Aceh War
Encyclopedia
The Aceh War, also known as the Dutch War or the Infidel War (1873—1913), was an armed military conflict between the Sultanate of Aceh and the Netherlands
which was triggered by discussions between representatives of Aceh and the U.S. in Singapore
during early 1873. The war was part of a series of conflicts in the late 19th century that consolidated Dutch rule over modern-day Indonesia
, concurrent with the 1906 and the 1908
interventions in Bali
.
since the 16th century. During the 1820s, Aceh's became a regional political and commercial power, supplying half of the world's pepper which increased the revenues and influence of local feudal rajas. Growing European and American demand for pepper led to a series of diplomatic skirmishes between the British, French and Americans. During the reign of Sultan Tuanku Ibrahim (1838–1870), the Aceh Sultanate
brought the regional rajas under control and extended its domain over the east coast. However, this southward trend clashed with the northwards expansion of Dutch colonialism in Sumatra
.
Following the 1869 opening of the Suez Canal
and changing shipping routes, the British and Dutch signed the 1871 Anglo-Dutch Treaty of Sumatra which ended British territorial claims to Sumatra, allowing the Dutch a free hand within their sphere of influence in the Malay Archipelago
while handing them the responsibiliy to check piracy. In return, Britain gained control of the Dutch Gold Coast
in Africa and equal commercial rights in Siak
. Dutch territorial ambitions in Aceh were fuelled by a desire to exploit its natural resources, especially black pepper
and oil, and to eliminate an independent native state player. The Dutch also sought to ward off other rival colonial powers that had ambitions in Southeast Asia
, particularly the British and the French.
was sent out on 26 March 1873, which bombarded the capital Banda Aceh
and was able to occupy most of the coastal areas by April. It was the intention of the Dutch to attack and take the Sultan's palace, which would also lead to the occupation of the entire country. The Sultan requested and possibly received military aid from Italy
and the United Kingdom in Singapore. In any case the Aceh army was rapidly modernized and enlarged with figures ranging from 10,000 to 100,000. Underestimating the military abilities of the Acehnese, the Dutch made some grave tactical errors and sustained considerable losses including the deaths of Köhler and 80 troops. These defeats undermined Dutch morale and prestige.
Forced to retreat, the Dutch imposed a full-scale naval blockade of Aceh. In an attempt to preserve Aceh's independence, Sultan Mahmud appealed to the other Western powers and Turkey for help but to no avail. While the American Consul was sympathetic, the American government remained neutral. Due to its weak position in the international political stage, the Ottoman Empire was impotent. Meanwhile, the British refused to intervene due to their relations with the Dutch while the French declined to respond to Mahmud's appeal.
outbreak which killed thousands on both sides. By January 1874, deteriorating conditions forced Sultan Mahmud Syah and his followers to abandon Banda Aceh and retreat to the interior. Meanwhile, Dutch forces occupied the capital and captured the symbolically important dalam (sultan's palace
), leading the Dutch to believe that they had won. The Dutch occupiers then abolished the Acehnese Sultanate and declared Aceh to be annexed to the Dutch East Indies proper.
Following Mahmud's death from cholera, the Acehnese proclaimed a young grandson of Tuanku Ibrahim, named Tuanku Muhammad Daud Syah, as Sultan Ibrahim Mansur Syah (r. 1874-1903) and continued their struggle in the hills and jungle territory for ten years, with heavy casualties on both sides. Around 1880 the Dutch strategy changed, and rather than continuing the war, they now concentrated on defending areas they already controlled, which were mostly limited to the capital city (modern Banda Aceh
), and the harbour town of Ulee Lheue. Dutch naval blockades succeeded in forcing the uleebelang or secular chiefs to sign treaties that extended Dutch control along the coastal regions. However, the uleebelang then used their newly-restored revenues to finance the Acehnese resistance forces.
