The Atjehnese particular mentality — the bijzondere mentaliteit of Atjeh — is, in the source’s narrative, the reason given by the Dutch for sparing Atjeh from occupation during the second *politionele actie* of 18 December 1948. The phrase is the source’s only explicit characterisation of Atjehnese particularism in the revolutionary period.
The 1948 Atjeh exemption
The source records: “alle grote plaatsen op Java en Sumatra, behalve in Atjeh, dat men om zijn bijzondere mentaliteit voorlopig ontszag, werden bezet” (all the major places on Java and Sumatra, except in Atjeh, which was for the time being spared on account of its particular mentality, were occupied). The 1948 Atjeh exemption is the source’s most significant Atjeh-related observation for the Indonesian revolution period. The phrase “zijn bijzondere mentaliteit” (its particular mentality) is the source’s only explicit characterisation of Atjehnese particularism.
The historical depth
The 1948 characterisation — the “bijzondere mentaliteit” of Atjeh — is, in the source’s wider narrative, the accumulation of three centuries of Dutch-Atjehnese interaction: the sixteenth-century rise of the great sultanate, the early-seventeenth-century elephant-fight at the court of Iskandar Muda, the 1824 undertaking’s impossible double commitment, the Atjehoorlog of 1873-1904 with the 1896 Teungku Um defection and the Van Heutsz pacificatie, and the korte verklaring’s 261 submitted chiefs. The 1948 Dutch decision to spare Atjeh was, on this reading, the institutional acknowledgment that the “bijzondere mentaliteit” built up over three centuries could not be set aside by a single military action.
Significance
The Atjehnese particular mentality is, in the source’s narrative, the reason given by the Dutch for sparing Atjeh from occupation during the second *politionele actie* of 18 December 1948. The phrase is the source’s only explicit characterisation of Atjehnese particularism in the revolutionary period — and the institutional acknowledgment of the historical depth of the Dutch-Atjehnese relationship.
See Also
- Acheh
- Atjehoorlog
- Second politionele actie (18 December 1948)
- Pacificatie van Atjeh (Nederlanders over de Zeeën account)
- Korte verklaring
- J. B. van Heutsz
- 1948
Source
Nederlanders over de Zeeën: 350 Jaar geschiedenis van Nederland buitengaats, onder redactie van Dr. H. J. de Graaf, met medewerking van Prof. G. Gonggrijp, W. R. Menkman en Prof. Jhr Dr P. J. van Winter, 2e geheel herziene druk (Utrecht: W. de Haan N.V., MCMLV), p. 267.