The Netherlands is one of the oldest European colonial powers. The rapid economic development of this small country, accompanied by the liberation from Spanish rule, contributed to the transformation of the Netherlands into a major maritime power. Beginning in the 17th century, the Netherlands turned into a serious competitor to Spain and Portugal, which previously actually divided American, African and Asian lands among themselves, and then another "new" colonial power - Great Britain.
Dutch East Indies
Despite the fact that by the 19th century the military and political power of the Netherlands was largely lost, the "land of tulips" continued its expansionist policy in Africa and especially in Asia. Since the 16th century, the attention of Dutch sailors has been attracted by the islands of the Malay Archipelago, where expeditions went for spices, which were valued in Europe at that time, worth their weight in gold. The first Dutch expedition to Indonesia arrived in 1596. Gradually, Dutch trading posts were formed on the islands of the archipelago and on the Malacca Peninsula, from which the Netherlands began colonizing the territory of modern Indonesia.
Along the way, with the military and trade promotion to the territory of Indonesia, the Dutch drove out the Portuguese from the islands of the Malay archipelago, whose sphere of influence previously included the Indonesian lands. Weakened Portugal, which by that time was one of the most economically backward countries in Europe, could not withstand the onslaught of the Netherlands, which had much greater material capabilities, and in the end was forced to cede most of its Indonesian colonies, leaving behind only East Timor, which already in 1975 it was annexed by Indonesia and only twenty years later received the long-awaited independence.
The Dutch colonialists have been most active since 1800. Until that time, military and trade operations in Indonesia were carried out by the Dutch East India Company, but its capabilities and resources were not enough for the complete conquest of the archipelago, therefore, the power of the Dutch colonial administration was established in the conquered areas of the islands of Indonesia. During the Napoleonic Wars, for a short time, the control of the Dutch East Indies was carried out by the French, then by the British, who, however, preferred to give it back to the Dutch in exchange for the African territories colonized by the Netherlands and the Malacca Peninsula.
The conquest of the Malay Archipelago by the Netherlands met with desperate resistance from local residents. First, a significant part of the territory of present-day Indonesia by the time of the Dutch colonization already had its own state traditions, enshrined in Islam, which had spread to the islands of the archipelago. Religion gave an ideological coloring to the anti-colonial actions of the Indonesians, which were painted in the color of the holy war of Muslims against the infidel colonialists. Islam was also a rallying factor uniting numerous peoples and ethnic groups in Indonesia to resist the Dutch. Therefore, it is not surprising that, in addition to local feudal lords, Muslim clergy and religious preachers actively participated in the struggle against the Dutch colonization of Indonesia, who played a very important role in mobilizing the masses against the colonialists.
Javanese war
The most active resistance to the Dutch colonialists took place in the most developed regions of Indonesia that had their own state tradition. In particular, in the west of the island of Sumatra in the 1820s - 1830s. The Dutch faced the "Padri movement" led by Imam Banjol Tuanku (aka Muhammad Sahab), who shared not only anti-colonialist slogans, but also the idea of returning to "pure Islam." From 1825 to 1830 the bloody Javanese war lasted, in which the Dutch, who were trying to finally conquer the island of Java - the cradle of Indonesian statehood - were opposed by the prince of Yogyakarta, Diponegoro.
Diponegoro
This iconic hero of the Indonesian anti-colonial resistance was a representative of a side branch of the Yogyakarta Sultan dynasty and, accordingly, could not claim the throne of the Sultan. However, among the population of Java, he enjoyed "wild" popularity and managed to mobilize tens of thousands of Javanese to participate in a guerrilla war against the colonialists.
As a result, the Dutch army and the Indonesian soldiers hired by the Dutch authorities, primarily Ambonians, who, as Christians, were considered more loyal to the colonial authorities, suffered colossal losses during clashes with the Diponegoro partisans.
It was possible to defeat the rebellious prince only with the help of betrayal and chance - the Dutch became aware of the route for the movement of the leader of the rebellious Javanese, after which it remained a matter of technique to seize him. However, Diponegoro was not executed - the Dutch preferred to save his life and banish him to Sulawesi forever, rather than turn him into a hero-martyr for the broad masses of the Javanese and Indonesian population. After the capture of Diponegoro, the Dutch troops under the command of General de Coca managed to finally suppress the actions of the rebel detachments, deprived of a single command.
