bmgn — Low Countries Historical Review | Volume 134-3 (2019) | pp. 72-95

Collecting Colonial Nature

European Naturalists and the Indies in the Early Nineteenth Century

andreas weber

The sheer variety and size of Dutch scientific collections of ’s flora and fauna are unique in the world. Gathered over the last two hundred years, they represent a shared European legacy of natural historical research and its colonial context. To understand how the entanglement of transnational and trans-imperial networks and actors within the field of natural history shaped the study of nature, this essay focuses on the history of the Natuurkundige Commissie voor Nederlandsch-Indië (Committee for Natural History of the Netherlands Indies), one of the main state-funded collecting enterprises in the early nineteenth century world. Similar to other colonial powers, the Dutch made extensive use of local informants and naturalists from other European countries. By studying the Committee’s fieldwork, this essay contributes to an entangled history of natural history and collecting in the emergent Dutch empire.

De enorme verscheidenheid en omvang van Nederlandse wetenschappelijke collecties op het gebied van flora en fauna in Indonesië zijn wereldwijd ongeëvenaard. Deze collecties, die in de afgelopen tweehonderd jaar werden samengesteld, belichamen een gemeenschappelijk Europees erfgoed op het gebied van natuurhistorisch onderzoek en de koloniale context waarin dit ontstond. Om een goed begrip te krijgen van de wijze waarop de verstrengeling van transnationale en transimperiale netwerken en actoren op het gebied van de natuurhistorie het natuurwetenschappelijk onderzoek bepaalde, richt dit artikel zich op de geschiedenis van de Natuurkundige Commissie voor Nederlandsch-Indië, een van de belangrijkste door de staat gefinancierde, negentiende-eeuwse instellingen die zich op collectievorming richtten. Net als andere koloniale machten maakten ook

Published by Royal Netherlands Historical Society | knhg Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License doi: 10.18352/bmgn-lchr.10741 | www.bmgn-lchr.nl | e-issn 2211-2898 | print issn 0165-0505 weber collecting colonial nature 73 , who came , 2 (Committee for I taught two seminars on the history research of in 2010/2011the Natuurkundige and Commissie University. at 2011/2012 In the field natural of history preparators are responsible for preparingthose plants and dead for research. be used could that they animals so preparingThose as only known animals are also taxidermists. For especially useful older histories the of Marius J. see Committee, Sirks, Indisch van geschiedenis beknopte Een natuuronderzoek. in de natuurwetenschappen der beoefening de Agatha ( 1915); koloniën Nederlandsche Historie, Natuurlijke van Gijzen, Museum ’s Rijks 86-194. 1820-1915 1938) (Rotterdam 2 3 /Brill Collecting flora and fauna in the Indonesian archipelago and archipelago Collecting flora and fauna in the Indonesian 3 Established in 1820 by King William i ofWilliam Kingdom of the United Established in 1820 by King the 1 from German-speaking countries, France, and the Netherlands, a unique and the Netherlands, France, from German-speaking countries, ofopportunity to pursue a career in the field natural history as travellers its dissolved in 1850, Until the Committee was and colonial civil servants. seventeen members visited large parts of Indonesian archipelago, the far-flung and as field notes and drawings, sending a wealth of such information, biodiversity and natural resources rich specimens documenting the area’s to Europe. Natural History of the Netherlands Indies, hereafter ‘the Committee’). Committee’). ‘the hereafter Natural History of the Netherlands Indies, large-scale surveying and collecting a costly, the Committee was Netherlands, and preparators draftsmen, offering naturalists, endeavour, In the first half of the nineteenth century, various attempts were made to surveyvarious attempts In the first half of the nineteenth century, Indonesian empire in the in the emerging Dutch and study natural resources made extensive use of the Dutch Asia, the British in South Like archipelago. countries. and naturalists from other European local Indonesian informants of understand how the entanglement and trans-imperial transnational To within the field ofnetworks and actors of natural history shaped the study the field practices this essay focuses on century, nature in the early nineteenth of Commissie voor Nederlandsch-Indië the Natuurkundige de Nederlanders schaal gebruik van natuuronderzoekersvan de kennis op grote uit andere landen Europese en van lokale informanten deze de in kolonie. Met van hetanalyse veldonderzoek dit artikel toont van de Commissie de aan hoezeer vangeschiedenis de natuurgeschiedenis vervlochten en van collectievorming is met de van geschiedenis het Nederlandse kolonialisme. Zürich), Christof Dejung (University Dejung Zürich), Christof Zürich on 27-28 August 2018. Zürich on 27-28 This For valuable that feedback on the research theauthor thanks Bernhard this essay, led to (ethSchär of Bern), Eulàlia Gassó Miracle Bern),of Gassó (Naturalis Eulàlia and the Leiden) participants Biodiversity Center, Empire Demands of and theof workshop ‘An Opportunities: the Netherlands Relocating Indies History, in European c. 1800-1900’, held at the eth has been as part written essay the nwo of IndustriesCreative Project of Sense ‘Making Illustrated (grant Handwritten number archives’ 652.001.001). the late to indebted I am also Smeenk,Chris former curator of at Naturalis Biodiversity Leiden, with whom Center Introduction 1 article – artikel

establishing their stature in Europe, however, presented various challenges that will be discussed in more detail below. Overall, in this essay I argue that the Committee’s history is best studied by bringing local colonial and European trajectories of natural historical inquiry under one analytical umbrella. An entangled perspective allows me to attend to actors, networks, and modalities of intercultural exchange that have traditionally been ignored.4 By using this approach, this essay engages with recent scholarship dealing with the role of natural historical and other forms of knowledge production in the context of the early nineteenth-century Dutch empire in insular . Other studies have argued that natural historical inquiries in the Indonesian archipelago lacked scientific rigour, assuming that scientific knowledge was exclusively produced in the West.5 In contrast to this latter body of work, historians have started to generate more entangled narratives, analytically weaving together historical dynamics in Europe with those in colonial Southeast Asia.6 Fenneke Sysling and Robert-Jan Wille, for example, have shown that advances in anthropology and biology in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are impossible to explain without considering input from learned travellers and institutions in the Netherlands Indies.7 Bernhard Schär has mentioned that two Swiss collectors working on ethnography and natural history in colonial Celebes formed a community of German-speaking museum directors and Southeast Asia scholars in Europe.8 Moritz von Brescius has noted the scale of intellectual engagement among German-speaking and other European naturalists, emphasising that by the mid-nineteenth century such connections had become inter-imperial.9

