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dc.rights.licenseCC-BY-NC-ND
dc.contributor.advisorBaneke, D.M.
dc.contributor.authorRouschop, S.L.E.
dc.date.accessioned2020-11-23T19:00:31Z
dc.date.available2020-11-23T19:00:31Z
dc.date.issued2020
dc.identifier.urihttps://studenttheses.uu.nl/handle/20.500.12932/38180
dc.description.abstractIn 1828, the Dutch government sent the Triton expedition to New-Guinea, including a number of scientists. Historical studies on the expedition have held that the presence of these scientists was meant to serve as a cover-up so as not to draw too much attention to the construction of the fort. However, recent studies within the history of science have shown that European colonial science in the early nineteenth century had a strong imperialistic and militaristic component: science was a “tool of empire”. A key aspect of these conclusions has been the element of military funding of scientific activity. Interestingly, the Dutch colonial empire in the early nineteenth century has been absent from these analyses, and the Triton expedition has not been studied in the light of these perspectives. This study thus aims to shed light on the military funding of Dutch colonial science in 1828 by recontextualising the Triton expedition, placing it in the debate on Dutch colonial science and imperialism. This includes an analysis of its funding - an analysis that, for as far as I know, has not been made thus far. What were the costs of keeping the ships involved afloat? The salaries of the crewmen and the soldiers? The costs of sustaining the people on board - the sailors, soldiers and native Indonesian workers? Without any of these factors, the 1828 expedition would have been impossible. Even more importantly, mapping these costs and the specific reasons for funding the expedition allows for comparison with the funding of ‘regular’ scientific institutes around the same time, like universities or the Dutch academy of sciences. Focusing merely on the funding of the expedition might lead to a monocausal analysis, however. As such the expedition is also analysed from a qualitative-textual perspective, reconsidering the source material used by previous studies that focused on this expedition. This study shows that science was in fact a key factor in colonial decision-making. The expedition’s funding shows the extent to which scientific and military activities were intertwined, as well as the extent to which state funding of science focused on the military and the colonies as opposed to more “traditional” scientific institutions such as academies or universities. As a consequence of this, we should rethink the role of science in early nineteenth century Dutch colonialism and take it seriously as a factor in imperialist activity.
dc.description.sponsorshipUtrecht University
dc.format.extent1181769
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.language.isoen
dc.titleThe Price of Knowledge - Science, imperialism and the 1828 Triton expedition
dc.type.contentMaster Thesis
dc.rights.accessrightsOpen Access
dc.subject.keywordsHistory of science; financial; Dutch East Indies; Indonesia; Natuurkundige Commissie; military; Natural History Committee; imperialism;
dc.subject.courseuuHistory and Philosophy of Science


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