^Tïte ^ïtnertcan 30 JULI 1963 Ie JAARGANG No. 23 e plwTbuFTNJJ™ B R I D GE BETWEEN EAST AND WEST After Raffles: Wars! And wonderful Warriors! Q AR I Np DNIS\ Spotlight on Dutch-Indonesian History (XIV) When after the French and British episodes (Daendels and Raffles) the Dutch possessions in Indonesia were returned again to the Dutch Crown, everybody hoped for peaceful times. On the contrary a series of wars and revolts broke out all over the Archipelego. Contacts with the far outposts had been broken for too long a time; many sultans and rajahs felt more independent; the British had proved that the Dutch could be beaten, even with native troops (the Sepoys in Raffleses army). Furthermore Raffles kept on agitating against the Dutch and many sultans picked up old quarrels and started private wars. The new Governor-General, Van der Cap- ellen, had a bad time indeed. Raffles had to be forced out of an island in Sunda Strait, where he intended to build a stronghold. He had to be forced out again out of Beng- kulu and South Borneo. His new "creation," Singapore, became a nasty freeport for free traders and smugglers. The Sultan of Pal- embang started a war against the Dutch with his "Letter of Independence", once given to him by Raffles. The small Dutch army crushed this revolt in a rather short time, but had to hurry rightaway to the Minang- kabau on the West Coast of Sumatra, where the Moslem Padri's had started a Holy War. The name Paclri by the way is one of these typical distorted words as there were so many those days. The word is originally derived from the word Pedirthe name of a little town in North Sumatra, where the "hadjis" to Mecca returned after their suc cessful pilgrimage. These men were "holy men" and the Dutch misinterprted the name Pedir with the name of the Portuguese "holy men," the Padre's." So they called those Moslems Padri's. The Padri's were extreme fanatics for their Faith and once a revolt was started against the "Christian dogs," wars broke out of a staggering ferocity. In the meantime the Amboinese revolted against the Dutch Government and the first rumblings of a coming war in Djocjakarta were heard. Now one thing is certain: many wars make good soldiers, and even though the Dutch army was relatively small and poorly armed, it fought courageously. A wonderful army with only a handful of Dutch (including many Indo's) and many Javanese, Madurese, Amboinese. Sundanese soldiers. Sometimes it recruited an Indo nesian nobleman with his private army as a whole, as we will see later on. In this strange army many wonderful friendships started. Dutch and Indonesians became understanding comrades in arms and intermarried with important families. Out siders often see this Dutch Army (and in later years, the KNILthe Royal Dutch Indonesian Army) as a white army, fighting native armies. That is not true. Always native soldiers formed by far the bigger part of the Dutch army and the close togetherness of white and brown soldiers has contributed considerably to that strange form of life, "colonial life," that was not hateful and ugly as so often depicted by political agitators, but in its core harmonious and slowly grow ing out to a new pattern of life. As an example we may point to the won derful life of the "legendary" Toontje Po land, a Dutch boy. who came to the Dutch East Indies as a soldier, but quickly climbed up many ranks to become a captain. No soldier in those days was as daring and en- erprising as Toontje was. Fie was married to an Indonesian girl. Fine. She followed him everywhere he went, even into the fiercest battles. In one of them in the Padri- War, Toontje's "benteng" (small fortress) was surrounded by overwhelming forces of fanatic Padri's, attacking day and night. Only a bold nightly break-out could save what was left of the garrison from total an- nihiliation. Toontje was so severely wounded at one leg, that he could not stand up. But a stretcher was made, carried by four soldiers and in the deep of night an escape was ven tured. The enemy got alarmed however and attacked. In the "melee" that followed the stretcherbearers were killed. But then Fine took her husband on her back gendong") and carried him out of the battle and all the way through the jungle to Padang. In the army hospital gangrene was diagnosed in the wounded leg of Toontje and the doctor ordered the leg to be amputated. Wherupon Toontje put his sword on his bed and said: "You cut off my leg; I cut off your head!" The doctor shrugged and left, quite certan that Toontje would be dead in a few days. But then Fine took the situation in hand. She sought medical herbs and nursed her husband to full recovery. Toontje Poland fought in many wars all over Indonesia, being famous with friend and enemy for his surprise attaques, daring escapes and incredible courageousness as a real beau sabreur'and on the other hand as a fine human personality who could for give. He became the personal friend of many Indonesian princes. The Sultan of Madura continued page 2 In de Amerikaanse vlootbasis te San Diego volgen practisch continu Indonesische marinemensen de een of andere opleiding. Vroeger of later vinden deze studenten en Indische burgers van de stad elkaar natuurlijk tóch wel, al sporen ze elkaar niet speciaal op. Een uitroep op straat is al voldoende! De kinnismaking "rolt" verder vanzelf. Hier zien we een groepje internationale vrienden tijdens een picnic in het Dinosauruspark te San Diego georganiseerd door gastheer Moon Nuse (2de v.l), waarbij o.a. ook aanwezig waren Lt. Soebagijo (geheel links), Lt. Mohamad Dpapar en Adj. Djoehari. Gastrouwe was Juudje van Rossum.

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American Tong Tong | 1963 | | pagina 1