I'm happy to share that my new book, Krupp Guns in the Tropics: Dutch Colonial Artillery, 1900–1923, will be published in a few weeks.
The book examines the modernization of Dutch colonial artillery in the early twentieth century and places it within a wider international context. Far from operating in isolation, the Netherlands Indies depended on foreign technology, expertise, and industrial partners.
Among the themes explored are: • Dutch dependence on Imperial Germany for military technology and armaments • The role of British strategic interests and global power politics • The influence of firms such as Krupp on Dutch defense policy • The geopolitical and logistical challenges of maintaining military power across a vast overseas empire.
While rooted in history, these questions of strategic dependency, supply chains, industrial capacity, and international power politics remain remarkably relevant today.
Of course the book will describe a lot of lesser or unknown Krupp weapons, along a small number of other pieces.
More details on the publication will follow soon. I look forward to sharing this research with colleagues and readers interested in military history, colonial history, and international relations.
And, if you are interested, drop me a line and I can forward you some advance information on how, when and where to purchase this book!