The Dutch intervention in Aceh cost the lives of thousands of troops and was a severe drain on the colonial government's financial expenditure. On 13 October 1880 the colonial government declared the war was over and installed a civilian government, but continued spending heavily to maintain control over the areas it occupied. In an attempt to win the support of the local Acehnese, the Dutch built the Masjid Raya Baiturrahman
or Great Mosque in Banda Aceh as a gesture of reconciliation.
from both the Dutch and the British, and under British pressure the Dutch were forced to attempt to liberate the sailors. After a failed Dutch attempt to rescue the hostage
s, where the local leader Teuku Umar
was asked for help but he refused, the Dutch together with the British invaded the territory. The Sultan gave up the hostages, and received a large amount of cash in exchange.
The Dutch Minister of Warfare August Willem Philip Weitzel
again declared open war on Aceh, and warfare continued with little success, as before. Facing a technologically-superior foe, the Acehnese resorted to guerilla warfare, particularly traps and ambushes. Dutch troops retaliated by wiping out entire villages and murdering both prisoners and civilians. In 1884, the Dutch responded by withdrawing all their forces in Aceh into a fortified line around Banda Aceh. The Dutch now also tried to enlist local leaders: the aforementioned Umar was bought with cash, opium
, and weapons. Umar received the title panglima prang besar (great general).
Umar instead called himself Teuku Djohan Pahlawan (Johan the Heroic). On 1 January 1894 Umar even received Dutch aid to build an army. However, two years later Umar attacked the Dutch with his new army, rather than aiding the Dutch in subjugating inner Aceh. This is recorded in Dutch history as "Het verraad van Teukoe Oemar" (the treason
of Teuku Umar
). From the mid 1880s, the Acehnese military leadership was dominated by religious ulema
, including Tengku Chik di Tiro Muhamma Saman, who propagated the concept of a "holy war
" through sermons and texts known as hikayat or poetic tales. Acehnese fighters viewed themselves as religious martyrs fighting "infidel invaders". By this stage, the Aceh War was being used as a symbol of Muslim resistance to Western imperialism.
In 1892 and 1893 Aceh remained independent, despite the Dutch efforts. Major J.B. van Heutsz, a colonial military leader, then wrote a series of articles on Aceh. He was supported by Dr. Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje
of the University of Leiden, then the leading Dutch expert on Islam. Hurgronje managed to get the confidence of many Aceh leaders and gathered valuable intelligence
for the Dutch government on the activities of Indonesian Hajj
pilgrim
s. His works remained an official secret for many years. In Hurgronje's analysis of Acehnese society, he minimised the role of the Sultan and argued that attention should be paid to the hereditary chiefs and nobles, the Ulee Balang, who he felt could be trusted as local administrators. However, he argued, Aceh's religious leaders, the ulema, could not be trusted or persuaded to cooperate, and must be destroyed. As part of a policy of divide-and-conquer, Hurgronje urged the Dutch leadership to widen the existing gulf between the Acehnese nobility and the religious leaders.
In 1894, the penghulu or judge Hasan Mustafa also helped bring a stop to the fighting by issuing a fatwa, telling the Muslims to submit to the Dutch colonial government.
Hendrikus Colijn
, would finally conquer most of Aceh. They followed Hurgronje's suggestions, finding cooperative uleebelang that would support them in the countryside and isolating the resistance from their rural support base. The Dutch formulated a new strategy of counter-insurgency
warfare by deploying light-armed Marechaussee units and using scorched earth
tactics. Van Heutsz charged Colonel Gotfried Coenraad Ernst van Daalen
with breaking remaining resistance. G.C.E. van Daalen destroyed several villages, killing at least 2,900 Acehnese, among which were 1,150 women and children. Dutch losses numbered just 26, and Van Daalen was promoted.
