SOCIAL ARCHEOLOGY IN COLONIAL CAPITALISM: SPACE ANALYSIS, CLASS, AND RACE IN THE NEDERLANDSCHE HANDEL-MAATSCHAPPIJ BATAVIA IN EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY

Authors

• Rendy Dharmawansyah, Archaeology Studies, Universitas Indonesia.Follow
• Irmawati Marwoto IMJ, Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas IndonesiaFollow

Abstract

The research is to analyze the building of Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij (NHM) in its position as a Dutch Trade Company in the Dutch East Indies. It shows an influence of the colonial image, that is discriminative against the social condition of the native Indonesian in its structural architecture. By applying a Marxist theory on the analysis of social class, this writing examines the building of the NHM trade office and the material remains that revealed social class and racial segregation. The result of the study discloses that the architecture of the NHM building pointed out the dominating colonial power over the colony. It was visualized in the elaborate ornaments in the interior part and the facility access for the foreigners in contrast with the humble segment for the native Indonesian

Bahasa Abstract

enelitian ini bertujuan menganalisis bangunan Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij (NHM) dalam posisinya sebagai perusahaan dagang Belanda di Hindia Belanda. Penelitian ini menunjukkan adanya pengaruh citra kolonial yang bersifat diskriminatif terhadap kondisi sosial masyarakat pribumi Indonesia sebagaimana tercermin dalam struktur arsitekturnya. Dengan menerapkan teori Marxis mengenai analisis kelas sosial, kajian ini menelaah bangunan kantor dagang NHM beserta tinggalan material yang mengungkap adanya kelas sosial dan segregasi rasial. Hasil penelitian mengungkapkan bahwa arsitektur bangunan NHM merepresentasikan dominasi kekuasaan kolonial atas wilayah jajahan. Dominasi tersebut divisualisasikan melalui ornamen interior yang megah serta kemudahan akses fasilitas bagi orang-orang asing, yang sangat kontras dengan bagian yang sederhana dan terbatas yang diperuntukkan bagi masyarakat pribumi Indonesia.

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Recommended Citation

Dharmawansyah, Rendy and Marwoto, Irmawati IMJ (2026) "SOCIAL ARCHEOLOGY IN COLONIAL CAPITALISM: SPACE ANALYSIS, CLASS, AND RACE IN THE NEDERLANDSCHE HANDEL-MAATSCHAPPIJ BATAVIA IN EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY," International Review of Humanities Studies: Vol. 11: No. 2, Article 9.
DOI: 10.7454/irhs.v11i2.1485
Available at: https://scholarhub.ui.ac.id/irhs/vol11/iss2/9