The Korte Verklaring — “Short Declaration” — was the standard colonial compact by which the Nederlandsch-Indisch Gouvernement recognised a native chief as zelfbestuurder — self-ruler — of his landschap, replacing the sarakata of the Sultans of Atjeh as the documentary basis of native authority in Atjeh and its Onderhoorigheden. Introduced by Governor Joannes Benedictus van Heutsz as part of his pacification system during his governorship of Aceh (1898–1904) and later extended to other troubled regions of the Dutch East Indies during his Governor-Generalship (1904–1909), the declaration became a central tool of colonial policy whose most controversial provision — Article 3, obliging the ruler to obey all future regulations that the Dutch government might issue — critics argued eliminated any real autonomy and reduced the ruler to a mere official. In J. Kreemer’s Atjèh (1923) the Atjèh-specific form is given the name korte Atjèhverklaring to distinguish it from the later “uniform model” applied across the buitengewesen.
Origin and purpose
Van Heutsz devised the Korte Verklaring as a swift and unambiguous way to end the protracted Aceh War. Under the old system, political contracts with local chiefs were lengthy and often ignored; the new declaration was a single page, containing three key articles: (1) recognition of Dutch sovereignty; (2) agreement to assist the Dutch in maintaining order; and (3) acceptance of any future regulations imposed by the Dutch government — the “catch-all” clause that gave the colonial government sweeping powers to intervene in internal affairs without renegotiating the contract.
Form and meaning in Acehnese administration
De Buitenbezittingen defines the compact in its discussion of the oelèëbalangs. The name oelèëbalangschap was, in official documents, “later reduced in official documents to landschap, as soon as the district had been recognised as self-governing and, in proof of this, the so-called ‘Short Declaration’ regulating its relationship to the Netherlands Indies Government had been signed by the oelèëbalang.” The Declaration was thus both recognition and regulation: by signing it, the chief was acknowledged as zelfbestuurder of his territory, while his relationship to the colonial government was fixed. In exchange for Dutch protection of his territorial authority, the chief accepted the supervisory powers of the Gouvernement.
De Buitenbezittingen mentions the Korte Verklaring at every decisive turn of its survey of native administration — from the recognition of the oelèëbalangs of Groot-Atjeh to the reorganisation of the Alaslanden after the Colonne van Daalen of 1904. The handbook distinguishes carefully between those who signed and those who did not: in Groot-Atjeh all recognised oelèëbalangs were zelfbestuurders, having signed the Declaration; so too were the keudjeuroeëns of the Westkust and the various chiefs of Tamiang after the transfer of Langkat’s rights in 1878. In the Alaslanden, each landschapshoofd signed his own Declaration — and a new compact was issued whenever a chief moved his seat, as when the Kédjoerön of Batoe Mboelan moved to Poeloe Nas in 1914 and “in dat jaar eene nieuwe Korte Verklaring heeft geteekend voor het landschap Poeloe Nas.” Among the Gajö lands, by contrast, the chief’s signature had to be supplemented by recognition of the genealogical stamhoofden, who had no individual territory of their own.
Judicial consequences
The Declaration was not merely symbolic: it defined the jurisdiction of the landschapshoofd. De Buitenbezittingen records that in the Onderhoorigheden, native justice was exercised by: district heads; landschapshoofden who had signed the Korte Verklaring; and the indigenous courts (moesapats, in Singkel rapat’s), composed of the landschapshoofden who had signed the Declaration. Only signatory chiefs could thus sit on the moesapat — the native bench — alongside the bestuurder der onderafdeeling. The Declaration was accordingly the constitutional foundation of the chief’s judicial as well as administrative role.
Account from De Buitenbezittingen (1917) — The 1899 reform
The Encyclopaedisch Bureau frames the introduction of the Korte Verklaring in 1899 as a response to the inadequacy of the older politieke contracten for the post-pacification order: “until 1899 the regulation of the relationship of the Zelfbesturen to the Gouvernement generally found its expression in the detailed political contracts (omstandige politieke contracten) concluded between the two parties, in which the principles to be observed in the governance of the landschappen, as well as the mutual rights, obligations, and competences, were set out.”
The Bureau notes that “since that year a different path has been taken, since such a detailed regulation was misplaced and incomprehensible for many of the less significant zelfbesturen, and the actual promotion of the development of land and people, as well as the raising of those landschappen and their rulers to the level they must come to occupy in our system of administration, in many cases required a deeper and more powerful intervention of our administration in the affairs of the said landschappen than the political contracts had hitherto given the Gouvernement authority to do.”
The content of the Korte Verklaring is summarised by the Bureau as: “a declaration to be made by them [the native rulers] and to be approved and confirmed by the Gouvernement — the so-called Korte Verklaring — which, alongside the recognition of Dutch supremacy and the promise to abstain from political contacts with foreign powers, otherwise only contains the promise to comply with and enforce all regulations issued or declared applicable by the Gouvernement for the landschap, and to obey in general all orders given to them by or on behalf of the Governor-General or his representative.”
The landschappen still governed by older detailed political contracts were a small and declining minority — primarily the larger Sumatran and Bornean sultanates (Asahan, Deli, Koela, Langkat, Pelalawan, Serdang, Siak Sri Indrapoera, Landak, Mampawa, Matan, Pontianak, Sambas, Sanggau, Tajan, Koetei, Laiwoei, Bima, Dompo, Sanggar, Soembawa). By contrast, “the rulers of all other landschappen, in total about 306 in number, signed the Korte Verklaring.” The Korte Verklaring regime was, in 1914, formally codified by the Zelfbestuurs-ordonnantie (Stbl. 1914 No. 24).
