How was Dutch imperialism revamped after the much-criticised Cultivation System that forced the Javanese to plant crops for the Dutch? In 1901, Queen Wilhelmina expressed her concern for the Javanese during her yearly throne speech. Meanwhile, the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army was continuously at war. In this text, Rosa te Velde looks at the ways in which we can understand the 'Ethical Policy' as the Dutch white men's burden, with its aim to elevate the native people together with the brutal occupation of the 'outer possessions' during the same period.
Rosa te Velde is a designer, researcher, and educator. She works as a researcher at the Amsterdam University of the Arts and teaches in the MA Industrial Design program at the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague. Her practice explores the intersections of design, politics, and decoloniality through critical and cross-disciplinary approaches.