A Life-long Passion: P.J. Veth (1814-1895) and the Dutch East Indies

‘Anyone who is not astonished at Professor’s Veth’s knowledge knows nothing about knowledge.’ Thus spoke ‘Multatuli’, one of the most important anti-colonial writers (‘Max Havelaar’) of modern Dutch history. P.J. Veth was the man who discovered ‘Multatuli’, and he himself was a remarkable pamphleteer. With his great knowledge of the ‘Dutch-Indies’, Veth played an influential role in shaping the Dutch ‘identity’; without the Dutch-Indies, the 19th- century Netherlands would be unthinkable. Paul van der Velde describes the turbulent life of Veth, and his passion to get the ‘Dutch-Indies’ accepted as an adult partner. He was the scourge of the conservative Netherlands, and his role in the literary and political circles of his time was quite remarkable. He was one of the most eminent Dutch scholars with an international reputation. ‘A Life-long Passion’ gives a vivid insight into the life of this exceptional 19th century man. Paul van der Velde is a historian. He is Secretary of the International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS) and he is working on a biography of Jacob Haafner.