Love Letters on Free Labour in the Dutch Indies: Impressions of the Day

Multatuli, 1820-1887Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.8
Word count
630K words
Chapters
63

Tags

Foreign Language Books World History Labor IssuesPolitical AllegoryHumanistic CareCivic AwarenessColonial CritiqueSocial CritiqueDocumentary NarrativeSoutheast Asian PerspectiveSocial ObservationColonial History

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Minnebrieven; Over Vrijen-Arbeid in Nederlandsch Indië; Indrukken van den dagAuthor: Multatuli, 1820-1887,Language: Dutch, Class: PT: Language and Literatures: Germanic, Scandinavian, and Icelandic literatures, Release Date: Oct 14, 2012

Editor's review

This work is a collection of political letters published under a pen name by the renowned Dutch writer Multatuli, offering observations and criticism centered on the "free labor" system in the Dutch East Indies. The book contains both the author's impressions of daily life in the colony as he experienced it and sharp questioning of forced labor and colonial governance, making it an important text for understanding nineteenth-century Dutch colonial literature and anti-colonial thought. Multatuli is famous for his novel Max Havelaar, and this book continues his sensitivity to social injustice and his blunt tone; the epistolary form makes the argument seem more immediate. For readers studying colonial history, Dutch literature, or modern Southeast Asian history, this book provides first-hand intellectual material. Readers are advised to read it in light of its historical context and to note the author's stance and rhetorical strategies, rather than treating it as a mere travelogue. As the original is in Dutch, non-Dutch readers will need a translation or parallel reading.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Not a good fit for

Reading tips

  1. Begin with Multatuli's biography and the background of Max Havelaar before approaching this book.
  2. Read the letters in order while marking key passages on labor systems and colonial policy.
  3. Consult nineteenth-century Dutch East Indies colonial history sources alongside the text to clarify institutional context.
  4. Non-Dutch readers should choose a reliable translation and note how the translator handles historical terminology.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36
  37. 37
  38. 38
  39. 39
  40. 40
  41. 41
  42. 42
  43. 43
  44. 44
  45. 45
  46. 46
  47. 47
  48. 48
  49. 49
  50. 50
  51. 51
  52. 52
  53. 53
  54. 54
  55. 55
  56. 56
  57. 57
  58. 58
  59. 59
  60. 60
  61. 61
  62. 62
  63. 63

FAQ

Is this book a novel or a work of political commentary? This book is a collection of epistolary political commentary and observational notes, not a work of fiction. In letter form, the author records impressions and critiques of the "free labor" system in the Dutch East Indies, with a strong tone of social critique that continues the concerns of his novel Max Havelaar.
Can I read this book without knowing Dutch? The original text is in Dutch, so readers without Dutch must rely on a translation or bilingual edition. If no suitable translation is available, begin with Chinese- or English-language research on Multatuli's work to grasp his basic anti-colonial views before deciding whether to tackle the original.
What background knowledge is helpful before reading? Familiarity with nineteenth-century Dutch East Indies colonial governance, forced labor systems, and Multatuli's personal experience is recommended. This background helps readers understand the book's irony and questioning of "free labor" and prevents misreading the letters as mere travel impressions.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Multatuli, 1820-1887 Author

Multatuli (1820–1887) is the pen name of the Dutch writer Eduard Douwes Dekker, though the library records do not contain his real name and public information about him is limited. He is best known for the novel Max Havelaar, and also wrote De Geschiedenis van Woutertje Pieterse (The Story of Woutertje Pieterse) and other works. The library holds seven of his works, including two versions of Max Havelaar, parts one and two of De Geschiedenis van Woutertje Pieterse, Minnebrieven, Walter Pieterse: A Story of Holland, and Specialiteiten. These works deal with colonial rule in the Dutch East Indies and Dutch social life, combining satire and lyricism, and often expose injustice through sharp argument and irony. They have had a lasting influence on Dutch literature and the tradition of colonial critique.