The ''particuliere landerijen'' or ''particuliere landen'' (
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
for 'private domains'; singular ''particuliere landerij'' or ''particuliere land''), also called ''tanah partikelir'' in
Indonesian
Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to:
* Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia
** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago
** Indonesian ...
, were landed domains in a
feudal
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...
system of
land tenure
In common law systems, land tenure, from the French verb "tenir" means "to hold", is the legal regime in which land owned by an individual is possessed by someone else who is said to "hold" the land, based on an agreement between both individual ...
used in parts of the
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
).
Dutch jurists described these domains as ‘sovereign’ and of comparable legal status to
indirectly-ruled ''
Vorstenlanden
The VorstenlandenEncarta-encyclopedie Winkler Prins (1993–2002) s.v. "Vorstenlanden". Microsoft Corporation/Het Spectrum. ( Dutch for 'princely lands' or 'princely states', ) were four native, princely states on the island of Java in the coloni ...
''
rincely statesin the Indies subject to the
Dutch Crown
The Council of Ministers of the Kingdom ( nl, Ministerraad van het Koninkrijk or ''Rijksministerraad'') is the executive council of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which is a state consisting of four constituent countries: Aruba, Curaçao, the Ne ...
.
The lord of such a domain was called a ''
Landheer In the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), a Landheer (Dutch for 'landlord'; plural, Landheeren) was the lord or owner of a ''particuliere landerij'', a private domain in a feudal system of land tenure used in parts of the colony. Dutch jurists des ...
''
utch for 'landlord' and by law possessed ''landsheerlijke rechten'' or ''hak-hak ketuanan''
eigniorial jurisdictionover the inhabitants of his domain — jurisdiction exercised elsewhere by the central government.
History
The
Dutch East India Company
The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...
, which claimed to have succeeded to the rights of the
ancient kings of Java, created and sold the earliest particuliere landen for the Company's high-ranking officials, compradors and allies between the 1620s and its bankruptcy in 1799.
Herman Willem Daendels
Herman Willem Daendels (21 October 1762 – 2 May 1818) was a Dutch revolutionary, general and politician who served as the 36th Governor General of the Dutch East Indies between 1808 and 1811.
Early life
Born in Hattem, Netherlands, on 21 Octob ...
,
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 ...
during the
Napoleonic interregnum from 1808 to 1811, and his British successor from 1811 until 1816,
Sir Stamford Raffles
Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (5 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was a British statesman who served as the Lieutenant-Governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816, and Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen between 1818 and 1824. He is b ...
, oversaw a large-scale sale of government land as particuliere landen.
The creation of these domains ceased in 1829.
The bulk of these particuliere landerijen were located around the colonial capital of
Batavia
Batavia may refer to:
Historical places
* Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands
* Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...
(today known as
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
), in the ''Ommelanden'' of the old Residency of Batavia
ndonesian: ''Karesidenan Betawi'' in
West Java
West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten ...
, and to a lesser extent in other parts of
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
and the 'outer islands'.
Like the princely states, the particuliere landerijen were not directly controlled by the colonial government, and so were not subjected to the notorious
Cultivation System
The Cultivation System ( nl, cultuurstelsel) was a Dutch government policy from 1830–1870 for its Dutch East Indies colony (now Indonesia). Requiring a portion of agricultural production to be devoted to export crops, it is referred to by Ind ...
, introduced by Governor-General
Johannes van den Bosch
Johannes, Count van den Bosch (2 February 1780 – 28 January 1844) was a Dutch officer and politician. He was Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (1830–1833), commander of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army, Minister of Colonies ...
in 1830.
By 1901, there existed 304 particuliere landerijen, of which 101 were European-owned, with the rest being primarily under Chinese ownership, almost exclusively by the
'Cabang Atas' gentry.
Around 800,000 peasants lived on these domains, and were subject to the rule of the Landheeren instead of the colonial government.
The particuliere landerijen were known for supposed abuses of power by the Landheeren.
A series of government ordinances were issued by the Dutch colonial government to better regulate the running of these private domains: Staatsblad 1836 No. 19 and Staatsblad 1912, No. 422.
In keeping with the ‘Ethical’ policy of the early twentieth century, the Dutch colonial government devised an ambitious plan to repurchase the particuliere landen from their owners.
The motivation was to place the inhabitants of the domains on the same legal footing as other subjects of the Dutch colonial empire.
The government's programme of land reacquisition began in 1912, but halted during the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
(1929-1939).
In 1935, the government founded ''NV Javasche Particuliere Landerijen Maatschappij''
Java Private Domains Company' which was tasked with the acquisition of the particuliere landerijen on the open market.
Although land reforms continued, the particuliere landerijen – though much-reduced in numbers and in legal powers – survived the
Japanese occupation during
WW II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
(1942-1945) and the
Indonesian revolution
The Indonesian National Revolution, or the Indonesian War of Independence, was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during postwar and postcoloni ...
(1945-1949).