When suppressing the uprisings in Java, the Dutch colonial troops acted with particular brutality, burning entire villages and destroying thousands of civilians. The details of the colonial policy of the Netherlands in Indonesia are well described in the novel "Max Havelar" by the Dutch author Eduard Dekker, who wrote under the pseudonym "Multatuli". Largely thanks to this work, the whole of Europe learned about the cruel truth of Dutch colonial policy in the second half of the 19th century.
Acekh war
For more than thirty years, from 1873 to 1904, the inhabitants of the Sultanate of Aceh, in the far west of Sumatra, waged a real war against the Dutch colonialists. Due to its geographical location, Aceh has long served as a kind of bridge between Indonesia and the Arab world. Back in 1496, a sultanate was created here, which played an important role not only in the development of the tradition of statehood on the Sumatra peninsula, but also in the formation of Indonesian Islamic culture. Merchant ships from Arab countries arrived here, there has always been a significant stratum of the Arab population, and it was from here that Islam began to spread throughout Indonesia. By the time of the Dutch conquest of Indonesia, the Sultanate of Aceh was the center of Indonesian Islam - there were many theological schools here, and religious instruction for young people was conducted.
Naturally, the population of Aceh, the most Islamized, reacted extremely negatively to the very fact of the colonization of the archipelago by the "infidels" and their establishment of colonial orders that contradicted the laws of Islam. Moreover, Aceh had long traditions of the existence of his own state, his own feudal nobility, who did not want to part with their political influence, as well as numerous Muslim preachers and scholars, for whom the Dutch were nothing more than "infidel" conquerors.
Sultan of Aceh Muhammad III Daud Shah, who led the anti-Dutch resistance, throughout the thirty-year Aceh war, sought to use any chances that could influence the policy of the Netherlands in Indonesia and force Amsterdam to abandon plans to conquer Aceh. In particular, he tried to enlist the support of the Ottoman Empire, a longtime trading partner of the Acekh Sultanate, but Great Britain and France, which had influence on the Istanbul throne, prevented the Turks from providing military and material assistance to co-religionists from distant Indonesia. It is also known that the sultan turned to the Russian emperor with a request to include Aceh in Russia, but this appeal did not meet with the approval of the tsarist government and Russia did not acquire a protectorate in distant Sumatra.
Muhammad Daoud Shah
The Aceh war lasted thirty-one years, but even after the formal conquest of Aceh in 1904, the local population carried out guerrilla attacks against the Dutch colonial administration and colonial troops. It can be said that the resistance of the Acekhs to the Dutch colonialists did not stop in fact until 1945 - before the proclamation of Indonesia's independence. In the fighting against the Dutch, from 70 to 100 thousand inhabitants of the Sultanate of Aceh were killed.
The Dutch troops, having occupied the territory of the state, cruelly dealt with any attempts of the Acekhs to fight for their independence. So, in response to the partisan actions of the Acekhs, the Dutch burned entire villages, near which attacks on colonial military units and carts took place. The inability to overcome the Acekh resistance led to the fact that the Dutch built up a military group of more than 50 thousand people on the territory of the sultanate, which consisted largely not only of the Dutch proper - soldiers and officers, but also of mercenaries recruited in various countries by recruiters of colonial troops.
As for the deep territories of Indonesia - the islands of Borneo, Sulawesi, and the West Papua region - their inclusion in the Dutch East Indies took place only at the beginning of the 20th century, and even then the Dutch authorities practically did not control the internal territories, inaccessible and inhabited by warlike tribes. These territories actually lived according to their own laws, obeying the colonial administration only formally. However, the last Dutch territories in Indonesia were also the most difficult to access. In particular, until 1969, the Dutch controlled the province of West Papua, from where Indonesian troops were able to drive them out only twenty-five years after the country's independence.
Mercenaries from Elmina
Solving the tasks of conquering Indonesia required the Netherlands to pay more attention to the military sphere. First of all, it became obvious that the Dutch troops recruited in the metropolis are not able to fully carry out the functions of colonizing Indonesia and maintaining colonial order on the islands. This was due both to the factors of the unfamiliar climate, terrain that impeded the movement and actions of the Dutch troops, and to the personnel shortage - the eternal companion of the armies serving in overseas colonies with an unusual climate for a European and many dangers and opportunities to be killed.