In 1903, the main secular Acehnese resistance leaders including Sultan Muhammad Daud, Tuanku Raja Keumala, Mahmud and Muda Perkasa capitulated. By 1904 most of Aceh was under Dutch control, and had an indigenous government that cooperated with the colonial state. The Dutch consolidated their control over Aceh by practising a policy of religious tolerance as a means of dissuading the Acehnese from taking up an armed struggle. Nevertheless, episodes of marked Dutch military cruelty still occurred during this period. Photographs of a Dutch slaughter in Koeto Reh village taken during a Dutch military expedition in Aceh's Gayo and Alas regions in 1904, for example, indicate that killings of large groups of civilians occurred on some occasions. Estimated total casualties on the Aceh side range from 50,000 to 60,000 dead, and over a million wounded. The destruction of entire communities also caused 10,000 Acehnese to flee to neighbouring Malaya
.
In the Netherlands at the time, Van Heutsz was considered a hero, named the 'Pacifier of Aceh' and was promoted to become governor-general of the entire Dutch Indies in 1904. A still-existent monument to him was erected in Amsterdam
, though his image and name were later removed, to protest his violent legacy. The Dutch establishment defended its actions in Aceh by citing a moral imperative to liberate the masses from the oppression and backward practices of independent native rulers that did not meet accepted international norms. The Aceh War also encouraged Dutch annexation of other independent states in Bali, Moluccas, Borneo
and Sulawesi
between 1901 to 1910.
Colonial influence in the remote highland
areas of Aceh was never substantial, however, and limited guerrilla resistance led by religious ulema persisted until 1942. Unable to dislodge the Dutch, many of the ulema gradually discontinued their resistance. The region of Gayo
remained a center of resistance as late as 1914. One intellectual Sayyid Ahmad Khan advocated discontinuing the "jihad
" against the Dutch since the term was used to define military warfare against religious oppression.
and Royal Dutch Shell
developed oil refineries to extract the province's substantial oil reserves. Despite the end of open conflict, popular Acehnese resistance against Dutch rule continued until the Japan
ese invasion
of the Dutch East Indies
in 1942. Throughout the early 20th century, Dutch citizens and personnel were targeted by sporadic suicidal attacks by Acehnese patriots influenced by the Hikayat Perang Sabil and other proscribed texts. This phenomenon was known as the Atjeh-moord or "Aceh murders" and forced the Dutch government to maintain substantial forces within the province.
Acehnese resentment was further stoked by a system of forced corvee labour where subjects were required to work on government roadwork projects for 24 days a year. By the mid 1920s, Aceh had reverted to a state of full-scale guerilla warfare. Following the Japanese invasion, the occupying Japanese forces were initially welcomed by Acehnese nationalist as liberators though differences led to protracted resistance by Islamic-inspired rebels, culminating in a rebellion at Bayu. During the Indonesian National Revolution
following the Japanese surrender in August 1945, the aristocracy were targeted for retribution due to their collaboration with the Dutch and the region became a stronghold of Sukarno
's Republicans. Due to the entrenched anti-colonial sentiment, the Dutch bypassed Aceh during their police actions
from 1947 to 1948.
Following the Dutch transfer of sovereignty to Indonesia in August 1949, many Acehnese became dissatisfied with the policies of the Javanese-dominated central government in Jakarta
and began agitating for autonomy
. Grievances included Aceh's incorporation into the predominantly Christian
Batak
province of North Sumatra
, its poor financial and political rewards within the unitary
Indonesian Republic and the failure to implement sharia
law. In 1953, these factors led to a short-lived rebellion by the Darul Islam movement under Daud Bereueh
which was suppressed by the Indonesian armed forces though resistance continued inland until 1959 when the rebels succeeded in negotiating an autonomous status for Aceh. Despite this, many Acehnese and other Sumatrans resented key government and military positions being dominated by Javanese. The resulting rebellion led by Free Aceh Movement
raged in the province until a peace treaty was signed between the Acehnese movement and Indonesian government following the Great Aceh Tsunami
.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
which was triggered by discussions between representatives of Aceh and the U.S. in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
during early 1873. The war was part of a series of conflicts in the late 19th century that consolidated Dutch rule over modern-day Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, concurrent with the 1906 and the 1908
Dutch intervention in Bali (1908)
The Dutch intervention in Bali in 1908 marked the final phase of Dutch colonial control over the island of Bali in Indonesia. It was the seventh and last military intervention in Bali, following the Dutch intervention in Bali ....
interventions in Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
.
