Dutch East Indies
a collective term for the Asiatic possessions of the Netherlands. The possessions include twelve island colonies or groups of islands comprised between 6 deg. N. and 11 deg. S. latitude and 95 deg. and 141 deg. E. longitude. These possessions were in the hands of the Dutch East India Company, 1602-1798. The government of the Netherlands is represented by a governor-general, a number of "residents," and a proper force of inspectors who control the natives through a vast host of petty native officials. Java is the chief of the East Indies. Sumatra and parts of Borneo, the Celebes, and the Moluccas and part of New Guinea are included under the term.
STATISTICS. The following statistics are the latest to be had from trustworthy sources:
| Land area, square miles | 736,000 |
| Population (1905) | 38,000,000 |
| Europeans | 81,000 |
| Chinese | 563,000 |
| Batavia | 138,551 |
| Samarang | 96,600 |
| Soerabaya | 150,198 |
| Island groups | 12 |
| Members of council | 5 |
| Annual expenditures | $75,000,000 |
| No. of soldiers | 33,000 |
| Acres under plow | 11,000,000 |
| Agricultural Productions-- | |
| Cacao, pounds | 3,960,000 |
| Indigo, pounds | 635,000 |
| Tea, pounds | 26,000,000 |
| Coffee, pounds | 102,000,000 |
| Cinchona, pounds | 3,400,000 |
| Tobacco, pounds | 113,000,000 |
| Sugar, pounds | 1,892,000,000 |
| Exports | $132,000,000 |
| Domestic Animals-- | |
| Horses | 482,000 |
| Buffaloes | 2,187,000 |
| Cattle | 3,103,000 |
| Petroleum, gallons | 220,000,000 |
| Miles of railway | 1,511 |
| Coal mined, tons | 366,000 |
| Tin, tons (1906) | 15,420 |
| Savings banks deposits | $5,200,000 |
| Teachers in European schools | 900 |
| Pupils enrolled | 24,000 |
| Schools for natives | 2,000 |
| Pupils enrolled | 25,000 |
| No. postoffices | 275 |
Dutch Literature. See Literature; Dutch