June 2021: TCF becomes PCF as part of 'Learned Society' / KITLV

The Corts Foundation is transferring its activities to the new ‘Philippus Corts Fonds’, now part of 'The Learned Society / KITLV'. Leiden, June 17th 2021

The Board of the Corts Foundation has decided to conclude the activities as an autonomous foundation and to handover her assets and activities to the new “Philippus Corts Fonds” that will continue her activities as part of 'The Learned Society / KITLV' [ https://www.verenigingkitlv.nl/ ].

'The Learned Society / KITLV' (Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies) is the owner of a unique and scientific collection including books, handwritings, images and also other unique objects regarding Southeast Asia and the Caribbean. The collection is managed by Leiden University Libraries / Universiteitsbibliotheek Leiden (UBL) since July 2014.

The focus of the ‘Philippus Corts Fonds’ will be: “The preservation of original archival sources (in local languages and in Dutch) in Indonesia and the Netherlands regarding the shared history of these countries during 1602 till 1949, in particular the period of the ‘Dutch East Indian Company- VOC’ and the second World war in Asia”, and making these accessible.

Given the workload, the board of the Corts Foundation decided several years ago to discuss how to continue the foundation after realizing the main goals of its principles.
First of all: ‘digital preservation for the long term and making accessible (1.1 mio) VOC- manuscripts kept at the Arsip Nasional Republik Indonesia in Jakarta’, and secondly: ‘Research, translation and publication of Japanese archival sources about the Japanese invasion in the former Dutch- East Indies in 1942’, resulting in an academic trilogy of more than 1900 pages.
After that, it would be possible to use the remaining financial resources to set up a new fund focusing on shared cultural heritage in present Indonesia.

Recently, the Corts foundation published its third (and last) Senshi Sōsho volume, concluding successfully her Senshi Sōsho- project. Our ‘Leiden University Office Tokyo’ has been terminated and employee contracts ended. The secretary of the Corts Foundation (J.C. Snellen van Vollenhoven, Mozartweg 3 1323 AV Almere, The Netherlands, E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) has been charged for the formally required seven years to take care for all legal and administrative affairs, as for instance requesting the copyrights of the published Senshi Sōsho volumes.

In 2017 we formally concluded the ‘Data Archival System at ANRI’- project, with unique results. However, we were responsible until recently for maintenance and management of the information system and the project website ‘Sejarah-Nusantara’. These responsibilities have been transferred to ANRI.

After ascertaining that our main objectives (as stated in 2003) have indeed been realized, the
board of the Corts Foundation selected a partner which would be most suitable for continuing her activities in the future. Given her long tradition and experience in Asia the KITLV Society became the ideal partner.

The board of the Corts Foundation is pleased that today the general assembly of members of the 'The Learned Society / KITLV' approved the proposal to set up the ‘Philippus Corts Fonds’. In doing so we will be able to benefit of the extensive knowledge and experience of the 'The Learned Society / KITLV' in researching primary sources. Moreover, the work of the Corts Foundation will be preserved for the long time future.

May 2021: Final TCF Senshi Sōsho publication

The Corts Foundation proudly online presents the final publication of translations from the Senshi Sōsho series, titled: “The Invasion of the South: Army Air Force Operations and the Invasion of Northern and Central Sumatra”.

Between 1966 and 1980, the War History Office of the National Defense College of Japan (now the Center for Military History of the National Institute for Defense Studies) published the 102-volume Senshi Sōsho (War History Series). The currently published book completes the trilogy of English translations of the sections in the Senshi Sōsho series on the Japanese operations against the former Dutch East Indies (Indonesia). The first volume (The Invasion of the Dutch East Indies, 2015) details the army operations, the second volume (The Operations of the Navy in the Dutch East Indies and the Bay of Bengal, 2018) the navy operations, and this third volume the army air force operations.

The three volumes consisting of 1900 pages provide an unparalleled insight into the Japanese campaign to capture Southeast Asia and the oil fields in the Indonesian archipelago in what was at that time the largest transoceanic landing operation in the military history of the world. It was also the first time in history that air power was employed with devastating effect over such enormous distances, posing complex technical and logistical problems. The task of the air forces in the Southern operation was two-fold: (1) neutralize enemy air forces on the ground and in the air as well as (2) give support to the ground troops’ advance in addition to and over longer ranges than the artillery. The publication will be available in the USA in July 2021 by The University Press of Chicago and through Leiden University Press worldwide through their webshop.

