indigenous people but should enrich them, and with that the colonial government. This was exactly the doctrine he had expounded in his ‘Grondtrekken van de Staathuishoudkunde’ (Characteristic Features of Political Economy) and this was congruent with the principles he attrib340 uted to christianity. According to him the colonies were also guided by the two invisible hands of political economy and of Christendom. Most important however, was the fact that Sloet by his heavy criticism provided politics and political culture with a new form and substance in a time when colonial benefits had culminated. The main research question in this study was posed in chapter 1, questioning whether individuals who were not considered to be among the ‘titans’ of nineteenth century politics could bring about any movement in the lever of prosperity. Focussing on Sloet’s person this was mostly about the development of the countryside in the eastern part of the Netherlands, Overijssel specifically, and about the Dutch colonies. There was also the question how much he has contributed to the political culture of his time. The first conclusion in the final chapter 8, ‘Eén gezin, vastgesnoerd door broedermin’ (‘One family, tied together by brotherly love’), is that Sloet’s life and aspiration were permanently aimed at his ultimate goal: progress. This did not necessarily mean choosing new methods and techniques or enormous expansions. His perception of modernization was that of the definition as mentioned in chapter 1: ‘a complex of simultaneously occurring developments which strengthen each other into a certain direction’. The object of this direction was ahead of him, but where necessary and if there were things to be learned, he was not afraid of looking back either. In the same way his perspectives would change in his geographical orientation. The basic elements for the desired development he found first and foremost in his immediate surroundings. Most examples would come from his own sphere of work in the eastern part of the Netherlands, but they only served to provide substance for a model for Overijssel or Gelderland, The Netherlands, the Dutch colonies or for the world. On the other hand he was also in the habit of using the knowledge he acquired from his connections or through literature to the benefit of his immediate environment. Nevertheless he would always keep the natural situation in mind and would take care not to damage any other regions wherever these might be. As Martinet’s Katechismus der Natur (‘Nature’s Catechism’) had taught the young Sloet: that was not in accordance with God’s intentions. In 1862, two years after he had been obliged to leave the Second Chamber - thereby practically ending his role in national politics- Sloet was both satisfied and dissatisfied. In his case this was inevitable. Of course, much had been achieved. He had had his share in the new and constantly changing world. He had been responsible for waking up the countryside of Overijssel not only by introducing new farming methods and new strains and crops but also by providing knowledge and insights and means to express them. He had contributed to the construction of roads, railways and canals. He had stirred the political debates with his critical, though sometimes rather thoughtless contributions. As a Multatuli avant la lettre he had spoken for the people of the Dutch East Indies. In his poetry he had focussed on the beauty and intrinsic value of nature. He had explored limits and most of all he had shown how far human effort could reach. Therefore he was all about progress, but he would not think twice about stopping a vehicle that was out of control either. 341 Sloet supported the late eighteenth century ideal of freedom, which revolved around the freedom of the citizen and which limited the powers of the state to the passing and upholding of laws necessary for a society to function. He even went one step further and would have preferred to reduce those laws as well, convinced as he was that they were not necessary, for in his eyes mankind was ‘one family, tied together by brotherly love’. In the end we can only come to the conclusion that Sloet may not have been a ‘titan’, but he certainly has set ‘the lever to prosperity’ going. He has explored and shifted boundaries and he has served as a model for the creed: ‘People do make a difference’.Published
2009-07-03