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Chapter One: Twilight of the Cultivation System


There is no argument to be made against the importance of Max Havelaar towards Dutch literature and the modern society of the Netherlands. Within a few years since its publication, Max Havelaar had become compulsory reading for a student in the Netherlands wishing to pass primary school Dutch, or an adult wishing to understand the politics of Dutch colonial management. Clearly, Multatuli’s first and greatest work sent a shockwave in the Netherlands like no work of fiction had ever done before.

Ask a scholar about the specifics, however, and one will find a unique answer in every try. Its multi-interpretative nature and unorthodox narrative is either a showcase of Multatuli’s great merit or the inconsistency of an inexperienced author. The story can be compared to the works of Charles Dickens and its themes to Uncle Tom’s Cabin, or it can be viewed as an excuse for the author to convey his many grudges. Is the success of Max Havelaar a testament to the progress of Dutch literature? Or is it a matter of being published in the right place at the right time?

No matter the answer, Max Havelaar is better examined with an understanding of its wider context. Eduard Douwes Dekker, as his pen name Multatuli, wrote Max Havelaar upon his return from service in Java. This departure was not a peaceful one. While he was no stranger to conflict with his superiors in Netherlands India, his final one was with the native resident of Probolinggo, where he was assigned as assistant resident. In his idealism, he was disgusted to see the resident live a luxurious life while the men who were forced to toil the land suffered. He was indeed the highest-ranking Dutch official in the newly created administrative division [1], but his complaints fell on deaf ears. In the end, he left Java in defeat, and as he alluded colorfully in the final chapter of his novel, picked up the pen to continue the fight.

Readers of the novel would find themselves very familiar with the story above, native tyranny and Dutch indifference are prevalent themes in the novel. So prevalent in fact, that the injustice hinted by the title: Dutch corruption, plays second fiddle in two chapters of the book that are of little consequence to the overall plot. It appeared that Multatuli had strategically chosen this title to hitch a ride on a growing political scandal in The Hague. We can safely say that not only this strategy made Max Havelaar a bestseller in 1860, it would also have the side effect of changing the path of history from then on.

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Psych.

Hello and welcome to my timeline! If you haven’t finished reading the post, I assume you came here looking for the annotation for [1]. Well there isn’t any and there won’t be for the rest of the timeline (I think, well at least for the time being). Instead, at the end of each update I would write a commentary of sorts, which may include: an explanation of the OTL context, a rundown of events that occur differently ITTL and IOTL, a (hopefully not too) opinionated analysis of how things turned out in both, notable sources which I feel like I have to share, and foreshadowing. Now, just because this is the first post it doesn’t mean that I won’t do it here, so without further ado…

As the title suggests, this TL is about a world where Max Havelaar was written differently. It’s still by the same guy, but as [1] would suggest, his career played out differently. The PoD would be, well, it’s quite difficult to pin-point. It would need to happen some time in the 1850s prior to the publication of Max Havelaar in 1860. The exact PoD would be a decision made that is now lost in the shelves of some colonial archive in Leiden or Jakarta. The first noticeable divergence is thus instead of being stationed in the dry coffee producing residency of Banten, Multatuli was stationed in the sugar-rich coastal residency of Malang in Eastern Java. The story, the writing style, the themes mostly stay the same, except wherever possible, coffee is replaced with sugar. Several characters were of course added to reflect the more extensive process of turning sugar canes into cash: Chinese merchants, wage laborers transporting sugar canes and working in factories, Dutch investors, etc. All in all, it’s a small change: IOTL, Max Havelaar was a 1 kg bag of cotton dropped into a pool. ITTL, it’s 1 kg of steel.

I don’t think I will go into detail about the story of TTL’s Max Havelaar though, if at all. I am of the opinion (warned you) that the book was far less influential than how people interpreted it and used it to further their goals. It’s so unintentionally post-modernist that it’s been used to further the agenda of Dutch capitalists, conservatives, Indonesian nationalists and communists alike. Besides, the narrative is angstier than the lyrics of most MCR songs, except I quite like MCR (sorry not sorry). Its dialogues are often Seinfeldian non-sequiturs. I, personally, couldn’t finish it and wouldn’t really recommend reading it. What I would recommend is Searching for Max Havelaar by Darren C. Zook (2006), an article which undresses the myths surrounding the book and its author, revealing the secrets behind its success and impact. I know, I felt I was pretentious, too, halfway through writing the last sentence.


On a completely unrelated note: I’ve been a lurker in this site for quite some time now, and I must say that I am pleased to see multiple timelines set in Indonesia popping up recently. So pleased in fact, that I finally have the motivation to write my own. Any feedback would be very appreciated. Enjoy!
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