A Brief History of the Press in the Dutch East Indies

1809 - 1820

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Caption Bahasa Indonesia

"Landsdrukkerij atau Government Printing Press at Batavia"

Source: KITLV, circa 1880

The history of the press in the Dutch East Indies began during the French interregnum after the control of the Netherlands by Louis Napoleon's regime, which also affected all lines of order in the Dutch East Indies colony.

Regarding the early existence of daily newspapers in the East Indies, Womster (1941: 6-8) said that the emergence of the embryo of the press and newspapers was related to the arrival of the Dutch and the VOC occupation period. The embryo of a newspaper or newspaper in the Indies first appeared in the form of a handwritten letter or news sheet in the range of 1615-1617 - named "Memorie der Nouvelles", which was published on the orders of a "Director General of All Trade Offices in the Indies" Jan Pietersz. Coen.

As the VOC did not yet have a printing press, the realisation of news sheets was limited. So the Memorie der Nouvelles was still very simple, using a four-page folio paper, and contained concise news about trading activities, as well as the arrival and departure of commercial ships, both in Batavia and at the various trading posts (factorijen) owned by the VOC. The circulation of the Memorie der Nouvelles was not wide, due to the limited facilities, so the circulation of the newspaper only revolved around internal circles; VOC officials, and employees only and had to go through a fairly strict censorship process at the secretariat office.

Awareness of the importance of printing/publishing was developed during the reign of VOC Governor-General Gustaaf Willem Baron van Imhoff (1743-1750). Despite Dutch accounts that Imhoff was the face of a "liberal" and "enlightened" governor-general and a "cultured man" with a series of policies that erased the corrupt image and stigma of the Company, the characteristics of a monopolistic nature were visible.

The liberal character of the incumbent governor-general attracted the attention of one of the VOC personnel, Jan Erdman Jordens, an onderkoopman (affiliated traders/VOC personnel) who interpreted the governor-general's character, reflected in his policies, as openness to new ideas. Jan Erdman Jordens then took the initiative to publish a news media with the vision of becoming a medium or means of communication among VOC officials and crew, as well as with the East Indies public at large. Jordens' concept seemed to be more complete than J. P. Coen's earlier Memorie, with the projection that the new print media would take the form of a newspaper or newspaper-like publication with a wide circulation.

7 August 1744 - After receiving the Governor-General's approval, Jordens published the first edition of his newspaper called Bataviasche Nouvelles en Politique Raisonnementen or Bataviasche Nouvelles. This newly published newspaper had a simple form, with a size slightly larger than the folio previously used by Memorie Nouvelles, consisted of four pages, and was printed in a two-column layout like a newsletter/bulletin in today's print media and published weekly.

"Cover page of the 19 October 1744 issue of Bataviase Nouvelles"

Source: Delpher. url: https://www.delpher.nl/nl/kranten/view?coll=ddd&identifier=ddd:010728185:mpeg21:p001

The substance of the Bataviasche Nouvelles was not much different from that of the Memorie, namely information about the VOC's administrative provisions, news about trade, the arrival of ships, the appointment and dismissal of VOC officials; as well as the dismissal and death of Company employees. In addition, the Bataviasche Nouvelles was also a mass media entity, as can be seen from the fact that most of the pages in the weekly newspaper contained advertisements and auction news, and in some special editions, the weekly newspaper also contained essays or treatises on the early history of the colony, as well as a brief history of the church.

20 November 1745 - De Heeren XVII sends a letter to G. W. Baron van Imhoff with a request - or perhaps an order - to stop and prohibit the printing and circulation of the Bataviasche Nouvelles, considering the newspaper "potentially dangerous to the country".

Governor-General van Imhoff and Jordens were certainly very surprised when they read the letter, considering that Jorderns had never reported anything "dangerous", van Imhoff had also formed a censorship commission which was quite strict so that the request or order to close the Bataviasche Nouvelles was considered unreasonable. Despite objecting to the decision of De Heeren XVII, Imhoff with his liberal and open-minded knowledge, and especially Jordens who pioneered the Bataviasche Nouvelles with great difficulty had to submit to the orders of superiors at the central level.

20 June 1746 - The Bataviasche Nouvelles is officially closed, and no longer accompanies the breakfast of Europeans in the colony's soil.

22 November 1809 - French rule through Willem Daendels in the Dutch East Indies sought to establish a modern bureaucratic system and an effective administrative structure. 22 November 1809, government regulations on printing were being drafted, regulations that later became the foundation for official newspapers. In the same year, Daendels established the Landsdrukkerij, or Government Printing Press.

5 January 1810 - The first weekly newspaper is published in Batavia; the Bataviasche Koloniale Courant (Batavian Colonial Newspaper) is based in Batavia. The circulation of the Bataviasche Koloniale Courant newspaper only lasted for a year and a half as the British took over Java in August 1811.

Bataviasche Koloniale Courant, Friday 5 August 1810

source: archive from "Poestaha Depok", various internet sources.

The British interregnum (1811-1816):

One of the British liberals; Thomas Stamford Raffles who led the British interregnum, started his official administrative newspaper; the Java Government Gazzete which was first published on 29 February 1812. Besides containing information related to official government announcements, decrees, and regulations, the gazette also contained lengthy accounts of the war in Europe. It was through the gazette that Dutch readers living in Java learnt about the fall of Napoleon in April 1814, which also brought hope for the Dutch to be released from British control as soon as possible. After the British handed Java back to the Dutch in 1816, the gazette naturally ceased to exist and was not continued.

Java Government Gazette, issued on Saturday, 29 February 1812.

source: Nederlandstalige periodieken tot aanvang Koninkrijk der Nederlanden.

After the return of Java to the rule of the Dutch Government:

August 1816 - The new Dutch administration in Java started the Bataviasche Courant (Batavia Newspaper).

1828 - Bataviasche Courant changes its name to Javasche Courant.

Javasche Courant, issued on Saturday, 22 March 1828.

Source: various internet sources https://www.goodnewsfromindonesia.id/uploads/images/2021/06/0309492021-javasche-courant.jpg

The official government newspapers had a relatively small circulation space, this was due to the limited equipment and materials to carry out printing activities, so the existence of private companies distributing newspapers could be said to be nil in the 1814-1820s period; Printing machines were almost exclusively owned by the government. In addition to the scarcity of experts in setting prints, the lack of interest in printed newspapers at that time made the presence of printed mass media still not needed by the public.

The situation began to change in the mid-1820s when trade activities reached their culmination; traders needed information regarding economic resources and the availability of merchandise in Java. Based on this need, newspapers oriented toward commercial trade advertisements began to appear. One such newspaper in Semarang was the Semarangsche Advertentieblad (Semarang Advertisement Newspaper), which began publication in 1845.

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