The Dutch troops recruited by entering contract service were not abundant in those wishing to go to serve in distant Indonesia, where they could easily die and remain forever in the jungle. The Dutch East India Company recruited mercenaries all over the world. By the way, the famous French poet Arthur Rimbaud served in Indonesia at one time, in whose biography there is such a moment as entering the Dutch colonial troops under a contract (however, upon arrival in Java, Rimbaud successfully deserted from the colonial troops, but this is a completely different story) …
Accordingly, the Netherlands, as well as other European colonial powers, had only one prospect - the creation of colonial troops, which would be staffed with mercenary soldiers, cheaper in terms of funding and logistical support, and more accustomed to the tropical and equatorial climate. The Dutch command used as privates and corporals of the colonial troops not only the Dutch, but also representatives of the native population - primarily from the Mollukskiy Islands, among whom there were many Christians and, accordingly, they were considered more or less reliable soldiers. However, it was not possible to staff the colonial troops with Ambonians alone, especially since the Dutch authorities did not trust the Indonesians at first. Therefore, it was decided to begin the formation of military units, staffed from African mercenaries, recruited in the Dutch possessions in West Africa.
Note that from 1637 to 1871. The Netherlands belonged to the so-called. Dutch Guinea, or the Dutch Gold Coast - lands on the West African coast, in the territory of modern Ghana, with the capital in Elmina (Portuguese name - São Jorge da Mina). The Dutch were able to conquer this colony from the Portuguese, who previously owned the Gold Coast, and use it as one of the centers for exporting slaves to the West Indies - to Curacao and Netherlands Guiana (now Suriname), which belonged to the Dutch. For a long time, the Dutch, along with the Portuguese, were most active in organizing the slave trade between West Africa and the islands of the West Indies, and it was Elmina who was considered an outpost of the Dutch slave trade in West Africa.
When the question arose about recruiting colonial troops capable of fighting in the equatorial climate of Indonesia, the Dutch military command remembered the aborigines of Dutch Guinea, among whom they decided to recruit recruits to be sent to the Malay archipelago. Starting to use African soldiers, Dutch generals believed that the latter would be more resistant to the equatorial climate and diseases common in Indonesia, which mowed down thousands of European soldiers and officers. It was also assumed that the use of African mercenaries would reduce the casualties of the Dutch troops themselves.
In 1832, the first detachment of 150 soldiers recruited in Elmina, including among the Afro-Dutch mulattoes, arrived in Indonesia and were stationed in South Sumatra. Contrary to the hopes of Dutch officers for the increased adaptability of African soldiers to the local climate, black mercenaries were not resistant to Indonesian diseases and were sick no less than European military personnel. Moreover, the specific diseases of the Malay Archipelago "mowed down" Africans even more than Europeans.
Thus, most of the African military personnel who served in Indonesia did not die on the battlefield, but died in hospitals. At the same time, it was not possible to refuse the recruitment of African soldiers, at least due to the significant advances paid, and also because the sea route from Dutch Guinea to Indonesia was in any case shorter and cheaper than the sea route from the Netherlands to Indonesia … Secondly, the high growth and unusual appearance of Negroids for Indonesians did their job - rumors about "black Dutchmen" spread throughout Sumatra. So the corps of colonial troops was born, which was named "Black Dutch", in Malay - Orang Blanda Itam.
It was decided to recruit a soldier for service in African units in Indonesia with the help of the king of the Ashanti people inhabiting modern Ghana and then Dutch Guinea. In 1836, Major General I. Verveer, sent to the court of the King of Ashanti, entered into an agreement with the latter on the use of his subjects as soldiers, but the King of Ashanti allocated slaves and prisoners of war to the Dutch that matched their age and physical characteristics. Along with the slaves and prisoners of war, several offspring of the royal house of Ashanti were sent to the Netherlands to receive military education.
Despite the fact that the recruitment of soldiers on the Gold Coast displeased the British, who also claimed ownership of this territory, the sending of Africans to serve in the Dutch troops in Indonesia continued until the last years of Dutch Guinea. Only from the mid-1850s was the voluntary nature of joining the colonial units of the "black Dutch" taken into account. The reason for this was the negative reaction of the British to the use of slaves by the Dutch, since Great Britain had by this time banned slavery in its colonies and began to fight the slave trade. Accordingly, the practice of the Dutch recruiting mercenary soldiers from the King of Ashanti, which in fact was the purchase of slaves, aroused many questions among the British. Great Britain put pressure on the Netherlands and from 1842 to 1855. there was no recruitment of soldiers from Dutch Guinea. In 1855, the recruiting of African shooters began again - this time on a voluntary basis.
