PART 2: A PURE SOURCE

Dutch Colonial History Through Cocktails and Rijstafel

After enjoying Hemingway daiquiris at the Rum Barrel, we headed to Mama Makan Indonesian Kitchen for a rijstafel (rice table) meal. Before exploring the Dutch influence on rum in places like Brazil, Barbados, and Martinique, we focused on the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), the source of much of the Netherlands' wealth. Since Columbus's 1492 voyage to the Caribbean, Europeans have sought to replicate the East Indies' riches in the West Indies by transplanting crops and people.

I was curious about Mama Makan's take on an Indonesian dining experience. The Rum Barrel created a tropical oasis without trying to connect Dutch history to the West Indies. Maybe Mama Makan would present a globetrotting surfer’s paradise with a yoga vibe. Current Dutch society might not feel a solid connection to the West Indies, but the 400 years of shared history with Indonesia is well known. The Dutch know their role in creating global markets for sugar, spices, coffee, tea, tobacco, rubber, and oil sourced from Indonesia.

From Javastraat, we walked amidst the Liberation Day festivities, passing Mauritskades and crossing a canal to Sarphatistraat—boats packed with revelers passed under the bridge. At Spinozastraat, we reached the Hyatt Regency Amsterdam, where Mama Makan operates.

Blending History and Modernity: The Unique Charm of Mama Makan

Despite being in a multinational hotel chain, the restaurant fits because Amsterdam was the first modern-era multinational city. In the Golden Age of The Netherlands, a hotel was where one would eat a meal not prepared at home. Once a 19th-century children's hospital, the building combines the original red brick façade with new herringboned yellow bricks and recessed balconies, blending mid-century brutalist and 19th-century architectural styles.

The lobby felt like a stylish greenhouse, inspired by the neighborhood's name, De Plantage (The Plantation), and the nearby Botanical Gardens. The ceilings were 30 feet high in places, with enormous hanging potted plants dropping down their vines. The space was open and clutter-free, with seating areas along the edges.

To the left, the restaurant greeted us with garlic, ginger, and clove aromas. Simple wood tables and chairs contrasted with dramatic floral wallpapers, geographic tiled floors, and a central open-concept stainless-steel kitchen. Paper lanterns with dim lighting hung in bunches from the ceiling. This was not a surfer’s escape, welcoming guests in flip-flops. Instead, it felt like an elegant open-air night market in the streets of Jakarta.

We were seated and handed menus. We knew what to order for our meal, so I spent some time with the cocktail menu. The cocktail menu featured 'Indonesian History in a Glass' with drinks like 'Kartini 1879', 'United 1928', 'Republic 1945', and 'Sovereign 1949'." Like Bar 1802 in Paris, this place was going to tackle colonial legacy, and like the Rum Barrel, it was direct. Each listing described the cocktail's components and provided a piece of Indonesian history related to the year mentioned. This seemed particularly blunt and Dutch compared to Bar 1802 at the Hotel Monte Cristo. Bar 1802 elaborately created a space that subtly told a bit of the Black Experience in the French Empire of the 19th century. It wasn’t obvious. Mama Makan has created a beautiful space to tell the story of Indonesia’s history and celebrate its independence from the Dutch Empire. But, lacking that French sense of je ne sais quoi in delivery, they hand you study notes on the cocktail menu. Yet, I appreciated the directness.

A section of the drink menu was also dedicated to cocktails made with Barak ’51, a Dutch jenever with Indonesian spices of nutmeg, ginger, clove, and coriander folded into the distillation. The juniper berry-infused jenever is the true spirit of The Netherlands. Its origins in the Southern Netherlands date beyond the 14th century and it was commonly consumed by the 1500s. When the Dutch stadtholder, Willem Hendrick, invaded England in 1688 and became King William III of England, his forces were accompanied by the “Dutch Courage” spirit, jenever. The English loved it but struggled with the multi-syllable word and called it gin.

While I liked the drink menu and applauded Mama Makan for providing some history with what appeared to be creative cocktails, I was in the mood for a beer. When the waitress arrived, we ordered the rijsttafel, my sister had a glass of Sancerre wine, and I asked for a Bintang (a Heineken product from East Java).

Walking Through History: Tracing the Dutch Empire's Legacy on Amsterdam's Streets

I realized later that the path we had walked to Mama Makan continued to narrate the history of the Dutch Empire. Mauritskades (Maurits Quay) was named for Maurits of Nassau, Prince of Orange. Maurits was the stadtholder of the Dutch Republic from 1585 to 1625, leading the military revolt against Spanish rule, which his assassinated father, Willem the Silent, had begun. The sugarcane-growing and rum-producing islands of Mauritius are named for him. He was not the king but an aristocratic military leader and considered a steward of the nation. The States-General, with representatives from the seven provinces, governed the republic. For over two centuries, The Netherlands was ruled this way. Ironically, the French Revolution, which abolished the monarchy in France, led to the demise of the Dutch Republic and the creation of a monarchy when Napoleon appointed his brother as King of Holland.

