“Preanger Planters”: Kiprah raja teh Priangan 1862 - 1942

Abstract

Private entrepreneurs could cultivate the leased land after the 1870 Agrarian Law was enacted in Priangan. One of the Priangan plantation entrepreneurs is a descendant of Willem van der Hucht, namely Holle, Kerkhoven, and Bosscha. In the early 20th century, Holle, Kerkhoven, and Bosscha developed tea plantations in the Priangan region, and they became the new rich people of the plantations. The emergence of new rich people as investors supported the development of colonial modernity in the area around plantations. This paper seeks to see the socio-economic situation around plantations in Priangan and the role of Holle, Kerkhoven, and Bosscha in Priangan by using historical methods, namely heuristic, criticism, interpretation, and historiography. This study seeks to show the work of Willem van der Hucht’s planter family in Priangan. Kerkhoven, Holle, and Bosscha show their work in education, social technological advancement, health, and the development of plantation economic cultivation in Priangan. The position of planters as owners of capital and plantations was strategic enough to drive government policies in the early 20th century. Thus, their work in advancing colonial modernity in Priangan is important in building a city’s physical infrastructure and advancing sustainable colonial life.