The pen is mightier than the sword
Multatuli [1860] ...to the Netherlands...King William III
http://www.engelfriet.net/Alie/Hans/desindes.htm
Chronicles of lost history
Fragments of letters written by Multatuli to King William III show extraordinary courage from someone who only had a pen. For him, all humans are equal in the eyes of God, there is nothing to fear.
Multatuli in Latin means "I have suffered a lot", is a symbol of Douwes Dekker's resistance to oppression in the Nederlands-Indie. Multatuli's anger at the oppression of the people of the Nusantara archipelago who were robbed in the name of the Gospel was certainly very uncivilized.
Not only that, Douwes Dekker, author Max Havelaar, also angered the government and shocked European countries with the novel he produced. Max Havelaar is a reflection of the colonial government's treatment of the Bumi Putera people. The Cultuurstelsel program forces people to grow coffee as an export product to Europe.
This book made European people aware that the pleasures they obtained were the result of the blood and tears of the Bumi Putera people. A wave of protests began to emerge which resulted in the abolition of Cultuurstelsel and its replacement with ethical polity.
The sharpness of Multatuli's pen was able to move the royal heart to be more humane. His love for the future of the nusantara archipelago was continued by his grandson who became a pioneer of the national movement.
A pen may be a blunt object, but in Douwes Dekker's hands it can become a fire that ignites a spirit of change that respects humans and treats them as they should.
Cc: @wakeupkitty
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Max Havelaar was for longer a book on the literature list (high school students) read but today? I doubt the name Multatuli rings a bell.
If the name 'Max Havelaar' is heard people will think of a coffee brand.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Havelaar
https://www.qwant.com/?q=max+havelaar&client=brz-samsung&t=images&o=0%3A7DD5D1377F0F72CB8BD9F59AF7552F6F4259B1DB
I never read the novel "Max Havelaar", it's hard to get it.
Perhaps there is an online version or pdf?
Pdf English
https://archive.org/embed/in.ernet.dli.2015.24492
Dutch - there's a text file this one you might be able to translate.
https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/mult001maxh15_01/downloads.php
Thanks a lot 🙏