The Chinese played a vital part in the Dutch colonial economy, and their economic role has remained important throughout the centuries. Starting in the early 1900s, China also influenced their socio-political life. After the Chinese in the Dutch East Indies managed to shed most discriminatory regulations in the first decades of the twentieth century, they again had to strive for their rights in the new Republic of Indonesia. This proved to be a difficult process filled with tension surrounding the issues of culture, ethnicity and nationality. In this book, Patricia Tjiook-Liem puts Chinese Indonesians at the centre of Dutch colonial and Indonesian history, and takes you through the most important periods in this often underexposed history.

Patricia Tjiook-Liem obtained her PhD on the subject of the legal position of the Chinese in the Dutch East Indies in the 1848-1942 period. Since then, she has continued to do research on this population group. As chairperson of the Chinese Indonesian Heritage Center Foundation (CIHC), she aimed to publish an overview of the rich and sometimes tumultuous history of the Chinese from Indonesia. The perspective and insight it provides would help younger generations understand the complexities of the past.

Introduction
I From Migrant to Major (1619–1800)
II From Migrant to Major (1800–1900)
III Education, Equality, and Political Awareness (1900–1942)
IV Educational Facilities (1900–1942)
V ‘Asia for the Asians’ (1942–1945)
VI Between Two Fires (1945–1949)
VII Equal is Unequal (1949–1967)
VIII Students in the Netherlands and Other Newcomers
Biographical Sketches
Timeline
Notes
Bibliography
Index