ABSTRACT
After three centuries of indirect rule, the Dutch finally obtained full control over the entire territory of the Dutch East Indies, present-day Indonesia, in the early twentieth century. The Dutch focused primarily on capitalistic exploitation. It cautiously supervised Muslim activities so as not to provoke Muslim nationalism and placed the ethnic Chinese between the Europeans and the indigenous people in the colonial pecking order (Carey 1979). The Chinese subsequently formed a capitalist class, dominating the private business sector in Indonesia from that time onward. Another prominent change was that Christian missionary activities were successful in some regions of the archipelago. The indigenous converts to Christianity later obtained a privileged position in society, for example, by joining the colonial army of the Royal Netherlands-Indian Army (Amersfoort 2004). Christianity was regarded as an ally of colonialism since these Christian soldiers, Moluccans in particular, were at the forefront of subduing local rebellions in the archipelago.
