Encompass. Encounting a Common Past in Asia

The quality of historical research depends for an important part on the sources available to the researcher. It almost goes without saying that any student seriously interested in the early modern history of South Africa and South- and Southeast Asia, for example, would profit from the priceless sources left by the VOC (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie; Dutch East India Company), while the source material left by the Dutch colonial authorities in the East Indies is of crucial importance to research on the 19th- and 20th-century history of Indonesia. Access to the above-mentioned sources, however, has long been problematic for Asian students for the simple reason that they are unacquainted with the Dutch language. Since September 2006 the Department of History at Leiden University has proudly hosted the Encompass programme, which is designed to address this problem.

By making new source material accessible to Asian students, we hope to open the doors for a new wave of historical research on Asian history. Various archival institutions, both in the Netherlands and in Asia, hold an enormous amount of relevant Dutch sources: the National Archives in the Hague, the Arsip Nasional Republik Indonesia, and the Sri Lankan National Archives, to name a few. Sources range from the 17th-century accounts of VOC explorers (which describe early encounters between Dutch traders and sailors and Asian people—from the inahabitants of Mocca in Arabia to the Japanese in the Far East), to the detailed 19th- and 20th-century administrative material of the colonial government in the Netherlands East Indies, or what is now Indonesia.
Encompass students will receive training in reading and working with this valuable Dutch source material, as well as a broad introduction to the kind of history that can be written by using these sources. They will also have the opportunity to develop their general research skills. The programme stimulates students to develop a global outlook in their studies, and to use Dutch primary sources to write local and regional histories that go beyond the traditional colonial interpretations.

This two- and three-year educational programme, which begins with a conversion year at the BA level, ultimately leads to an MA or MPhil degree. It is jointly financed by the Dutch Ministry of Education (OCW) and Leiden University, and carried out in close cooperation with the Dutch National Archives, the Arsip Nasional Republic Indonesia in Jakarta, and several partner universities in Asia. For five consecutive years—from 2006 to 2010—twelve scholarships per year have been or will be available for students from Monsoon Asia and South Africa.

OBJECTIVES
Making new source material accessible to Asian students, to open the doors for a new wave of historical research on Asian history.
Stimulate students to develop a global outlook in their studies, and to use Dutch primary sources to write local and regional histories that go beyond the traditional colonial interpretations.

RESULTS
Improvement of access to Dutch archive source material for Asian and South African students.
Development of new local and regional histories that go beyond the traditional colonial interpretations.