Background
For much of the 19th century, Aceh's independence had been guaranteed by the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1819 and its status as a protectorate of the Ottoman EmpireOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
since the 16th century. During the 1820s, Aceh's became a regional political and commercial power, supplying half of the world's pepper which increased the revenues and influence of local feudal rajas. Growing European and American demand for pepper led to a series of diplomatic skirmishes between the British, French and Americans. During the reign of Sultan Tuanku Ibrahim (1838–1870), the Aceh Sultanate
Aceh Sultanate
The Sultanate of Aceh, officially the Kingdom of Aceh Darussalam was a sultanate centered in the modern area of Aceh Province, Sumatra, Indonesia, which was a major regional power in the 16th and 17th centuries, before experiencing a long period of decline...
brought the regional rajas under control and extended its domain over the east coast. However, this southward trend clashed with the northwards expansion of Dutch colonialism in Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
.
Following the 1869 opening of the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
and changing shipping routes, the British and Dutch signed the 1871 Anglo-Dutch Treaty of Sumatra which ended British territorial claims to Sumatra, allowing the Dutch a free hand within their sphere of influence in the Malay Archipelago
Malay Archipelago
The Malay Archipelago refers to the archipelago between mainland Southeastern Asia and Australia. The name was derived from the anachronistic concept of a Malay race....
while handing them the responsibiliy to check piracy. In return, Britain gained control of the Dutch Gold Coast
Dutch Gold Coast
The Dutch Gold Coast or Dutch Guinea, officially Dutch possessions on the Coast of Guinea was a portion of coastal West Africa that was gradually colonized by the Dutch, beginning in 1598...
in Africa and equal commercial rights in Siak
Siak
Siak may refer to:*Asiagh , a gotra/clan of Jats found in India.*Eric Low Siak Meng, a Singaporean Chinese politician.*Siak Regency, a regency of Riau, Indonesia.*Siak River, a river in Sumatra, Indonesia....
. Dutch territorial ambitions in Aceh were fuelled by a desire to exploit its natural resources, especially black pepper
Black pepper
Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is approximately in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed...
and oil, and to eliminate an independent native state player. The Dutch also sought to ward off other rival colonial powers that had ambitions in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
, particularly the British and the French.
First Dutch intervention
In 1873, negotiations took place in Singapore between representatives of the Aceh Sultanate and the local American Consul over a potential bilateral treaty. The Dutch saw this as a violation of a prior agreement with the British in 1871 and used this as an opportunity to annex Aceh militarily. An expedition under Major General Johan Harmen Rudolf KöhlerJohan Harmen Rudolf Köhler
Johan Harmen Rudolf Köhler was a Dutch general who commanded the Dutch-Indonesian forces during the First expedition to Aceh started on April 8, 1873. The expedition failed to reach its goals and Köhler himself was shot in a skirmish...
was sent out on 26 March 1873, which bombarded the capital Banda Aceh
Banda Aceh
Banda Aceh is the provincial capital and largest city in the province of Aceh, Indonesia, located on the island of Sumatra, with an elevation of 35 meters. The city regency covers an area of 64 square kilometres and according to the 2000 census had a population of 219,070 people...
and was able to occupy most of the coastal areas by April. It was the intention of the Dutch to attack and take the Sultan's palace, which would also lead to the occupation of the entire country. The Sultan requested and possibly received military aid from Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and the United Kingdom in Singapore. In any case the Aceh army was rapidly modernized and enlarged with figures ranging from 10,000 to 100,000. Underestimating the military abilities of the Acehnese, the Dutch made some grave tactical errors and sustained considerable losses including the deaths of Köhler and 80 troops. These defeats undermined Dutch morale and prestige.
