Cover Page The handle http://hdl.handle.net/1887/36561 holds various files of this Leiden University dissertation. Author: Kroon, Andréa Angela Title: Masonic networks, material culture and international trade : the participation of Dutch Freemasons in the commercial and cultural exchange with Southeast Asia (1735- 1853) Issue Date: 2015-11-26 5. THE DUTCH EAST INDIES AND MALACCA (1763-1825) THE DEVELOPMENT OF A UNIQUE, RITUAL MATERIAL CULTURE Fig. 5.1a: Map of the Dutch East Indies, indicating the location of lodges in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Reproduced from: Gaasta 2002, p. 42 (altered by the author). 5.1. Parallel histories Freemasonry and the VOC in the Dutch East Indies In the late 16th century, when the Dutch started to explore the trade with the East Indian Archipelago, expeditions landed at Bantam, Northwest Java, where the Portuguese had not yet settled. From there, other islands were explored. The VOC aimed to acquire a strategic position where it could have its own jurisdiction and warehouses, but for several years this could not be realised. Jan Pietersz Coen (1587-1629), director general of Bantam since 1613, successfully defended Jakatra (old spelling, later Jakarta), a nearby smaller settlement, against attacks by the English and local rulers in 1618. 1 This woud now become the long desired stronghold of the Dutch in the Archipelago, and its name was changed into Batavia. It marked the start of a slow expansion of power through negociations and conflicts throughout the island group, constantly trying to ward off competition. Batavia became the hub of all VOC activities, where ships from Europe arrived and left; where trade goods were unloaded, exchanged and stored; and where the Kasteel or fort was built, housing the new governing powers representing the Republic. It would develop into the largest settlement of Europeans in the region. As Ulbe Bosma and Remco Raben point out in Being ‘Dutch’ in the Indies: a history of creolisation and empire, 1500-1920 (2008), ‘Hybridity was part and parcel of Asian society, particularly in the many towns and cities of the coastal regions’.2 When the Dutch arrived on the isle of Java in 1615-1619 they found a society shaped by previous waves of migration, resulting in a population of varied backgrounds and religions. Cities along the northern coast of Java were populated by Javanese and Indian Hindus, Buddhist and Confusian Chinese, as well as Arab and Indian Muslims, mainly as a result of trade relationships.3 The lines between such groups were relatively flexible, until colonial politics defined more distinct ethnic separations. The VOC had a strict administrative structure which demanded defining specific groups, in order to be able to give them specific laws and duties - such as tax paying. It also propagated a Christian morality through Protestant ministers and later the Dutch Reformed Church in Batavia. Although most of this chapter only concerns developments on Java, the VOC also had settlements on nearby islands Banda, Ambonia (= Ambon), Ternate, Tidore, Halmahera (= Moluccan Islands), and southern 265 Celebes (= Sulawesi). Around 1700, some 3.400 European and Eurasian people were living in Batavia, with an additional 3.000 soldiers and other military stationed there.4 This was the majority of the circa 20.000 employees of the VOC that would be stationed throughout Asia in the 18th century. Towards the end of the century, as VOC trade started to dwindle, so the steady influx of people from the Netherlands also died down. It would not restore to its former level during the 19th century. Most Dutchmen came to the East Indies in service of the VOC, and their status in society directly dependend on their Company rank. If they did not acquire a fortune from salaries, permits and bribes in a Company position, the other means to do so were by landownership or investing in international shipping. Bosma and Raben point out that although there was a European community to which one was assumed to belong if one’s last name sounded ‘right’, there were important subgroups: the elite, the military and the urban poor. Within the strict hierarchies and formalities that the VOC had brought to life in the trade posts, people of mixed ethnic backgrounds and descendents of freed slaves had a tough time navigating through society. In 1843 Johan Schill, Past Master of Lodge De Ster in het Oosten in Batavia and author of the first historical overview of Dutch freemasonry on Java, opened his Gedenk-Boek voor de Javasche Broederschap der Orde van de Vrij Metselaren with the words: The history of the lodges in the East of Batavia, from their foundation onwards, can in a way be considered as partially a history of the [East] Indies itself. After all, one discovers largely from it the circumstances and spirit of the time, and one learns from it mostly the prosperity and adversity which was experienced, and the means, used to keep the holy fire and the Temple of the Order from