Preserving the Resources: Plantations and Mines Workers’ Hygiene
This article examines the role of physicians in the colonial state of the Dutch East Indies in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, especially in Sumatra. Being assigned mainly for assuring the health of the Europeans in the colony, their task expanded as they also had to maintain the health...
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| Pubblicato in: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/archipel, |
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| Autore principale: | |
| Natura: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Lingua: | Anglais |
| Pubblicazione: |
Archipel
2023
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| Accesso online: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:archipel_2996 |
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openedition |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:archipel_2996 https://doi.org/10.4000/archipel.2996 urn:doi:10.4000/archipel.2996 en https://journals.openedition.org/archipel/2996 2023-02-27T01:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/a20a https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Preserving the Resources: Plantations and Mines Workers’ Hygiene Archipel Association Archipel info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/2104-3655 info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/0044-8613 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/archipel Jaelani, Gani A. This article examines the role of physicians in the colonial state of the Dutch East Indies in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, especially in Sumatra. Being assigned mainly for assuring the health of the Europeans in the colony, their task expanded as they also had to maintain the health of the plantations and mines workers. This additional duty was crucial to ensure the workers’ productivity which eventually resulted in economic benefits for the colonial state. The cultivation system (sistem tanam paksa) resulted in a high rate of mortality among workforce. Doctor Willem Bosch expressed his concern by criticizing the colonial government and later suggesting for a healthcare system that would reduce the death rate in the colony. When large plantations were opened as a result of the implementation of liberal politics, attention to workers’ conditions increased, although not entirely thorough, to ensure a healthier population as the main driving force for businesses. In many cases, however, these workers experienced awful treatments, including from the plantation doctors themselves. Using European physicians’ reports, this article discusses their views on workers’ health issues concerning the political economy of the colonial state. Cet article examine le rôle des médecins dans l’État colonial des Indes néerlandaises au XIXe et début du XXe siècles, en particulier à Sumatra. Principalement chargés de veiller à la santé des Européens de la colonie, leur tâche s’est élargie lorsqu’ils ont dû également s’occuper de celle des ouvriers des plantations et des mines. Cette tâche supplémentaire était cruciale pour garantir la productivité des travailleurs, au bénéfice de l’État colonial. Le système de cultures forcées (sistem tanam paksa) a entraîné un grand nombre de décès parmi la main-d’œuvre indigène. Le docteur Willem Bosch a exprimé son inquiétude en critiquant le gouvernement colonial, puis en suggérant un système de santé qui réduirait le taux de mortalité dans la colonie. Lorsque de grandes plantations ont été ouvertes à la suite de la mise en œuvre de la politique libérale, l’attention portée à la condition des travailleurs s’est accrue, quoique de manière limitée, afin de garantir une meilleure santé de cette population, principale force motrice des entreprises. Dans de nombreux cas, cependant, ces travailleurs ont subi des traitements affreux, y compris de la part des médecins des plantations eux-mêmes. En s’appuyant sur les rapports des médecins européens, cet article examine leurs points de vue sur les questions de santé des travailleurs dans le cadre de l’économie politique de l’État colonial. |
| collection |
OpenEdition Journal |
| language |
Anglais |
| format |
Article ou chapitre numérique |
| building |
0/Bibliothèque numérique/ 1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/ |
| description |
This article examines the role of physicians in the colonial state of the Dutch East Indies in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, especially in Sumatra. Being assigned mainly for assuring the health of the Europeans in the colony, their task expanded as they also had to maintain the health of the plantations and mines workers. This additional duty was crucial to ensure the workers’ productivity which eventually resulted in economic benefits for the colonial state. The cultivation system (sistem tanam paksa) resulted in a high rate of mortality among workforce. Doctor Willem Bosch expressed his concern by criticizing the colonial government and later suggesting for a healthcare system that would reduce the death rate in the colony. When large plantations were opened as a result of the implementation of liberal politics, attention to workers’ conditions increased, although not entirely thorough, to ensure a healthier population as the main driving force for businesses. In many cases, however, these workers experienced awful treatments, including from the plantation doctors themselves. Using European physicians’ reports, this article discusses their views on workers’ health issues concerning the political economy of the colonial state. |
| author |
Jaelani, Gani A. |
| spellingShingle |
Jaelani, Gani A. Preserving the Resources: Plantations and Mines Workers’ Hygiene |
| author_facet |
Jaelani, Gani A. |
| author_sort |
Jaelani, Gani A. |
| title |
Preserving the Resources: Plantations and Mines Workers’ Hygiene |
| title_short |
Preserving the Resources: Plantations and Mines Workers’ Hygiene |
| title_full |
Preserving the Resources: Plantations and Mines Workers’ Hygiene |
| title_fullStr |
Preserving the Resources: Plantations and Mines Workers’ Hygiene |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Preserving the Resources: Plantations and Mines Workers’ Hygiene |
| title_sort |
preserving the resources: plantations and mines workers’ hygiene |
| publisher |
Archipel |
| publishDate |
2023 |
| container_title |
URI:https://journals.openedition.org/archipel |
| url |
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/archipel.2996 https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/archipel/2996 |
| _version_ |
1877292882967134208 |