Forced to retreat, the Dutch imposed a full-scale naval blockade of Aceh. In an attempt to preserve Aceh's independence, Sultan Mahmud appealed to the other Western powers and Turkey for help but to no avail. While the American Consul was sympathetic, the American government remained neutral. Due to its weak position in the international political stage, the Ottoman Empire was impotent. Meanwhile, the British refused to intervene due to their relations with the Dutch while the French declined to respond to Mahmud's appeal.
Second Dutch intervention
In November 1873, a second expedition consisting of 13,000 troops led by General Jan van Swieten was dispatched to Aceh. The invasion coincided with a choleraCholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
outbreak which killed thousands on both sides. By January 1874, deteriorating conditions forced Sultan Mahmud Syah and his followers to abandon Banda Aceh and retreat to the interior. Meanwhile, Dutch forces occupied the capital and captured the symbolically important dalam (sultan's palace
Palace
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word itself is derived from the Latin name Palātium, for Palatine Hill, one of the seven hills in Rome. In many parts of Europe, the...
), leading the Dutch to believe that they had won. The Dutch occupiers then abolished the Acehnese Sultanate and declared Aceh to be annexed to the Dutch East Indies proper.
Following Mahmud's death from cholera, the Acehnese proclaimed a young grandson of Tuanku Ibrahim, named Tuanku Muhammad Daud Syah, as Sultan Ibrahim Mansur Syah (r. 1874-1903) and continued their struggle in the hills and jungle territory for ten years, with heavy casualties on both sides. Around 1880 the Dutch strategy changed, and rather than continuing the war, they now concentrated on defending areas they already controlled, which were mostly limited to the capital city (modern Banda Aceh
Banda Aceh
Banda Aceh is the provincial capital and largest city in the province of Aceh, Indonesia, located on the island of Sumatra, with an elevation of 35 meters. The city regency covers an area of 64 square kilometres and according to the 2000 census had a population of 219,070 people...
), and the harbour town of Ulee Lheue. Dutch naval blockades succeeded in forcing the uleebelang or secular chiefs to sign treaties that extended Dutch control along the coastal regions. However, the uleebelang then used their newly-restored revenues to finance the Acehnese resistance forces.
The Dutch intervention in Aceh cost the lives of thousands of troops and was a severe drain on the colonial government's financial expenditure. On 13 October 1880 the colonial government declared the war was over and installed a civilian government, but continued spending heavily to maintain control over the areas it occupied. In an attempt to win the support of the local Acehnese, the Dutch built the Masjid Raya Baiturrahman
Masjid Raya Baiturrahman
Baiturrahman Grand Mosque is a large mosque located in the centre of the city of Banda Aceh, Aceh province, Indonesia...
or Great Mosque in Banda Aceh as a gesture of reconciliation.
Holy war
War began again in 1883, when the British ship Nisero was stranded in Aceh, in an area where the Dutch had little influence. A local leader asked for ransomRansom
Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or it can refer to the sum of money involved.In an early German law, a similar concept was called bad influence...
from both the Dutch and the British, and under British pressure the Dutch were forced to attempt to liberate the sailors. After a failed Dutch attempt to rescue the hostage
Hostage
A hostage is a person or entity which is held by a captor. The original definition meant that this was handed over by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security for the carrying out of an agreement, or as a preventive measure against certain acts of war...
s, where the local leader Teuku Umar
Teuku Umar
Teuku Umar was the a member of the Acehnese guerrilla forces during the Aceh War in Aceh, later as a leader, from 1873 until his death. He was killed in a surprise attack in Meulabohis a Pahlawan Nasional Indonesia . He led a guerrilla campaign in Aceh during the Aceh War...
was asked for help but he refused, the Dutch together with the British invaded the territory. The Sultan gave up the hostages, and received a large amount of cash in exchange.
