This scholarly volume--written under Institute of Pacific Relations auspices by the Professor of Modern History and Sociology of Southeast Asia at the University of Amsterdam--is an attempt to appraise the long-term social changes that took place in Indonesian society over the last 400 years. Dealing in large part with the impact of Western influence on that society, the author concerns himself with a multitude of problems involving social changes, political history, economic shifts, religious reform, cultural dynamics and the development of nationalism.