TU Delft and the Colonial History of the Dutch East Indies

YouTube recording with Abel Streefland available starting Tuesday, April 20th 2021 @ 12:40 

Abel Streefland

At the turn of the 20th century approximately one-third of all engineers that finished their studies in Delft went to the Dutch East Indies (present day Indonesia) to pursue a career in the Dutch colony. They found work in, for example, (coal) mining, at oil companies, large scale civil engineering projects or in water management. In this way they became part of the Dutch colonial context. 

Why were these engineers so well-fitted to the Dutch colonial project? How was this institutionalized in Delft and how did this change over time, for example when the Technical College in Bandung was founded? 

Studium Generale invites TU Delft University historian Abel Streefland to tell us more. One of Abel’s recent research topics is the different relations that existed between TU Delft and the Dutch East Indies. 

Abel Streefland is a university historian and a member of the TU Delft Academic Heritage team