Laat die gevallen engelen maar liggen

Balansbenaderingen in de Belgische en Nederlandse historiografie over het koloniale verleden

Abstract

The publication of Engelen uit Europa: A.W.F. Idenburg en de moraal van het Nederlands imperialisme by Hans van der Jagt has generated both praise and fierce criticism. This article attempts to explain this by placing the book’s methodology within international Belgian and Dutch historiography, and within the debates between revisionists and advocates of New Imperial History. More specifically we situate this book within a revisionist strand of imperial history that argues for a more balanced approach. According to this so-called balance sheet approach, both the positive and negative aspects of colonialism should be highlighted. However, this methodology ignores the insights of New Imperial History, which emphasises that the influence of the colonies on the metropolis should be central to our study of the colonial past. The authors of this contribution are inspired by New Imperial History in their critique of the balance sheet approach and ultimately, of Van der Jagt’s book: this approach undermines explanatory historiography, contains anachronistic elements, disregards the role of ideology, and avoids historical criticism. This article is part of a discussion dedicated to Engelen uit Europa. In previous issues, a review article by Jan Breman and a reply by Van der Jagt were published.