User:Mhatopzz/Colonial administration of the Dutch East Indies

Political administration of the colonial government in the Dutch East Indies created the most centralized system of government in Southeast Asia at its time, a Dutch colonial territory consisting of a first-level administrative division of governorates and provinces, unified in a single territory headed by a governor-general. The Dutch East Indies government adopted a policy of associative rule (as opposed to assimilation) natives of the colony were given responsibility to govern certain sub-divisional area and participate in the legislature. Although it was a centralized bureaucratic rule, the colony also maintained native monarchs to rule to justify the Dutch legitimacy over their asian colonies, these native territories were known as Zelfbestuurlandschappen, a self-governing entity overseen by the colonial government, these territories had their own indigenous laws or Adat and coexisted with the colonial government within its territory.

The Dutch East Indies government was headed by a governor-general that represented the Dutch Empire and monarch and was the most influential party in the colony, assisted by the Council of the Indies. By 1918, a semi-legislative body was created to resolve major issues in the colony, the Volksraad was expected to function as the legislature of the colony, consulted by the governor-general.