Acknowledgements
The process of making this into a book has been quite a long one. Work and other commitments have slowed it down. There were periods when I became doubtful about ever reaching the destination. Finishing this book could not have been possible without the support from friends, colleagues and institutes along the way. I would like to thank Thomas Lindblad and Leonard Blussé at the Leiden University History Department for being there and helping me finish my manuscript. I would especially like to thank Henk Schulte Nordholt who have personally pushed me to publish the book and provided me with support. Along with the people and institute at kitlv, especially Rosemarijn Hoefte who have managed my editing process, and Yayah Siegers who have helped me with administrative matters at the kitlv. kitlv was kind enough to provide me with a fellowship to finish the manuscript and The Vereniging kitlv (Learned Society) to support the open access publication of the book. I would especially like to thank wonderful language editor Klarijn Anderson Loven for her inputs. At Brill, I would like to thank Chunyan Shu for helping me finish my manuscript.
The process of researching and writing for the book could not have been possible without the help of a community of intellectuals in Leiden, Yogyakarta and Jakarta who have inspired me. This include those in the Leiden University, such as Alicia Schrikker, Monique Erkelens and David Henley, who have given me helpful suggestions over the years, and Marijke van Wissen Staden for her help in technical and administrative matters during my PhD. I would like to thank my colleagues at Leiden for giving insights, feedbacks and companionships. These include Pham van Thuy, Ariel Cusi Lopez, Xiaodong Xu, F.X. Widiarso, Pimmanus Wibulsilp, Tri Laksmana, Icha Prabawaningtyas, Iwan Kustiawan, Alida Tadjoeddin, Ahmad Anfasul Marom, Adrianto Dwi Nugroho, Enira Ella, Angela Soewono, Yedda Palemeq, Remco Raben, Tom Hoogervorst, Esther Zwinkels, Sanne Ravensbergen, Andreas Weber, Murari Kumar Jha, Mareta Kartikasari, Yulianti, Julinta Hutagalung, Rianne Subijanto, Yudi Bachrioktora, Johnny Kushairi, Anastasya Wulandari, Ravando Lie and others.
My colleagues at the History Department in the Faculty of Cultural Sciences at Universitas Gadjah Mada has been a great treasure. The institutional support of the Faculty and Department has been helpful. The colleagues include Bambang Purwanto, Pujo Semedi, Sri Margana, Agus Suwignyo, Mutiah Amini, Nur Aini Setiawati, Abdul Wahid, Widya Fitrianingsih, Uji Nugroho Winardi and many more. In Yogyakarta, I had the pleasure of befriending people like Gde Dwitya Arief Metera, Rhoma Dwi Arya Yuliantri and Yerri Wirawan. The excellent kitlv library at Leiden University and the Arsip Nasional Republik Indonesia (anri) in Jakarta were the main centers for my research. I would like to thank the steadfast and disciplined staffs of these institutions. Personally, I would like to thank the friends at anri including Intan Lidwina Wibisono for helping me out. In Jakarta,
Lastly, I would like to thank my family. My father Mansour Fakih, my mother Nena Lamanah and my brother Fariz and wife Nurul Yuniarti. And of course, my two nieces Winola Sophia Fakih and Davina Maura Fakih. Family support has always been very important.