A single colonial official’s reports vacillated between plunder and rebellion explanations.

Evidence

Demmemi’s daily reports between 11 and 24 November waver. He maintains that “roofzucht” (rapacity) motivated the assaults on Peyer and Luhmann, but then quotes a “very believable source,” who reports on plans being made for full-scale rebellion in Deli two months later. — Ann Laura Stoler, Along the Archival Grain_ Epistemic…, 1236

Categorization

• QUESTION: What made Demmemi’s ‘very believable source’ credible to him, given his spies were unreliable?