The Volksraad was an advisory, and later semi-legislative institution for the Dutch East Indies, provided for by law in 1916 but only established with the actual installation of the Council in 1918. It was a hesitant and slow attempt at democratisation of the Dutch East Indies as part of the "ethical policy" adopted by the Dutch government. The power of the Volksraad was limited as it only had advisory powers. Although part of the council was elected, only a small proportion of the population had voting rights.

The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies, was a Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which declared independence on 17 August 1945. Following the Indonesian War of Independence, Indonesia and the Netherlands made peace in 1949. In the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, the Dutch ceded the governorate of Dutch Malacca to Britain, leading to its eventual incorporation into Malacca (state) of modern Malaysia.