The Dutch Ethical Policy
What was the Dutch Ethical Policy?
Meanwhile in Holland, pressure began to build for a change from the previous profit above all policy towards Indonesia. It was felt that the Dutch owed a debt to Indonesia for all the wealth it had managed to extract over the previous decades. The new 'Ethical Policy' was a result of this feeling. It began from 1901-1902 and was intended to promote the welfare of the people in the colony above profit by focusing on three main areas for development: education, irrigation and emigration.
How successful was it?
The Ethical Policy did have some achievements, and the Dutch did increase spending on public health by about ten times but it was ultimately a failure. In part, this failure was due to the impact of population growth on Java, but it must also be noted that the colonial government emphasised economic development above the welfare of the general population.
How did the Ethical Policy impact education in Indonesia?
In terms of education for all, the Ethical Policy not only failed to reach the majority of the population, and has to be measured against the efforts of other colonial regimes at this time. The closest comparable example is that of America in the Philippines, which was far more successful in providing education to the local population than the colonial administration in the Dutch East Indies.
How significant was the Ethical Policy?
In the field of education, the ethical policy not only failed to reach the majority of the population, but also helped create the leaders, such as Sukarno, of the future Indonesian nationalist movement. Seen in this way, the ethical policy played a significant if inadvertent, role in the growth of Indonesian nationalism.
Tasks and Questions
- The summary above states that the Ethical Policy may have had some successes. If you were looking for examples of these successes what would you look for?
- In your own words, why does the passage above argue that the Ethical Policy was a failure?
- In your own words, why does the passage above argue that the Ethical Policy was historically significant?
- What does this part mean "the ethical policy played a significant if inadvertent, role in the growth of Indonesian nationalism" ?