’s Lands Caoutchouchedrijf — the Government Rubber Enterprise — was the state enterprise of the Nederlandsch-Indië government charged with the exploitation of government rubber and — from 1924 — of government turpentine. The enterprise is named in the Atjeh-terpentijn pamphlet of 1930 as the operator of the Baleq enterprise — the colonial government’s turpentine and resin factory in the Gajo-Landen-Atjeh border region — and as the institution that, from 1927 onward, ran the Baleq enterprise as a afzonderlijke onderneming (separate enterprise) of the Caoutchouchedrijf.
The 1924 exploitation trial
The Atjeh-terpentijn pamphlet records that, by Besluit van 27 June 1924 — the Besluit of 27 June 1924 — the Regeering placed funds at the disposal of ‘s Lands Caoutchouchedrijf for an exploitatie-proef (exploitation trial) on behalf of the Dienst van het Boschwezen. The trial began on 14 September 1924 in the Semnenboschcomplexen of Paja Djorok and Blangtekoer, and the results were sufficient that in 1926 the Regeering resolved to convert the trial into a definitive exploitation as a afzonderlijke onderneming van ‘s Lands Caoutchouchedrijf — separate enterprise of ‘s Lands Caoutchouchedrijf — with effect from 1 January 1927.
The 1927 conversion
The Atjeh-terpentijn pamphlet records that the conversion of the trial into a definitive exploitation as a separate enterprise of ‘s Lands Caoutchouchedrijf took effect on 1 January 1927. By 1930, the area under exploitation was approximately 1600 ha, entirely in production. The enterprise’s production figures — preserved in Table I of the pamphlet — show the growth of the enterprise from 5 tons of resin in 1925 to 356 tons of resin and 104 tons of turpentine in 1929.
The factory
The Atjeh-terpentijn pamphlet records that the balsam — the raw resinous exudate of the tapped pines — was originally processed in an oud destilleerketeltje (old distillation kettle) of 100 kg capacity per filling. In July 1925 a locomobielketel (locomobile boiler) was brought into service, allowing steam distillation and a notable increase in yield. After the 1927 conversion, a zo modern mogelijke installatie (as modern an installation as possible) was purchased in France and, after the many delays of transport to the enterprise, the new factory was brought into service in October 1928. The factory was operated by the Superintendent W. M. van der Veer, whose private mededeelingen (private communications) supplied the operational details preserved in the pamphlet.
Significance
‘s Lands Caoutchouchedrijf’s significance in the historiography of colonial Aceh is as the state enterprise that operated the Baleq turpentine enterprise from 1924 to 1930 and beyond — the principal colonial-era turpentine factory in the Netherlands Indies. The enterprise’s afzonderlijke onderneming (separate enterprise) status from 1927 onward illustrates the way in which the colonial state managed its commodity-production enterprises, and its collaboration with the Dienst van het Boschwezen — which supplied the standing pine forests — and the Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij — which distributed the turpentine in Europe — illustrates the network of institutions through which colonial commodity production was organised.
See Also
- Baleq
- Atjeh-terpentijn (Spoor, 1930)
- Atjeh-terpentijn
- Pinus Merkusii
- Quarre
- Colophonium
- Dienst van het Boschwezen
- Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij
- W. M. van der Veer
- Besluit van 27 June 1924 on Atjeh-turpentine exploitation
- 1924
- 1927
- 1928
Source
Atjeh-terpentijn: tegenwoordige kwaliteit en nieuwe beoordeelingen, by Ir. W. Spoon, Berichten van de Afdeeling Handelsmuseum van de Koninklijke Vereeniging Koloniaal Instituut No. 57, Amsterdam: J. H. de Bussy, 1930, pp. 5–9 (Winning van de terpentijn).