Regentschap

REGENTSCHAP is the Dutch word for Regency, in the sense of the (term of) office of a Regent.

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It is not used for Regency as a historical period, nor for an associated style.

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Its relevant use in other languages is for the use in the colonial context for the equivalent of a British (Indian) princely state in the Dutch East Indies (modern Indonesia), were many of the hundreds of native rulers (mainly Muslim and/or tribal) on the various archipelagoes that constitute the country were employed in a system of indirect rule with the colonial style of Regent (really a generic term, they actually used their traditional styles, as Sultan or Radja for most of the major Malay polities), alongside the white Dutch officials such as residents (suggesting them to be 'dipomatic' representatives of the Dutch royal crown to its native vassals). The relationship between those sides was ambivalent : while the law and military power rested with the Dutch government (or for a long time the VOIC, the Dutch equivalent of the British HEIC) under a Governor General in Batavia on Java, the regents held higher protocollary rank then the white officials who supposedly advised them and held day to day sway over the population.

Related Topics:
Indonesia - Indirect rule - Resident

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