Max Havelaar- A Book That Changed the World. A Librarian at the Kitchen Table. No. 392.

''I have suffered greatly''

Most people know the
Max Havelaar-Foundation which awards a quality label to products that have been produced according to principles of fair trade. Perhaps not so well known in the U.S. is the book, Max Havelaar: Or the Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company by Multatuli [Eduard Douwes Dekker]1860. Available as a Penguin Classic.

One of the most forceful indictments of colonialism ever written.

There is an article by PRAMOEDYA ANANTA TOER in the New York Times (April 18, 1999) in which he states:

The publication of ''Max Havelaar'' in 1859 was nothing less than earth-shaking. Just as ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' gave ammunition to the American abolitionist movement, ''Max Havelaar'' became the weapon for a growing liberal movement in the Netherlands, which fought to bring about reform in Indonesia.

The Multatuli Museum is located in the birthplace of the author in Amsterdam.