Perkembangan Kebun Teh Rakyat di Priangan Selatan 1875-1942: Mitra Noe Tani dan Madoe Tawon

SYARAH NURUL FAZRI, Dr. Farabi Fakih, M.Phil

2021 | Tesis | MAGISTER SEJARAH

Perkembangan ekonomi kapitalis di akhir abad ke-19 menggairahkan semangat bisnis lokal penduduk. Kehadiran teh rakyat dapat dilihat sebagai sebuah respon atas terbukanya peluang ekonomi di Priangan pasca preanger stelsel, serta terinstitusionalisasi oleh wacana kesejahteraan dan perluasan ekonomi pemerintah kolonial. Permasalahan yang diteliti diantaranya bagaimana kondisi kemunculan teh rakyat dan hubungannya dengan pengusaha Eropa dan pengambil kebijakan, mengapa diperlukan kerja sama, dan bagaimana pengembangan teh rakyat di Priangan. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode historis yang terdiri dari heuristik, kritik, interpretasi, dan historiografi. Konsep kehadiran kebun teh rakyat dalam dinamika perkebunan teh di Priangan menjadi sorotan di kalangan pengusaha teh Eropa. Pengusaha perkebunan swasta di Priangan (preanger planters) memiliki modal besar, teknologi canggih, dan tenaga kerja kebun yang dapat menggunakan hampir keseluruhan jumlah penduduk. Sementara itu, kebun teh rakyat muncul sebagai respon atas meningkatnya pamor teh di pasaran, yang diharapkan dapat ditanam oleh masyarakat setempat, sekaligus bentuk ekspansi atas lahan perkebunan yang terbatas. Persaingan bisnis antar penduduk maupun swasta Eropa tidak terhindarkan. Tiga aktor penting dalam industri ini adalah pengusaha perkebunan Eropa, pemerintah kolonial, dan penduduk dengan negara sebagai institusi sentral

The economic development in the late 19th century aroused spirit of the local business among the people. The presence of the people's tea can be seen as a response on the availability of economic opportunities in Priangan post-Preanger Stelsel, and institutionalized by the discourse of the prosperity and the economy expansion of the Colonial government. The problems observed includes how the condition of the emergence of people's tea and its relation to European entrepreneurs and policy makers, why cooperation is needed, and the development of people's tea in Priangan. This study uses historical methods consisting of heuristics, criticism, interpretation, and historiography. The concept of existence in the dynamics of tea plantations in Priangan is in the spotlight in analyzing the presence of people's tea among European tea entrepreneurs. Private plantation entrepreneurs in Priangan (preanger planters) had large capital, advanced technology, and garden labor that employed almost the entire population. Meanwhile, people's tea emerged as a response to the increasing prestige of tea in the market, which is expected to be planted by the local community, as well as a form of expansion of limited plantation land. Business competition between residents and private Europeans is unavoidable. The three important actors in this industry were European planters, colonial governments, and residents with the state as the central institution.

Kata Kunci : Priangan, Teh Rakyat, preangerplanters, Mitra Noe Tani, Madoe Tawon