4 On the historiographical potential of entangled 7 Fenneke Sysling, Racial Science and Human histories, see Ralph Bauer and Marcy Norton, Diversity in Colonial Indonesia (Singapore 2016) ‘Introduction: Entangled Trajectories: Indigenous https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv9hj794; Robert- and European Histories’, Colonial Latin American Jan Wille, Mannen van de microscoop. De Review 26:1 (2017) 1-17 https://doi.org/10.1080/106 laboratoriumbiologie op veldtocht in Nederland en 09164.2017.1287321. Indië, 1840-1910 (Nijmegen 2018). 5 Andrew Goss, The Floracrats. State-sponsored 8 Bernhard Schär, Tropenliebe. Schweizer Science and the Failure of Enlightenment in Naturforscher und niederländischer Imperialismus in Indonesia (Madison 2011); Peter Boomgaard Südostasien um 1900 (Frankfurt am Main 2016). (ed.), Empire and Science in the Making: Dutch 9 Moritz von Brescius, German Science in the Age Colonial Scholarship in Comparative Global of Empire (Cambridge 2019) 1-28 https://doi. Perspective (New York 2013) 1-38 https://doi. org/10.1017/9781108579568. See also Arthur org/10.1057/9781137334022. MacGregor, ‘European Enlightenment in India: 6 A foundational work addressing the Dutch An Episode of Anglo-German Collaboration in context is: Susan Legêne, De bagage van Blomhoff the Natural Sciences on the Coromandel Coast, en Van Breugel. Japan, Java, Tripoli en Suriname in Late 1700s-Early 1800s’, in: Arthur MacGregor de negentiende-eeuwse Nederlandse cultuur van het (ed.), Naturalists in the Field: Collecting, Recording imperialisme (Amsterdam 1998). and Preserving the Natural World from the Fifteenth weber collecting colonial nature 75 to the Indonesian to the Indonesian Encounters outside Encounters outside 11 (Sagamore Beach 2009); and Anna The Brokered World: World: Simon Schaffer e.a., The Brokered 1770- Intelligence, Go-Betweens Global and 1820 East Early in the Knowledge Winterbottom, Hybrid (London 2016) https://doi. World Company India org/10.1057/9781137380203. The first three paragraphs this section of draw on the introduction and the sixth of chapter PhD dissertation,my has been which published Science, Ambitions: Hybrid as Andreas Weber, of Career in the Empire and Governance, (1773-1854) Reinwardt Carl Georg Caspar 2012). (Leiden 12 12 Following the members of the members Committee the Following 10 My argument in this essay is elaborated in three sections. The The sections. elaborated in three in this essay is My argument The history of the Committee begins in the early years of the reign of King After i (1815-1840) of the United Kingdom ofWilliam the Netherlands. i and his advisors initiated William collapse in 1815, Empire’s the French first section briefly details the biographies of the Committee members, biographies briefly details the first section members, of the Committee nature of the truly pan-European demonstrating endeavours. its collecting colonies of the vast the Netherlands in As in previous centuries, of to participate in its networks Asia offered an opportunity Southeast German-speaking naturalists in attracting global knowledge exchange, particular. By focusing on the history of the Committee, this essay aims to enrich this this of the history on By focusing to enrich essay aims this the Committee, of analyses bases which on collecting history and natural colonial discussion, past ofthe entangled states. and nation empires archipelago, the second section underlines how natural history knowledge natural history knowledge the second section underlines how archipelago, product century is best analysed as a contingent in the early nineteenth and non- between European exchanges in which of local encounters, natural inquiry were pivotal. European experts in the Committee’s headquarters in the botanical garden in Buitenzorg in Buitenzorg headquarters in the botanical garden the Committee’s are of(now Bogor) in Java interest to my argument in this essay. particular once the faced, the Committee on the publication challenges Focusing the third section to Europe, manuscripts and specimens had been sent disseminating knowledge shows how linguistic nationalism impeded about nature and natural resources of the Netherlands Indies in the early in this essay provides an entangled narrative, Overall, nineteenth century. stages in natural history knowledge production are intertwined with which developments in Europe and elsewhere. (Leiden 2018) 365-392 365-392 2018) (Leiden Century Twenty-First the to https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004323841_014. Vier het Noorden. van Klaas van Berkel, Universiteit i, volume in , leven academisch eeuwen 1614-1876 universiteit 443; (Hilversum 2014) oude De Blusséand IllonkaLeonard Ooms (eds.), en Kennis Compagnie Oost-Indische Verenigde De compagnie. (Amsterdam 2002). wetenschap moderne de en The historiography on this theme is vast. For startinggood points, Roberts, Lissa see ‘Situating in Global History:Science and Exchanges Local (2009) 33:1 Networks Itinerario Circulation’, of https://doi.org/10.1017/S0165115300002680;9-30 The Committee: A European project A European The Committee: 10 11 article – artikel

numerous projects aimed at transforming the Northern and Southern Netherlands into a powerful and influential nation with economically profitable colonies in the Netherlands Indies. The economic prospects seemed promising. While the Southern Netherlands (currently Belgium) had a thriving textile industry and abounded with natural resources such as pit coal, the commerce-oriented Northern provinces (currently the Netherlands) shipped textiles and industrial products to Batavia.13 Ships returning to the Netherlands brought colonial products such as cloves, nutmeg, tea, and coffee. Newly established financial and commercial agencies seeking to strengthen the national economy included the Fonds ter aanmoediging der Nationale Nijverheid (Fund to Encourage National Industry, established in 1821), the Algemene Nederlandsche Maatschappij ter begunstiging van de volksvlijt (General Dutch Society to Promote Diligence, established in 1822), and, most importantly, the Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij (Dutch Trading Company, established in 1824/1825). These economic projects coincided with cultural and scientific reforms. To promote the prestige of his kingdom in Europe, King William i strengthened and enlarged cultural institutions established in the aftermath of the Batavian Revolution, such as the Nationale Bibliotheek (National Library, 1798) in The Hague and the Nationale Konst-Gallerij (National Art Gallery) in Amsterdam.14 To showcase the Asian colony in this narrative, William i also founded two national museums and repositories for the rapidly expanding ethnography and natural history collections: the Koninklijk Kabinet van Zeldzaamheden (Royal Cabinet of Rarities, 1816) in The Hague and the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie (National Museum of Natural History, 1820) in Leiden. In 1829, William i established a Rijksherbarium (National Herbarium) in Brussels. The violent secession of Belgium the following year, however, led this herbarium to be transferred to Leiden.15 William i and his advisors hoped that these institutions would afford cultural credence to the Dutch aggressive agricultural and economic policy in Europe and the colonies. The establishment of the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie and the Rijksherbarium had a tremendous impact on the intellectual and cultural landscape of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Both institutions soon developed into European hubs of natural history research. By the ­

13 Jan Roegiers and Niek C.F. van Sas, ‘Revolutie 14 On the museum and cultural policy of William in Noord en Zuid’, in: Hans Blom and Emiel i, see Rudolf Effert, Royal Cabinets and Auxiliary Lamberts (eds.), Geschiedenis van de Nederlanden Branches. Origins of the National Museum of (Baarn 2006) 222-256; Frank Santegoets, ‘Het Ethnology, 1816-1883 (Leiden 2008) 17-26 and Verenigd Koninkrijk 1815-1830’, in: Wantje Fritschy Legêne, De bagage van Blomhoff, 327-397. and Joop Toebes, Het ontstaan van het moderne 15 Agatha Gijzen, ’s Rijks Museum; Lipke Holthuis, Nederland. Staats- en natievorming tussen 1780 en 1820-1958. Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie 1830 (Nijmegen 1996) 215-242. (Leiden 1995); Pieter Smit, ‘The Rijksherbarium weber collecting colonial nature 77

