Minahasa around 1850: Plans for reform during Eduard Douwes Dekker’s term as secretary of the Residency of Manado

In the late 1840s, the Dutch colonial government planned significant administrative reforms in Minahasa, in particular regarding the obligations imposed on the native population and the organization of the formal native leadership. One major person responsible for the preparation of these reforms was the secretary of the Residency Manado, Eduard Douwes Dekker, who some years later, under the name of Multatuli, would become one of the most celebrated writers of the Netherlands, as well as an influential critic of colonial policies. In this article, the conditions and changes in Minahasa around 1850 are discussed, using as a guideline Douwes Dekker’s official, personal and casual writings from that period. These writings, and also some of his actions as a civil servant, are examined within the broader contexts of the Dutch East Indies and colonial policy. The possible influence of Douwes Dekker’s sojourn in the Residency Manado on his later activities as a writer and a public figure is also briefly considered.