The Operations of the Navy in the Dutch East Indies and the Bay of Bengal

Between 1966 and 1980, the War History Office of the National Defense College of Japan published the 102-volume Senshi Sōsho (War History Series). These volumes give a detailed account of the operations of the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy during the Second World War. The Operations of the Navy in the Dutch East Indies and the Bay of Bengal, volume 26 of the series, describes the Japanese Navy’s role in the campaign to gain control over the Indonesian archipelago. It includes, among others, the first, complete Japanese analysis of the Battle of the Java Sea, a much-debated battle that ended disastrously for the Allies and opened the way to Java for the Japanese.

The Corts Foundation (“TCF”, www.cortsfoundation.org ) aims to preserve and open up historical sources concerning the Dutch presence in East and Southeast Asia and make them available to researchers and the general public. Its main projects concern the digital long term preservation of 1.1 million manuscripts archival concerning the Dutch East India Company (VOC) held at the National Archives of Indonesia (ANRI), and the translation into English of several volumes of the Senshi Sōsho series concerning the Japanese invasion of the former Dutch East Indies.

After publishing in 2015 to national and international acclaim The Invasion of the Dutch East Indies (Vol. 3 of the Senshi Sōsho series), the Corts Foundation will present on Monday 24 September 2018 at 15.00, The Operations of the Navy in the Dutch East Indies and the Bay of Bengal. To register for this presentation at the Groot Auditorium of Leiden University, Rapenburg 73, please reply to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

During the presentation, Dr. Anita van Dissel, Associate Professor Maritime History, Leiden University, Vice Admiral (rtd) Matthieu Borsboom, Former Commander Royal Netherlands Navy, and Dr. Willem Remmelink, editor and translator of the volume, will give short presentations. The president of the Corts Foundation will present the first copies to prof. Dr. M. R. Rutgers, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Leiden University, and to Mr. Th. W.R. Doorman, son of Rear Admiral Karel Doorman, commander of the Allied Fleet during the Battle of the Java Sea.

The publication of this volume was made possible by the financial support of not only the Corts Foundation, but also the Isaac Alfred Ailion Foundation, the Suntory Foundation, the Gravin van Bylandt Stichting, the Netherlands Institute of Military History (NIMH), the Samenwerkende Maritieme Fondsen (i.e. Vaderlandsch Fonds ter aanmoediging van ’s-Lands Zeedienst, Directie der Oostersche Handel en Reederijen, and the Vereeniging de Prins Hendrik Stichting).

The Publisher is Leiden University Press.

For now: “SAVE THE DATE”.

Signed, Egbert Jacobs
President The Corts Foundation

Reading and interpreting texts from the 17th and 18th century can be challenging because of the use of words and spelling that differs from modern Dutch. A glossary can help scholars to interpret specific words and understand their language origine. The Dutch VOC records at the National Archives of Indonesia (ANRI) contain countless numbers of words that originates from Dutch but also from south east asian regions and other areas.

Mona Lohanda (senior archivist at ANRI) made a first selection of terms from the VOC archives, especially from the marginalia of the Daily Journals. These terms have been described and translated in Dutch, Indonesian and English. The etymology of these terms (the origin of them from a language point of view) has been researched by Dr. Tom Hoogervorst of KITLV Leiden and these are added to the glossary. This makes the glossary truly unique.

This glossary has been realized in the DASA project that TCF and ANRI has conducted together over the last years. all results can be found on the website of sejarah-nusantara.anri.go.id and available for download, but also on this page (see below).

The following persons have greatly contributed to realize this glossary:

• Dr. Mona Lohanda, senior archivaris ANRI
• Dr. Tom Hoogervorst, Aziatisch taalkundige KITLV Leiden
• Dhr. Marco Roling, informatie ontwerper TCF
• Mevr. Nurhayu Santoso, indonesische vertaalster

Download here >> Glossarium VOC Indonesie V20180206

The Corpus Diplomaticum Neerlando-Indicum comprises six volumes, published already between 1907 and 1955 by Mr J.E. Heeres and Dr F.W. Stapel at the Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde (KITLV) as a ‘Bijdrage tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië’. These volumes contain the most imortant collection of political contracts and treaties (more than 1200) concluded by the Dutch in Asia and permits granted to them. It is a rich historical source, but until now only available in print and non-searchable.

The Corts Foundation decided to scan these volumes, partly OCR them and create indexes on the contracts, and names and places in these volumes. The first volume has now been digitized (196 contracts) and published online on the website of Sejarah Nusantara in Indonesia. 
The publication of Volume 1 can be found at: 
https://www.sejarah-nusantara.anri.go.id/corpusdiplomaticum/

This first volume was published by:

- Fanada Sholihah (History Department Diponegoro University)
- Marco Roling (The Corts Foundation)
- Jelle Gerbrandy (Software Engineer)

(video by: Fanada Sholihah and Aji Kurniawan AP, 2017)

Also on the same website the already existing database of the Marginalia (117.390 entries) is extended with indexes on person names and place names. The existing database of the Appendices to the General Resolutions (1213 entries) is extended with a few volumes and also indexes on person and place names. 
These two publications can be found at:
https://www.sejarah-nusantara.anri.go.id/marginalia/
https://www.sejarah-nusantara.anri.go.id/appendices-resolutions/

On June 6th 2017 four History students of Leiden University started checking and enhancing two digital datasets for access to the Dutch East India Company Archives of the National Archives of Indonesia. The work includes the recording of indexes of person and place names present in the so called Marginalia of the Daily Journals of the Castle of Batavia, and also document descriptions of the series Appendices to the Resolution Books.

The students are supported and guided by Alicia Schrikker and Lennert Bes, both teachers at Leiden University, and Marco Roling and Joan Snellen of The Corts Foundation. The students have the opportunity to get more acquainted with the archives of the Dutch East India Company and her large variety of documents, and also it is a good excercise in reading and interpreting 17th and 18th century texts. Later this year both these indexes will be published online on the website Sejarah-Nusantara.