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th Their Their 16 Moreover, it Moreover, 20 ). See Roelof van Gelder, van Gelder, Roelof ). See On the other hand, hand, On the other ) 162:2/3 (2006) https:// ) 162:2/3 191-217 17 Due to a lack of Due to a lack clearly defined 19 (Nijmegen 1997); Andreas Zangger, Koloniale Andreas Zangger, (Nijmegen 1997); or institutions, such as the learned as the learned such or institutions, (Dutch West Indian (Dutch West Compagnie Westindische wic Company, Trading de van in dienst Duitsers avontuur. Het Oost-Indisch voc zwischen Kolonialgeschichte Stück Ein Schweiz. (Bielefeld 2011); and Jan Südostasien und Europa Lucassen, andLucassen Leo ‘The Netherlands’, in: Klaus Bade et al. (eds.), The of Encyclopedia 17 the From in Europe. Minorities and Migration (Cambridge 2011) 34-43 2011) (Cambridge 34-43 Present the to Century https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511781841.008. As regards the of Dutch the international composition armed Philipp also forces,colonial see Krauer’s in this issue. essay Susannah Gibson, ‘The Careering Naturalists: CareerCreating Paths in Natural History, 1790- History 44:2 Natural (2017) of Archives 1830’, https://doi.org/10.3366/anh.2017.0444; 195-214 Boomgaard,Peter ‘The and Making Unmaking of on Indonesia, DutchResearch Science: Tropical en Land- Taal-, de tot 1600-2000’, Bijdragen (bki Volkenkunde doi.org/10.1163/22134379-90003666. 20 and other groups dedicated to collecting.and other groups dedicated Committee enriched the national repositories of the Committee enriched Geoctroyeerde ) and Geoctroyeerde . enabled the directors of the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke directors of enabled the Natuurlijke van the Rijksmuseum i Like the staff of in the seventeenth and trading companies the Dutch William William Historie to form the Committee Historie to form the allowed them to escape a politically divided Central Europe, where upward where upward Central Europe, allowed them to escape a politically divided career paths, German members, like many other young naturalists in Europe, like many other young naturalists in Europe, German members, career paths, or the Netherlands East Indies considered a position in the Netherlands and a reputation. an audience, ideal for securing an income, societies in Haarlem, Amsterdam, or Middelburg. Amsterdam, Haarlem, societies in swift ascent was thanks to two key factors. On the one hand, both museums both museums one hand, On the factors. thanks to two key was swift ascent as the such gathered by individuals, on existing collections could build v cabinet ofWilliam Stadtholder Dutch eighteenth centuries, the Dutch universities, the Dutch colonial armed forces, colonial armed forces, the Dutch universities, the Dutch eighteenth centuries, share of a significant in the long nineteenth century, and the seasonal workers but from were recruited not from the Netherlands the Committee members ofGerman-speaking parts Europe. Central historical specimens in Leiden and Brussels. historical specimens By exploring the biodiverse islands of the Indonesian archipelago, the the islands ofBy exploring the biodiverse the Indonesian archipelago, by the collections gathered mid-nineteenth century, their collections equalled those in Paris. those equalled their collections century, mid-nineteenth and the Scientific and Social Conditions which which and the Scientific and Conditions Social 5-11. (1979) 25:1 its Foundation’,Influenced Blumea On Gassó the museum’s early years, Eulàlia see zoological on Debates order. Miracle, Temminck’s 1800-1850 (PhD dissertation,classification, Leiden University 2019), ii chapter Bert Sliggers (eds.), Besselink and Marijke Natuurhistorische museum. Het verdwenen 1750-1850 (Blaricum 2002). verzamelingen, For an overview networks, these of Maria J. see van Steenis-Kruseman van and Steenis Cornelis , http:// Collectors Malesian of (eds.), Cyclopaedia www.nationaalherbarium.nl/fmcollectors/Home. and 2018) September Charles 30 htm (accessed Fransen, Holthuis, Lipke and Hans Adema, ‘Type-catalogue the of Decapod Crustacea in the Collections the of Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum, with Appendices pre-1900 of Collectors 311:1 Verhandelingen and Material’, Zoologische 270-275. (1997) The named Dutch were trading the companies (Dutch Earth Compagnie Oostindische Vereenigde voc Company, Indian Trading

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mobility depended on family ties, private capital, and class.21 Especially in German-speaking areas, only naturalists with socio-economic standing and family connections with the government of one of the German territories such as Prussia could pursue a career in the field.22 Some German-speaking naturalists used their medical training to further their interest in natural research either in the Netherlands or in the Netherlands East Indies.23 While career prospects were poor in German-speaking areas, the demand at the Dutch universities and the newly established natural history institutions and the need to acquire new specimens and publish about new insights in the field offered well-trained experts of nature with lower socio-economic standing sufficient social and professional flexibility. In the context of the Committee, Salomon Müller (1804-1864), who was born in Heidelberg, exemplified this course. The son of a saddler, Müller never pursued an academic degree. He specialised in preparing specimens for preservation and presentation in natural history museums, securing a position as the Committee’s preparator of animals and plants in 1825.24 Other members from German-speaking areas hailed from higher socio- economic classes. The parents of Carl Ludwig Schwaner (1817-1851) owned an apothecary in Mannheim, while (1797-1821), Heinrich Boie (1794-1827), and Heinrich Macklot (1799-1832) had each been affiliated with universities in Southern .25 Franz Wilhelm Junghuhn (1809-1864), born in Mansfeld, Saxony-Anhalt, was trained as a surgeon, and Ludwig Horner’s father was a member of the Zurich city council. In the late 1820s the

21 Van Berkel, Universiteit van het Noorden, 443; in the Netherlands East Indies (1816-1884)’, Denise Phillips, Acolytes of Nature: Defining Histoire, médecine et santé. Revue d’histoire sociale Natural Science in Germany, 1770-1850 (Chicago et culturelle de la médecine, de la santé et du corps 10 2012). For a detailed discussion on restricting (2016) 63-78 https://doi.org/10.4000/hms.1035. social dynamics in other parts of Europe, see 24 For more detail on these individuals and their Sarah Easterby-Smith, Cultivating Commerce: fieldwork in the region, see Klaver, Inseparable Cultures of Botany in Britain and France, 1760-1815 Friends; Thomas Hildenhagen, ‘Das kurze (Cambridge 2018). On Germans working as Leben des Dr. h.c. Heinrich Kuhl (1797-1821) und naturalists in the British Empire, see Brescius, seine herpetologischen Beiträge’, Sekretär 10:2 German Science. (2010) 40-59; Ruth Barnes, ‘Recording cultures. 22 The best example was the German traveller Collecting in eastern Indonesia’, in: Pieter ter (1769-1859). For a good Keurs (ed.), Colonial Collections Revisited (Leiden overview of his career and scholarship on him, 2007) 203-219; and Fransen, Holthuis, and Adema, see: Ottmar Ette (ed.), Alexander von Humboldt ‘Type-catalogue’, 270-275. Handbuch: Leben – Werk – Wirkung (Stuttgart 25 For biographical information on Schwaner, 2018). see also http://www.weltgefluester.de/ 23 Philipp Teichfischer, ‘Transnational entanglements index.php/2009/10/01/der-naturforscher-dr- in colonial medicine. German medical schwaner-1817-1851/ accessed 19 February practitioners as members of the health service 2019. weber collecting colonial nature 79

