Problems in ‘Accessing’ Colonial Archives for Indonesian History Department Student

Abstract

Historical research in Indonesia, especially during the colonial era, cannot be separated from the Dutch colonial archives. However, not many researchers or students were interested in using colonial sources for various reasons. Precisely with colonial archives, researchers will find knowledge both written and implied through analysis of colonial sources to strengthen research. The writing of this article uses an archival approach and qualitative descriptive methods and analysis of archival guides and digital innovations to access the Dutch East Indies colonial archives as an alternative to expand the research topics of history students in Indonesia. Finally, colonial archives as historical sources provide flexibility for researchers to explore, relate, and critique the information contained in colonial archives. Therefore, researchers or students who are conducting research in the colonial era must take advantage of the archives of the Dutch colonial government because without them we do not know anything about the past or events that occurred in the colonial era.