DE KINACULTUUR [La coltivazione della cincona / The Cultivation of Cinchona] (NL, 1912/[1923])
regia/dir, photog: J.C. Lamster. prod: Koloniaal Instituut. copia/copy: DCP, 7′ (da/from 35mm, 137 m., 18 fps, imbibito/tinted); did./titles: NLD. fonte/source: Eye Filmmuseum, Amsterdam.

The cinchona tree, native to the Andes, was imported to the colony in the 1850s. Valued for the medicinal qualities of its bark, notably in battling fever, it was cultivated in close cooperation with international scientists, industries, and governments. This laid the foundation for the Netherlands East Indies’ world monopoly (over 90%!) on quinine – used for malaria treatment – during the first half of the 20th century. It was one of the export crops that for decades filled the coffers of the Dutch government and paid for Holland’s modernizing infrastructure of canals and railways.

Nico de Klerk

IN DE WERKPLAATSEN STAATSSPOOR TE BANDOENG [Nelle officine delle ferrovie nazionali a Bandung / In the National Railways Workshops, Bandung] (NL, 1912-1913/1923)
regia/dir, photog: J.C. Lamster. prod: Koloniaal Instituut. copia/copy: 35mm, 138 m., 7′ (18 fps), b&w, imbibito/tinted); did./titles: NLD. fonte/source: Eye Filmmuseum, Amsterdam.

A “phantom ride” shows the national railway’s workshops for the construction, assembly, maintenance, and repair of rolling stock, and its indigenous workers. The Colonial Institute’s films were meant to attract prospective Dutch emigrants to work in the colony, but precious few locations or workplaces were filmed where they would actually come to work. This film is one of many that shows where they would not be employed. Its obligatory lecture text explains why, in familiar racial stereotypes: The large numbers of indigenous workers in this plant are needed, because they under-perform (i.e., are “calm”, “slow”) compared to their European counterparts. The Europeans, however, would be unable to keep up the heavy work, while their standard of living is too high for what the plant pays. Conveniently, they are only fit for skilled, supervising, or management positions.

Nico de Klerk

THEECULTUUR IN WEST-JAVA [La coltivazione del tè nelle regioni occidentali di Giava / The Cultivation of Tea in West Java] (NL, 1912-1913/[1923])
regia/dir, photog: J.C. Lamster. prod: Koloniaal Instituut. copia/copy: 35mm, 186 m., 9′ (18 fps), b&w, imbibito/tinted; did./titles: NLD. fonte/source: Eye Filmmuseum, Amsterdam.

This is an example of a film that was considered inadequate in its initial version. First of all, the filmmaker had arrived at a moment in the cultivation process when the seed-bearing stage was already over. Furthermore, important details, such as methods of tea-picking, had apparently been difficult to record. And, finally, certain phases in the product’s processing had simply been skipped. Hence the insertion of additionally filmed prints and photographs. This is the only film that gives a sense of the magnitude of a tea plantation. Not a successful crop under the “Cultivation System” of forced indigenous labor in the 1820s, tea’s economic success only came with the system’s gradual replacement by privately run plantations after the 1860s.

Nico de Klerk

STRAFGEVANGENIS TE BATAVIA [Carcere a Batavia / Prison in Batavia] (NL, 1912-1913/1923)
regia/dir, photog: J.C. Lamster. prod: Koloniaal Instituut. copia/copy: 35mm, 130 m., 7′ (18 fps), b&w, imbibito/tinted; did./titles: NLD. fonte/source: Eye Filmmuseum, Amsterdam.

Like so many public institutions, prisons were largely segregated (only women were incarcerated irrespective of ethnicity, there being only one women’s prison in the entire colony). Traditionally, being sentenced meant a period of forced labour. But in this prison the products made by indigenous inmates were considered to be in keeping with their skills. One suspects that the duties shown were normally performed indoors, but that the equipment was moved into the open air to allow their filming. Of course, one has to imagine them as taking place inside, or else the intertitle “Prisoners are given regular airings” would be meaningless.

Nico de Klerk

IMMIGRATIE IN DELI [Immigrazione a Deli / Immigration to Deli] (NL 1917)
regia/dir: L. Ph. de Bussy. prod: Koloniaal Instituut. copia/copy: 35mm, 443 m., 21′ (18 fps); did./titles: NLD. fonte/source: Eye Filmmuseum, Amsterdam.

The economic exploitation, since the late 1860s, of the so-called “outer regions” (i.e., islands other than Java and Madura) led to the spectacular growth of the plantation industries on Sumatra’s east coast. Companies flourished thanks to a government-supported system of indentured labour, implemented in 1880, which relied on imported coolies from Malaysia, China, and Java. These cheap and “expendable” employees were kept in systematic serfdom, subject to the companies’ total control, which didn’t stop short of excessive corporal punishments. With no administrative or legal enforcement to speak of in these newly opened-up areas, the colonial government had not only implicitly transferred responsibility to the companies, but also condoned their inhuman practices for the sake of economic prosperity. Conscious of mounting criticism, the recorded people-processing scenes were apparently considered acceptable for the film’s window-dressing.

Nico de Klerk