Colonial Plantation Disruption in Langkat

From Tobacco to Rubber, 1927–1935

Abstract

This study examines the commodity shift in Langkat's plantation sector during the colonial era, using the Holland Langkat Tabak Maatschappij (HLTM) as a case study from 1927 to 1935. The Deli tobacco plantation system was structurally fragile due to its dependence on environmental conditions and volatile international markets. This study aims to identify the driving factors behind HLTM's transition from tobacco to rubber cultivation. Using a historical approach, data were drawn from the company's annual reports and colonial archival sources analyzed longitudinally. The findings reveal that HLTM's commodity shift resulted from overlapping crises rather than a simple response to falling tobacco prices. These included environmental pressures such as plant disease, Angin Bahorok, and soil degradation, compounded by the economic devastation of the 1929 Great Depression, which severely restricted access to capital. The transition to rubber was therefore a last-resort survival measure rather than a strategic decision. This study argues that colonial plantation systems were not inherently resilient; on the contrary, they were deeply vulnerable to the combined pressure of ecological stress and global economic disruption.