Historical-Anthropological Study on Coffee Cultivation and Monetary Economy in the Highlands of Maritime Southeast Asia.

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K01175
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 04030:Cultural anthropology and folklore-related
• Research Institution: Sophia University
• Principal Investigator: FUKUTAKE Shintaro 上智大学, 総合グローバル学部, 教授 (80439330)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 上田 達 摂南大学, 国際学部, 教授 (60557338)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: コーヒー / 東ティモール / 貨幣 / 贈与交換 / スイギュウ / タラ・バンドゥ / 儀礼

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The purpose of this study was to clarify the historical background of coffee farmers in the highland communities of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste in terms of their experiences with state governance and the monetary economy. Particular attention was paid to the tax and monetary systems of the late Portuguese Empire (1894-1975) and the spread of coffee cultivation during the Indonesian period. This study clarified the possibility that the colonial period was characterized by an extremely limited dependence on the money economy and the functioning of a gift exchange economy in which the main traditional commodity was buffalos. The paper then clarified how, after independence, the further expansion of coffee cultivation and increased dependence on monetary income caused poverty among coffee farmers to become an issue.

Free Research Field

文化人類学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

ウクライナでの戦争による新たな分断と対立、また格差と貧困が拡大する現代世界において、従来の政治経済システムである国家と資本主義の問題が改めて顕在化している。国家のガバナンスや市場経済への依存が緩やかである社会の研究は、現行の政治経済制度を見直しのために重要である。本研究は、独立まもない東ティモールが経験している状況に注目することを通じて、「国家なき社会」「市場なき社会」に国家と市場が生まれる経緯を示す意義がある。