Agenda
PhD Defence Posthumus alumnus Philip Post
On 23 October 2025, Posthumus alumnus Philip Post will defend the thesis ‘Constructing Colonial Legitimacy in the Moluccas, 1750-1870’ at Leiden University. Supervisors are Dr Alicia Schrikker and Professor Jos Gommans (both Leiden University).
Philip’s dissertation examines how Dutch colonial officials in Ambon and Ternate justified their authority between 1750 and 1870. At its core lies a paradox: nineteenth-century administrators criticised the Dutch East India Company (VOC) as corrupt and promised enlightened reform, yet in practice they continued to rely on the Company’s laws, routines, and traditions. The shift from Company to colonial state rule was therefore less a break than a reshaping of old patterns under a new story. In the VOC era, governors exercised enormous power. They ruled as administrators, commanders, judges, and protectors of the church, and defended this authority through elaborate narratives. The Company was portrayed not only as a trading enterprise but also as guardian of the spice monopoly, mediator between rival rulers, and defender of the Christian faith. The nineteenth-century colonial state adopted a different tone. Officials distanced themselves from the VOC, denounced its abuses, and spoke the language of civilisation, welfare, and progress. Their rhetoric suggested the birth of a new, more humane age. Yet behind these claims, various forms of continuity can be perceived in practice. In diplomacy, slavery, and land policy, colonial governance remained rooted in VOC traditions—revealing how exploitation could be reframed as reform, a legacy that continues to shape debates about Dutch colonialism today.
Please note: Philip’s PhD defence follows immediately after the PhD defence of his fellow alumnus Alexander van der Meer.
The N.W. Posthumus Institute wishes Philip a successful defence!
