The Council of the Indies (Dutch: Raad van Indië; Indonesian: Dewan Hindia) was a body established in 1610 to advise and limit the powers of the governor-general of the Dutch East Indies.[1][2] Following administrative reforms of 1836, the council was later renamed as the Council of the Dutch East Indies (Dutch: Raad van Nederlandsch-Indië).
Initially the council had four members and a chairman, all Dutch nationals. In 1930, this was increased to six people, with citizens of the Dutch East Indies eligible for membership. The council was chaired by the governor-general. The Dutch monarch had the authority to make a final decision in the event of a disagreement between the governor-general and the council.[3][4]
Prior to 1836, the council had the same standing as the governor-general, but that year, its role was reduced to that of an advisory body. It regained some of its powers in 1854, when an act was passed obliging the governor-general to consult it before taking major measures, but he was still under no obligation to heed its advice.[5] Its powers were reduced again in 1925, but the governor-general still had to consult it before taking certain actions, including making announcements or sending proposals to the semi-legislative Volksraad.[6]
In a report sent to Governor-General Alidius Tjarda van Starkenborgh Stachouwer in 1938, the council recommended rejection of the Soetardjo Petition, which had been signed by a number of members of the Volksraad and that asked for a conference to be organised to discuss the autonomy for the Dutch East Indies as part of a Dutch commonwealth. The council took the view that the demands of the petition were at odds with the Dutch constitution and that Indonesia was not ready to become a dominion.[7]
Membership
Notes
^Ricklefs 2008, p. 59.
^Cribb & Kahin 2004, p. 362.
^Kusuma 2004, p. 75.
^Vandenbosch 1933, p. 88.
^Angelino 1931, p. 47.
^Vandenbosch 1933, pp. 86–87.
^Abeyasekere 1973, pp. 100–101.
^Regeeringsalmanak voor Nederlandsch-Indië 1922, p. 47.
^Regeeringsalmanak voor Nederlandsch-Indië 1931, p. 55.
^Regeeringsalmanak voor Nederlandsch-Indië 1941, p. 53.
References
Abeyasekere, Susan (April 1973). "The Soetardjo Petition" (PDF). Indonesia. 15 (15): 81–108. doi:10.2307/3350793. ISSN 0019-7289. JSTOR 3350793.
Angelino, A.D.A. De Kat (1931). Colonial Policy, Volume II: The Dutch East Indies. The Hague, Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff.
Cribb, R.B; Kahin, Audrey (2004). Historical Dictionary of Indonesia. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810849358.
Kusuma, A.B (2004). Lahirnya Undang-Undang Dasar 1945 : memuat salinan dokumen otentik badan oentoek menyelidiki oesaha2 persiapan kemerdekaan [The Birth of the 1945 Constitution: including copies of the authentic documents of the Investigating Committee for Preparatory Work for Independence] (in Indonesian). Depok, Indonesia: Badan Penerbit Fakultas Hukum Universitas Indonesia. ISBN 979-8972-28-7.
Regeeringsalmanak voor Nederlandsch-Indië 1922: Tweede gedeelte [Government almanac for the Dutch East Indies 1922: Second part] (PDF) (in Dutch). 1922.
Regeeringsalmanak voor Nederlandsch-Indië 1931: Tweede gedeelte [Government almanac for the Dutch East Indies 1931: Second part] (PDF) (in Dutch). 1931.
Indies, Dutch East (1941). Regeeringsalmanak voor Nederlandsch-Indië 1941: Tweede gedeelte [Government almanac for the Dutch East Indies 1941: Second part] (in Dutch).
Ricklefs, M.C. (2008) [1981]. A History of Modern Indonesia Since c.1300 (4th ed.). London: MacMillan. ISBN 978-0-230-54685-1.
Vandenbosch, Amry (1933). The Dutch East Indies, its government, problems, and politics. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans publishing company.
