Jongos en Baboe aan boord: The Role of Indigenous Domestic Workers on Cruise Ships That Sailed to Java during the Colonial Period

Abstract

This study investigates the roles of indigenous attendants, known as jongos and baboe, aboard Dutch luxury passenger ships to the Dutch East Indies between 1918 and 1935. Archival records and visual documentation reveal that these attendants were indispensable for maintaining passenger comfort, supervising cabins, serving meals, and caring for children. Their labor reflected both technical skill and cultural negotiation within the hierarchical structures of colonial maritime operations. Differential treatment by European passengers highlighted the intersections of race, nationality, and colonial ideology in shaping shipboard experiences. The study employs historical research methodology, utilizing source identification, critical evaluation, interpretation, and historiographical presentation to reconstruct the nuanced social and operational dynamics of indigenous maritime labor during the early twentieth century.