Determined to expose the scandals he had witnessed during his years in the Dutch East Indies, Douwes Dekker began to write newspaper articles and pamphlets.
Little notice was taken of these early publications until, in 1860, he published his satirical anticolonialist novel Max Havelaar: The Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company under the pseudonym Multatuli.
Douwes Dekker's pen name is derived from the Latin phrase multa tuli, meaning "I have suffered much" (or more literally: "I have borne much").
It refers both to himself and to the victims of the injustices he saw.

Douwes Dekker was accepted in 1854 at the Freemason loge "Concordia Vincit Animos".
The head of this loge was W.J.C. van Hasselt.
Multatuli sent his manuscript of Max Havelaar to Van Hasselt, and Van Hasselt sent this manuscript to another Freemason, Jacob van Lennep.

The very first text ever published by Multatuli was: "Geloofsbelydenis". (
Profession of Faith) It appeared in the Freemason periodical "De Dageraad" (The Dawn) in 1859.
In 1865 it was reprinted in "Bloemlezing door Multatuli" by R.C. Meijer, a fellow Freemason in Amsterdam.
Already in 1861 the book "Minnebrieven" (Love letters) was published at the same printer/bookseller.
Many more books and editions of Dekker were published by R.C. Meijer.

Although Douwes Dekker's friend and fellow writer Jacob van Lennep had seen to it that identifiable place names were changed before publication, the book still caused enormous controversy.
Apologists for colonialism accused Multatuli of exaggeration, and he was unsuccessfully pressured to withdraw the inflammatory book.
Critics claimed it lacked literary merit; nonetheless, Max Havelaar was read all over Europe.
The poet and critic Carel Vosmaer proved to be an ally, publishing a book (The Sower, 1874) praising Multatuli.

Multatuli continued to write prolifically.
His misleadingly titled second book, Minnebrieven (Love Letters, 1861), is actually another mordant satire, this time in the form of a fictitious correspondence.
The following year, he began to publish a wide range of miscellaneous writings in a series of uniform volumes called Ideën (Ideas), of which seven appeared between 1862 and 1877.
His semi-autobiographical novel Woutertje Pieterse (Little Walter Pieterse) was first printed in the Ideas series.

Multatuli made several attempts to write for the stage.
One of his plays, Vorstenschool (The School for Princes, published in 1872 in the fourth volume of Ideën), expresses his nonconformist views on politics, society, and religion.
Out of fear of offending the Dutch king, three years elapse before the play was first staged.
The premiere and subsequent tour were a great success, forming one of the highlights of Multatuli's career as a writer.

Multatuli stopped writing rather suddenly in 1877.
He had moved to Germany about ten years earlier, where he settled in the town of Ingelheim am Rhein near Mainz.
Determined to expose the scandals he had witnessed during his years in the Dutch East Indies, Douwes Dekker began to write newspaper articles and pamphlets. Little notice was taken of these early publications until, in 1860, he published his satirical anticolonialist novel Max Havelaar: The Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company under the pseudonym Multatuli. Douwes Dekker's pen name is derived from the Latin phrase multa tuli, meaning "I have suffered much" (or more literally: "I have borne much"). It refers both to himself and to the victims of the injustices he saw.
Douwes Dekker was accepted in 1854 at the Freemason loge "Concordia Vincit Animos". The head of this loge was W.J.C. van Hasselt. Multatuli sent his manuscript of Max Havelaar to Van Hasselt, and Van Hasselt sent this manuscript to another Freemason, Jacob van Lennep.
The very first text ever published by Multatuli was: "Geloofsbelydenis". (Profession of Faith) It appeared in the Freemason periodical "De Dageraad" (The Dawn) in 1859. In 1865 it was reprinted in "Bloemlezing door Multatuli" by R.C. Meijer, a fellow Freemason in Amsterdam. Already in 1861 the book "Minnebrieven" (Love letters) was published at the same printer/bookseller. Many more books and editions of Dekker were published by R.C. Meijer.
Although Douwes Dekker's friend and fellow writer Jacob van Lennep had seen to it that identifiable place names were changed before publication, the book still caused enormous controversy. Apologists for colonialism accused Multatuli of exaggeration, and he was unsuccessfully pressured to withdraw the inflammatory book. Critics claimed it lacked literary merit; nonetheless, Max Havelaar was read all over Europe. The poet and critic Carel Vosmaer proved to be an ally, publishing a book (The Sower, 1874) praising Multatuli.
Multatuli continued to write prolifically. His misleadingly titled second book, Minnebrieven (Love Letters, 1861), is actually another mordant satire, this time in the form of a fictitious correspondence. The following year, he began to publish a wide range of miscellaneous writings in a series of uniform volumes called Ideën (Ideas), of which seven appeared between 1862 and 1877. His semi-autobiographical novel Woutertje Pieterse (Little Walter Pieterse) was first printed in the Ideas series.
Multatuli made several attempts to write for the stage. One of his plays, Vorstenschool (The School for Princes, published in 1872 in the fourth volume of Ideën), expresses his nonconformist views on politics, society, and religion. Out of fear of offending the Dutch king, three years elapse before the play was first staged. The premiere and subsequent tour were a great success, forming one of the highlights of Multatuli's career as a writer.
Multatuli stopped writing rather suddenly in 1877. He had moved to Germany about ten years earlier, where he settled in the town of Ingelheim am Rhein near Mainz.
Multatuli