The image here shows the plantation estate manager’s lavish house with a sweeping drive way. Unlike their assistants, the managers could live in such spacious bungalows with their wives and families. The physical settings of the estates, including the dwellings and the organization of its personnel reflected the hierarchy of the plantation society. In this context, the social relations that emerged were derived from a systematic application of vigorous persuasion, if not outright coercion of the various workers including the coolies. Thus, the prestige of the white planter oligarchy on Sumatra’s East Coast was based on such a skewed system.