The Dutch Minister of Warfare August Willem Philip Weitzel
August Willem Philip Weitzel
August Willem Philip Weitzel was a military officer who served as Dutch Minister of War for two cabinets, as well as Minister of Colonies in the interim Kabinet-Heemskerk Azn. cabinet.- Literature :...
again declared open war on Aceh, and warfare continued with little success, as before. Facing a technologically-superior foe, the Acehnese resorted to guerilla warfare, particularly traps and ambushes. Dutch troops retaliated by wiping out entire villages and murdering both prisoners and civilians. In 1884, the Dutch responded by withdrawing all their forces in Aceh into a fortified line around Banda Aceh. The Dutch now also tried to enlist local leaders: the aforementioned Umar was bought with cash, opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
, and weapons. Umar received the title panglima prang besar (great general).
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
of Teuku Umar
Teuku Umar
Teuku Umar was the a member of the Acehnese guerrilla forces during the Aceh War in Aceh, later as a leader, from 1873 until his death. He was killed in a surprise attack in Meulabohis a Pahlawan Nasional Indonesia . He led a guerrilla campaign in Aceh during the Aceh War...
). From the mid 1880s, the Acehnese military leadership was dominated by religious ulema
Ulema
Ulama , also spelt ulema, refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies. They are best known as the arbiters of shari‘a law...
, including Tengku Chik di Tiro Muhamma Saman, who propagated the concept of a "holy war
Holy war
Holy war may refer to:* A religious war led with an exceptionally high grade of religious feeling* The Crusades, 11th, 12th, and 13th-century religiously sanctioned military campaigns waged by much of Christian Europe against the Muslim Middle East....
" through sermons and texts known as hikayat or poetic tales. Acehnese fighters viewed themselves as religious martyrs fighting "infidel invaders". By this stage, the Aceh War was being used as a symbol of Muslim resistance to Western imperialism.
In 1892 and 1893 Aceh remained independent, despite the Dutch efforts. Major J.B. van Heutsz, a colonial military leader, then wrote a series of articles on Aceh. He was supported by Dr. Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje
Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje
Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje was a Dutch scholar of Oriental cultures and languages and Advisor on Native Affairs to the colonial government of the Netherlands East Indies ....
of the University of Leiden, then the leading Dutch expert on Islam. Hurgronje managed to get the confidence of many Aceh leaders and gathered valuable intelligence
Intelligence (information gathering)
Intelligence assessment is the development of forecasts of behaviour or recommended courses of action to the leadership of an organization, based on a wide range of available information sources both overt and covert. Assessments are developed in response to requirements declared by the leadership...
for the Dutch government on the activities of Indonesian Hajj
Hajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
pilgrim
Pilgrim
A pilgrim is a traveler who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journeying to some place of special significance to the adherent of a particular religious belief system...
s. His works remained an official secret for many years. In Hurgronje's analysis of Acehnese society, he minimised the role of the Sultan and argued that attention should be paid to the hereditary chiefs and nobles, the Ulee Balang, who he felt could be trusted as local administrators. However, he argued, Aceh's religious leaders, the ulema, could not be trusted or persuaded to cooperate, and must be destroyed. As part of a policy of divide-and-conquer, Hurgronje urged the Dutch leadership to widen the existing gulf between the Acehnese nobility and the religious leaders.
In 1894, the penghulu or judge Hasan Mustafa also helped bring a stop to the fighting by issuing a fatwa, telling the Muslims to submit to the Dutch colonial government.
Pacification
This advice was followed: in 1898 Van Heutsz was proclaimed governor of Aceh, and with his lieutenant, later Dutch Prime MinisterPrime Minister of the Netherlands
The Prime Minister of the Netherlands is the chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Netherlands. He is the de facto head of government of the Netherlands and coordinates the policy of the government...
Hendrikus Colijn
Hendrikus Colijn
Hendrikus Colijn was a successful Dutch soldier, businessman and politician.-Early life:He was born in 1869 in the Haarlemmermeer to Antonie Colijn and Anna Verkuil, who had migrated to the Haarlemmermeer polder from the Land of Heusden and Altena for religious reasons...
