TANAP
New programme
Two years ago Professor Leonard Blussé sketched the outlines of the historical research programme TANAP, 'Towards a New Age of Partnership' (his speech was published in IIAS Newsletter, number 18 (1999)). Its objectives are to encourage archival preservation efforts and to launch a new series of academic explorations into the early modern history of 'monsoon Asia' and South Africa. At the heart of the programme lie the 4,000 metres of archives of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) from 1602 till 1795.
By HENDRIK E. NIEMEIJER
The vast holdings of the VOC archives in Jakarta, The Hague, Cape Town, Colombo, and Chennai have been increasingly gaining recognition from both politicians and international scholars. Supported by UNESCO and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the General State Archives (Algemeen Rijksarchief) in The Hague launched the TANAP project in 1999 in order to restore and conserve all remaining VOC archives. Part of the plan was to make highly detailed inventories that would help researchers find their way through the enormous volume of records with more ease.One year after the archivists' conservation programme began, the Research School for African, Asian, and Amerindian Studies (CNWS) at Leiden University initiated the academic component of the TANAP project. The central idea behind TANAP was that young Asian and African historians with knowledge of local historical sources would gain access to the Dutch sources, and that young Western historians would receive training in Asia. By training both Western and Asian historians, two new kinds of 'research platforms' could be created: a platform for young Asian scholars and a European-Asian one. In view of the limited knowledge about Asia, in Asia (evident even within the ASEAN countries), and not to mention the limits of European scholarship on Asia, these platforms can serve as important instruments for the exchange of knowledge and creation of long-term scholarly networks in the future.
Through TANAP, young, promising historians from Asia, the Middle East and South Africa can now get an opportunity to become acquainted with Dutch sources on early modern Asian history. The project focuses on the role of the different Asian regions within the context of global history. The most recent studies demonstrate the potential for vivid historical reconstructions based on both local and VOC sources. Topics like: the politics of trade in Safavid Iran (Rudolph P. Matthee), trade relations of Al-Mukha (Cees Brouwer), the fortunes of the kingdoms of Jambi and Palembang on Sumatra (Barbara Watson Andaya), and the court politics of Siam's capital Ayutthaya (Dhiravat Na Pombejra) all contribute to a better understanding of pre-colonial 'monsoon Asia', the Arabian seas, and many other topics. Given that the fascination with VOC records is still very much a preoccupation of Western historians, the usefulness of these archives for 'autonomous history', written by non-Western scholars, will hopefully be furthered by the TANAP programme.
The Advanced Master's
On 3 January 2001, the first group of graduate students from Southeast Asia, China, and Japan began language training and history courses at Leiden University as participants of the TANAP Advanced Master's Programme (AMP), a postgraduate course. Eight students will follow intensive language courses in both modern and old Dutch and palaeography (old manuscript reading), and are to become acquainted with a wide variety of VOC documents (Bronnenkunde). With the help of various experts, a special colloquium has been set up around major themes, such as 'trade relations', 'urban settlements', and 'war and peace', among others. The AMP leads to a Leiden post-graduate degree.
The most important component of the Advanced Master's Programme is the preparation of a PhD proposal. Under the close supervision of an expert in the field, each of the participants will make an inventory of the sources available on his or her subject, compile literature lists, write a clear research plan with a sound theoretical base, and put everything within the framework of a convincing time table. Those AMP students selected for the PhD programme will continue their research for another four years. At TANAP, ten PhD scholarships are available to Asian and African graduates. But, graduate students who can demonstrate sufficient knowledge of VOC sources and present an interesting research proposal can apply directly for a PhD position.
The second group of graduate students will begin with the AMP in January 2002. A total number of twelve scholarships is available for Asian and African students. European or American graduates are also invited to join this programme, but only a limited number of places is available.
While the TANAP programme unfolds and becomes steadily more comprehensive, its web site increasingly serves as a meeting point for interested academics. Recent historical debates and literature, newly transcribed documents from the VOC archives, workshop and conference papers, research plans, and research findings are all presented on this web site. The General State Archives (Algemeen Rijksarchief) and its Asian counterparts plan to publish detailed inventories on this web site in the future.
For more information and to acquire registration forms for the Advanced Master's Programme and PhD Programme, please consult the web site and/or contact the scientific co-ordinator of TANAP, Dr H. E. Niemeijer, at the e-mail address noted below.
Dr H.E. Niemeijer is a theologian affiliated to the Research School for African Asian, and Amerindian Studies (CNWS), Leiden University, the Netherlands.
E-mail: H.E.Niemeijer@let.leidenuniv.nl