Something about sugar

by George M. Rolph

The plains vary in fertility according to their geological formation, but with the exception of the regions abounding in marshes, stretches of disintegrated coral, and lakes, they are tillable and productive.

Sugar cane was brought to Java by the Chinese or Hindus in very remote times. The Chinese pilgrim Fa Hien mentions having found sugar there when he visited the island in 424,[85] and as trading was constantly carried on between Arabia, India, China and Java, there is but little doubt that when the secret of boiling the sugar juice to a grain was discovered it became known to all of them at once.

About 1520 the Portuguese established trade relations with the natives and early in the seventeenth century the Dutch influence began to make itself felt. The Dutch East India company built forts and set up trading stations in the coast towns; at first it acquired only small pieces of land in Jakatra (Batavia) and it was some time before its holdings were increased. Finally Jakatra was conquered and the Dutch power in Java firmly established. But little was done at the outset to help the sugar industry, as the policy of the Dutch East India company was to foster trade in the products of the East rather than undertake to raise any of the commodities itself. The sugars that were sent by it to the mother country at the beginning of its operations, therefore, came from China, Formosa, Siam and Bengal, and no Javan sugars reached Holland until after 1637, in which year the company decided to establish sugar mills on its own land near Batavia.

It also parceled out land to Chinese sugar growers and granted them special concessions in consideration of the entire product of the land being sold to the company at an agreed figure. Prices and terms changed from year to year, however, and much confusion and dissatisfaction resulted. War, cane pests, cattle diseases and labor troubles still further complicated the situation. In 1648 the company’s plantations produced 124 tons and in 1652 the outturn was 723 tons. The increase in West Indian production hurt the Javan factories and the war in Bantam in 1660 stopped development. In 1652, twenty mills were running, but in 1660 half of the number had closed. Peace with Bantam was concluded in 1684 and matters then began to improve. By 1710, one hundred and thirty mills were in operation and the industry was extended to Bantam, Cheribon and Japara. The policy of the company, however, was to restrict production so as to keep up prices, and to this end it prohibited the erection of any new mills and limited the output of those that were running to eighteen tons per annum each, thus fixing a maximum total of 2340 tons. This amount was not realized, however, as the number of factories decreased until in 1745 only sixty-five were in operation in the territory near Batavia. The company then decided to raise the number to seventy, and five years later it added ten more. As years went on the number of factories diminished, but their capacity increased, and in 1779 fifty-five mills furnished 6176 tons of sugar to the company.

The Dutch East India company was dissolved in 1795 and the Dutch interests in Java passed under the control of the Batavian republic,[86] afterward the kingdom of Holland, which was brought under French rule when Holland fell into the hands of Napoleon. In 1811 it was seized by England and was finally restored to Holland in 1816.

All this time the regulations governing the sugar industry were being constantly changed. The producers had always been at loggerheads with the company, for while they were bound to deliver their entire output to the company, it did not consider itself obligated to take delivery of any definite amount. This left the planters in a very unsatisfactory position, as they could never look ahead with any degree of certainty. At length a law was passed in 1797 calling upon the factories near Batavia to produce 2810 short tons yearly for the government, with the privilege to them to dispose of any sugars made in excess of this amount for their own account. A similar law affecting the factories on the north and east coasts was proposed. In this territory there were thirty-one factories in 1794 with a capacity of 1000 tons, which quantity it was proposed to increase to 2000 tons for delivery to the government and 500 tons for sales for account of the producers. In furtherance of this plan, the mill owners were to be granted tracts of new cane land and the government was to make cash advances up to 50 per cent of the estimated value of the growing crop. These propositions were never carried into effect, and a production of 1000 tons per annum remained the maximum for that section of the country.

In the vicinity of Batavia, however, the measure was a success, especially as the government encouraged the manufacturers by increased advances and by supporting prices. The result was that during the early years of the nineteenth century the production grew, but a sharp decline came in 1811-13, and in the latter year the total production of Java fell to about 600 tons.

The causes were not hard to find. Holland was dominated by France and sea traffic was blocked by the British, so that Java had to keep her sugar in storage at home. Nevertheless, the government continued to encourage the production in the hope of an early peace and so that the industry might not die out. Each year, therefore, added to the government’s stocks of sugar until the amount became burdensome for financial reasons, and the traditional policy of the government was abandoned. Manufacturers were allowed to dispose of their sugars freely and without restriction, but unfortunately the privilege was granted at a time when it was impossible to sell and the British occupation of Java did not mend matters.

When Java was restored to Holland in 1816, the new government continued the freedom of the industry, but it had received so severe a check that to revive it was a difficult matter. In 1826 the output was 1220 tons, and in this year the authorities renewed the system of making advances and stimulated growth and manufacture, so that in 1830 the production had increased to 6700 tons.