Warfare, Pacification, and Environment: Population Dynamics in the West Borneo Borderlands (1823‑1934)
Year: 2000
Type: article
Abstract: Warfare, disease, topography, climate, and colonization have long influenced the distribution of human populations in Borneo. Conversely, human populations until recently have exerted a generally modest influence on the Borneo landscape and its resources. Drawing on Dutch archival material and some oral histories, this article examines settlement history in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, with a focus on warfare and colonial pacification and on the environmental effects of these activities, from approximately 1823 until 1934. The specific focus is on the upper Kapuas River basin, a region bordering on the Malaysian state of Sarawak and dominated numerically by one of Borneo’s major ethnic groups, the Iban. This history shows the flux of population across the landscape as warfare drove people away while trading and ties to local resources brought them back. It also shows how colonial efforts to suppress warfare initially led to intensified conflict and displacement until eventual pacification.
Source: Moussons
Author: Reed L. Wadley
Institution: International Institute for Asian Studies
Language: English
Subfield: Anthropology
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4300698386