The Richest Regent in Java Lived in Luxury While His People Languished

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Welfare inequality between rulers and the people is not a new phenomenon in Indonesian history. Since the colonial era, there has been a local elite group capable of accumulating wealth amid the economic pressures faced by the people.

Cianjur, West Java, is one example. Entering the early 19th century, this region developed as one of the richest areas on Java Island as plantation commodity production, particularly coffee, increased.

Cianjur was even known as one of the main coffee production centres in the Priangan region. The great economic value of this commodity helped boost the wealth and social standing of the local elite, including the regents who held power in the area.

Thus, the prosperity from the coffee industry at that time not only transformed Cianjur’s economy but also strengthened the social and economic position of its rulers.

Dutch historian Jan Breman, in his book Colonial Profit from Forced Labour: The Preanger System of Compulsory Coffee Cultivation in Java, 1720-1870 (2014), notes that during the forced cultivation period (1830-1870), Cianjur became the largest coffee producer in the Priangan region. In 1806, its production even reached around 1.5 million coffee trees.

This wealth subsequently elevated the position of the local elite, including the regents. According to historian Nina Herlina Lubis in Kehidupan Kaum Menak Priangan, 1800-1942 (1998), the regents were the wealthiest group in their regions. They obtained income from salaries, taxes, and unwritten feudal practices.

However, this prosperity was not felt by the people. The people instead bore the heavy burden of the forced coffee cultivation system. The hard work of farmers became the foundation of the region’s wealth, but the results flowed more into the colonial coffers and were enjoyed by the local elite, including the regents.

Moreover, the Regent of Cianjur was known for his luxurious lifestyle. Jan Breman notes that the regent often travelled around using a gold-plated carriage, like a great nobleman.

“Like great consumptive lords, they shopped for luxury goods at high prices. On their return they brought opium, tobacco, and cotton, goods that would be sold to their subordinate heads,” Breman wrote.

This luxury even had a direct impact on other regions. The Dutch colonial official Multatuli, in his novel Max Havelaar (1860), highlighted how the visit of the Regent of Cianjur to Lebak actually burdened the regions he passed through.

According to him, the regent came with a large entourage that had to be borne by the local area.

“Hundreds of people, all of whom had to be accommodated and fed, as well as their horses,” Multatuli wrote.

According to Nina Herlina Lubis, this condition cannot be separated from the perspective of power at that time. The regency was positioned as a stage, with the regent as the main actor who had to display grandeur.

“The regency is like a performance stage with the regent as the main actor who must act brilliantly,” Nina revealed.

In the end, history shows a pattern that continues to repeat itself. Power often goes hand in hand with elite luxury, while the people continue to bear the suffering.