The French and British interregnum in the Dutch East Indies of the Dutch East Indies took place between 1806 and 1816. The French ruled between 1806 and 1811, while the British took over for 1811 to 1816[c] and transferred its control back to the Dutch in 1816.[5]
The fall of the Netherlands to the French Empire and the dissolution of the Dutch East India Company led to some profound changes in the European colonial administration of the East Indies, as one of the Napoleonic Wars was fought in Java.[7] This period, which lasted for almost a decade, witnessed a tremendous change in Java, as vigorous infrastructure and defence projects took place, followed by battles, reformation and major changes of administration in the colony.
Introduction
In 1800, the Dutch East India Company (Dutch: Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC)) was declared bankrupt and nationalised by the Dutch government. As a result, its assets, which included seaports, storehouses, fortifications, settlements, lands and plantations in the East Indies were nationalised as a Dutch colony, the Dutch East Indies. Based in Batavia (today Jakarta), the Dutch ruled most of Java (with exception of interior lands of Vorstenlanden Mataram and Banten), conquering coastal West Sumatra, wrested former Portuguese colonies in Malacca, the Moluccas, South and North Celebes also in West Timor. Among these Dutch possessions, Java was the most important one, as the production of cash-crops and Dutch-controlled plantations was located there.
On the other side on the world,
Napoleon Bonaparte in 1806, oversaw the Batavian Republic become the Commonwealth of Batavia and then dissolved and replaced by the Kingdom of Holland, a French puppet kingdom ruled by Napoleon's third brother Louis Bonaparte (Lodewijk Napoleon). As a result, the East Indies during this time were treated as a proxy French colony, administered through a Dutch intermediary.[8]
The power struggle and rivalry between France and Britain had spilled to other parts of the world, involving the colonies of each empires in Americas, Africa, as well as in Asia. Since 1685 the British had consolidated their rule in Bencoolen on western coast of Sumatra, and also had established their rule in Malaccan strait, the island of Singapore and Penang. As the British coveted the Dutch colonies in the region, the Dutch-controlled East Indies was bracing for the predicted incoming British invasion.
In 1806, King Lodewijk Napoleon of the Netherlands sent one of his generals, Herman Willem Daendels, serving as governor-general of East Indies based in Java. Daendels was sent to strengthen Javanese defenses against a perceived incoming British invasion. He arrived in the city of Batavia (now Jakarta) on 5 January 1808 and relieved the former Governor General, Albertus Wiese. He raised new forces, built new roads within Java, and improved the internal administration of the island.[7][9]
Daendels' rule was a harsh and martial one, as the colony prepared for the British threat. He built new hospitals and military barracks, a new arms factories in Surabaya and Semarang, and a new military college in Batavia. He demolished the Castle in Batavia and replaced it with a new fort at Meester Cornelis (Jatinegara), and built Fort Lodewijk in Surabaya. However, his best-known achievement was the construction of the Great Post Road (Indonesian: Jalan Raya Pos) across northern Java from Anjer to Panaroecan. The road now serves as the main road in the island of Java; some sections of the road that go through the northern coast of Java became part of Jalur Pantura. The thousand-kilometre road was completed in only one year, during which thousands of Javanese forced labourers died.[10] Major William Thorn wrote that about 12,000 natives are said to have perished during the construction.[11]
Java Great Post Road, commissioned by Daendels.
The reign of
Napoleonic France. This religious freedom would be consolidated later by Stamford Raffles
.
Daendels — known as an avid
Continental Law into the colonial Dutch East Indies law system, retained even until today in Indonesian legal system. Indonesian law is often described as a member of the 'civil law' or 'Continental' group of legal systems found in European countries such as France and the Netherlands.[12]
Daendels displayed a firm attitude towards the local Javanese rulers, with the result that the rulers later were willing to work with the British against the Dutch. He also subjected the population of
Ujung Kulon. The Sultan refused Daendels' command, and in response Daendels ordered the invasion of Banten and destruction of Surosowan palace. The Sultan, together with his family, was arrested in Puri Intan and held as a prisoner in Fort Speelwijk, and later sent into exile in Ambon. On 22 November 1808, Daendels declared from his headquarters in Serang that the Sultanate of Banten had been absorbed into the territory of the Dutch East Indies.[13]
A map of Java: Chiefly from surveys made during the British administration constructed in illustration of an account of Java by Thomas Stamford Raffles
In 1811, Java fell to a British force under Minto. He appointed Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles as lieutenant governor of Java.[14] Raffles carried further the administrative centralisation previously initiated by Daendels. He planned to group the regencies of Java into 16 residencies. He ended Dutch administrative methods, liberalised the system of land tenure, and extended trade. Raffles tried to implement the liberal economic principles and the cessation of compulsory cultivation in Java.[citation needed]
Raffles took his residence at
Buddha head from Borobudur and two large ancient Javanese stone inscriptions, known today as the Minto Stone and the Calcutta Stone to Lord Minto as a token of appreciation.[18][19]
Raffles particularly holds special interest on the
^Ricklefs, M. C. A History of Modern Indonesia Since C. 1200, 4th Edition, Palgrave Macmillan, 2008
^ abCarey, Peter, The Power of Prophecy: Prince Dipanagara and the End of an Old Order in Java, 1785-1855, 2008
^Abdullah, Husnial Husin (1983). Sejarah Perjuangan Kemerdekaan R.I. Di Bangka Belitung. Karya Unipress. p. 393.
^Noltie, Henry (2009). Raffles' Ark Redrawn: Natural History Drawings from the Collection of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles. London & Edinburgh: British Library & Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. pp. 19–20.
^Kern, H., (1917), Steen van den berg Pananggungan (Soerabaja), thans in't India Museum te Calcutta, Verspreide Gescriften VII, 85-114, Gravenhage: Martinus Nijhoff.
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