5/21/2023 0 Comments Tadam interjection![]() ![]() Thus the Residency of Ternate is defined by the sultanate(s) to which the Resident is attached, as supreme colonial representative under the Governor of the Dutch East Indies. As de Clercq's nineteenth-century readership (and today's specialists in the region) would understand, a Residency was the domain of a “Resident,” or colonial official attached to a native ruler (or rulers) such as a sultan. The literal translation of Bijdragen tot de kennis der Residentie Ternate would be an offputting “Contributions to the Knowledge (Understanding) of the Residency of Ternate.” The term "Residency" in this sense is meaningless to most English readers, though it is central to the book and should be preserved in translation in fact, our added term “Sultanate” is implied by the term Resident. Some translator's challenges are more prosaic, such as translating a title. Within the Smithsonian's Anthropology department, these issues are also being studied in the “AENEID Project” for Source Materials in Asian, European, and Near Eastern Identities (AENEID), including books, archives, images, and other material collections-based resources. Such issues are central to the Smithsonian Institution Libraries, since they directly affect preservation and dissemination of books in their care, including de Clercq's text. These challenges arise because the medium is different from print media and because the results must be accessible to larger and more diverse publics. Finally, though this point will quickly be outmoded, the preparation of a digital edition of translated and annotated source material presents a few new challenges to the translator or editor, briefly addressed in the “Notes on Transcription and Translation” below. This translation tries to convey the detailed data de Clercq presents while also preserving the pungent style with which he leads the reader on this tour of his Residency. Third, the book can just be enjoyed as a vivid and informative account of court life at the historic sultanate of Ternate, joined to a travelogue about the far-flung dependencies of the sultanate, as told by a witty and opinionated observer with many interests-who happened also to be the "Resident" or supreme local representative of the colonial government. He also cared deeply for the success of the colonial enterprise. The author was a truly involved and active amateur in the best sense (and the etymological sense) of that term: he loved his subject-matter. Second, the book bears scrutiny as a well-written example of gentlemanly scholarship by a Dutch colonial civil servant of the time. First and most importantly, this translation will help alleviate the paucity of source materials available in English on this historically important region. de Clercq's Ternate: The Residency and its Sultanate We present this English translation and digital edition of de Clercq's 1890 description of Ternate-the island, its Residency and its Sultanate-for four main reasons. ![]() Introduction Introduction by Paul Michael Taylor F.S.A.
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