Dutch Colonial Expansion and Local Power Dynamics on Rote Island in the Seventeenth Century

Abstract

This study examines the dynamics of Dutch colonial expansion and local power relations on Rote Island in the seventeenth century. Located at the southernmost edge of the Indonesian archipelago, Rote occupied a strategic position within a contested maritime frontier where Dutch and Portuguese ambitions intersected with fragmented local politics. Drawing on VOC archival records, Batavia resolutions, and officials’ reports, this study demonstrates that Dutch authority on Rote was not established through straightforward conquest but through negotiation, coercive diplomacy, and strategic alliances. Treaties imposed by the VOC functioned as instruments of indirect rule, restricting trade, demanding tribute, and positioning the Dutch as mediators in local conflicts. However, these agreements often exacerbated internal rivalries and drew the VOC deeper into local politics. Repeated military expeditions, including the violent campaign of 1681, reveal the limitations of colonial governance in peripheral areas, where control was frequently exercised through violence delegated to local allies rather than direct administrative command. The Rote case thus shows that colonial power in peripheral maritime zones was contingent, negotiated, and contested, shaped by local agency, strategic geopolitical interests, and episodic violence. This study contributes to a more nuanced understanding of how Dutch colonial authority was constructed and maintained in the island frontiers of Southeast Asia.

Keywords: Dutch colonialism; VOC; Rote Island; Peripheral governance; Indirect rule; Colonial violence; Dutch–Portuguese rivalry; Maritime frontier

DOI: 10.7176/HRL/57-02

Publication date: April 30^th 2026