The jungle-clad mountains form the interior of most of the islands in the Malay Archipelago, which were never very hospitable places to live. As a consequence, most civilization grew on the coasts, turning the Malays into a seafaring, trading and mercantile people, culturally predisposed to new ideas and open to all they met. The few major civilizations and many tribes existing on the interior plateaus and valleys were just the opposite, as closed and isolated as their inhospitable homes. They used the coastal cities as their conduit to the outside world, thus reinforcing the trading monopolies of the coast dwellers.
The islands also grew a cornucopia of spices that drew a never-ending parade of traders from China, India, the Middle East, Africa and eventually Europe over the centuries. These traders and their cultures influenced the outer islands, bringing new religions and cultures, while many even settled permanently, creating an urban community of mixed Malay, Arab and Chinese extraction in the biggest cities.
Just before the Victorian Age, the great competition for the Spice Islands’ rich trade was long since won by the Netherlands. The Dutch East Indies Company (VOC)
drove the non-European traders from all ports and taxed all European competitors out of business. Yet, the VOC did not exert strong control of the islands beyond the ports. All they needed control is trade; an empire would have been expensive.
Direct rule from Holland replaces the VOC in 1800 when corruption renders the company insolvent. Before the islands’ new political rulers can accomplish anything, however, the British displace them after Napoleon occupies Holland in 1809. In this period of tenuous control, the outer islands reclaim independence; when the Dutch return in 1816, they must rebuild their control from the ground up. Yet, by this time, the economic value of many outer islands is limited, since Javanese plantations now grow the valuable spices and the Dutch colonial government is slow in expanding their rule to the outer islands or large coastal towns.
TIMELINE
1771–1802 Tayson Rebellion (Vietnam). 1787 Danang ceded to France (Vietnam).
1786 British East India Company occupies Penang (Malay Peninsula).
1800 Dutch East India Company dissolved and the Dutch East Indies (DEI) becomes a Dutch State possession.
1803 Founding of Nguyen Dynasty (Vietnam). 1809 British take control of the DEI.
1816 DEI returned to the Netherlands by Britain after the Napoleonic Wars. 1816–1849 Palembang Rebellion (Sumatra)
1819 Singapore founded. 1821–1838 Padri War (Sumatra)
1821 Siam occupies its tributary, the Sultanate of Kedah. 1822 Major British mission to Vietnam.
1823 Dutch take direct rule of southern Sumatra.
1824 Dutch cede Melaka and all other interests in the Malay Peninsula to Britain and open the DEI to British traders.
1824–1826 First Anglo-Burmese War
1825–1830 Java War; The Sultanate of Yogyakarta is defeated.
1826 Delineation of Thai-Burmese border; Treaty of Burney setting out Thai and British interests in Malaya.
1830 Dutch take direct rule of the whole of Java, including neutral Surakarta. 1834 Spain opens Manila to foreign traders.
1838 Start of the Dutch campaign to pacify Sulawese, Siamese return the Sultanate of Kedah to local rule.
1840 Major famines on Java; large tin deposits found in central Malaya; first British settlement in North Borneo.
1841 Formation of the White Raja of Sarawak.
1845 American naval forces intervene on behalf of Christian missionaries in Vietnam. 1846 First Balinese Campaign
1847 Major British mission to Vietnam. 1848 Reformist pressures grow in Holland. 1848 Second Balinese Campaign
It is only from the 1840s onward that the Dutch turn their attention back to the outer islands. Since ruling the islands is fundamentally unprofitable, the conquest places increasing strain on the DEI’s budget, forcing the wars to proceed slowly. The main reasons the DEI even bothers is a desire to stop piracy, prevent other European powers from occupying unconquered islands and (for local officials) for personal glory and profit.
Bali proves especially problematic, with violent internal politics and a tradition of interfering in Javanese disputes by hiring out its own soldiers as mercenaries. In 1846 the Dutch attack, and again in 1848 and 1849. Resistance is fierce, and the Dutch only manage to gain control of the north of the island along with securing promises of loyalty from the remaining Balinese Rajas. Small rebellions, banditry, piracy and violent intrigue remain part of Balinese life until 1908, when the Dutch
In 1841, following the White Raj of Sarawak’s creation in Northern Borneo (see below for more information), the Dutch suddenly grow concerned with their Borneo holdings. Over the next 20 years, they intervene in local affairs with increasing frequency. The discovery of coal in 1846 further heightens their interests and in 1859, Dutch intervention leads to a massive rebellion against them in Banjarmasin. While the Dutch repress the rebellion by 1863 and assume direct control over the whole of Dutch Borneo, they face minor revolts every few years until well into the 20th century.