Spinosastraat and Sarphatistraat are streets named in the 1870s. Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) and Samuel Sarphati (1813-1866) were of Spanish and Portuguese Sephardic Jewish heritage. Their ancestors moved to Amsterdam following the Inquisition, which expelled non-conversing Jews, beginning in Spain in 1492 and Portugal in 1536. Just a few canal blocks from the Hyatt stands the Portuguese Synagogue (completed in 1675).

Our meal arrived in 13 small earthenware bowls on a double-decker wood tray. The Dutch-Indonesian meal of rijsttafel (rice table), based on the Nasi Padang style of presenting multiple small side dishes accompanied by rice, originated in West Sumatra. It’s a colonial showcase of different but intertwined cuisines from the Indonesian Archipelago's diverse population, including people of Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, Confucian, and Christian beliefs. Rijsttafel is more than a meal; it is an immersive experience that embodies the spirit of communal dining. Much like the Hawaiian luau, it fosters a sense of abundance and togetherness, where every dish tells a story, and every bite celebrates culinary heritage. Vegetables, fish, and meats simmered in coconut milk infused with aromatic blends of cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, star anise, saffron, turmeric, ginger, and cloves.

The desire for good-tasting food and the pursuit of profits propelled Amsterdam’s ascendancy. The Dutch weren’t the first Europeans to “kick it up a notch” in the kitchen by importing spices from Asia. The Spanish and the Portuguese had a century’s head start. Before them, the Italian city-states of Venice and Florence were the ports of entry for Asian goods, which traveled the Silk Road using a network of Arab and Persian traders along the way. Still, the Dutch ultimately did it faster and cheaper, utilizing superior maritime technology and quicker trade routes while circumventing the middlemen.

From Autonomy to Prosperity: Amsterdam's Rise Amidst Religious and Political Turmoil

Amsterdam was a thriving mercantile city by the 16th century. While nominally under Spanish rule, the region enjoyed significant autonomy, primarily engaging in herring fishing from the North Sea, with neighboring communities specializing in cheese-making, beer brewing, and tulip cultivation. While Rotterdam provided access to the interior of Europe along the Rhine River, Amsterdam’s port facilitated trade with the Baltic Sea, with Polish grain being a primary commodity. In the Southern Netherlands, Antwerp served as the high-value port for luxury goods from Asia via Portuguese and Spanish ships.

Amsterdam didn't seem envious of Antwerp's trade status until the Protestant Reformation hit the Netherlands in 1530. It was largely ignored when the King of Spain tried suppressing heretics in The Netherlands. The stadtholder, Willem the Silent, though Catholic by conversion, was raised Lutheran and hesitant to oppress protestants. He valued education, humanism, and tolerance, which were Renaissance ideals rooted in rediscovering ancient texts. As Protestantism (namely Calvinism) gained ground, he backed their cause. Although religious fighting did get bloody in The Netherlands, it was not an all-or-nothing cause as in England or France. Willem the Silent promoted toleration of Catholics (although barring them from public office or worshipping in public)—the Dutch prioritized peace and prosperity over religious unity, fostering stability and resistance against Spain.

In 1568, the Dutch declared war on Spain, and this city and the Netherlands would begin their Golden Age during the Eighty Years War with Spain to achieve independence and establish their commercial interests. Spain eventually managed to take control of the Southern Netherlands (largely today’s Belgium) in 1585 and cut off the north’s access to Antwerp and the Asian goods that flowed through it. Another wave of refugee Protestant and Jewish merchants from Antwerp settled in Amsterdam.

Sephardic Influence: Catalysts of Amsterdam's Golden Age and Global Reach

While Spinoza and Sarphati would go on to be recognized for their contributions to philosophy, architecture, and medicine, there was a more immediate effect on the city when Sephardic Jews arrived in Amsterdam. Many recent immigrants were directly involved with the business affairs of the Spanish and Portuguese royal courts. They were engaged with the shipbuilding, trading, and bookkeeping associated with the spice routes. They had connections worldwide, including with the Sephardic diaspora, which had moved to Brazil, Jamaica, North Africa, and the Ottoman Empire. Instead of refusing their entry as England had, the Dutch accepted them and asked them if they knew anything about boats or had any contacts in Asia.

Having Catholics and Jews in The Netherlands proved helpful in undermining the Spanish and Portuguese. Being part of the Kingdom of Spain initially allowed Dutch people access to the trading routes that explorers like Vasco de Gama and Christopher Columbus set up for the Portuguese and Spanish, which a single Spanish king ruled at this time. In 1595, a Dutch Catholic who had worked for the Archbishop of Goa, then a colony of Portugal in India, published a book that set off the Dutch trade boom of the next several centuries. Jan Huygen van Linschoten (1563-1611) kept a detailed diary of his time in India and replicated graphic maps of India and the East Indies (all highly illegal and subversive). For the first time, the rest of Europe had charts that showed them how to sail safely to Asia and where to trade.

