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Decolonisation changed not only the colony but also the metropolis - the mother country - from a multinational to a national state. The end of Dutch rule shortly before the middle of the twentieth century heralded the loss of a faraway colony that was considered indispensable to the metropole for economic growth and prosperity.

Originally published in 1950 and authored by the war-time Prime Minister of the Netherlands this provocative book, a product of the time in which it was published, is a controversial defence of colonial rule. It reflects Dutch resistance to the claim for independence, which was in vain but nevertheless fierce and is a highly partisan historical account of the decolonization of the Dutch East Indies. The book criticizes both Indonesian nationalists and the British military for the region's post-war turmoil.