Golddiggers, Farmers, and Traders in the Chinese Districts of West Kalimantan, Indonesia - (Studies on Southeast Asia) by Mary Somers Heidhues

About the Book

This study examines the changing role of the Chinese community of West Kalimantan, particularly its economic and social relationships. Heidhues explores the history of the community from the early nineteenth century establishment of the kongsis to the...

Book Synopsis

This study examines the changing role of the Chinese community of West Kalimantan, particularly its economic and social relationships. Heidhues explores the history of the community from the early nineteenth century establishment of the kongsis to the "Dayak Raids," which uprooted the rural Chinese population in the 1960s.

Review Quotes

Dr. Heidhues's splendid book, intended as a contribution to the social and economic history of West Kalimantan since the mid-eighteenth century, is the culmination of a lifetime's work on the province.... It is not a volume which will be left to gather dust, but one to which readers will wish to return time and again.

Somers Heidhues combines thorough investigation with good historical narrative. Archival materials, pre-war writings, and an exhaustive reading of secondary literature make this book a comprehensive review of the history of the Chinese in this province.... She draws an excellent picture of the West Kalimanatan Chinese, who have strong local roots and often see themselves not only as Indonesian, but Chinese as well.

This excellent history of the Chinese of West Kalimantan is a welcome addition to the literature.... It is a readable and scholarly volume, grounded in long and careful research in the Dutch archives, as well as published materials in Dutch and Indonesian, and informed by repeated visits to West Kalimantan over a period of almost four decades.

This study will be invaluable for those interested in the history of Chinese Indonesians and their multilayered interactions with other socio-political players in both the national and transnational frameworks. This book is meticulously documented, relying on Dutch and Indonesian archival materials, accounts by Western visitors, some Chinese secondary sources and interviews.