The wealth that flowed into the Netherlands can be primarily attributed to the monopoly held by the Dutch East India Company (VOC), which was founded in 1602. Previously, individual ships were sent to Asia funded by a group of investors on one specific voyage. If the ship returned, the profits were dispersed, and the company dissolved. Of course, some ships didn’t return, and the investors were busted. A collective of financiers devised a scheme in which there would be only one shipping company to invest in, and the risks and rewards would be spread out amongst every voyage conducted by the company.

The VOC's business plan was to follow the Portuguese across the globe, seizing control of crucial trading cities and routes spanning from Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and Formosa (Taiwan) to Batavia (Indonesia) and the Cape Colony (South Africa). Bolstered by the VOC's success, a consortium of investors founded the West India Company (WIC) in 1621, entrusted with the charter to engage in trade from West Africa to the Americas.

Based on its small population and geographic setting, it seems like a glitch in history that the Dutch largely controlled the global economy in the 17th century. The European languages that spread worldwide were English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French. Ultimately, the Dutch did not sustain their economic dominance. They also didn’t slip into obscurity after their Golden Age. When Napolean invaded and occupied The Netherlands, their frenemy, Britain, quickly swooped in and took over the Dutch Colonies of Suriname, Berbice (now part of Guyana), Ceylon (Sri Lanka), South Africa, the Dutch East Indies, and Malacca (Malaysia) to prevent the French from gaining control of these areas. The British had already wrestled away New Netherland (New York). With the defeat of Napolean and The Netherlands reemerging as an independent country, only the Dutch East Indies and Suriname were returned to them. The Dutch then concentrated most of their efforts in the East and only maintained a small presence in the Americas.

Exploring the Origins: How Dutch Streets Reflect a Global Legacy

Later, I turned to the street map again to see if the city planners had created an origin story. I noticed that Hudsonstraat, which runs from the north into the West Indies neighborhood, is flanked by other streets that acknowledge the roles of explorers and cartographers in paving the way for the era of globalization. The streets are named for Marco Polo, Amerigo Vespucci, Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, James Cook, John Cabot, and Vasco Núñez de Balboa. These Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and English men were the first Europeans to explore the world. A few streets are named for Dutch seafarers, but they are obscure to most people.

So, the Dutch didn’t have many famous sailors, yet right in the middle of the Age of Exploration, they ruled the seas for a century. As with many things, the Dutch seemed far ahead of their time. They realized it's not the celebrity explorers that bring financial gain; it's the captains and sailors that go next. What the Dutch lacked in famous navigators, they made up for in celebrated map makers. There are two streets named after cartographers Abraham Ortelius and Geradus Mercator. These two men were from Antwerp and had moved to Amsterdam to escape the Spanish. Boats were the hardware, captains were the operators, and the maps were the software. For software, you need coders, and the coders of the Dutch Republic were cartographers whom robust education institutions and the publishing industry supported. Like all good software, theirs was open source. They didn’t make maps and hide them under lock and key; they made and published them for all to see.

This openness is what was most radical about the Dutch Republic. Monarchs controlled the navies of England, Spain, and Portugal; their knowledge was considered the monarch's intellectual property. The Dutch didn’t have a monarch once they declared rebellion against Spain in 1568. This worried all the powers of Europe as it undermined their legitimacy. Still, as the more prominent European players scrambled to cement their positions within the continent, the Dutch went to sea. It exploited the turbulent times of the Protestant Reformation.

Our meal was excellent. Being in an elegant restaurant with a comfortably low-key atmosphere emphasizing enjoying the food communally was pleasant. It wasn’t just the excellent food. It was the comfortable stroll to the destination, the architecture of the building, the greenhouse-like lobby's surprise, and entering the dining room with its dizzying yet anchored array of modern and traditional styles. The warmness of the waitress and the ability to watch the cooks perform their craft while we sat and chatted was part of the experience. It was the Far East packaged with Dutch sensibilities.

Now that we have discussed the source of the Netherlands's capital wealth, we will go and check out the evening's celebrations and tell the rest of the story related to rum. The Netherlands’s success in colonizing Indonesia turned out to be an anomaly, but sometimes, one anomaly is enough to change the course of history. The Dutch were traders at heart, not conquerors and settlers. Asia particularly suited their skill at conducting commerce. It already had centuries-old infrastructure of cultural interaction and trade with people from the West. The Dutch merely perfected the model. The Americas, on the other hand, were utterly new to Europeans. The West India Company was founded with hubris to replicate the success of the Dutch in Asia. They were perhaps drunkenly unaware of France’s and England's envy as they watched this small country take control of global commerce.

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