<![CDATA[The Indische Partij, founded on 25 December 1912, is often regarded as the first national political movement in the Dutch East Indies. The relationship between the colony’s socio-economic conditions and the formation of the organization’s modern nationalist ideas has not been fully understood, as current historiography tends to emphasize the role of its leaders and its political dynamics. The purpose of this study is to fill this gap by examining the establishment of the Indische Partij through a socio-economic lens. Using historical research methodology, this study includes a heuristic phase involving the collection of colonial archives, contemporary newspapers, and writings by Indische Partij figures; external and internal criticism to evaluate the credibility and biases of these sources; and interpretation to connect the findings with the socio-economic dynamics of the colonial context. Through this process, the study demonstrates that socio-economic inequalities—especially racial discrimination, limited access to education, and low social mobility—functioned as structural factors shaping the emergence of modern nationalist consciousness within the Indische Partij. Therefore, IP nationalism can be seen as an intellectual response to colonial realities rather than merely a political idea. These findings enhance our understanding of the context in which nationalism emerged in the early twentieth.]]>
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