31 Before Diard joined 30 . 27 . friends Inseparable Klaver, Heinrich Kuhl and Johan van Conrad Hasselt, Anatomie vergleichenden und Zoologie zur Beiträge (Frankfurt https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl. 1820) title.48998; Heinrich Kuhl, psittacorum Conspectus (Bonn 1820). Marinus Hoogmoed, ‘Nomenclatural Problems , 1828’, Wagler Trilineatus Atractus to Relating 131-138. (1982) 56:10 Mededelingen Zoologische Natural Henry Redrawn: Ark Noltie, Raffles’ Sir Thomas of Collection the from History Drawings (London 2009). Raffles Stamford Heinrich Boie, who had been curator Boie, Heinrich 29 29 30 31 28 The publication of two monographs on 28 ” – To curtail costs, later generations ofno naturalists received curtail costs, To 26 Each Committee member had specific expertise. When Kuhl, at the age at the age Kuhl, When Committee member had specific expertise. Each Financed by the Dutch crown, the Committee was officially established established officially the Committee was crown, the Dutch Financed by Bin ich aberBin ich nur einmal auf Java! of twenty-one, left for Java in 1820, he was hailed as one of he was the most talented in 1820, of left for Java twenty-one, young naturalists in Europe. he had worked under the French naturalist Alfred Duvaucel Alfred Duvaucel naturalist the Committee, he had worked under the French Diard continued collecting in Singapore. Later, India. in British and French specialised training. The Committee’s fieldwork depended on the goodwill fieldwork The Committee’s specialised training. the Java Especially in the years prior to of the Governor General in Batavia. paid was to survey natural resources travels the Committee’s (1825-1830), War over land and In addition to facilitating travel by the colonial government. obligation to the Committee was primary the colonial government’s by sea, to the and specimens collected were shipped to ensure that all observations When naturalists deviated from this Museum of Natural History in Leiden. the colonial government intervened. rule, in 1820. Although the name suggests a cohesive organisation throughout throughout a cohesive organisation the name suggests Although in 1820. In the more complex. the reality was existed, the period the Committee the Museum of crown and the Dutch beginning, Natural History in Leiden with the intention of from German- attracting naturalists trained naturalists, was Kuhl Heinrich in the early 1820s, Before for Java leaving speaking areas. England, in France, and public collections private allowed to visit numerous and Prussia. Committee also employed a Frenchman named Pierre-Médard named a Frenchman employed also Committee (1794- Diard Asia, in interests strategic the French Given Tours. near born who was 1863), of Diard raised the suspicion and his colonial authorities Dutch the however, on the Committee. fellow naturalists mammals, and in particular on bats, had brought him acclaim in and in particular on bats, mammals, German-speaking areas and beyond. of the zoological collections at Heidelberg University, was professionally was of collections at Heidelberg University, the zoological on a major he had worked for Java, Before leaving renowned as well. (Erpétologie de Java) amphibians monograph on Java’s Although they were officially employed by the Dutch state, all Committee state, by the Dutch Although they were officially employed Naturae Curiosorum dum vivebat, dum vivebat, Curiosorum c.l.c. Naturae For a fascinating on specimen illicit view trade Philip see Germany, from to the Dutch colonies ‘“ Teichfischer, Johann Lukas ostindische Schönleins Schatztruhe. Grenzüberschreitender Naturalienhandel im 19. Jahrhundert’, und (ed.), Florian Medizin- Steger in Mitteldeutschland Wissenschaftsgeschichte 2016) 121-131. (Leipzig (1822). socii For a complete list the collections of For a complete viewed, they Theodorussee van Kuhlii. Swinderen, Vita Heinrici Academiae

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members hoped their sojourn in the Dutch empire would establish their reputation as authorities on nature in the colonies. The large new botanical garden in Buitenzorg was especially attractive, offering them both an excellent infrastructure for their fieldwork and links to networks of trade, bureaucracy, and printing.32 While most notebooks, specimens, and drawings of the Committee returned to Europe, many naturalists died in the colonies from diseases such as malaria and syphilis.33 Many of the documents and specimens are now scattered throughout European museums and archives. Specimens collected by Diard and other members were sent to the Royal Society in London and the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Museum of Natural History) in Paris. In the 1830s, when most of the Committee’s specimens arrived in Europe, the Leiden Museum of Natural History regularly exchanged items from Asia with natural history museums in Berlin, Vienna, Frankfurt, Munich, and Copenhagen.34 Compiling a complete list of the European trajectories of items related to the Committee would be challenging, as many natural history museums in Europe have yet to digitise their collections and inventories.35 A minority of the items stayed in Indonesia. Most of the notes documenting Carl Schwaner’s investigations in Borneo in the 1840s, for example, are still at the National Archive of Indonesia (anri) in Jakarta.36 This brief historical overview of the Committee offers a glimpse of the rich material, visual, and textual outcomes of its members’ collecting endeavours. Neither the careers of Committee members nor their collections can be fully understood from a solely European perspective. Only if European and colonial trajectories are considered together, may analysis of the Committee provide an account of natural history and empire in the early nineteenth century. The preference of the Dutch for naturalists from

32 Andreas Weber, ‘Bitter Fruits of Accumulation: 35 A group of historians, biologists, and computer The Case of Caspar Georg Carl Reinwardt (1773- scientists are currently making the manuscripts 1854)’, History of Science 52:3 (2014) 297-318 and drawings of the Natuurkundige Commissie https://doi.org/10.1177/0073275314546970. stored at Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden 33 Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, searchable. On this, see Andreas Weber, et al., Natuurkundige Commissie archive, diary of Pieter ‘Towards a Digital Infrastructure for Illustrated van Oort, entry 8 October 1831. Handwritten Archives’, in: Marinos Ioannides 34 Marinus Hoogmoed, ‘An Annotated Review of (ed.), Digital Cultural Heritage (Cham 2018) 155- the Salamander Types Described in the Fauna 166. For a large-scale international attempt to Japonica’, Zoologische Mededeelingen 53:9 (1978) make European specimen collections searchable, 91-105. I thank Marinus Hoogmoed for this see the project Distributed System of Scientific reference. For an informative overview of the Collections: http://dissco.eu/ (accessed 1 October museum’s exchange networks in the first half 2018). of the nineteenth century, see Gassó Miracle, 36 anri Jakarta, k 35 ‘Borneo Zuid en Oostkust’, ‘Temminck’s order’, chapter 2. inventory number: 113-124. weber collecting colonial nature 81 Some naturalists were The garden was nextThe garden was 39 41 001001273_003. Carla S. Oldenburger-Ebbers, ‘Buitenzorg bij Bulletin Batavia en omliggende tuinen’, Cascade. 6-19. On 8:1 (1999) the early tuinhistorie voor the garden, of years Andreas Weber, also: see Garden as Niche: and Botany Imperial Politics ‘A in the Early Nineteenth Century Dutch Empire’, en Tijdschrift Wetenschaps- Studium. voor http:// (2019) 11:3 178-190 Universiteitsgeschiedenis doi.org/10.18352/studium.10177. Dr. Carl Schwaner, Buitenzorg, May 30, 1843, scan: 1843, Buitenzorg, 30, May Carl Schwaner, Dr. nnm

