COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Het gebouw van de Raad van Indië in Weltevreden Batavia TMnr 10015220

The Council of the Indies ( nl, Raad van Indië; id, Dewan Hindia) was a body established in 1610 to advise and limit the powers of the

governor-general of the Dutch East Indies The governor-general of the Dutch East Indies ( nl, gouverneur-generaal van Nederlands Indië) represented Dutch rule in the Dutch East Indies between 1610 and Dutch recognition of the independence of Indonesia in 1949. Occupied by Japanese fo ...

. Initially the council had four members and a chairman, all Dutch nationals. In 1930, this was increased to six people, with citizens of the Dutch East Indies eligible for membership. The council was chaired by the governor-general. The Dutch monarch had the authority to make a final decision in the event of a disagreement between the governor-general and the council. Prior to 1836, the council had the same standing as the governor-general, but that year, its role was reduced to that of an advisory body. It regained some of its powers in 1854, when an act was passed obliging the governor-general to consult it before taking major measures, but he was still under no obligation to heed its advice. Its powers were reduced again in 1925, but the governor-general still had to consult it before taking certain actions, including making announcements or sending proposals to the semi-legislative

Volksraad The Volksraad was a people's assembly or legislature in Dutch or Afrikaans speaking government. Assembly South Africa *Volksraad (South African Republic) (1840–1902) *Volksraad (Natalia Republic), a similar assembly that existed in the Natalia Re ...

. In a report sent to Governor-General Alidius Tjarda van Starkenborgh Stachouwer in 1938, the council recommended rejection of the

Soetardjo Petition The Soetardjo Petition of 1936 was a motion of the Volksraad (a nascent legislative body) of the Dutch East Indies, instigated by the legislator Soetardjo Kartohadikusumo, which was submitted as a petition to Queen Wilhelmina and the Estates Genera ...

, which had been signed by a number of members of the

and that asked for a conference to be organised to discuss the autonomy for the Dutch East Indies as part of a Dutch commonwealth. The council took the view that the demands of the petition were at odds with the Dutch constitution and that Indonesia was not ready to become a dominion.

References

{{Indonesia-stub Gouvernements of the Dutch East Indies 17th-century establishments in Indonesia 1610 establishments in Asia