extinguishing.5 Luckily, the archives of the lodges in the Dutch East Indies survived more intact than those from other parts of Asia and now cover more than 5 meters of archive material in the CMC collection (not counting the in- en outgoing correspondence in the archive of the Grand Lodge itself) (see table 5.A). These indeed provide a valuable insight in the events in the region and the daily life of Europeans in the trade posts. For practical reasons, this chapter will explore these in the years between 1763, the founding of the first lodge in the Dutch East Indies, and 1837, when two major lodges in Batavia merged. Not only does the bulk of surviving archive material significantly increase after 1837, previous authors like Stevens and Van de Veur have already focussed on developments in the second half the 19th century.6 Instead, the early years and relevant primary sources will be explored below.7 Original documents are frequently quoted, to allow add nuance and contemporary tone of voice to events already touched upon by other authors. The overview below summarizes the founding, founding members and closing of each lodge. Their daily routine, some remarkable events and members are also touched upon briefly. This provides a necessary context to the unique material culture acquired by these lodges. Dutch colonial interiors and applied arts have been highlighted recently in exhibition catalogues such as Titus Eliëns’ Silver in Batavia (2012) and Jack Veenendaal’s Asian Art and Dutch taste (2014).8 Despite the wide interest of scholars, collectors and museum visitors in the subject, the interiors of Freemasons’ Halls in the Dutch East Indies have never before been considered as an integral part of that same colonial material culture. The main purpose of the following chapter therefore is to provide an introduction into these interiors and make unpublished sources on the subject accessible. Below, the acquisition of lodge buildings is discussed as part of the lodge histories and, where possible, the surviving inventories of those buildings are reproduced. The second half of this chapter explores the inventories thematically and in more detail. It will become clear both the exterior and interior of these buildings, as well as the furniture and objects used within, all projected certain ideals to the visitor through symbolism in their decorations and/or shapes, meanwhile following contemporary fashions. Although the lodges on Java tried to follow masonic traditions from in the Netherlands (at the time strongly influenced by French developments), they often made use of local craftsmen, artists and materials. This allowed for a subtle mixing of European and Asian influences, also seen in ‘profane’ Dutch colonial interiors of the 18th and 19th centuries. Although there are some gaps, especially in the 18th century material, inventories of the two main lodges in Batavia, La Fidèle Sincérité and La Vertueuse, have survived from the years 1775-1837, as did their financial records from 1777-1837. Cross referencing these sources illustrates the development of a 266 unique material culture with both a practical, decorative and ritual function. They also provide an insight into the wealth of the lodges, the commissions given to artists and craftsmen, the contact between the lodges and the local community, the lodges’ role in the local economy and their overall consumption patterns. Yet art historical research seems to have overlooked the fascinating variety of masonic objects that developed within this socio-economical context. Too many documents have survived to reproduce them all here. Instead, a selection of inventories from successive lodge buildings is provided. These illustrate how - besides ambulant props for the ritual and table lodge - rich furnishings and fixtures were acquired for a variety of non-ritual functions. To get a grip on the material, the discussion in the second half of this chapter will explore the lodge buildings from the exterior to the interior. Firstly, the acquisition of various properties, the investments and people involved, and the general division of spaces will be discussed. As information on the exterior is limited, the interior will be the main focus: wall and ceiling decorations, furniture and ritual objects, as well as the regalia stored in the lodge. The overview will end with the necessities for the table lodge and post-ritual gatherings. Not every single candlestick, which would also appear in normal residencies in Batavia, deserves a mention. For practical reasons, the focus will have to be limited to the most remarkable categories of ritual and precious objects, their purchase and makers. When payments are noted, where available their original currencies are given: Dutch guilders (noted as: fl), Ducats (gold: 5 guilders, silver: 2½ guilders), Rijksdaalders (2½ guilders, noted as: Rds) or Stuivers (1/20th guilder or 5 cents, noted as: St), Spanish dollars (Spd9), Portuguese real or Indisch geld (East Indies’ money).