Regency (Indonesia)
From Freepedia
A regency (kabupaten) is a political subdivision of a province in Indonesia. A regency is divided into sub-districts.
History
The English name comes from the Dutch colonial period, when regencies were ruled by regents and were known as regentschap. At the time, hundreds of native rulers (mainly Muslim and/or tribal) were employed in a system of indirect rule with the colonial style of Regent, alongside the white Dutch officials such as residents (suggesting them to be 'dipomatic' representatives of the Dutch royal crown to its native vassals). The relationship between those sides was ambivalent: while the law and military power rested with the Dutch government (or for a long time the VOIC, the Dutch equivalent of the British HEIC) under a Governor General in Batavia on Java, the regents held higher protocollary rank then the white officials who supposedly advised them and held day to day sway over the population.
