“Treasures from the the 17th and 18th VOC archive” by Sophie Hénon (Les Carnets du CASE)

Treasures from the the 17th and 18th VOC archive, Sejarah Nusantara, Arsip Nasional Republik Indonesia

The paper archives created by the Dutch East India Company (VOC, 1602-1799) and dealing with its commercial operations in Asian waters are preserved in the national archives of Indonesia, the Netherlands, Sri Lanka, South Africa and India. In particular, the archives in Jakarta contain thousands of documents originating from Asian persons, including many local rulers from around the Indonesian archipelago. The most voluminous collections spanning 2,000 metres are in the Arsip Nasional Republik Indonesia (ANRI). On 9 March 2004, the archives of the VOC were included in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.

The 2.000 metres of archives in ANRI can be roughly divided into two sections:
1) The archives created in and formerly kept at Batavia Castle, the former headquarters of the VOC in Asia. This is the archive of the Supreme Government (the Governor-General and the ordinary Councillors of Dutch Asia).
2) The archives of local private and public institutions in Batavia.

For this digitalization and public access project, a selection had to be made. The Daily Journals of Batavia Castle which can be found in the archives of the Supreme Government were digitalized and published first. This series reflects the principle concerns of the Supreme Government.  Prominent here were internal Company affairs in matters as diverse as the general management of trade, personnel and financial affairs, shipping and logistics. The Supreme Government also dealt with all political and diplomatic affairs, the administration of justice and correspondence with other VOC factories in Asia as well as the VOC Chambers and their Governing Board, theso-called Gentlemen Seventeen (Heren XVII) or Directors of the VOC  in the Dutch Republic. The Daily Journals were created to maintain an ongoing overview of such activities.

During the course of the eighteenth century, the Resolution Books of the Supreme Government became more and more important and voluminous while the registration of correspondence in the Daily Journals gradually declined. In particular, the handling of all matters to do with the regional establishments of the Company were included in the General Resolution Books. In 1743, such matters were recorded in a separate yearbook, giving birth to a separate series: the General (Foreign) Affairs Books (Net-Generale Besogneboeken).

Another, hitherto unresearched and historically unique series are the Appendices to the General Resolution Books. These total together some 742 volumes numbering some 550,000 folio pages. This series contain a variety of documents which may gradually become accessible via a special database. The first document descriptions for this database were started in 2013 by ANRI’s Content Team (see organisation).

Liste des archives consultables moyennant une inscription sur le site:

  • General Resolutions of Batavia Castle 1613-1810
  • Realia 1610-1808
  • Appendices to General Resolutions 1686-1811
  • The Placards of Batavia Castle 1602-1808
  • Daily Journals of Batavia Castle 1624-1806
  • Marginalia to the Daily Journals 1659-1807
  • Diplomatic Letters 1625-1812
  • Corpus Diplomaticum 1595-1799

Plus d’informations sur : https://sejarah-nusantara.anri.go.id/archive/

source: Sophie Hénon (30 octobre 2017). Treasures from the the 17th and 18th VOC archive. Les carnets du CASE. Consulté le 31 mars 2026 à l’adresse https://doi.org/10.58079/m8fb

“Digitising Malay writing in Sri Lanka – Endangered Archives Program” by Sophie Hénon (Les Carnets du CASE)

EAP609 : Digitising Malay writing in Sri Lanka – Endangered Archives Program (British Library)

Dr Ronit Ricci, The Australian University
Archival partner: National Archives of Sri Lanka
 
Project Overview
 

This project aims to create a digital archive of Malay writing (including manuscripts, printed books, letters, other documents) held in private collections in Sri Lanka. Written for the most part in Arabic script (but also in the Roman, Tamil and Sinhala scripts) by descendants of exiles, convicts, and soldiers from the Indonesian archipelago and the Malay Peninsula between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries, these rare and fragile documents attest to social and cultural aspects of the community’s life, allow for an expansion of our definitions of the ‘Malay World,’ and provide insight into local forms of Islam. There is urgent need to document and preserve such collections, endangered not only by tropical weather and the ravages of time, but also by their owners’ lack of knowledge in archival preservation and a contemporary ignorance regarding the manuscripts’ content and significance …

The project will result in the creation of a digital archive freely available to all. Copies will be accessible via the National Archives of Sri Lanka, the British Library and the library at the Australian National University.

Project Outcome

The project encompasses a range of materials written in the Malay language, in Sri Lanka, from around the mid 19th century to the late 20th century. It includes manuscipts, printed books, prayer booklets, wedding invitations, personal letters, family records, poems and songs. These diverse materials testify to the variety of ways in which Malay was, and is, used in Sri Lanka. The majority of older materials are Islamic in nature, including theological manuals, poems in praise of the Prophet, and tales and histories written in the hikayat genre. These are written in gundul (Malay-Arabic script) and/or romanised Malay. The collection also includes modern examples of Malay written in the Tamil and Sinhala script, as well as older materials in Arabic and Arabu-Tamil owned by Malay families, testifying to the lingusitic and orthographic diversity of the community’s writing practices.

For more informations : http://eap.bl.uk/database/overview_project.a4d?projID=EAP609;r=41

To consult texts : http://eap.bl.uk/database/results.a4d?projID=EAP609;r=41

Source: Sophie Hénon (28 février 2017). Digitising Malay writing in Sri Lanka – Endangered Archives Program. Les carnets du CASE. Consulté le 31 mars 2026 à l’adresse https://doi.org/10.58079/m861

“Declassified Documents Detail Israel’s Role at the Start of Sri Lanka’s Civil War” by Eitay Mack (The Wire)

The Sri Lankan government has acknowledged that there could be as many as 65,000 people missing following three decades of civil war. Photo: Amantha Perera/IPS

We would like to share an article written by Eitay Mack for the Wire on “Declassified Documents Detail Israel’s Role at the Start of Sri Lanka’s Civil War“. 

Files from Israel’s Foreign Ministry from the mid-1980s concerning relations with Sri Lanka – recently partially opened to the public in the Israel State Archives – confirm information that had surfaced in the press over the years and reveal new details. Not only did Israel ignore the severity of the human rights situation, it also knew from the outset that its military assistance had limited prospects of success.

Eitay Mack is an Israeli human rights lawyer and activist who exposes Israel’s role in the Sri Lankan civil war and has pursued legal action in Israel.

source: The Wire

Raking Leaves invites you to the opening of Sri Lanka Archive of Contemporary Art, Architecture & Design

Sri Lanka Archive of Contemporary Art, Architecture & Design is a public archive dedicated to collecting materials, in English, Sinhala and Tamil, related to the development and study of visual culture in Sri Lanka. Access to the Archive is free to all.

The Archive is the first physical space of its kind in the country and aspires to provide not only an invaluable resource, but also a space to browse, study, converse and meet. The collection is growing and currently shelves over 400 donated items. These include books, exhibition catalogues, periodicals, monographs and more. Featured Talks, Books, Exhibitions, Screenings and Words connected with the Archive will appear as part of a regular program of public activities.

More details here http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=6bc920cbef7d5dc054657f36f&id=a789a87e57&e=2232f03fbd

source: www.us2.campaign-archive2.com