The Hidden Force gives a picture of life in the Dutch East Indies in
the last year of the nineteenth and the first year of the twentieth
century. Conditions have altered slightly since then--Dutch ladies no
longer wear "sarong" and "kabaai" so generally, and there are other
minor changes--but the relations between the Europeans and the natives
remain very much as they were.
I have translated nearly all the Malay and Javanese words scattered
through the text, agreeing with my publisher that the sense of colour
throughout the book is strong enough without insisting on these native
terms, and I have done my best to reduce foot-notes to a minimum.