Cultivation System

Revenue system in the Dutch East Indies (modern Indonesia) that forced farmers to pay revenue to the Netherlands in the form of export crops or compulsory labour. The system was introduced in 1830 by the colonial governor-general Johannes van den Bosch. In theory, it required that villagers set aside one-fifth of their land to grow export crops (e.g., coffee, sugar) for the government and that landless peasants work for one-fifth of the year on government fields. In fact, much more land and time were required, and the system proved burdensome. Though roundly criticized in the mid-1850s, the system was not abolished until 1870.