Gayo encampments held ex-coolies of several ethnicities by choice

Evidence

Their assaults on the estates expressed more than “dis- trust.” They were directed at planters and their property, and at specific persons. Nor were the Gayo encampments confined to Aceh exiles. They were peopled with Malays, Javanese, and Chinese ex-coolies, as well. While some workers might have been taken by force, as claimed by Locker de Bruijne, many more might have lived in these encampments by choice and for relatively long periods of time. During those stays they seem to have raided the estates for food when they could not get enough in the sur- rounding villages or could not gather enough in the forest. — Ann Laura Stoler, Along the Archival Grain_ Epistemic…, 1228

Categorization

Category: Factual Claims

• XREF: Ties into debate about whether resistance expressed national consciousness or simply anti-invader distrust — echoes the Indonesian consciousness question.

Related

• Gayo encampments were multi-ethnic refuges of coerced estate coolies, not pure raiding gangs. (similarity 0.90)
• Gayo-led encampments formed multi-ethnic worker communities, not pure Aceh exile bands. (similarity 0.90)
• Jungle encampments held a multiethnic underclass defying neat colonial ethnic categories (similarity 0.82)

Broader Connections

• Jungle encampments held a multiethnic underclass defying neat colonial ethnic categories #corroborates (0.85)
• Colonial ethnic categories broke down under acts both personal and political #exemplifies (0.75)
• Colonial historiography reproduced administrative maps that erased mixed-ethnic encampments #expands (0.60) — Ann Laura Stoler, Along the Archival Grain_ Epistemic…, 1096