, would finally conquer most of Aceh. They followed Hurgronje's suggestions, finding cooperative uleebelang that would support them in the countryside and isolating the resistance from their rural support base. The Dutch formulated a new strategy of counter-insurgency
Counter-insurgency
A counter-insurgency or counterinsurgency involves actions taken by the recognized government of a nation to contain or quell an insurgency taken up against it...
warfare by deploying light-armed Marechaussee units and using scorched earth
Scorched earth
A scorched earth policy is a military strategy or operational method which involves destroying anything that might be useful to the enemy while advancing through or withdrawing from an area...
tactics. Van Heutsz charged Colonel Gotfried Coenraad Ernst van Daalen
Gotfried Coenraad Ernst van Daalen
Lieutenant General Gotfried Coenraad Ernst van Daalen better known as Frits van Daalen was an Indo general of the Royal Dutch East Indies Army who served in the Dutch East Indies....
with breaking remaining resistance. G.C.E. van Daalen destroyed several villages, killing at least 2,900 Acehnese, among which were 1,150 women and children. Dutch losses numbered just 26, and Van Daalen was promoted.
In 1903, the main secular Acehnese resistance leaders including Sultan Muhammad Daud, Tuanku Raja Keumala, Mahmud and Muda Perkasa capitulated. By 1904 most of Aceh was under Dutch control, and had an indigenous government that cooperated with the colonial state. The Dutch consolidated their control over Aceh by practising a policy of religious tolerance as a means of dissuading the Acehnese from taking up an armed struggle. Nevertheless, episodes of marked Dutch military cruelty still occurred during this period. Photographs of a Dutch slaughter in Koeto Reh village taken during a Dutch military expedition in Aceh's Gayo and Alas regions in 1904, for example, indicate that killings of large groups of civilians occurred on some occasions. Estimated total casualties on the Aceh side range from 50,000 to 60,000 dead, and over a million wounded. The destruction of entire communities also caused 10,000 Acehnese to flee to neighbouring Malaya
British Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
.
In the Netherlands at the time, Van Heutsz was considered a hero, named the 'Pacifier of Aceh' and was promoted to become governor-general of the entire Dutch Indies in 1904. A still-existent monument to him was erected in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, though his image and name were later removed, to protest his violent legacy. The Dutch establishment defended its actions in Aceh by citing a moral imperative to liberate the masses from the oppression and backward practices of independent native rulers that did not meet accepted international norms. The Aceh War also encouraged Dutch annexation of other independent states in Bali, Moluccas, Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
and Sulawesi
Sulawesi
Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...
between 1901 to 1910.
Colonial influence in the remote highland
Highland (geography)
The term highland or upland is used to denote any mountainous region or elevated mountainous plateau. Generally speaking, the term upland tends to be used for ranges of hills, typically up to 500-600m, and highland for ranges of low mountains.The Scottish Highlands refers to the mountainous...
areas of Aceh was never substantial, however, and limited guerrilla resistance led by religious ulema persisted until 1942. Unable to dislodge the Dutch, many of the ulema gradually discontinued their resistance. The region of Gayo
Gayo
Gayo may refer to* Gayo language of Sumatra, ISO 639-2* Gayo people, a tribe in Aceh, Indonesia* Gayo Lues Regency, a regency in Aceh, Indonesia* Gayo, or K-pop, the Korean term for pop music* Gayo , old form of the Korean traditional poetry...
remained a center of resistance as late as 1914. One intellectual Sayyid Ahmad Khan advocated discontinuing the "jihad
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
" against the Dutch since the term was used to define military warfare against religious oppression.
