Question

Which of the following is not true regarding the Dutch administration in Indonesia?

• A. The Dutch introduced the blandongdiensten system to collect rent from villagers having cultivable lands.
• B. The Dutch were interested in utilising Javanese timber for building ships and railways.
• C. The Dutch punished the natives for grazing cattle, transporting wood without a permit, or travelling on forest roads with horse carts or cattle.
• D. The Dutch wanted to control the territories of Indonesia and enacted stringent forest laws.

Answer 1

The correct option is A The Dutch introduced the blandongdiensten system to collect rent from villagers having cultivable lands.

Initially, the Dutch collected rent from cultivable lands. Post the introduction of the blandongdiensten system, Indonesian villagers were exempted from paying rents on cultivable lands within the forests on one condition: the villagers had to provide free labour and buffaloes for cutting and transporting timber.