Agenda
PhD Defence Posthumus alumnus Alexander van der Meer
On 23 October 2025, Posthumus alumnus Alexander van der Meer will defend the thesis ‘Colonial Calvinism: Colonial Ideologies of Dutch Clergymen in Batavia, ca. 1700-1850’ at Leiden University. Supervisors are Dr Alicia Schrikker and Professor Jos Gommans (both Leiden University).
Alexander’s dissertation examines the colonial ideology of Dutch Reformed ministers and missionaries in Batavia between 1700 and 1850, showing how it was forged in the colonial frontier itself—through daily interactions with local Christians, non-Christians, colonial elites, enslaved people, and the powerful presence of Islam. Colonial ideology is understood here as both the ideas of what the colonial church should be and the practices that gave it form.
The study argues that a distinct colonial ecclesial culture emerged: Colonial Calvinism. More than a transplant of European orthodoxy, it was a locally rooted order marked by pragmatism, strategic ambiguity, and unwritten norms. Clergymen upheld a façade of Dutch Reformed orthodoxy and cultural ‘Dutchness’, while in practice accommodating syncretic practices of local Christians and tolerating the deviant behavior of colonial elites. Crucially, through the diaconate and ecclesial discipline this culture became deeply entangled with slavery and with the reproduction of colonial hierarchies of race, class, gender, and rank.
By tracing the endurance of this order across the supposed rupture around 1800—when the VOC gave way to the colonial state and the first missionaries of the Dutch Missionary Society (Nederlandsch Zendeling Genootschap, NZG) arrived—this dissertation highlights the resilience of Colonial Calvinism and the influence of local actors who shaped it. This study contributes to ongoing scholarly and societal debates on the entanglements of religion, slavery, and colonialism, and reveals how the ideological foundations of Dutch empire were shaped not in The Hague or Amsterdam, but in the colonial frontier itself.
Please note: Alexanders’ PhD defence will immediately be followed by the PhD defence of his fellow alumnus Philip Post.
The N.W. Posthumus Institute wishes Alexander a successful defence!
