ABSTRACT
This chapter explores whether the Dutch introduced what people now would call a system of sustained and stable yields, and if so, when and under what systems of management and exploitation of the forests. It focuses on the eighteenth century, a period that has never received the attention due to it, having been treated almost uniformly as the dark ages of Dutch colonial forestry. The most-often cited are Java’s strategic position in the southeast Asian trade routes and its large quantities of rice, but another reason must surely have been the availability of timber. Timber was needed not only for ships, but also for building in the city, for fuel, and for furniture. Batavia was expanding rapidly during the seventeenth century, and almost all buildings were wooden constructions. Teak was harvested not only from the north coast, but from western Java as well.
