The IIAS Book Series
A History of Dutch Mauritius
In 1598 a fleet of five ships from the Netherlands landed on an uninhabited island in the Indian Ocean. Vice-Admiral Wybrant Warwijck claimed it as a Dutch possession and named it Mauritius after the Dutch stadholder Prince Maurits. Mauritius, full of food and water and free of diseases, became a refreshment station for ships of the Dutch East India Company or VOC.It was not until 1638 that the Dutch built a fort at Warwijck Harbour, presently Grand Port Bay. This period of occupation ended in 1658. The Cape of Good Hope, founded by the Dutch in 1652, had become an excellent calling place for VOC vessels, leaving Mauritius as a superfluous establishment. Because of the fear for European rivals, however, the VOC again occupied the island in 1664. During this second occupation, that lasted until 1710, the population of Mauritius consisted of VOC officials, European vrijburgers, and slaves. Even then, Mauritius had a multiethnic population, a forerunner of the plural society that Mauritius is today.
The book describes the vicissitudes of the Dutch on Mauritius and presents the commanders, from the successful Adriaen van der Stel to the despotic Isaac Lamotius, from the disastrous George Wreede to the diplomatic but harsh Roelof Diodati.
Perry Moree
A Concise History of Dutch Mauritius, 1598-1710:
A fruitful and healthy land
IIAS / Kegan Paul International, 1998, 127 pp. ISBN 0-7103-0609-1
ASEM: A Window of Opportunity
The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) is a unique interregional forum which consists of six members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), along with China, Japan, South Korea and the fifteen members of the European Union (EU). Established in 1996, it was born out of the need, felt as much in Europe as in Asia, to improve the dialogue between the continents, which had been neglected since the end of decolonization.The main components of the ASEM process include political dialogue, security, business, education, and culture. Realizing the importance of the process, a number of the participating countries have created ASEM sections within their respective ministries of foreign affairs in order to monitor the multifaceted ASEM activities.
The papers in this volume reflect the development of the ASEM process to date. They are written by Asian and European politicians and academics involved in the process from its very beginning, and all share the most important belief underlying the ASEM process, namely that it is based on partnership and equality. The contributions give an idea of an exciting experiment that can also be construed as the beginning of a new era in the relationship between Asia and Europe.
Wim Stokhof and Paul van der Velde (eds)
ASEM: A Window of Opportunity
IIAS / Kegan Paul International, 1999, 179 pp. ISBN 0-7103-0622-9
Dynamics in Pacific Asia
To what extent will the new dynamics in Pacific Asia influence Europe's global position, and in what way should these changes be conceptualized in order to assist in the formulation of policies to deal with the new international environment? These vital questions are the foundation of this innovative volume, which emphasizes the need to understand the global parameters within which the new European policies towards Asia should be formulated, to maximize new opportunities and optimize the positive aspects of change.Taking an inter-disciplinary and problem-oriented approach, the study concentrates on political, strategic, and economic issues in a regional and international context, rather than on a country by country basis. This approach reflects the significance of three prime factors: the growing mutual dependence among regions in Asia; the ever-increasing interaction in Asia between economic developments, politics, and security relations; and the necessity of approaching regional problems in ways that are structurally different from approaches developed in Europe and America.
The many changes taking place in Pacific Asia are the starting point for the building of a new Asian civilization, one that will necessitate a fundamental rethinking of existing relationships and the balance of power in an increasingly global world.
Kurt W. Radtke, Joop A. Stam, John Groenwegen, Leo M. van der Mey and Takuo Akiyama
Dynamics in Pacific Asia:
Conflict, competition, and co-operation
IIAS / Kegan Paul International, 1998, 287 pp. ISBN 0-7103-0598-2
India and Beyond
When friends and colleagues were asked to contribute to this volume in honour of the renowned scholar Frits Staal, they submitted studies which they thought best reflected the many fields of interest to which Frits Staal has devoted his life. These comprise ritual in its global, linguistic, and antropological contexts, as well as his other great academic interests - grammar, philosophy, religion, and science. Staal is noted for his ability to cover a formidably wide area of study whilst retaining a remarkable depth of analysis, and this is reflected in the contents of this work.The various papers resist simple categorization. This is because they bespeak the unique characteristics of Staal and his method - his fluidity and his ability to melt down conceptual barriers between different academic disciplines in order to arrive at a new approach which can best be described as 'human science', in which the eastern scientific tradition is combined with the study of humanity. This stimulating volume is a tribute to the forty years of scholarly work Frits Staal has invested in the foundation of a genuinely human science that he has helped to shape.
Dick van der Meij (ed.)
India and Beyond: Aspects of Literature, Meaning, Ritual, and Thought:
Essays in honour of Frits Staal
IIAS / Kegan Paul International, 1997, 696 pp. ISBN 0-7103-0602-4
New Developments in Asian Studies
This wide-ranging volume presents new developments in Asian studies across many fields and periods of history. The geographical scope of the work ranges from Gujerat to the mountains of western Japan and from Tibet to Madagascar. They cover a time-scale from tenth century China to the present situation in the Pacific Rim, and deal with such political issues as minority rights and legal reforms, and analyses of academic discourse in Asia. All of the eighteen chapters, many of which have a comparative dimension, were written by scholars affiliated with the International Institute for Asian Studies, and the volume as a whole reflects the diverse research interests of the IIAS as well as the rich kaleidoscope of Asia, past and present.Paul van der Velde and Alex McKay (eds)
New Developments in Asian Studies
IIAS / Kegan Paul International, 1998, 376 pp. ISBN 0-7103-0606-7