41 , 9. . Müller provided a detailed map of this region. Second, Committee Committee Second, Müller provided a detailed map of this region. 37 (General Secretariat), the Dutch colonial administrative centre in Java. colonial administrative centre in Java. the Dutch (General Secretariat), 40 Later expeditions also covered Sumatra and Borneo. The purpose The purpose covered Sumatra and Borneo. Later expeditions also Upon arriving in Batavia, most naturalists immediately went to the most naturalists immediately Upon arriving in Batavia, 38 of these travels was twofold. First, the Committee’s research had to serve research Committee’s the First, of twofold. was these travels They were regularly possessions. the colonial state in managing its overseas feasible solutions to pressing instructed to help colonial authorities find cash crops to appraising soil. from cultivating issues, German-speaking areas is remarkable. As German states had no territorial no territorial states had German As remarkable. areas is German-speaking and civil servants as loyal scientists German regarded Dutch the Asia, in claims collectors. After its establishment in 1820, Committee members visited large parts of Committee in 1820, After its establishment and Diard explored the environs Macklot, Boie, Kuhl, the Netherlands Indies. Macklot, and the western part ofof Buitenzorg, in the 1820s. Java Batavia, and the Dutch Oort (1804-1834) Pieter van draftsman the Dutch Müller, for a long Triton out on the Raalten (1797-1829) set preparator Gerrit van Amboina in and Celebes, Timor, New Guinea, sea expedition encompassing 1827. asked to map peripheral regions which were unprospected so far and gather asked to map peripheral regions which instructed was Schwaner In the 1840s, information about natural resources. useful for steamships and Borneo, to investigate pit coal resources in South industry. to the residence of the Governor General and the building ofAlgemene the Secretarie the garden and its surrounding disbanded in 1850, Until the Committee was in the Buitenzorg district both infrastructure served as its operational centre, garden also providedThe and other islands. and in more remote regions in Java botanical garden in Buitenzorg. Here, the colonial government had reserved the colonial government Here, botanical garden in Buitenzorg. and foreigners. a house and store rooms for Dutchmen members were expected to act as collectors ofmembers were expected to act as collectors the Museum of History Natural and the National Herbarium in Leiden. On this point, Brescius, also see German Science Mörzer Bruyns,Mörzer Met de Triton Maarten Manse, ‘Kennis is macht. van William Pieter expedities De veelzijdige Tijdschrift Korthals Studium. voor (1807-1892)’, Universiteitsgeschiedenis en Wetenschaps- 42-50 https://doi.org/10.18352/ 6:1 (2013) studium.8837. Leiden, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, ‘Instructie archive, Natuurkundige Commissie het der Lid Natuurkundigevoor Kommissie’, Collecting nature in the Netherlands Indies nature Collecting

38 39 40 37 article – artikel

 The storerooms, laboratory and offices in the botanical garden in Buitenzorg for- med an important infrastructure for early nineteenth-century naturalists in Java. This illustration of the garden appeared in Carl Blume, Rumphia, sive commentatio- nes botanicae, imprimis de plantis Indiae Orientalis (Amsterdam 1834-1849). weber collecting colonial nature 83 The handwritten 42 Managing the dissection of Managing 43 ), when they followed the postal ), In addition to soldiers and porters, In addition to soldiers and porters, Ibid., entries 18 May 1831 and 21 July 1831 Ibid., 1831. May entries 18 Nas and ‘Java Pratiwo, Peter and the Grote Postweg, La Grande the Great Route, Mail Road, en Land- Taal- de tot Bijdragen Jalan Pos’, Raya For a more 707-725; (2002) 158:4 Volkenkunde generalhistoriographical overview the of laboratories and botanical garden in Buitenzorg and Robert-Jan Wille, Andreas Weber see: ‘Laborious at Plants and Politics Transformations: Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, diary archive, Natuurkundige Commissie Pieter of van Oort, entry 1831. May 14 46

48 46 47 In addition to their base in Buitenzorg, these In addition to their base in Buitenzorg, To ensure the safety of the the group en route, To 48 47 44 provided naturalists with a temporary base, where they could where they provided naturalists with a temporary base, dissertation, Leiden He died in 1834, aged only 29. In his diary, which comprises over which In his diary, aged only 29. He died in 1834, 001001033_116-130. 45 Dissecting and collecting natural history items was a collaborative natural history items was Dissecting and collecting field notes of Kuhl and Conrad van Hasselt, for example, show that in February show that in example, for Hasselt, van Kuhl and Conrad offield notes and describe the were used to dissect anatomy facilities 1821 the garden’s anatomy ofindicus). elephant (Elephas a female an animal weighing two to five tons required a well-organisedan animal weighing site anatomy helpers to remove the and enough dissection instruments, with lifting facilities, intestines. animals’ endeavour involving large numbers of European and non-European helpers. involving large numbers ofendeavour non-European helpers. European and By the time could rely on the colonial infrastructure. All Committee members museums in Europe, reached and specimens manuscripts, their drawings, one Van Oort, The field diary of numerous hands. they had passed through reveals the daily collectors and draftsmen, most productive of the group’s and arrived in Java born in Utrecht Oort was Van routine of the Committee. in 1826. the caravan included eight Bugi hunters, several cooks, guides, and two and guides, several cooks, included eight Bugi hunters, the caravan Van Chinese draftsman who helped Asied) and one named (one was Javanese Oort organise his drawings. pasanggrahan the naturalists with a secure place to dissect collected animals, write and write animals, dissect collected place to a secure with the naturalists prepare by others, observations with their findings compare their notes, copy to be shipped to Europe. arrange for items and drawings, one thousand handwritten pages, Van Oort vividly describes collaboration Oort vividly Van one thousand handwritten pages, German- and French-speaking and tensions alike with local helpers and they often When Committee members left Buitenzorg in 1831, naturalists. had an entourage of over 150 persons. authorities informed district heads of their upcoming travels. Van Oort and Van authorities informed district heads of their upcoming travels. residences for travelling his colleagues were allowed to stay in protected (knowncolonial civil servants as pasanggrahan road connecting Batavia’s harbour with Buitenzorg’s botanical garden and harbour with Buitenzorg’s road connecting Batavia’s other important sites in Java. For the best and only biographical of account vanPieter Oort, Kim see Nieuwendijk, Van ‘Met Oort oorden’, naar ma verre University 2011). (Leiden For the dissection report, Naturalis see Leiden, Natuurkundige Biodiversity Center, field archive, Heinrich books of Kuhl Commissie and Johan van Conrad Hasselt, 16 Buitenzorg February nnm scans: 1821, The report mentions drawings around 50 during the dissection.produced , 115-144. Ambitions Hybrid Andreas Weber,

44 45 42 43 article – artikel

 Map of the hinterland of Banjermasing (now Banjarmasin) in South Borneo designed by Samuel Müller. The map is based on geographic information Müller compiled during his visit in 1836. Müller marked the area controlled by the local sultan in red. Naturalis bc, nnm001000871_090. Public Domain Mark 1.0. weber collecting colonial nature 85