African soldiers took an active part in the Aceh War, demonstrating high combat skills in the jungle. In 1873, two African companies were deployed to Aceh. Their tasks included, among other things, the defense of those Acekh villages that showed loyalty to the colonialists, supplied the latter with people, and therefore had every chance of being destroyed if they were captured by the fighters for independence. Also, African soldiers were responsible for finding and destroying or capturing insurgents in the impenetrable jungles of Sumatra.
As in the colonial troops of other European states, in the units of the "black Dutch", officers from the Netherlands and other Europeans occupied the officer positions, while the Africans were staffed with the positions of privates, corporals and sergeants. The total number of African mercenaries in the Aceh war was never great and amounted to 200 people in other periods of military campaigns. Nevertheless, the Africans did a good job with the tasks entrusted to them. Thus, a number of servicemen were awarded high military awards of the Netherlands precisely for conducting military operations against the Acekh rebels. Jan Kooi, in particular, was awarded the highest award of the Netherlands - the Military Order of Wilhelm.
Several thousand natives of West Africa passed through participation in hostilities in the north and west of Sumatra, as well as in other regions of Indonesia. Moreover, if initially the soldiers were recruited among the inhabitants of Dutch Guinea - the key colony of the Netherlands on the African continent, then the situation changed. On April 20, 1872, the last ship with soldiers from Dutch Guinea left Elmina for Java. This was due to the fact that in 1871 the Netherlands ceded Fort Elmina and the territory of Dutch Guinea to Great Britain in exchange for recognizing its dominance in Indonesia, including in Aceh. However, since black soldiers were remembered in Sumatra by many and instilled fear in Indonesians unfamiliar with the negroid type, the Dutch military command tried to recruit several more parties of African soldiers.
So, in 1876-1879. Thirty African Americans, recruited from the United States, arrived in Indonesia. In 1890, 189 natives of Liberia were also recruited for military service and then sent to Indonesia. However, already in 1892, the Liberians returned to their homeland, because they were not satisfied with the conditions of service and the failure of the Dutch command to comply with the agreements on the payment of military labor. On the other hand, the colonial command was not particularly enthusiastic about the Liberian soldiers.
The victory of the Netherlands in the Aceh War and the further conquest of Indonesia did not mean that the use of West African soldiers in the service of the colonial forces was stopped. Both the soldiers themselves and their descendants formed a fairly well-known Indo-African diaspora, from which, until the proclamation of Indonesia's independence, they served in various units of the Dutch colonial army.
V. M. van Kessel, the author of the work on the history of the Belanda Hitam, the Black Dutch, describes three main stages in the functioning of the Belanda Hitam troops in Indonesia: the first period - the trial dispatch of African troops to Sumatra in 1831-1836; the second period - the influx of the most numerous contingent from Dutch Guinea in 1837-1841; third period - negligible recruitment of Africans after 1855. During the third stage of the history of the "black Dutch", their number steadily decreased, however, soldiers of African descent were still present in the colonial troops, which is associated with the transfer of the military profession from father to son in families created by Belanda Hitam veterans who remained after the end of the contract for the territory of Indonesia.
Yang Kooi
Indonesia's proclamation of independence led to a massive emigration of former African colonial military personnel and their descendants from Indo-African marriages to the Netherlands. Africans who settled after military service in Indonesian cities and married local girls, their children and grandchildren, in 1945 realized that in sovereign Indonesia, they would most likely become targets of attacks for their service in the colonial forces and chose to leave the country. However, small Indo-African communities remain in Indonesia to this day.
So, in Pervorejo, where the Dutch authorities allocated land for settlement and management to the veterans of the African units of the colonial troops, the community of Indonesian-African mestizos, whose ancestors served in the colonial troops, has survived to this day. The descendants of African soldiers who emigrated to the Netherlands remain for the Dutch racially and culturally alien people, typical “migrants”, and the fact that their ancestors for several generations faithfully served the interests of Amsterdam in faraway Indonesia does not play any role in this case. …
