Empire (Stephen Howe, 2002) pt.01

Author: Stephen Howe
Title: Empire (part of the “A Very Short Introduction” series)
Publisher: Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK
Year of Publication: 2002
Status: Draft, In Progress, Unbetaed; Previous Part(s): 00

Pendahuluan: Berita yang saya baca hari ini…

Sebagian besar dari sejarah dunia adalah sejarah mengenai kekaisaran. Bahkan, dapat dikatakan bahwa semua sejarah adalah sejarah imperialisme — atau [sejarah] kolonial, apabila seseorang memilih arti luasnya atau mundur cukup jauh. Karena buku pendek ini hendak mengatakan sesuatu mengenai keseluruhan sejarah manusia, dari jaman yang paling awal dan melingkupi keseluruhan bumi ini, tempat memulai yang paling masuk akal adalah koran hari ini.

Empire (Stephen Howe, 2002) pt.00

Author: Stephen Howe
Title: Empire (part of the “A Very Short Introduction” series)
Publisher: Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK
Year of Publication: 2002

Sejarah dunia adalah sejarah tentang kekaisaran besar — sebuah sejarah yang belum berakhir. Kita bukan hanya sedang hidup dengan warisan kekaisaran-kekaisaran kolonial agung dari jaman yang sudah lalu, tetapi juga di suatu dunia moderen dengan ekonomi yang dibuat berdasarkan sistem imperium itu. Ada banyak yang berpikir bahwa Internet adalah bentuk baru dari “kekaisaran global”, bahwa gagasan “hukum internasional” adalah sebuah penipuan maha-besar, dan bahkan negara Inggris (Britainia) itu sendiri merupakan koloni terakhir di dalam Kerajaan Inggris Raya (British Empire).

Buku ini mencapai sesuatu yang gagal dicapai oleh buku lainnya dalam pokok bahasan ini: melihat bagaimana ‘gagasan sebuah kekaisaran’ itu diartikan sepanjang sejarah — dari jaman kekaisaran Romawi kuno, sepanjang pemerintahan Genghis Khan, Raj Inggris, kolonisasi benua Amerika oleh pelaut-pelaut Spanyol, Perdagangan Budak di Jalur Atlantik, dan Kekaisaran Soviet, hingga saat ini — mengurai penggunaan dan penyalahgunaan nama (julukan) ‘kekaisaran’ (empire) dan ‘kolonial’, dan menawarkan sebuah pengamatan yang meyakinkan mengenai perubahan-perubahan mendasar di dunia moderen ini.

Jakarta’s Cathedral (R Kurris SJ, 1991) pt.00

Author: R. Kurris, S.J.
Title: Sejarah Seputar Katedral Jakarta
Publisher: Penerbit Obor, Jakarta, Indonesia
Year of Publication: 1991, 2001

Note: This book by Father Kurris traces the story of the Cathedral since the days of the Dutch East Indies. It was part historical fact and part novel, and it was infinitely fascinating, not only for the story of the church itself, but for the history of my city.

Prologue
[...] we, from the 21st century, will have lost contact with the 19th century, one which witnessed the spread of Catholicism through the Indonesian archipelago.

Man must see himself as a link in a chain of continuous historical process. Whether he wants it or not, man lives in a continuous movement, even when the society in which he lives has virtually no historical perspective. We are standing in between the past and the future. The past is needed to project ourselves into the future.

This book is written by someone who loves the Catholic Church, by someone who loves history, by someone assigned by his superiors to serve the Church as a minister at Jakarta’s Cathedral. We hope that readers, by understanding the history surrounding the Church of Batavia-Jakarta, which once encompasses the whole of the Dutch Indies territories, but later diminished only to include the territory of Indonesia’s capital plus Tangerang and Bekasi, may appreciate more of this Church. It is only fitting that we remember the struggles, the service and rise-and-fall of our fore-fathers. The past is almost like another country; we cannot say much about them if we don’t delve into them.

Often, there are university students knocking on the door to the pastor’s residence (the rectory?) on Lapangan Banteng (lit. Bull’s Field) to ask for information about the history and architecture of the Cathedral. This book is to answer many of those questions. Architecture students are encouraged to read chapters IX, XII, XIII, and XIX.

This book is not intended as a historical study text brimming with complete data and other scientific requirements, but instead this book is meant to provide a historical narrative which may help readers to understand why the Catholic Church in Indonesia is the way it is now, both in terms of form and appearance.

To all friends who have provided much support during the writing of this book, especially to Mrs. Lely Nathan and Lynda Soelistyo, who have diligently provided corrections and helped with the preparation of this manuscript. Thank you.

R. Kurris, S.J.
November 1991