This publication can be obtained by:
The Leiden University Scholarly Publications
[Download PDF >>] [Bestel een exemplaar >>][University of Chicago >>]

The publication has been reviewed by Stone&Stone in California (USA) and can be read here >>>

Prior publication of volume 3 and volume 26 of the Senshi Sōsho series has been done by The Corts Foundation in 2015 (Read more >>) and 2018 (Read more >>).

January 2021: In Memoriam Mona Lohanda

With great sadness we have been recently informed about the sudden passing away of Mona Lohanda in Indonesia. She was an important female historian and archivist in Indonesia, working at the National Archives of Indonesia (ANRI) from 1972 onwards, in particular on the history of Jakarta, formerly known as Batavia. She received several rewards for her contribution to the Indonesian historiography.

She was born November 4^th in Tangerang, a suburb of Jakarta. After her study at the History department of the University of Indonesia, she continued her postdoc study at the History department, School of Oriental and African Studies, of the University of London. She graduated in March 1974 with her dissertation titled ‘The Kapitan China of Batavia 1937-1942’. By recommendation of the Indonesian historian Harsja Bachtiar Mona studied the history of the Tioghoa-volk in Indonesia.

Read more ...

August 2020: Project Senshi Sōsho update

Herewith a short update on our Senshi Sōsho project, as was published on August 20th on the website of Stone and Stone.

“After producing two excellent translations of Japanese histories—The Invasion of the Dutch East Indies and The Operations of the Navy in the Dutch East Indies and the Bay of Bengal—the Corts Foundation is well on the way to completion of the third and final volume on operations in the NEI, The Army Air Force Operations in the Invasion of the South.

Here's a report from the very talented translator, Willem Remmelink:

We are still on schedule and finished last month the translation of the main text. Now working on the maps, indices, etc.

The provisional title will be: The Army Air Force Operations in the Invasion of the South, with an addendum on the Invasion of Northern and Central Sumatra. "The translation covers the main text of Vol. 34 of the Senshi Sōsho minus the chapters on the Philippines, Malaya, and Burma, as well as chapter 4 of Vol. 5 dealing with northern and central Sumatra.

The Articles of Association of the Corts Foundation limit its activities to the area of the former Dutch East Indies, so we reluctantly had to drop the more detailed chapters on the Philippines, Malaya, and Burma. Nevertheless, the remainder of the book (the general sections and the chapters on Singapore, Palembang, and Java) give a good description of the whole campaign.

If all goes well, we hope to publish the book in the first half of 2021.

March 2020: Handwriting text recognition promising

In recent years automated text recognition has developed impressively, and now it seems to become applicable to digitized archives. A computer can actually be taught to read and also 17th and 18th century Dutch in scanned VOC archival sources. A breakthrough is in reach in the near future. Texts of old manuscripts made digitally searchable can assist historians and other researchers in disclosing archives.

Not all archives are in prefect condition. Because of archival damage text recognition can be difficult.
Marco Roling (advisor of The Corts Foundation) has conducted research recently on the application of text recognition on archives with damage, and has looked at the effects of ink corrosion and discoloration. This article also takes a first step towards measuring archival damage and the possibilities of improving scans digitally.

The research is public and free, and can be downloaded here >>>

Sejarah Nusantara

The Corts Foundation and the Arsip Nasional Republik Indonesia proudly present a website, in both English and Indonesian language, that shows thousands of handwritten pages of the Dutch 17th and 18th century archives, inventories and searchable databases. This website focusses on a worldwide audience of people interested in the history of the Indonesian archipelago hidden as treasures in these old documents.

Visit the website of

www.sejarah-nusantara.anri.go.id

and start exploring ...

Welcome

The 'Philippus Corts Foundation' is a Dutch foundation known outside the Netherlands as 'The Corts Foundation'.

The foundation started in 2003 with the legacy capital of Kees Corts. His interest in the former Dutch East Indies and Indonesian history led to the support of many interesting projects in the past years.

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History

C.W. Corts MSc was born on 24 May 1920 into a Dutch family living in Sumatra, where his father practiced medicine. In 1939 Kees Corts returned to the Netherlands for his tertiary education with his parents and younger brother, Philip. World War II proved to be a tragedy for the family, as Philip was executed during the occupation of the Netherlands.

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