UJte Htnertcan le JAARGANG No. 19 P 30 ME! 1963 B R 1 D G E BETWEEN EAST AND WEST Herman Willem Daendels i 6 PLU/?/eus OARIWc ONISV Spotlight on Dutch-Indonesian History (XII) The turn of the Century brought a sudden end to the confusions of the Revolution and changed the face of France, and from Eur ope as well. This was all done by one man Napoleon Bonaparte. In a short series of decisive battles he defeated the numerous enemies of France. Then he cleaned up in ternal affairs quickly and in the year 1804 France was an Empire! About the same happened in the Dutch East Indies, when on the first of January 1808 an utterly unknown man, chosen and appointed by Napoleon, but without any papers to identify himself, after an incognito voyage via Cadix and New York, arrived in Bantam. This man was Maarschalk (Marshall) Herman Willem Daendels, a very dominating personality with no regard at all for any existing constitutions or powers. He at once set to work in a furious pace. Finding the climate of Batavia unhealthy, he ordered the residence of the government to be moved to Weltevreden, about ten miles higher up in the hills. His palace was henceforth Buiten zorg, formerly only a vacation resort for Governor-Generals. High officials tried to argue: in the rainy season it would take thirty teams of horses to get there. "I shall use thirty-one teams," Daendels said. Period. There were no building materials for new palaces and office buildings in Weltevreden? No problem. Tear down the buildings in Batavia! So the old Kasteel and many other fortresses and buildings were demolished. Their stones and wood moved higher up for new buildings. The same happened in Sur abaya and Semarang. Like Napoleon Daendels considered a great army the basis of a powerful and sound gov ernment, so he made this army. At that time the Dutch army consisted of 4000 troops, with scarely no weapons and only a handful white officers. Daendels forced the Sultans and Regents to "deliver" soldiers and in a very short time he had an army of 18,000. No officers enough? He promoted sergeants by the dozen and offered hundreds of Indo's a rank as officer in this army. Many of these Indo's couldn't read or write, but like Napoleon Daendels did not worry. Pie established an efficient schooling and drilling system and many Indo's proved to be excellent officers. Also officers ranks were offered to Indonesian nobility. We do not need, to point out that indirect ly these measures were quite a boon for the Indo group. Suddenly many Indo "nobodies" got an important status and what is more: proved to be worth it. The same happened in many other newly created civil services. Of course this army had to be clothed and armed. But how could this be done with the British blockade cutting off the possibility to import guns and uniforms? Daendels dis covered the native crafts. Gresik was famous for its copper- and ironsmiths. Daendels or dered Gresik to make guns. Semarang was famous for its gongs. Daendels had it pro duce cannonballs. No textiles could be im ported? Daendels set the Indonesian weavers and tailors to work and got uniforms of kapas(native cotton). The native wharfs came to new life, for Daendels ordered a Navy to be built with 13 gunboats and 40 small cruisers (korra-korra's)Indeed these ships were very small compared with the big British battle-ships, but in the shallow waters along the Java coast and on the big rivers this little warriors proved to be vicious fighters. For this Navy a Naval Base should be built. Daendels tried to build one at Sunda Strait, but experiments in Meeuwenbaai and Merakbaai failed. The climate was unhealthy there and so many coolies died, that Daen dels got into trouble with the Sultan. Daen dels thereupon set to work near Surabaya and here he succeeded. Up to now Sura baya is the first Naval Base from Indonesia and Daendels is its founder. Also for his Grande Armee33 Daendels built big Army Camps and Army Hospitals. The first was the later famous 10de Bataljon combined with theMilitair Hospitaal. Big Army Camps also came in Meester Cornelis, Buitenzorg, Semarang, Surabaya. Bandung did not exist at that time. But it was soon to come, thanks to another stupendous feat: the building of De Grote Postweg, an enor mous highway across the whole length of Java from Sunda to Bali Strait. This high way was built with forced labour at tre mendous costs. Thousands of coolies died at it. Daendels has been cursed for it ever since, but it is also true that this highway opened up Java, established splendid com munications all the years to come and is even by the Indonesians considered as the main cause of the unity for the many peo ples on the Island of Java. It is impossible to make a list of all reno vations Daendels established (or tried to establish). He f.i. made an entirely new sys tem of jurisdiction, ordered the State to be neutral in religion, made a forceful end to the privileges of governors and other high officials, and established a new system of coordination between Dutch and Indonesian governing powers. To obtain the money for all these rigorous renovations Daendels installed the system of the Particuliere Landerijen, by which enor mous tracts of landfor the greater part in the environments of the bigcitieswere sold to Europeans and Chinese. The biggest "deal" was the sale of the whole regency of Probolinggo to a Chinese: Han Ti Ko, for the sum of one million guilders. With this system Java in a certain way was opened for private enterprise. It made the first "Colon ial landlords" with indeed the chance for usurpation of the people but also with more freedom and more wealth for the natives than under their own regents. For several Indo families this system of Particuliere Lan derijen opened the opportunity to develop their qualities as good farmers, businessmen and rulers. The great families of the Dé- zentjé's, the Van Motmans, the Biks, the Van Riemsdijks and many others got their uprising in these early days. However: new methods always make many enemies. Also by far not all Daendels ideas were good. He got in troubles more and more. When he was called back to Europe in 1811, his successor, able Mr. Janssens found a state and people desintegrating. The skilful scheming Raflles did not wait any longer and attaqued swiftly. Some of the French generals, who came along with Janssens, were total strangers with their native troops. When the British troops made a successful landing near Tjilintjing (east of Batavia) and suddenly appeared near the il10de Bataljon-camp," brigadier - general Jumel met the enemy near the place where is now the Kramat Bioscoop. He ordered his troops at once to attaque, crying: Lari! Lari!33 wherupon all his soldiers fled like hares (The Indonesian word lari means "move faster" but also "run away"). Jans sens was defeated at Meester Cornelis and once again at Salatiga. There he capitulated and the Union Jack went up over the Dutch East Indies with a new and strong master: Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles. Though Daendels reigned only for three years, he made an enormous impression on the Indonesian people, who remembered him for many decades to come as Koeper- noer Djendral Goentoer (Governor General Thunder)the pun loving Sundanese with a sub-title for the Maarschalk: Mas Kalak33 kalak knuckle-duster, boksbeugel) Many institutions, built up during two cen turies with the VOC, went for ever, and many institutions, built by Daendels in three years, live up to this day. {To be continued)

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American Tong Tong | 1963 | | pagina 1