Description
Book SynopsisIn 1623, Dutch authorities executed twenty-one alleged conspirators over a plot to seize a castle on a remote set of islands in what is now eastern Indonesia. In this landmark study, Adam Clulow presents a new perspective on the Amboina case that aims to move beyond the debate over guilt or innocence.
Trade ReviewClulow won a number of prizes for his first book. He likely will do so again with his second...
Amboina,
1623 deserves the widest possible readership. The story is compelling. So, too, is Clulow's argument about the corrosive effect of fears and anxieties on colonial officials without enough back-up and effectively marooned 'on the edge of Empire
.' * Journal of Asian Studies *
Ambon is one small island in a vast world, and 1623 is just a single year in millennia of history, but this book resonates widely and deeply, an exemplary work of global history. * Journal of World History *
Amboina, 1623: Fear and Conspiracy on the Edge of Empire is a well-written, even intriguing text and should be read both for its clarifying and source-critical treatment of the actual—and long-obscured—events and the fascinating historiographical implications. * American Historical Review *
In this scintillating and deeply researched study, Adam Clulow presents us with a balanced, nuanced, and convincing account of the Amboina affair, its background and its aftershocks...one of the most important books in English on early Dutch imperialism, and a rare good read as well. * Sixteenth Century Journal *
In a gripping story about fear and loathing in Amboina, Adam Clulow probes a pivotal event in world history to offer fresh insights about the entanglements of European empires in Asia. Meticulously researched and engagingly told,
Amboina, 1623 is that rarest of rare things: a scholarly tour de force that is also a page-turner. -- Lauren Benton, Vanderbilt University
A true model of globally minded historical scholarship, Clulow’s brilliant new study combines insights derived from his cutting-edge work in the digital humanities with the best traditions of archival research and interpretation. Carefully exploring the Asian context in which the dramatic events of the Amboina trial unfolded, he offers a stunning portrait of the violence, ambition, and anxiety at the heart of European empire. -- Daniel Botsman, Yale University
Although one hesitates to use the word ‘definitive’ in connection with the Amboina massacre, which has caused fierce controversy until the present day, Clulow’s analysis of the voluminous documentation generated by the Dutch and English East India Companies is incisive, balanced, and utterly convincing. -- Martine Julia van Ittersum, author of
Profit and Principle: Hugo Grotius, Natural Rights Theories and the Rise of Dutch Power in the East Indies, 1595–1615This scintillating and deeply researched study... is the best and most thorough treatment of Amboina to date. * Sixteenth Century Journal *
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations
Note to the Reader
Acknowledgments
Maps of Southeast Asia, Amboina, and the Banda Islands
Introduction: The Company and the Colony
Part I. Amboina in 16231. With Treaty or With Violence
2. We Cannot Exist Well Without Slaves
3. Dangerous and Difficult to Govern
4. The English Serpent
5. The Trial
Part II. Remaking a Conspiracy Trial6. The War of the Witnesses
7. Compensation and Calamity
Epilogue: The Fearful Empire
Notes
Bibliography
Index