51 We know Van Oort, whose diary Oort, Van We know ., entry 1832. May 25 However, in the later published However, 50 52 East Asia Science, Technology, and and Technology, Science, Asia East Mediation’, of 3:2/3 (2009) Journal 173- An International Society: 208 https://doi.org/10.1215/s12280-009-9085-6. Leiden, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, diary archive, Natuurkundige Commissie Pieter of van Oort, August, entries 15 and 1831 3 September 1832. May 20 Ibid Leiden, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, diary archive, Natuurkundige Commissie Pieter of van Oort, entry February 24 and 29 May 1832. On Knight, Pitcairn, Sugar, for Roger example see , Steel and 67. Steam 51 52 53 Many of estates were dependent on the these 53 Armed with experience-basedflora and expertise on 49 Once Van Oort and his fellow travellers arrived in a village or city, city, in a village or arrived and his fellow travellers Oort Van Once During the Committee’s years in Indonesia, only part of was years in Indonesia, Java During the Committee’s abounds with sexual innuendos, had several affairs with Javanese women. affairs with Javanese had several innuendos, abounds with sexual Dutch colonial government authorising them to produce sugar using cheap colonial government authorising them to produce sugar using cheap Dutch the local meetings followed the same procedure. First, the naturalists were the naturalists First, same procedure. followed the the local meetings who usually a local district head, and/or by either by a Dutch welcomed were often which meetings, During these for a meal and tea. invited them Oort and his colleagues received information Van translated by interpreters, The diary natural resources ofon the economic and that particular district. names and Javanese is filled with long lists of Oort Malay, Sundanese, ofVan of plants and animals. rest and prepare their field notes, and specimen collections to be transported to be transported collections specimen and notes, their field prepare rest and to Buitenzorg. back fauna, Javanese women were often crucial mediators between the Committee’s crucial mediators between the Committee’s women were often Javanese fauna, ofinterests and the interests rulers. local under Dutch control. In more remote areas the Committee relied on the In more remote areas control. under Dutch landowners and plantation administrators, infrastructure provided by private visited the Committee for example, In May 1832, many of them were British. also The estate manager John Pitcairn was West Java. a large country estate in involved in sugar production. accounts of the Committee’s fieldwork aimed at an audience of fieldwork European accounts of the Committee’s informants are far less Chinese draftsmen and meetings with Javanese readers, prominent and are rarely mentioned. Although the socio-economic of background to these women are impossible importance as sources for the the women’s these diaries reflect reconstruct, The diaries mention that flora and fauna. on Javanese research Committee’s Oort had a longstanding Van with whom woman called Siepiet, a Javanese Gedeh) in the (Pondok country estate large private born on a was affair, hinterlands of in 1813 or 1814. Batavia (Leiden 2011) (Leiden https://doi.org/10.26530/ Studium: Tijdschrift Botanicalthe Bogor Gardens’, Studium: Universiteitsgeschiedenis en Wetenschaps- voor http://doi.org/10.18352/ 169-177, (2018) 11:3 studium.10176. Leiden, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, diary archive, Natuurkundige Commissie Pieter of van Oort, entry 6 July 1831. Market. Colonial the on Hesselink,Liesbeth Healers Netherlands in the Midwives and Doctors Native East Indies oapen_400271; Hans ‘European Pols, Physicians and Botanists, Indigenous Herbal in the Medicine Netherlands East Indies, Networks and Colonial

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 Illustration of a female Elephas indicus. Special Collection of the University of Amsterdam, Iconographia Zoologica, box 99: 220.02.01.033. Public domain. https:// tinyurl.com/y3dkmvam. weber collecting colonial nature 87

56 Macklot Macklot 54 The Dutch 58 This trust, This trust, 59 57 Ibid., entry 1827. 8 March Miracle,Gassó order’, ‘Temminck’s 3. chapter Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, diary archive, Natuurkundige Commissie Pieter of van Oort, entry June 1832. 25 Thanks are due to Sylvia van Zaanen, with whom I am currently Oort’s Van editing diary, travel for this reference. Leiden, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, diary archive, Natuurkundige Commissie Pieter of van Oort, entry 1827. 6 September Ibid.

i explicitly forbade naturalists to send 60 56 57 58 59 King William King William 60 Prince Prince During the attack on Macklot’s house, the Committee also lost house, on Macklot’s During the attack Prophecy: 55 Unlike Diard, the German-speaking members were usually praised the German-speaking members were Unlike Diard, Despite extensive collaboration, tensions arose, both between the both between tensions arose, collaboration, Despite extensive many manuscripts, specimens, books, and other scientific equipment. and books, specimens, many manuscripts, manuscripts, specimens, or drawings to German or other European museums. to German or other European museums. or drawings specimens, manuscripts, The case of a German-speaking member of Junghuhn, the Committee in trust in German-speaking naturalists was reflected in their generous reflected in their generous trust in German-speaking naturalists was Oort received a monthly salary of 200 colonial guilders, Van While salaries. 500 colonial guilders. paid and Boie were each Macklot for their productivity and loyalty. After the untimely deaths of Kuhl and untimely deaths ofAfter the Kuhl for their productivity and loyalty. a specially designed for example, Hasselt in the mid-1820s, Conrad van by the Governor General sponsored tomb and burial monument in Batavia Van Oort also described Boie, In his diaries, paid tribute to their fieldwork. expertise. as a naturalist with outstanding who died in 1827, Dutch and the foreign Committee members and between the Committee members and between foreign Committee and the Dutch ofThe safety be guaranteed could not always the members and the locals. of had claimed the lives which (1825-1830), War Java during and after the and European soldiers. as well as Javanese over 200.000 civilians local labour. Private estate managers supported the Committee members with members the Committee supported managers estate Private labour. local their also made They and interpreters. hunters, porters, guides, additional and lodgings. temporary footpaths prepare local servants was killed in an uprising ofwas shortly after Chinese workers in Purwakarta the war. however, was not unconditional. In the 1820s, the Governor General asked In the 1820s, not unconditional. was however, Raalten to copy the field notes of their deceased Van preparator the Dutch German colleagues. Tensions between Dutch and other European naturalists also compromised and other European between Dutch Tensions the Diard took over When the Frenchman productivity. the Committee’s Oort questioned Van for example, financial administration, Committee’s Oort Van Asia, in interests Given the French trustworthy. whether he was Diard ofand other Committee members suspected sending specimens and rather than to the Netherlands. to Paris observations The Early Dutch Sinologists (1854- Sinologists Dutch The Early Kuiper, Koos Functions China, and in Holland 1900): Training https:// 12 2017) (Leiden Indies Netherlands in the Oort Van also doi.org/10.1163/9789004339637. regularlyreported unrest in the Javanese villages; Leiden, Naturalissee Biodiversity Center, diary archive, Natuurkundige Commissie Pieter of van Oort, entries 2 January August, 17 1828, and 19 1831. September The Power of The Power Carey, Peter in Java Order an Old of End the and Dipanagara 2007)(Leiden 653.

