Paulus Adrianus Daum

Who was Paulus Adrianus Daum?

Paulus Adrianus Daum, more commonly known as P.A.Daum, was a Dutch author of Dutch East Indies literature of the nineteenth century.

The autodidact Daum was born in impoverished circumstances of a single mother in the Netherlands and did not enjoy much education. However, he had already written several short stories and was a journalist at Dutch newspapers before he moved to the Dutch East Indies in 1879.

In 1879 he was appointed coeditor and later chief editor of the newspaper De Locomotief in Semarang on Java, and became editor-in-chief of Indisch Vaderland in 1883.

When he came into conflict with the colonial authorities Daum moved to Batavia and founded the newspaper Bataviaasch Nieuwsblad in 1885. As owner, managing director and chief editor he made it one of the largest newspapers in the Dutch East Indies.

His newspaper became a mouthpiece for the Indo community of the Dutch East Indies. Its famous journalists and editors include his successor as chief editor Karel Zaalberg, as well as E. du Perron, Ernest Douwes Dekker and Tjalie Robinson.

Daum's first novel Uit de suiker in de tabak, 1885, appeared originally as a serial in a newspaper in 1883–1884. His other well-known novels are Goena-goena, Indische mensen in Holland, 1890, and Ups en Downs in het Indische leven