PRIVATE LANDHOLDINGS AND PLANTATION CAPITAL: MICHIELS–ARNOLD LANDEN IN EASTERN BUITENZORG (1887–1942)

Agung Ismawarno; Singgih Tri Sulistiyono; Yety Rochwulaningsih; Haryono Rinardi

doi:10.61677/satmata.v4i2.963

Authors

Agung Ismawarno History Department, Diponegoro University
Singgih Tri Sulistiyono History Department, Diponegoro University
Yety Rochwulaningsih History Department, Diponegoro University
Haryono Rinardi History Department, Diponegoro University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61677/satmata.v4i2.963

Keywords:

Private landholdings, plantation capital, Michiels–Arnold Landen, Eastern Buitenzorg, colonial agrarian history.

Abstract

This study examines the role of private landholdings (tanah partikelir) as a key foundation for plantation capital accumulation through a case study of the Michiels–Arnold Landen company in Eastern Buitenzorg from 1887 to 1942. It highlights the importance of private land in shaping Java’s colonial agrarian structure, where land functioned not only as an economic asset but also as an instrument of juridical, fiscal, and administrative power. Addressing the limitations of macro-oriented agrarian historiography, this research focuses on local-level land management practices. Using historical methods with agrarian history and colonial political economy approaches, the study draws on land archives, government reports, concession maps, and company records. The findings show that private landholdings enabled land consolidation, regulated plantation production, and facilitated labor and social control more flexibly than state land. This study concludes that private landholdings served as both an economic base and a mechanism of colonial power that produced long-term agrarian inequality.

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