The concept of the "long 19th century" as an ideal model for studying socio-political transformations in Indonesia at the regional level

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze the possibility of using the concept of the “long 19th century” as an interpretative model of historical science that claims to be universal. The author analyzes the concept of the “long 19th century” proposed by Eric Hobsbawm. The subject of the article is the concept of the “long 19th century”, the object is the possibility of its application and transplantation into Indonesian historical research. The novelty of the study lies in the analysis of the concept of the “long 19th century” as an interpretative model that allows us to analyze the features of the historical, social and cultural development of the territories of Indonesia, reduced in this article to Aceh. It is assumed that the interpretive models proposed by Western historians have a claim to universality, although the effect of their transplantation into non-Western historical contexts may be limited. The article analyzes 1) the features of the social and economic components in the transformation of Aceh during the “long 19th century”, 2) the role of the Islam in political changes in the region is revealed, 3) the consequences of the “long 19th century” for the subsequent history of the region are studied. The article shows the potential of the concept of the “long 19th century” for analyzing the history of social and political transformations in Indonesia through the prism of regional history. The results of the study suggest that the effect of using the concept of the “long 19th century” is limited. The author believes that this interpretative model is relatively effective and useful for analyzing social and political dynamics through the prism of religious institutions as sources and incentives for change, transformation and change in a modernizing society, to which Aceh belonged during the analyzed period of history.