Between 1820 and 1850, the Dutch government sent several scientists to the Netherlands Indies as part of the Natuurkundige Commissie (Natural History Committee). One of these was naturalist Eltio Alegondus Forsten (1811–1843), who was sent on a collecting mission to Celebes (Sulawesi). This paper explores the ways in which Forsten was in a relationship of mutual interdependence with four spheres of influence, two in the Netherlands (those of the Dutch government and the natural history museum in Leiden) and two in the Dutch East Indies (those of the governor‐general and the local population of Forsten's collecting grounds). These four entities served as focal points for Forsten's practice, and tried to use his mission for their own purposes. At the same time, Forsten negotiated their demands deftly and turned them to his own advantage in order to serve his own future career. Throughout, I draw parallels with the experiences of various other members of the Natural History Committee. I ultimately propose that this case study of Forsten provides a glimpse of a possible pattern for the relationship between government‐sponsored science and empire in the Dutch East Indies in the first half of the 19th century.

中文翻译：

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帝国边缘的科学：荷属印度的EA Forsten（1811-1843）和自然历史委员会（1820-1850）

在1820至1850年间，荷兰政府作为自然历史委员会（Natuurkundige Commissie）（自然历史委员会）的一部分，派遣了几位科学家前往荷兰印度。其中一位是博物学家Eltio Alegondus Forsten（1811-1843），他被派去对Celebes（苏拉威西）进行搜集。本文探讨了Forsten与四个相互影响的相互依存关系的方式，其中两个影响范围在荷兰（荷兰政府的部门和莱顿自然历史博物馆），两个在荷兰东印度群岛（荷兰的部门）。总督和福斯滕（Forsten）收集地的当地居民）。这四个实体是Forsten实践的联络点，并试图将他的使命用于自己的目的。同时，Forsten巧妙地协商了他们的要求，并将其转变为自己的优势，以便为自己的未来事业服务。在整个过程中，我都与自然历史委员会其他成员的经验相提并论。我最终建议，对Forsten进行的案例研究可以窥见19世纪上半叶荷兰东印度群岛政府资助的科学与帝国之间的关系的可能模式。