The Earth of Mankind

1362 Words6 Pages
In the book, “The Earth of Mankind,” by Pramoedya Ananta Toer, it talks about a young Javanese boy journey through love and heartbreak. With historical ties the writer, Proameodya Ananta Toer, was able to convey the point of view of a young Javanese boy’s experiences in the unjust life in Java. In the 19th century, a unique society has taken its place in Java, Indo’s. Dutch, Natives, and Hapa’s, which are mix-bloods, intertwine in a unique culture shown in the novel, “The Earth of Mankind.” In the 19th century, Java is ruled by a Sultan and a sultans power can reach in far places therefore he cannot take charge of all of them at the same time, so he appoints someone to govern the land, that someone is called a “Bupati,” a bupati is a Native Javanese official appointed by the Sultan to administer a region. Most bupaties could lay some claim to noble blood. The downside of this type of hierocracy is the fact that the bupati’s and Sultan had virtually no power compared to the Dutch. The Dutch East India Company (VOC) laid claim to almost all-economic power in the Indies. The Dutch East India Company had a set of laws that shaped Colonial Java’s society. This company would take people who were trading and put them under this company, backed by the Dutch government, this company had the right to sign treaties and fight wars. The Dutch colonized Java and was allowed to act on behalf of the Dutch government. Members of the VOC had a 5 year contract with the company and after their contract was fulfilled, if they wanted to stay in the Indies these members could become “Burghers” which are people who has the ability to stay in the Indies but was not allowed to trade goods that the company was trading. The VOC did not want competition in the market with the burghers. Since only men would sail to the Indies, there were no European females to share in the glory of their
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