Aftermath
Following the Aceh War, local Uleebelang or aristocracy helped the Dutch maintain control over Aceh through indirect rule. During the early 20th century, both Standard OilStandard Oil
Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...
and Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
developed oil refineries to extract the province's substantial oil reserves. Despite the end of open conflict, popular Acehnese resistance against Dutch rule continued until the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese invasion
Dutch East Indies campaign
The Dutch East Indies campaign of 1941–1942 was the conquest of the Dutch East Indies by forces from the Empire of Japan in the early days of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Forces from the Allies attempted unsuccessfully to defend the islands. Indonesia was targeted by the Japanese for its...
of the Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
in 1942. Throughout the early 20th century, Dutch citizens and personnel were targeted by sporadic suicidal attacks by Acehnese patriots influenced by the Hikayat Perang Sabil and other proscribed texts. This phenomenon was known as the Atjeh-moord or "Aceh murders" and forced the Dutch government to maintain substantial forces within the province.
Acehnese resentment was further stoked by a system of forced corvee labour where subjects were required to work on government roadwork projects for 24 days a year. By the mid 1920s, Aceh had reverted to a state of full-scale guerilla warfare. Following the Japanese invasion, the occupying Japanese forces were initially welcomed by Acehnese nationalist as liberators though differences led to protracted resistance by Islamic-inspired rebels, culminating in a rebellion at Bayu. During the Indonesian National Revolution
Indonesian National Revolution
The Indonesian National Revolution or Indonesian War of Independence was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between Indonesia and the Dutch Empire, and an internal social revolution...
following the Japanese surrender in August 1945, the aristocracy were targeted for retribution due to their collaboration with the Dutch and the region became a stronghold of Sukarno
Sukarno
Sukarno, born Kusno Sosrodihardjo was the first President of Indonesia.Sukarno was the leader of his country's struggle for independence from the Netherlands and was Indonesia's first President from 1945 to 1967...
's Republicans. Due to the entrenched anti-colonial sentiment, the Dutch bypassed Aceh during their police actions
Politionele acties
"Politionele Acties" refers to two major military offensives undertaken by the Netherlands on Java and Sumatra against the Republic of Indonesia during its struggle for independence in the Indonesian National Revolution...
from 1947 to 1948.
Following the Dutch transfer of sovereignty to Indonesia in August 1949, many Acehnese became dissatisfied with the policies of the Javanese-dominated central government in Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
and began agitating for autonomy
Autonomy
Autonomy is a concept found in moral, political and bioethical philosophy. Within these contexts, it is the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision...
. Grievances included Aceh's incorporation into the predominantly Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
Batak
Batak (Indonesia)
Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of ethnic groups predominantly found in North Sumatra, Indonesia. The term is used to include the Toba, Karo, Pakpak, Simalungun, Angkola and Mandailing, each of which are distinct but related groups with distinct, albeit related, languages and...
province of North Sumatra
North Sumatra
North Sumatra is a province of Indonesia on the Sumatra island. Its capital is Medan. It is the most populous Indonesian province outside of Java. It is slightly larger than Sri Lanka in area.- Geography and population :...
, its poor financial and political rewards within the unitary
Unitary state
A unitary state is a state governed as one single unit in which the central government is supreme and any administrative divisions exercise only powers that their central government chooses to delegate...
Indonesian Republic and the failure to implement sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
law. In 1953, these factors led to a short-lived rebellion by the Darul Islam movement under Daud Bereueh
Daud Bereueh
Teungku Daud Beureueh , military Governor of Aceh and leader of the Darul Islam rebellion in the province ....
which was suppressed by the Indonesian armed forces though resistance continued inland until 1959 when the rebels succeeded in negotiating an autonomous status for Aceh. Despite this, many Acehnese and other Sumatrans resented key government and military positions being dominated by Javanese. The resulting rebellion led by Free Aceh Movement
Free Aceh Movement
The Free Aceh Movement , also known as the Aceh Sumatra National Liberation Front , was a separatist group seeking independence for the Aceh region of Sumatra from Indonesia. GAM fought against Indonesian government forces in the Aceh Insurgency from 1976 to 2005, costing over 15,000 lives...
raged in the province until a peace treaty was signed between the Acehnese movement and Indonesian government following the Great Aceh Tsunami
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
.