ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the sharp increase in Java's population after 1830. It describes the alternative view that Java's population growth after 1830 was due to increasing fertility. Java stands out in the demographic history of Southeast Asia by virtue of the early start and long duration of its period of rapid population growth. The hypothesis that the most likely response to conditions was that children were left in the care of their siblings, with a consequent decline in the duration and intensity of breastfeeding, is compatible with some research in Java and other Asian societies. Labor expropriation by the colonial regime substantially increased the labor force peasant households required to subsist. A reconsideration of the historical data suggests, however, that the claim that Dutch labor demands could be met by rearranging work patterns is based on a substantial underestimate of the extent of labor expropriation by the Dutch.
