Multatuli Huis

This museum honors the beliefs and work (and continues the legacy) of Eduard Douwes Dekker (1820–87), aka Multatuli (from the Latin, meaning "I have suffered greatly"), who famously wrote Max Havelaar, or the Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company, a book that uncovered the evils of Dutch colonialism. The son of an Amsterdam sea captain, Dekker accompanied his father to the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) and joined the Dutch civil service. After years of wandering in poverty, he wrote and published his magnum opus in 1860, denouncing and exposing the colonial landowners' narrow minds and inhumane practices. Today, Dutch intellectuals and progressive thinkers respect him mightily.

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