Colonial Frontier and the Production of Vulnerability: Population Mobility as an Ecological Factor in Early 20th-Century Malaria Endemicity in Banyuwangi

Abstract

Malaria in Banyuwangi is conceptualized in this study not solely as a medico-biological phenomenon, but rather as a product of historical processes encompassing human mobility, landscape transformation, and colonial economic expansion. Consequently, the primary focus is directed toward the mechanisms by which migration and colonial landscape alterations generated the socio-ecological conditions that enabled malaria to become endemic. Rather than treating malaria as a purely biological phenomenon, as conventional medical perspectives often do, this study situates the disease within a broader framework of environmental history and colonial dynamics. Drawing upon the 1930 Population Census (Volkstelling), colonial reports, and a diachronic historical approach, this paper argues that large-scale migration to frontier regions like Banyuwangi not only altered demographic structures but also engineered novel ecological conditions conducive to malaria transmission. Deforestation, the proliferation of artificial water bodies, and the expansion of unsanitary temporary settlements played pivotal roles in creating breeding sites for vectors. Furthermore, the colonial economic system, particularly estate expansion, exacerbated environmental disruption while failing to provide adequate health infrastructure. Ultimately, malaria must be understood as a socially and historically produced vulnerability rather than an inevitable tropical malady. This study highlights the importance of integrating environmental and social perspectives into historical analyses of disease in colonial contexts.