UNIVERSITAS INDONESIA

Spice production was one of the main characteristics of the social system of the Ambon islands in the 17th century. The system of land use and other aspects of the structure of the villages in those islands more or less supported the spice monopoly of the VOC (Knaap 1987). But, starting in the mid 18th century, the VOC authorities began to notice a decline in their monopoly on the Ambon spice trade due, among other things, to competition from British traders. The British interregnum (1797–1816), with its stress on warfare and neglect of the spice monopoly, was the main factor in the deterioration of spice production. The monopoly was weakened by the London agreement of 1824 between the Dutch and the British, which allowed spices to be planted and traded in North Maluku (Wright 1958). Although the monopoly on the Ambon islands was not abolished until 1864, the developments during the 19th century eventually did bring changes to Ambonese society. The effect of liberal ideas on Dutch colonial policies after the mid 19th century also had a