In Sumatra, the Dutch contend with their most determined opponents. Because Sumatra possesses valuable agricultural lands and mineral deposits, the Dutch try retaking the island immediately following the departure of the British. Fearing British intervention, however, the Dutch are more cautious than they otherwise 1849 Third Balinese Campaign; James Brooke negotiates alliance with Sulu Sultanate (Southern
Philippines) only to have the British government reject it. 1852–1853 Second Anglo-Burmese War
1855 Central Sumatran Sultanates surrender to Dutch Rule; Spain opens the Philippines to foreign trade; Bowring Treaty between Siam and Britain.
1856 Britain recognizes Siam as an independent state. 1859–1863 Banjarmasin Rebellion (Borneo)
1862 Civil war in Pahang (Malaya) leads to general war between southern Malay sultanates; The Sultanate of Magindanao falls to the Spanish.
1871 Anglo-Dutch Treaty of Sumatra. 1873–1881 Acehnese War (DEI)
1874 Pangkor engagement leads to appointment of residents to Malay sultanates; The Perak War breaks out in response.
1875 Batak War (DEI)
1880 Sabah and Sarawak in North Borneo become a protectorate of the British Crown. 1882 France assumes control over Northern Vietnam.
1885 Berlin Conference delineates European spheres of influence in Asia. 1885–1886 Third Anglo-Burmese War
1890 DEI population hits 23.6 million, a fivefold increase within a century. 1891 Delineation of the DEI-North Borneo border
1893 Delineation of Thai-Laotian border
1895 Formation of the Federated Malay States under British protection.
1898 Dutch exert formal control over their half of New Guinea; the USA defeats Spain in the Spanish American war and occupies the Philippines, putting down the nationalist movement. 1901 USA conquers the Sulu Sultanate, completing its domination of the Philippines. 1904 France expands west of the Mekong into Siam’s territory.
1905 Sultanate of Brunei (North Borneo) becomes a British Protectorate. 1906 Completion of Sulawese pacification.
1907 Delineation of Thai-Cambodian border. Siam relinquishes its Cambodian provinces in return for France relinquishing its provinces west of the Mekong.
1908 Fourth, and final, Balinese Campaign.
1909 Delineation of Thai-Malaya border; Thailand abandons its claims south of the Sultanate of Pattani and the other Northern Malay Sultanates become British Protectorates.
are finally strong enough to bring the rest of the island in line. In the process, many Rajas, along with their entire families down to the youngest child, commit suicide by staging frontal attacks on the invading Dutch soldiers.
The islands to the east of Bali, the Lesser Sundas and the Dutch half of Papua, remain untouched save for operations against pirates and slavers until the 1900s. To the north, in the Sulawesi Islands, Christian missionaries precede official Dutch interests, competing with Javanese Muslim missionaries to convert the animist Bugis and Makarese inhabitants. Both indigenous groups fight each other as violently as they fight the Dutch who, despite launching a campaign in 1838 to pacify the Sulawesi Islands, don’t control the islands until 1906. The most brutal fighting of all involves the suppression of Toraja headhunters in central Sulawesi, which kills thousands through disease alone.
might have been. Dutch forces occupy the Palembang Sultanate in the island’s south in 1816, but a rebellion immediately breaks out. The Dutch assume direct rule over southern Sumatra in 1823 and exile the Sultan, but the fighting continues until 1849.
In central Sumatra, the Dutch easily take the coastal districts, but have difficulty extending their rule inland. By 1855, the Sultans of Jambi, Inderagiri, Panei, Siak and Bila surrender to Dutch rule, but violence and fighting continue until 1907 despite aristocratic subservience. In Minangkabau, the Dutch find ready allies in the local aristocrats trying to suppress the Padri, an Islamic revivalist movement based on the Arabian fundamentalist Wahhabi sect. A war starts in 1821 and continues to 1838, but the Dutch never succeed in re- establishing the aristocrats’ power; the Padri movement remains a serious source of disturbances.
The highlands north of Minangkabau serve as home for the animist Batak people. Both the Dutch and Padri movement invade this area, intending to convert the Bataks and bring them in line. The Bataks resist both the Dutch and Padri, however, and in 1875, the Dutch launch a major offensive against the animists that continues until 1895.
