The Rise of Imperialism in the Netherlands
In the 1800's, the two most ideal colonies to have in the world were the Dutch East Indies and British India. All of Europe had always received more imports from other countries than they put out. This was not the case with the Dutch East Indies and British India. Year after year, they put out more than they took in. Both were rich with natural resources and did lots of trade with-in themselves. This made them ideal colonies, and explains why the Netherlands were so interested in maintaining their leadership over the Dutch East Indies.
In 1677, the Dutch were given territory in Indonesia in exchange for helping them fight some rebel uprisings. Eventually, they came to control all of the port cities in Indonesia, and by the late 1700's, dominated trade. The Dutch forced the Indonesians to produce certain crops and deliver them at prices set by the Dutch. This made the Indonesians very unhappy and inspired nationalism in Indonesia. Rebellions began to took place and continued until 1835 when they were finally crushed by the Dutch. The nationalism remained however, and starting in 1926, many anti-Dutch movements had developed. Finally, on January 11th, 1942, during World War II, Japan took over Indonesia and the Indonesians were granted freedom on August 17th, 1945.
The height of imperialism in the Netherlands was from 1870 until 1902. In 1870-1880, most of the territories, which the Netherlands had acquired in the 17th century, had been lost. These consisted of some North American territories, territory in Brazil, outposts in South Africa, outposts in Guyana, outposts in Ceylon, and the Anglo-Dutch treaty of 1824 renounced claims in India and Malacca. The Dutch were mainly concentrating on territories in the West and East Indies. In 1873, the Dutch declared war on the archipelago of Indonesia. This was because the Dutch hoped to annex it. This war was called the Acheh war, and was set in motion by the Sumatra treaty. The Dutch wanted to annex Acheh because it was seen as a "pirates den," and they wanted to take it over. The reason they wished to take it over is because the Dutch were the main sea power of Europe at this time, and perceived Acheh as a threat, and also as a strength to hold because of it's geographical position.
From 1880 to 1902, the rivalry between European powers became stronger. The partition of the world happened more quickly in Europe at this time than before. However, the Dutch did not pursue expansion like the other great powers of Europe did. They focused not on dividing up Africa, but on maintaining Acheh and the East Indies. The Dutch were unsure of how to handle Dutch Colonialism in the East Indies. Three parties were formed, the Christian Party, the Conservative Party, and the Radical Party. The Christian hoped to offer guardianship to the East Indies and to unite all the islands under the Dutch flag. The Radical Party and Conservative party took more radical and conservative approaches to the situation. One of the main dilemmas was over how to control foreign powers, and the natives of the Dutch East Indies. Although the Dutch did not focus on South Africa and colonizing it, there were some settlers called Boers, from the Netherlands living there. These Boers overthrew British rule in South Africa. They gained support from Dutch political parties. This victory by the Boers in South Africa from the British stimulated Dutch Nationalism. The Boers sought mostly humanitarian support from the Netherlands. They wanted Dutch educational systems and health support. Also, they were interested in economical support, such as investment and railroads.
The period of time between 1890 and 1902 was a time of much competition between the old colonial powers of the world and the new powers, such as Japan and the United States. There was expansion in the Archipelago of Acheh by the Dutch, and oil production was big there. Also, there were strong reactions by the Dutch to the Boer War. The Dutch believed that "New Holland" would really be established in Africa. This strongly influenced Dutch nationalism.
By 1900, imperialism became a big debate in the Netherlands. There was conflict over moral and ethical fairness in colonization in the Netherlands. Besides Indonesia, which was lost in 1942 to Japan, the Netherlands kept their colonies until 1962, when they transferred New Guinea to the United Nations, 1975 when Suriname became an independent republic, and in 1986 when Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles, all part of the decolonization of the Cold War.