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 Van Oort and one of the hunters are offered a snake in Timor, around 1828/1829. In the background is a soldier. Especially in the years before and after the Java War, substantial numbers of armed soldiers accompanied the naturalists when they left the botanical garden. Coenraad Temminck e.a. (ed.). Verhandelingen over de Natuurlijke Geschiedenis der Nederlandsche Overzeesche Bezittingen, vol. 3 (Leiden 1839-1844) plate 29. Naturalis bc, nnm001000871_029. Public Domain Mark 1.0. weber collecting colonial nature 89 Hardly 65 Ultimately, Ultimately, 61 Despite this influx of 63 the Committee’s early publicationsthe Committee’s (mainly letters printed in German, Flemish learned and French periodicals). They reflect 2.4.5.2 the codes: Kuhl and 2.4.5.2.2 Kuhl. This three paragraphs and the following draw on PhD dissertation, text from my 6 of chapter . Ambitions Hybrid Weber, 65 Although exact figures are unavailable, Although exact figures are unavailable, , the main dissemination project of, the 62 In this context, the interim Governor General of In this context, the 64 A first tension arose in the mid-1830s. Until then, only a few articles Until then, first tension arose in the mid-1830s. A The German naturalist Müller returned to Leiden in 1837. In the years prior In Müller returned to Leiden in 1837. The German naturalist of archives the repositories and Museum of the to his return, Natural History by According to a report were rapidly filled. and the National Herbarium curator ofHaan (1801-1855), de the invertebrates collection at Wilhelm the number ofthe museum in Leiden from 1825, insects rose from 249 in the 1820s to 18.410 in 1834. only a few members of the Committee returned to Europe. In the next section In the next section members ofonly a few to Europe. the Committee returned return ofI follow the examining the to Europe , surviving naturalists the into notes and specimens the Committee’s they faced in turning difficulties scientific publications. and excerpts from letters had been published in German, Dutch and Dutch in German, and excerpts from letters had been published periodicals. French material in Europe, natural history knowledge was slow to materialise in natural history knowledge was material in Europe, Focusing on some of the tensions that arose during scientific publications. the creation of the Verhandelingen in the third section of faced Committee, this essay I explore the challenges tried to publish an overview ofby the Committee members when they the notes, field Transforming readership. natural resources aimed at the European was far from simple. into scientific publications and drawings specimens, natural history and empire These tensions offer a fresh view on European formation in the early nineteenth century. any of had managed to inform European readers about the the travellers the 1830s, shows that this fear was justified. Upon discovering Junghuhn’s Junghuhn’s discovering Upon justified. fear was that this shows the 1830s, the colonial learned institutions, and publishers with German correspondence with the Committee. terminated his affiliation government Netherlands Indies Jean Chrétien Baud had sent William i a long letter William Netherlands Indies Jean Chrétien Baud had sent deploring the inefficient dissemination strategy ofCommittee. the handwritten manuscripts in the museum archive also appear to have also appear to have archive handwritten manuscripts in the museum Müller and the botanist Pieter increased substantially during these years. filled thousands of Korthals with meticulous pages in field books William descriptions of the flora and fauna in the colonies. , 44. Historie Natuurlijke van Museum ’s Rijks The library Naturalis of Biodiversity in Center holds twoLeiden most comprising of volumes Gijzen, . Friends Inseparable Manse, ‘Kennis is macht’; Klaver, Der Humboldt von Java. Leben Renate Leben Sternagel, Java. von Humboldt Der Wilhelm Franz Naturforschers des Werk und 1809-1864Junghuhn, (Halle 2011) 130-140. Circulation of fieldwork in Europe fieldwork of Circulation

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 The tomb and the monument constructed after the death of Heinrich Kuhl and Johan Conrad van Hasselt in Batavia in the early 1820s. Collection Tropenmuseum Amsterdam, inventory number tm-0-461. weber collecting colonial nature 91 Inspired by the 70 67 2425, Caspar Georg 20; CarlReinwardt, Über , 84-87. hetgeen van Overzicht Veth, University Library Leiden, Special collections, bpl Inseln den auf Vegetationen der Charakter den Eulàlia Gassó Miracle, Gassó Eulàlia ‘The of Significance on of Biogeography’, Journal Work Temminck’s (2008) https:// 41:4 677-716 Historythe Biology of doi.org/10.1007/s10739-008-9158-8. reprinted decision, in: Huibert April 29 1820, Royal door in het bijzonder hetgeen, van Overzicht Veth, van fauna der kennis de is voor gedaan Nederland, 22. 1879) (Leiden Nederlandsch-Indië

71 69 70 68 71 In his reply, Temminck deplored the lack of the lack deplored support financial Temminck In his reply, To reduce the Committee’s annual costs of annual a 40.000 guilders reduce the Committee’s To allocated the Committee and regretted the failure ofi allocated the Committee his 68 66 agreed to sponsor a multi-volume monograph series on the findings agreed to sponsor a multi-volume In Reinwardt’s view, all observations made and specimens gathered made and specimens gathered all observations view, In Reinwardt’s i Reinwardt’s suggestions were ignored. Finally, in February 1839, 1839, in February Finally, suggestions were ignored. Reinwardt’s Baud’s reservations did not fall on deaf ears. As William i and his William As did not fall on deaf reservations ears. Baud’s 69 that William that William added Reinwardt appropriate reports on their fieldwork. collectors to publish i regarded this fieldwork William complained that another argument and had then to be published in which exclusively as a national endeavour Dutch. William William the second botany, volume would address , The first of the Committee. many lithographs. volume had to include Each and the third ethnography. to communicate the findings ofThe purpose was the Committee to a larger ensure that To or Latin. All contributions had to be in Dutch readership. the main the use of exercise’, French, ‘national the monographs remained a ministers were uncertain how to respond, they forwarded the letter to they forwarded how to respond, ministers were uncertain director ofLeiden the botanical garden at Caspar Georg Carl Reinwardt, of director the Temminck, Jacob and Coenraad University from 1822, Museum of requesting them advice in Leiden from 1820, Natural History in this matter. German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), Reinwardt also Reinwardt Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), German naturalist of the colonies, description’ ‘physical recommended the king to sponsor a rain, forces of the interplay between various as wind, in which nature (such and explain the wealth of and erosion) would reveal natural volcanic activity, resources in the colonies. natural wealth of the colonies. Findings ofFindings on members the Committee of wealth natural the colonies. by French published been had already archipelago in the Indonesian naturalists. year in total, Baud of restrict the number the king to proposed year in total, naturalists in Netherlands as to the should be sent back he urged that they and the colony, findings. to publish their as possible quickly in the Netherlands Indies belonged to a shared pool ofin the Netherlands Indies belonged to a and knowledge, all over Europe. had to be made accessible to naturalists George Cuvier and Achilles Valenciennes, Valenciennes, and Achilles George Cuvier (Paris 1828-1849); poissons des naturelle Histoire Roberts, ‘The Fishes Java, of Freshwater Tyson in 1820-23’, Hasselt as Observed Kuhl and Van by 1-94. (1993) 285 Verhandelingen Zoologische National The Archive, Hague, Binnenlandse Zaken, Archief van het Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken, inventory number 4652, report ‘Extract 1837: 5 September uit het register der resolutien van den Gouverneur Generaal ad-interim van Nederlandsch Indië in rade.’ Buitenzorg, February 27 1836.