In 1958, the Republic of Indonesia issued Undang-undang No. 1/1958, which formally abolished all remaining particuliere landerijen.
Administration and structure
A particuliere landerij was divided into, firstly, ''tanah kongsi''
eigniorial landor the
demesne
A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept or ...
of the Landheer, which was land retained by him for his own use; and secondly, ''tanah usaha'', which consisted of dependent or enfeoffed holdings, held by the Landheer's tenant farmers.
In addition, there was also forest land which could not be claimed or worked on without the permission of the Landheer.
The residence of the Landheer was called a ''
Landhuis
A landhuis ( Dutch for "mansion, manor", plural ''landhuizen''; Indonesian: ''rumah kongsi''; Papiamento: ''kas di shon'' or ''kas grandi'') is a Dutch colonial country house, often the administrative heart of a '' particuliere land'' or private ...
'' or a ''rumah kongsi''
eigniorial house In this context, 'Kongsi' meant 'Lord' or 'his Lordship', and was a title used by the Chinese Landheeren, who were invariably scions of the
Cabang Atas gentry.
Government
bureaucracy
The term bureaucracy () refers to a body of non-elected governing officials as well as to an administrative policy-making group. Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments staffed with non-elected offi ...
in the particuliere landen was nominated and remunerated not by the central government, but by the Landheeren themselves.
An ''administrateur'' was appointed to oversee the management of the Landheer's tanah kongsi.
As the highest authority in his domain, the Landheer appointed the district heads or ''
Camat'' in his domain, other bureaucrats as he saw fit and, at the lowest level,
village heads
A village head, village headman or village chief is the community leader of a village or a small town.
Usage
Brunei
In Brunei, village head is called or in the Malay language. It is an administrative post which leads the community of a v ...
who – specifically in these particuliere landerijen – went by the title of ''Mandor''.
Minor crimes on the particuliere landen were adjudicated and punished by courts set up by the Landheer.
The Landheer was also responsible for the provision of education, health and other social services and public infrastructures for the inhabitants of the domain.
As part of his landsheerlijke rechten, the Landheer was entitled to certain dues from his subjects, including ''tjoekee'' or ''contingent'', which consisted of 20% of the
harvest
Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...
from dependent holdings worked on by his tenant farmers.
The Landheer also collected ''padjeg'', which was his predetermined share of his tenant farmers’ harvest, fixed for a certain period of time.
The collection of all these dues was overseen by officials called ''Potia'', who were assisted by deputies called ''Komitier''.
Also part of his landsheerlijke rechten was the Landheer's right to impose ''kompenian'' or
corvee labour on his subjects, amounting to sixty days of unpaid work each year from his tenant farmers at times determined by the Landheer or his bureaucrats.
Kompenian labour included work on
public infrastructures, such as roads or bridges on the domain, or work on the Landheer's own tanah kongsi.
By Ommelanden custom, tenant farmers were only allowed to harvest their crops after receiving the Landheer's permission.
List of particuliere landerijen
*
Jatinegara
Jatinegara (originally known as Meester Cornelis or Meester for short) is one of the districts (''Kecamatan'') of East Jakarta, Indonesia. The name also refers to the larger, historic area of the colonial town of Meester Cornelis. Established in ...
*
Tanjung Timur
*
Tanjung Barat
Tandjong West (English: "West Cape"; Indonesian: "Tanjung Barat") was a ''Particuliere landerij, particuliere land'' or private domain in modern-day Tanjung Barat, Jagakarsa, South Jakarta, Indonesia. The center of the domain was the eponymous Land ...
*
Kramat
A ''mazār'' ( ar, مزار), or ''darīh'' () in the Maghreb, is a mausoleum or shrine in some places of the world, typically that of a saint or notable religious leader. Medieval Arabic texts may also use the words ''mašhad'' or ''maqām'' ...
See also
*
Landrentestelsel
The Landrentestelsel (literally: ''Land Securities System'') was a system of taxation in the Dutch East Indies, in which the indigenous population paid 2/5 of its agricultural products grown or a similar sum to the colonial administration. It was r ...
*
Manorialism
Manorialism, also known as the manor system or manorial system, was the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of Europe, notably France and later England, during the Middle Ages. Its defining features included a large, sometimes forti ...
*
Serfdom
Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which develop ...
*
Heerlijkheid
A ''heerlijkheid'' (a Dutch word; pl. ''heerlijkheden''; also called ''heerschap''; Latin: ''Dominium'') was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and judicial unit in rural areas in the Dutch-speaking Low Countries before 1800. ...
(
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
manorialism)
*
Patroon
In the United States, a patroon (; from Dutch ''patroon'' ) was a landholder with manorial rights to large tracts of land in the 17th century Dutch colony of New Netherland on the east coast of North America. Through the Charter of Freedoms a ...
(17th century
New Netherland
New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the East Coast of the United States, east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territor ...
)
References
{{Authority control
History of Indonesia
Dutch East Indies
Feudalism
Economic systems
Social classes
Particuliere landerijen