<![CDATA[Salatiga is generally associated with a strong historical Christian presence, an image closely linked toinstitutions such as the Witte Kruis Kolonie Salatiga. In prevailing historiography and local memory, thisinstitution is viewed as a charitable Christian response to the eruption of Mount Kelud in the early twentiethcentury. However, this interpretation remains insufficiently grounded in critical archival reconstructionand does not adequately explain the colony’s institutional formation, spatial positioning, and socialfunction. This study addresses this gap through a systematic reexamination of colonial records and digitalarchival sources. This research employs a historical-critical method based on bibliographic reconstructionand the analysis of Dutch-language colonial newspapers accessed through Delpher, supplemented byinstitutional documentation and secondary literature. The material is organized thematically into threeanalytical categories: the events of the Kelud eruption, the biography and networks of the founder, and theinstitutional formation of the Witte Kruis Kolonie Salatiga project. The research findings indicate that theWitte Kruis Kolonie Salatiga emerged as a derivative response to the multi-scale crisis following theeruption of Mount Kelud. The eruption exacerbated pre-existing structural vulnerabilities shaped by limitedcolonial public health, racial segregation, job insecurity, and uneven economic development. Against thisbackdrop, Salatiga functioned as a strategic humanitarian node due to its geographic accessibility, colonialadministrative position, and established missionary networks. Furthermore, the study demonstrates thatthe institution operated through a hybrid model combining missionary philanthropy, colonial governance,and labor organization. These findings revise existing interpretations of Christian philanthropy, whichoften assume institutional coherence, moral autonomy, or purely benevolent intentions. The case of theWitte Kruis Kolonie Salatiga demonstrates that Christian philanthropic practices were structurallyembedded in systems of colonial control, social stratification, and crisis management. This study reframesthe history of disasters in the Dutch East Indies by showing how environmental disasters generatedinstitutional innovations in colonial humanitarian governance.]]>
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