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language of natural history publications at the time, was ruled out.72 The refusal of William i to honour requests from readers in the Netherlands and other parts of Europe to publish the Committee’s findings in French needs to be understood within a broader official policy to strengthen the Dutch nation.73 The administrators of the Batavian Republic, which preceded the reign of William i, had already taken various measures such as the creation of an official spelling and several educational reforms to ensure that administrative and learned exchanges within the Republic were established in Dutch.74 As a result of William I’s decision, the success of the Verhandelingen was limited. Rather than enabling the Committee’s knowledge on natural history to circulate throughout Europe, only 250 copies were published. The Dutch government ordered that a substantial share should be distributed among ministries, learned societies, and museums in the Netherlands and abroad. While learned readers in Europe devoted time and money to the latest instalment of the ‘physical description’ of South America, written in French by Alexander von Humboldt, many copies of the Verhandelingen were presented as diplomatic gifts, and disappeared unread in the libraries of Europe, the United States, and other parts of the world.75 While the European circulation of natural history publications based on the Committee findings in the Netherlands Indies remained modest in the first half of the nineteenth century, the Committee’s specimen collections and handwritten documentation had a major impact on natural history research in Europe in the long term. To this day, this rich source serves biologists and biodiversity researchers as reference material in taxonomic inquiries and publication projects. The large number of type specimens that the Committee brought together are a valuable asset in naming unknown specimens76, conducive to understanding long-term environmental change not only in

des Indischen Archipels. Vortrag, gehalten in der al. (eds.), Language, Literature and the Construction Versammlung deutscher Naturforscher und Ärzte in of Dutch National Identity (1780-1830) (Amsterdam Berlin am 20. Sept. 1828 (Berlin 1828). 2018) 15-16 https://doi.org/10.1515/9789048526758- 72 National Archive, The Hague, Algemene 002. Staatssecretarie en Kabinet des Konings, 75 Von Humboldt’s travel narrative appeared from inventory number 4450, royal decision 10 1807 to 1835 in multiple volumes as Le voyage aux February 1839, number 101. régions équinoxiales du Nouveau Continent, fait en 73 Gijsbert Rutten, Language Planning as Nation 1799-1804, par Alexandre de Humboldt et Aimé Building. Ideology, Policy and Implementation in Bonpland. For the complex publication history the Netherlands, 1750-1850 (Amsterdam 2019) 1-3 see for example Ulrike Leitner, ‘Ausgaben und https://doi.org/10.1075/ahs.9. Übersetzungen’, in: Ottmar Ette (ed.), Alexander 74 Even in the eighteenth century, the number von Humboldt Handbuch: Leben – Werk – Wirkung of learned journals and books published in (Stuttgart 2018) 252-259. Dutch soared. See Gijsbert Rutten and Ton van 76 A type specimen is the name-bearing specimen Kalmthout, ‘Introduction: Cultural Nationalism that taxonomists use to define the characteristics and the Rise of Dutch Studies’, in: Rick Honings et of a species. weber collecting colonial nature 93 This 78

Many of Many the 77 2019’. Lecture Notes in 2019’. Lecture in Notes ecir Computer Science, vol. 11437 (Cham 2019) 667- (Cham Science, vol. 11437 Computer https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15712- 680 8_43. contemporary ones present serious challenges. Eulàlia On this, Stork, Lise see Andreas Weber, Miracle,Gassó et al., ‘Semantic Annotation of Natural Historical Web of Collections’, Journal et al., Stork Lise in press; (2018), Semantics Semantic Annotation of ‘Automated in: Leif Species Names in Handwritten Texts’, in Information et al.Azzopardi (eds.), ‘Advances Retrieval. The decision to publish the Committee’s main publication in Dutch main publication in Dutch The decision to publish the Committee’s left many of Aside from the expectations of these naturalists unfulfilled. results circulating its fieldwork the difficulties the Committee experienced both shaped and the Committee and its material remnants within Europe, mostly naturalists from Central Europe. nationals, were shaped by non-Dutch The enormous influx of specimens that the Committee collected in the and the on European institutions Netherlands Indies has had a lasting impact of The close relationships the Leiden scientific study of nature in the colonies. Museum of including Natural history with other institutions in Europe, has endured. and Munich, London, museums in Paris, In this essay, I have shown how the history of I have for Natural the Committee In this essay, History of from a transnational and is best approached the Netherlands Indies focused on the role of historians have Recently, cross-imperial perspective. of history and other forms overseas imperialism in facilitating natural learned The history of empire shows that the Dutch the Committee also inquiry. particular from in within Europe, exuded a broad appeal to young people hoped that participating in a state-sponsored Many German-speaking lands. their would give them the opportunity to consolidate collecting endeavour careers and establish their stature as naturalists. archive of the Committee, still largely unexplored, offers historians of offers historians of unexplored, still largely science archive the Committee, lives of insight into the daily a fascinating of naturalists European diverse it deepens Moreover, Indies. interests in the Netherlands and backgrounds our understanding of the cross–imperial natural history in the nineteenth century. species such as the Silvery Javan Gibbon, Javan Rhinoceros, Common Spotted Spotted Common Rhinoceros, Javan Gibbon, Javan as the Silvery such species endangered. extinct or critically tiger are now either Javan and Cuscus, insular Southeast Asia but in other parts of in other parts Asia but Southeast insular as well. the world Since large parts large Since the handwritten of notes been published, never have extracting and historical linking names species of with their See for example Eulàlia Gassó Miracle, Gassó for Eulàlia See example Lars van den Hoek Ostende, and Jan Willem Arntzen, specimens amphibians of in the National ‘Type Natural of Museum History, Leiden, The https:// (2007) 25-68 1482:1 Netherlands’, Zootaxa Plantdoi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.1482.1.2. type can specimens the Committee collected by www. the through website: be best accessed bioportal.nl. Conclusion

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 Field notes by Pieter William Korthals, photograph taken in the archives of the former National Herbarium of the Netherlands (now Naturalis Biodiversity ­Center) by Andreas Weber, 2010. weber collecting colonial nature 95 degree in 1 (2017) 1789-1790 https://doi. 1789-1790 1 (2017) the biodiversity and the the biodiversity and Nature ‘Digitization Collections’, Museum of Nature & Evolution Ecology org/10.1038/s41559-017-0401-6. read these archives as the products of we can also read these archives As historians, 79 Studying this heritage will teach us more than will teach Studying this heritage In the Indonesian archipelago, the Committee was important as a important was Committee the archipelago, Indonesian In the a moment in which European natural history, local Indonesian expertise of European natural history, a moment in which and colonialism were closely entangled. natural resources, surveyor ofsurveyor of emergence the agriculturalits aggressive state and colonial the tool of more than a was empire. the however, The Committee, exploitation. the Committee and islands of in the remote areas While travelling Java, Collecting existed. government barely a colonial a world in which encountered a careful required striking these circumstances specimens under natural history of the backdrop Against a colonial policy local interests. balance among divergent the local market, to produce cash crops for the world that forced local peasants ofIndonesian assistants odd reactions to their met must have the Committee Regardless of whether friends and neighbours. family, collection activities from were forced to participate in the Committee’s these Indonesian assistants or just curious by financial incentives, or whether they were attracted activities, assisted in creating a shared cultural and they about the work undertaken, natural heritage. is an assistant professor of long term development of science long is an assistant term development of science of professor Weber Andreas and technology in the in society and digital heritage at the University Twente of Netherlands. the daily life, examines his research collections, of Most and material practicenaturalists of and the chemists of former in the context Dutch empire in insular Southeast Asia. valuable natural to digitised He helps historical the also increasing access holds an ma collections with computational Andreas technology. Weber History (2005) and a PhD from University Leiden In 2015-2016, (2012). he was a John C. HistoryHaas the of Science fellow Institute in Philadelphia. [email protected]. E-mail: long-term changes in flora and fauna in one oflong-term changes regions in the most biodiverse this world. For a recent plea to diversify plea to For a recent agendas, research the of rapidespecially in the context digitisation naturalof history collections, Joshua see: A. S. Corrie Moreau and MelanieDrew, L.J. Stiassny,

79