The prowess of Dutch Modernity – social aspects

Rapid population growth was commonplace because of:
_migration
_quick development of the plantations which require a lot of labor
_increased fertility and reduced mortality
E.g. Java’s population of between three and five million at the end of the 18th century had grown to 40.9 million by 1930, and a rate approaching 1.9% per annum
Urbanization happened ubiquitously in Dutch East Indies
_sizes of cities increased swiftly
_all major cities’ population grew much more quickly than rural areas surrounded them
_cities became centers of commerce and territorial administration in their own countries
_ Westerners occupied quite a large portion of those urban areas
E.g. Batavia’s population increased at an average annual rate of 5.5% between 1905 and 1930, more than half of them were born outside the city.
The Dutch intent to broaden their residencies out of the city center, for instance, they established a large residential suburb called Weltevreden (contented) in Batavia, away from the crowded and disease-ridden old port area.


The natives living in urban area fell into three groups:
_first is an elite
_second is the native middle class who account for only a tiny proportion of the whole population
_the largest portion of the population consists of working class people, a lot of whom were migrants
nBy the beginning of 20th century, Western schools were opened widely due to the demand for personnel:
_more Native Southeast Asians were allowed to attend modern schools
_government services also welcomed educated natives to hold certain positions in lower bureaucracy
_English became a common language for the educated
E.g. In 1905, the Netherlands Indies government elected to produce its own reading matter. Thus, Balai Pustaka, a government publishing and distribution firm was founded. They produced books in Malay and vernacular language in order to provide schools and public with proper material. They hope to influence the mass politically. Many Indonesia’s renowned authors were published by Balai Pustaka too.