Colonial Exploitation and Economic Development: The Belgian Congo and the Netherlands Indies Compared

This volume discusses the comparative legacy of colonial rule in the Netherlands Indies and Belgian Congo during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Whereas the Indonesian economy progressed rapidly during the last three decades of the twentieth century and became a self-reliant and assertive world power, the Congo regressed into a state of political chaos and endemic violence. To which extent do the different legacies of Dutch and Belgian rule explain these different development outcomes, if they do at all? By discussing the comparative features and development of Dutch and Belgian rule, the book aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of the role of colonial institutional legacies in long run patterns of economic divergence in the modern era and to add a comparative case-study to the strand of literature analyzing the marked differences in economic and political development in Asia and Africa during the postcolonial era.