Cholera is one of the many types of tropical diseases that have long plagued people in the Dutch East Indies since the VOC period. Entering the 19th century until the early 20th century, cholera continued to be a threat to the people of the Dutch East Indies, especially who lived in Batavia and its surroundings. This research aims to analyze the relationship between the disease disaster and the imperialist motivation of the colonizers in the Dutch East Indies through a study of the distribution patterns and efforts to deal with the cholera outbreak in Batavia in the 19th to early 20th centuries. The method used in preparing this article is the historical method which consists of heuristics, criticism, interpretation, and historiography. The results showed that the spread of cholera in Batavia was caused by the lack of adequate city infrastructure and the imperialist attitude of the Dutch colonial party. The limitations of treatment methods, and the still strong mystical beliefs in viewing medical phenomena at that time also encouraged the spread of the plague to increase. The increasing cases of cholera spread not only threatened the lives of the population, but also the fate of the colonial government in its colony. Immediate countermeasures were taken by relying on Western medical capabilities, but these efforts were gradually no longer only aimed at controlling the spread of the disease, but also at improving the image, strengthening hegemony, and expanding the imperial influence of the colonial government.
Nugroho et al. (Thu,) studied this question.