Colonial officials themselves read public agitation through emotional and medicalized language

Evidence

That same day, the now-agitated Resident van Rees met with Rochussen to report the visit, describing Cantervisscher in “a very excited, almost wild mental state.” Batavia’s “mood is not calm,” he tells Rochussen; there is “an uproar” (oproer) of its inhabitants over “social issues.” — Ann Laura Stoler, Along the Archival Grain_ Epistemic…, 467

Categorization

• DEFINE: Shows ‘oproer’ (uproar) functioning as a Dutch colonial category for describing native and mixed-race political agitation.