The Cabang Atas (Van Ophuijsen Spelling System: Tjabang Atas)—literally 'upper branch' in Indonesian—was the traditional Chinese establishment or gentry of colonial Indonesia.[1][2] They were the families and descendants of the Chinese officers, high-ranking colonial civil bureaucrats with the ranks of Majoor, Kapitein and Luitenant der Chinezen.[1][2][3] They were referred to as the baba bangsawan [‘Chinese gentry’] in Indonesian, and the ba-poco in Java Hokkien.[1][2][4][3]
As a privileged social class, they exerted a powerful influence on the political, economic and social life of pre-revolutionary Indonesia, in particular on its local Chinese community.[1][2] Their institutional control of the Chinese officership declined with the colonial Ethical Policy of the early twentieth century, but their political, economic and social influence lasted until the Indonesian revolution (1945-1950).[5][6]
- ^ a b c d Liem, Thian Joe (2004). Riwayat Semarang (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Hasta Wahana. ISBN 9789799695215. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
- ^ a b c d Rush, James R. (2007). Opium to Java: Revenue Farming and Chinese Enterprise in Colonial Indonesia, 1860-1910. Singapore: Equinox Publishing. ISBN 9789793780498. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
Haryono 2017was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Kwee, Thiam Tjing; Berdoeri, Tjamboek (2010). Menjadi Tjamboek Berdoeri: memoar Kwee Thiam Tjing (in Indonesian). Komunitas Bambu. ISBN 978-979-3731-84-1.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Lohanda (1996)was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Erkelens, Monique (2013-10-15). The decline of the Chinese Council of Batavia: the loss of prestige and authority of the traditional elite amongst the Chinese community from the end of the nineteenth century until 1942 (PDF) (Thesis). Leiden: Leiden University. Retrieved 27 April 2020.