chapter. If we were to follow Colenbrander by limiting ourselves to 'Dutch documents' produced by the almost 350 years long tie between the Netherlands and the Indonesian archipelago, we would be able to conclude that the majority of the archives known to us from the period of the VOC and the colonies are to be found in Jakarta and in The Hague.35 The VOC archives which UNESCO placed on the list of world heritage in 2002 have not always been treated with this deference. In fact, interest in keeping the VOC archives developed only during the course of the 19th century. Before they were transferred to the depots of the general state archives in The Hague in 1856, the archives were stored in barely accessible warehouses in Amsterdam. Lack of space regularly caused large parts to be cleared out. In 1821/22 the Ministry of the Colonies sold approximately 10,000 bound volumes of the VOC archive (in total 28,920 kilos of paper) from the 17the century to the highest bidder at a public auction.36 The circumstances in the Dutch East Indies were not much better. It was only after Van der Chijs was appointed as national archivist in 1892, that the archives were given any professional care.37 Until recently, the colonial archives were on the whole approached in a rather utilitarian manner. The emphasis was laid on surveying, accessibility and conservation of the archives. The pioneering labours of historians and archivists like Meilink-Roelofsz, Roessingh, Jaquet and Lohanda have produced important inventories and guides to archives which describe the available sources regarding the history of Asia, but which are now partly out of date. Meilink-Roelofsz worked on the inventorisation of the VOC archives kept in The Hague. The work of Roessingh and Jaquet deals with the sources concerning the history of Asia and Oceania in Dutch archives, libraries and research institutions; Lohanda's work is concerned with the archives held in the Arsip Nasional Republik Indonesia, ANRI.38 This annual is in our opinion not the appropriate place to summarise all available access and we only wish to mention that in the past decades much hitherto unknown archival material concerning the centuries old relations between the Netherlands and the Indonesian Archipelago, has come to light and has been made available by numerous smaller inventories, particularly in Dutch institutions holding archives. However, the scope of such inventorisation projects is not limited to colonial archives.39 15 CHARLES JEURGENS AND TON KAPPELHOF COLONIAL ARCHIVES 36 Meilink-Roelofsz, Raben and Spijkerman, Inventaris van het archief van de Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, 43. 37 Verhoeven, 'Geschiedenis van het Indische archiefwezen', Nationaal Archief, Collection Verhoeven, inv. nos 44-46, F.R.J., Het landsarchief te Batavia 1854-1942 (typescript; n.p. n.d.). For the remaining history of Indian archiving see also; Godée Molsbergen, 'Geschiedenis van het Landsarchief tot 1816'; Coolhaas, 'Het Landsarchief te Batavia'; Bloys van Treslong Prins, 'Het Landsarchief' 38 Roessingh, Sources of the history of Asia and Oceania Jaquet, Sources of the history of Asia and Oceania Lohanda, Guide to the sources of Asian History. 39 See for example the book review by Poeze of three archival overviews of the IISG in Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, 142: 2 (1986) 361-364. Institutions such as the NIOD and KDC have archives related to the Dutch East Indies. A recent project in the Institute of Dutch History has produced a reference list of Catholic and Protestant Mission archives. These can be viewed at www.huygens.knaw.nl/RepertoriumVanN ederlandseZendings-EnMissie-archievenl800-1960.

Periodiekviewer Koninklijke Vereniging van Archivarissen

Jaarboeken Stichting Archiefpublicaties | 2012 | | pagina 17