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Corvée Capitalism: The Dutch East India Company, Colonial Expansion, and Labor Regimes in Early Modern Asia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 August 2021

Matthias van Rossum  and
Merve Tosun Open the ORCID record for Merve Tosun [Opens in a new window]
Matthias van Rossum
Affiliation:
Matthias van Rossum (mvr@iisg.nl) is a Senior Researcher at the International Institute of Social History.
Merve Tosun
Affiliation:
Merve Tosun (merve.tosun@iisg.nl) is a Junior Researcher at the International Institute of Social History.
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Abstract

This article revisits our understanding of corvée labor regimes and their role and impact in the early expansion of colonialism and capitalism. Rather than remnants of feudal pasts, or in-kind taxation or revenue instruments of weak colonial powers, corvée regimes should be viewed as refined methods of colonial exploitation that provided colonial actors with more direct access to and control over the production of commercially interesting global commodities. This article explores and compares the corvée labor regimes employed and shaped by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in the Moluccas, Sri Lanka, and Java. The article first addresses how to understand corvée and tributary relations as labor, production, and (political-)social regimes. Second, it explores and compares the organization and development of corvée labor relations in the context of the VOC in South and Southeast Asia. These corvée labor regimes reappear as crucial instruments in the expansion of (early) modern colonialism and capitalism, which could explain their widespread recurrence across the globe in the last few centuries.

Keywords

corvée laborDutch East India Company (VOC)feudalismJavamerchant capitalismMoluccasSri Lankatribute
Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Asian Studies , Volume 80 , Issue 4 , November 2021 , pp. 911 - 932
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Copyright
Copyright © The Association for Asian Studies, Inc. 2021

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