The semantics of decolonisation The public debate on the New Guinea Question in the Netherlands 1950-62

‘Imperialism is no word for scholars’. Australian historian W. K. Hancock’s aphorism has not held scholars back from producing a huge body of literature on the history of empires, including of the disentanglements of later empires following the Second World War. This chapter engages with the substantial historiography, mainly in Dutch, on the New Guinea Question. The Dutch government’s decision to hold on to West New Guinea led to conflict with Indonesia that almost escalated into armed confrontation; in the early 1960s, clashes on the island between Dutch and Indonesians caused fatalities on both sides. The conflict over West New Guinea had its roots in the official Dutch recognition of Indonesian independence in 1949. The September 1961 Dutch internationalisation plan came as a surprise to New Guinea Council members and it raised questions about support from the Netherlands for self-determination.