June 2021: TCF has become PCF as part of KITLV

The Corts Foundation has transferred its activities to the new ‘Philippus Corts Fonds’, now part of 'The Learned Society / KITLV'.

The Board of the Corts Foundation has concluded the activities as an autonomous foundation and handed over her assets and activities to the new “Philippus Corts Fonds” that continues her activities as part of 'The Learned Society / KITLV' [see: https://www.verenigingkitlv.nl/philippus-corts-fonds/].

'The Learned Society / KITLV' (Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies) is the owner of a unique and scientific collection including books, handwritings, images and also other unique objects regarding Southeast Asia and the Caribbean. The collection is managed by Leiden University Libraries / Universiteitsbibliotheek Leiden (UBL) since July 2014.

The focus of the ‘Philippus Corts Fonds’ will be: “The preservation of original archival sources (in local languages and in Dutch) in Indonesia and the Netherlands regarding the shared history of these countries during 1602 till 1949, in particular the period of the ‘Dutch East Indian Company- VOC’ and the second World war in Asia”, and making these accessible.

Given the workload, the board of the Corts Foundation decided several years ago to discuss how to continue the foundation after realizing the main goals of its principles.
First of all: ‘digital preservation for the long term and making accessible (1.1 mio) VOC- manuscripts kept at the Arsip Nasional Republik Indonesia in Jakarta’, and secondly: ‘Research, translation and publication of Japanese archival sources about the Japanese invasion in the former Dutch- East Indies in 1942’, resulting in an academic trilogy of more than 1900 pages.
After that, it would be possible to use the remaining financial resources to set up a new fund focusing on shared cultural heritage in present Indonesia.

Recently, the Corts foundation published its third (and last) Senshi Sōsho volume, concluding successfully her Senshi Sōsho- project. Our ‘Leiden University Office Tokyo’ has been terminated and employee contracts ended. In 2017 we formally concluded the ‘Data Archival System at ANRI’- project, with unique results. However, we were responsible until recently for maintenance and management of the information system and the project website ‘Sejarah-Nusantara’. These responsibilities have been transferred to ANRI.

After ascertaining that our main objectives (as stated in 2003) have indeed been realized, the
board of the Corts Foundation selected a partner which would be most suitable for continuing her activities in the future. Given her long tradition and experience in Asia the KITLV Society became the ideal partner.

The board of the Corts Foundation is pleased that today the general assembly of members of the 'The Learned Society / KITLV' approved the proposal to set up the ‘Philippus Corts Fonds’. In doing so we will be able to benefit of the extensive knowledge and experience of the 'The Learned Society / KITLV' in researching primary sources. Moreover, the work of the Corts Foundation will be preserved for the long time future.

Sejarah Nusantara

The Corts Foundation and the Arsip Nasional Republik Indonesia proudly present a website, in both English and Indonesian language, that shows thousands of handwritten pages of the Dutch 17th and 18th century archives, inventories and searchable databases. This website focusses on a worldwide audience of people interested in the history of the Indonesian archipelago hidden as treasures in these old documents.

Visit the website of

www.sejarah-nusantara.anri.go.id

and start exploring ...

Welcome

Today the 'Phillipus Corts Fund' is a named fund that is managed by KITLV in the Netherlands, and used for grants for projects that relate to the former Dutch East Indies. The fund was formerly known as the 'Philippus Corts Foundation', known abroad as 'The Corts Foundation'.

The original foundation started in 2003 with the legacy capital of Kees Corts. His interest in the former Dutch East Indies and Indonesian history led to the support of many interesting projects in the past years.

Read more ...

History

C.W. Corts MSc was born on 24 May 1920 into a Dutch family living in Sumatra, where his father practiced medicine. In 1939 Kees Corts returned to the Netherlands for his tertiary education with his parents and younger brother, Philip. World War II proved to be a tragedy for the family, as Philip was executed during the occupation of the Netherlands.

Read more ...