On Sumatra’s northern tip is the Sultanate of Aceh, an Arabian-style, vibrant trading power. The Dutch colonial government initially holds off moving north, fearing British reprisals should Aceh appeal to them for help. The Sultans of Aceh, however, despite their fractious government, realize the Dutch will eventually expand north and put significant effort into finding another sovereign nation to protect them and their interests in Batak territory. Worried by Aceh’s diplomatic overtures to other countries, the Dutch sign a treaty with Britain in 1871 guaranteeing British trading interests in return for Britain’s recognition of Dutch sovereignty over Aceh. In 1873 the Dutch invade, following reports the Sultan is negotiating with Singapore’s American Consul.
By 1874, the Dutch have seized control of the coast. In 1881, after losing thousands of colonial soldiers, the Dutch declare the Aceh War over. The truth, however, is very different. By 1875, Aceh’s religious leaders assume control of the resistance forces and declare the war a Jihad. Despite the ostensible Dutch victory, the Aceh continue a vicious guerrilla campaign and force the Dutch to abandon most of the inland areas by 1884 because of their heavy losses. Only after discovering oil in 1898 do the Dutch return to crush the rebels; even then, it takes 14 years and thousands more lives.
JAVA
Java stood alone in the richness of its interior plateaus and resulting rich civilizations. Like their outer island counterparts, however, these inland civilizations were isolationists, quite happy to deal with outside traders rather than trade themselves. The last traders who established shop on the malarial coast was the Dutch
East Indies Company (VOC), who founded Batavia (Jakarta) in 1619. After founding Batavia, the VOC controlled Javanese external trade completely, slowly becoming a major player in the politics of various interior Sultanates. It was by no means the most powerful or influential player, though. As in the case of the outer islands, this suited the VOC, who had little desire for anything but profitable trade.
With the imposition of control in 1800 by the Dutch state, the relatively cozy relationship between the Sultans and Europeans comes to an end. The Dutch colonial governors see the riches to be had in Java’s fertile farmlands, ideal for coffee and sugar, while the Sultanates’ tyrannical and anachronistic rituals and morals fire the Dutch reformist Christian indignation. From the very beginning the Dutch try imposing limits on the Sultans, but as in the outer islands, the Napoleonic Wars force the transfer of control to the British for seven years.
When Dutch governors return in 1816, they quickly retake Java save for the two greatest Sultanates of the interior, Yogjakarta and Surakarta. Opium, the introduction of a money economy and Dutch restriction on traditional Javanese rights contribute to increasing tensions. In 1825, the Sultan of Yogjakarta is overthrown by his brother, instigating a massive rebellion. The fighting continues until 1830, killing at least half Yogjakarta’s populace in the process. Surakarta, however, remains neutral, while many of the smaller sultanates side with the Dutch, eventually helping to crush the rebellion.
This war is the last major revolt in Java; the island’s aristocratic elite buckle under instead and become willing pawns in the Dutch colonial apparatus. The great cultural centers of Yogjakarta and Surakarta grow stagnant and ritualized, forcing many young Javanese toward European culture instead. Meanwhile, the Dutch’s pivotal goal is to make Java profitable, since Holland has little money. They introduce the Cultivation System, whereby a village must allocate 40% of its land for export crops that the Colonial government would buy for a set low price.
This system dramatically undermines traditional culture, as well as turning vast profits for Holland and corrupt officials both here and in Europe. Colonial officers of Arab and Chinese extraction exploit the local villagers, leaving them impoverished. The degree of exploitation is such that by the 1840s, major famines erupt because villagers don’t have enough money to buy their own rice. With famine comes plague and in the 1850s, disease kills almost as many as starvation, which by some estimates number in the millions. In 1848, the tales of horror are sufficient to push the Dutch government into instigating reforms to protect the natives.
In 1862, the Dutch eliminate the Cultivation System while in 1870, they open the DEI to free enterprise. Unfortunately, the result is not what they expect. Few Javanese have the education to succeed in a progressive economy and, instead, Arab, European and Chinese merchants quickly dominate the new
economy. By this time, the old aristocracy is a purely bureaucratic class working for the Dutch and losing the respect they once held.
One result of this breakdown of traditional social structures is increasing peasant protests. Without educated leadership, however, they achieve little. The new educated class, the Priyaya, are urbane and as disinterested in the peasants as the old aristocrats. The role of social agitator, therefore, falls to religious leaders and their students, the Pesantran. The increasingly messianic nature of peasant revolts disturbs the Dutch, but by 1890, their control of Java is so complete that they easily suppress all peasant uprisings.