Alexander van der Meer is a PhD candidate at the Institute for History

More information about Alexander van der Meer

Overview

My project focuses on the self-legitimization of Dutch clergymen in Batavia and the Moluccas between 1670 and 1850, and its impact on the colonial mentality in the Netherlands. My research is part of the project ‘Insitutional memory in the making of colonial culture: history, experience and ideas in Dutch colonialism in Asia, 1700-1870.’ 

Research

My project focuses on the self-legitimization of Dutch clergymen in Batavia and the Moluccas between 1670 and 1850, and its impact on the colonial mentality in the Netherlands.

What was the impact of the Age of Revolutions, colonial knowledge, and day-to-day interactions on their self-legitimization? And how did their narratives find their way into Dutch society and influence Dutch colonial mentality?

My research is part of the project ‘Insitutional memory in the making of colonial culture: history, experience and ideas in Dutch colonialism in Asia, 1700-1870.’

CV

In between studying history at the Radboud University Nijmegen (BA and MA cum laude) I wanted to broaden my horizon into Asian history, and was awarded a Taiwan Scholarship to study Asia-Pacific Studies at the National Chengchi University in Taipei. There, I wrote a thesis about the role of Confucianism in the legitimacy-strategy of the Chinese Communist Party. Moreover, as an intern at the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, I analyzed the legacies of violent and segregation inducing colonial policies among Indonesian-Chinese repatriates in the Netherlands. These experiences are helpful for my current research into the self-legitimacy of Dutch clergymen in Batavia and Ambon between 1670 and 1850, and its impact on the colonial mentality in the Netherlands.