Colonial-Era Cohabitation: A Look at Governors and Council Members in Java

Cohabitation, or the phenomenon of living together without a formal bond, has become part of Indonesia’s social history. The practice had already taken place since colonial times, particularly among Dutch officials living in the Dutch East Indies.

During that era, many high-ranking officials and Dutch citizens lived with local women without any formal marriage ties.

This happened because bringing a wife from Europe to the Dutch East Indies required considerable expense and carried high risks. Instead, they entered into concubine relationships with local women, most of whom came from the slave class.

VOC Governor-General Gustaaf Willem Baron van Imhoff (1743-1750) was one such case. According to the book Historic Places in Jakarta (2016), van Imhoff, who was recorded as having a wife, once received a beautiful slave as a gift from the Queen of Bone.

The slave was baptised with the name Helena Pieters to live in his home as a ‘life companion’. From that relationship, they went on to have children.

Another example was VOC Governor-General Reinier de Klerk (1777-1780). Upon arriving in Java, de Klerk lived with a female slave. From this relationship the two had many children who were later sent to the Netherlands.

It was not only Governors-General; other elites did the same. Herman Warner Muntinghe, advisor to Governor-General Thomas Stamford Raffles (1811-1816) and member of the Council of the Indies, was recorded as living with three female slaves despite being married to a woman of Indo-Dutch descent.

Raffles himself was known not to take issue with his subordinates’ illicit relationships with slaves. On this basis, cohabitation was commonly practised during his rule.

Another friend of Raffles, Alexander Hare, had female ‘life companions’ from various regions. In his book Raffles and the British Invasion of Java (2012), Tim Hannigan noted that Hare exploited his position and power to coerce local women into becoming his ‘life companions’.

In truth, the actions of the elites were merely the tip of the iceberg. At the lower level, European employees, soldiers and merchants also frequently lived similar lives, residing with local women without marriage ties.

The public came to call this practice ‘kumpul Gerbouw’. In Dutch, Gerbouw means ‘building’ or ‘house’. The term was thus intended as a jibe at those who shared a roof.