Dutch-authored books put spotlight on Manila

WHAT HAPPENED when a Dutch writer visited Manila in 1875? What did three Dutch intellectuals discover in the “new” American-built Manila in 1910? The answers can be found in the pages of Colonial Manila, 1909-1912: Three

Dutch Travel Accounts by Otto van de Muijzenberg and A Visit to Manila and Its Environs by J.A.B. Wiselius which were recently launched by Ateneo de Manila University Press, in partnership with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Translated from Dutch by Geert van der Linden, A Visit to Manila and Its Environs documents the observations of Wiselius when he visited Manila and Laguna in 1875. In this book, he tried to assess the way Spain managed its colony in Asia, primarily driven by his desire to know what the Dutch could learn from Spanish practices. This is the first time the book has been published in English, over 140 years after its original publication. On the other hand, Colonial Manila, 1909-1912: Three Dutch Travel Accounts chronicles the travels of suffragist and doctor Aletta Jacobs, orientalist scholar Gerret Rouffaer, and ethnologist Hendrik Muller to Manila in 1910. Their curiosity was driven by the United States’ stated policy of “benevolent assimilation,” and the American colonial experiment in the Philippines. As travelers, the authors searched for things that remain uniquely Filipino including dress, cockfights, music, theater, and funeral customs among others. The book launch is part of the celebration of 65 years of diplomatic ties and 150 years of consular relations of the Netherlands and the Philippines. For more information on the celebration, visit philippines.nlembassy.org and www. facebook. com / Dutch Embassy Philippines.