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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



ality, occupation, age, and purpose in 

 visiting Java. During our subsequent 

 wanderings we were obliged to hold 

 these permits in readiness for inspection 

 by officials, and at all times we felt that 

 our movements were a matter of some 

 interest to the authorities. We are not 

 surprised, therefore, to learn that the 

 uniform policy of the government has 

 been, in former years, to discourage for- 

 eign travel in Netherlands-India, and the 

 present regulations are only a concession 

 to the modern spirit which demands free 

 intercourse among the nations. 



NEARI.Y ALIv LAND OWNED BY DUTCH 

 GGVURNMieNT 



To one who hails from a country where 

 private initiative counts for so much, it 

 is something of a shock to learn that 

 nearly all the land is owned by the gov- 

 ernment. In securing from the native 

 princes by treaty and purchase the lord- 

 ship of the land, the Dutch government 

 also inherited the right to receive one- 

 fifth of the produce and the labor of the 

 peasant. This led to the introduction, in 

 the year 1832, of what is known as the 

 "culture system." This was a device to 

 increase the revenues, and consisted in 

 the exaction of forced labor from the 

 peasants, who were compelled, under 

 official supervision, to cultivate tobacco, 

 coffee, sugar, tea, and indigo for their 

 masters. This system of forced labor 

 has been greatly modified in recent years, 

 and I was informed that it now survives 

 only in connection with the government 

 coffee plantations. To most of us, doubt- 

 less, the one agricultural product of Java 

 which is best known is coffee. It was 

 something in the way of a disillusion to 

 learn, therefore, that the famous "Gov- 

 ernment Java" of bygone days is of much 

 less importance as a product of the 

 colony than formerly. A destructive 

 "blight" visited many of the plantations 

 some years since. Some districts have 

 not yet recovered from this, and in the 

 meantime the coffee planters of Brazil 

 have captured the bulk of the world's 

 coffee trade. 



While the richest of the Dutch East 



Indies, Java is also the most densely 

 populated; the number of inhabitants 

 amounts to as many as nine hundred per 

 square mile in some districts. Aside 

 from the sprinkling of Europeans and 

 Chinese, the native population numbers 

 29,000,000. These all belong to the 

 Malay race and almost without exception 

 profess the religion of Islam. 



The early culture of Java can be traced 

 to India, and there is no doubt that this 

 Hindoo iniiuence had the greatest effect 

 on the religion, language, and literature 

 of the island. At the present time this 

 influence is evidenced not only in the 

 language and arts of the country, but by 

 the great temples erected to Buddha. 

 One of these, known as "Great Buddha," 

 or "Boro Boedoer," is by many consid- 

 ered to be the greatest monument of 

 Buddhistic architecture in existence. The 

 Arab Mohammedan invasion occurred in 

 the latter part of the fifteenth century, 

 and when the Dutch began to extend 

 their settlements, in the early decades of 

 the seventeenth century, they found the 

 faith of Islam extended to most parts of 

 the island. 



For the purposes of government, the 

 island is divided into 22 residencies under 

 the control of a Governor General, who 

 lives in Buitenzorg. Each province has 

 its Resident, who is assisted by various 

 subordinates. In their dealings with the 

 natives the Dutch find it expedient to 

 collect the taxes and administer the gov- 

 ernment through an army of native offi- 

 cials. Thus native princes fill the office 

 of regent in some of the provinces and 

 "play" at ruling, but all real power rests 

 with the foreign rulers, who are called 

 "elder brothers." 



Lying so close to the equator, the cli- 

 mate is a trying one to Europeans, al- 

 though the style of dress in use and the 

 manner of life do much to mitigate it 

 The rainy season lasts from October to 

 April, and at all times showers may be 

 expected. Residents urged upon us the 

 importance of avoiding the direct rays 

 of the sun during the heat of the da}^ 

 One soon learns that Java is a country 

 of early rising. The ordinary business 



