DOI: 10.4121/ca497684-18d9-4a6d-af3c-ccf3f37e0675
title: (GIS)-data Colonial Coffee Chain (The Netherlands - Java) 1700-1950

description: This dataset contains the Geographic Information System (GIS) data developed for the PhD thesis <em>A maritime coffee chain and the making of a colonial coffeescape: From coffee cultivation on Java to consumption in the Netherlands (1700–1950)</em>. The data were created to reconstruct and analyse the long-term spatial development of the global maritime coffee chain that connected coffee cultivation landscapes in Java with port cities and consumption centres in the Netherlands.The GIS data focus on two interconnected regions. On Java, the dataset reconstructs the historical coffee frontier in the Priangan residency, mapping the spatial distribution of coffee cultivation plots, inland transport infrastructures, collection points, warehouses, and port-related facilities in Batavia. In the Netherlands, the dataset maps the spatial distribution of coffee-related organisations and infrastructures in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and selected inland towns, including warehouses, trading firms, roasters, retailers, and related businesses. Together, these datasets make it possible to analyse how geographically distant landscapes of extraction, logistics, governance, and consumption were spatially coordinated through a single commodity chain.<br>The GIS layers were created by digitising and georeferencing historical maps, city plans, and archival sources, including nineteenth-century topographic maps of Java, historical plans of Batavia, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam, tax registers, address and business books, and early twentieth-century telephone directories. Where necessary, historical maps were georeferenced using contemporary reference data such as coastlines, rivers, mountain peaks, bridges, roads, and railways. Due to known inaccuracies in historical triangulation, especially in colonial cartography, a large number of control points was often required, and spatial distortions could not be fully eliminated.<br>The resulting GIS data are interpretative reconstructions rather than precise measurements. Coffee cultivation plots depicted on historical maps often represent administrative or idealised categories and do not necessarily correspond to exact planting densities or yields. Similarly, the spatial locations of organisations in Dutch cities reflect historical address data that may be incomplete, ambiguous, or unevenly distributed across socio-economic groups. Temporal coverage varies by source, and the datasets represent specific moments or periods rather than continuous year-by-year developments.<br>Despite these limitations, the GIS data enable comparative and relational spatial analysis across different scales and regions. They allow users to examine the expansion and contraction of coffee cultivation frontiers, the development of transport and storage infrastructures, and the spatial concentration and diffusion of coffee-related organisations over time. By making visible the spatial consequences of decisions taken by colonial administrations, commercial organisations, and state actors, the dataset supports historical reflection on the long-term environmental and urban impacts of global commodity chains.<br>The dataset is intended for use in historical geography, spatial humanities, colonial and environmental history, and related fields. Users are strongly encouraged to consult the accompanying PhD thesis for full methodological explanation, source criticism, and interpretation.