Application beyond Aceh
When Van Heutsz became Governor-General in 1904, he extended the Korte Verklaring to other troubled regions, including Boni (Celebes), Bali, and parts of Borneo, where it served as a quick means to establish Dutch authority and impose a new administrative framework, including the creation of landschapskassen (regional treasuries).
Controversy and criticism
Article 3 drew intense criticism from both conservative and progressive quarters. Conservative critics argued that it destroyed the traditional autonomy of the native rulers and reduced them to salaried officials; liberal and ethical critics claimed that it violated the spirit of the 1854 Regeeringsreglement, which promised to respect indigenous institutions. Van Heutsz consistently defended the declaration, insisting in a letter to Minister Fock (1907) that it did not abolish the ruler’s position but provided a legal basis for government intervention when necessary:
“Van het te niet doen van alle rechten der Inlandsche bestuurders, in dien zin dat na het afleggen der verklaring met die bestuurders in het geheel geen rekening meer behoeft te worden gehouden, behoort m.i. ook onder het stelsel der korte verklaring geen sprake te zijn.”
In Aceh specifically, its rigid application under Van Daalen in ways Van Heutsz had not intended contributed to the abuses that led to the Atjéh-enquête and Van Daalen’s removal. The declaration had been devised to support and guide chiefs; Van Daalen used it as a framework for fines, arbitrary dismissals, and coercion.
Later developments
In 1914 the government issued the Zelfbestuursordonnantie to clarify the practical use of the Korte Verklaring and prevent arbitrary intervention, later replaced by the Zelfbestuursregelen of 1919 and 1927, though the core principle of unconditional recognition of Dutch sovereignty remained intact. In 1938, following a shift towards decentralisation, many previously subordinated self-governing territories on Bali and elsewhere were restored to their traditional status, but the Korte Verklaring itself was never formally abolished. In the broader history of the Aceh War, the declaration exemplifies the tension between military pacification and civil governance: a powerful instrument for establishing order when correctly applied, and a vehicle for abuse when wielded without the conciliatory intent its designer had envisaged.
Account from Dispereert Niet Vol. XI (1946) — Korte Verklaring
The Korte Verklaring (Short Declaration) was a legal instrument used by the Dutch colonial administration to formalize relations with local rulers in Aceh and other parts of the Netherlands East Indies after the pacification campaigns of J. B. van Heutsz. It replaced earlier lengthy agreements with a simple three-point declaration of submission.
The Three Points
The Korte Verklaring required local rulers to acknowledge:
- That their territory was part of the Netherlands East Indies
- That they would not have relations with any foreign power
- That they would obey all regulations and orders issued by the Dutch government
Purpose
The Korte Verklaring was designed to:
- Avoid the lengthy and complex treaty negotiations of the past
- Prevent the use of treaties by local rulers as a source of leverage against the Dutch
- Establish unambiguous sovereignty without entangling legal obligations
Use in Aceh
In Aceh, the Korte Verklaring was applied after the submission of Panglima Polem and other leaders. It was the instrument by which nominal Dutch authority was replaced with effective control.
Account from Kreemer’s Atjèh (1923) — The korte Atjèhverklaring
In his Atjèh (1923), J. Kreemer gives the Atjèh-specific form of the declaration its own name — the korte Atjèhverklaring — to distinguish it from the later “uniform model” extended to the buitengewesen. Kreemer attributes the drafting jointly to Van Heutsz and Dr. Snouck Hurgronje after 1898, in succession to two earlier, longer declarations that the new short form displaced.
The three articles
The three articles of the korte Atjèhverklaring, as Kreemer records them, were:
- The zelfbestuurder recognised Dutch sovereignty.
- The zelfbestuurder agreed not to engage foreign powers.
- The zelfbestuurder promised to follow all regulations and orders from the governor.
Replacement of earlier declarations
The Korte Verklaring replaced, in Kreemer’s account, two earlier instruments:
- The 6-article declaration — issued by luitenant-generaal Van Swieten on 31 January 1874 after the kraton conquest, declaring the Sultan dead and inviting submission.
- The 18-article declarations (verklaringen in achttien artikelen) — made by landschapshoofden after 1877, ceding opium, gambling, and import/export rights to the Government with schadeloosstelling (compensation). Article 5 (no new taxes without consultation), Article 6 (import/export rights), Article 7 (opium), Article 8 (former sultan’s tax share), and Article 15 (no land grants without consultation) are singled out by Kreemer as the principal cessions of this longer form.
The uniform model and the Zelfbestuursregelen 1919
The Korte Verklaring of Atjèh was later replaced by the “uniform model Korte Verklaring,” standardising the declaration across the buitengewesen (outer territories). The Zelfbestuursregelen 1919 (Stbl. 1919 N°. 822) further redefined the relationship between the Land (State) and the Zelfbesturen (self-governing territories); after its promulgation, all concession rights — mining, agricultural, and forestry — were removed from short-declaration zelfbesturen.
Notable signatories in Atjèh
In Atjèh, the Korte Verklaring was signed by many landschapshoofden. Kreemer records two notable signatories:
- Këdjoeroen Bidin of Gajö Loeüs, who signed on 9 November 1903 in Koeta Radja.
- The Zelfbestuurder of Troemon, who signed in 1911.
Mr. H. J. Spit’s critique
Mr. H. J. Spit, in his proefschrift De Indische zelfbesturende landschappen (p. 10), discussed the third article of the Korte Verklaring, which required the zelfbestuurder to follow all regulations and orders from the governor — a potentially far-reaching obligation that was in practice limited by the principle of self-rule.
Account from Schets eener parlementaire geschiedenis (1955)
The following account is drawn from the parliamentary history of the Dutch Second Chamber as narrated by Vermeulen in the colonial section of the 1955 fourth revised edition of Rengers’s *Schets*.
The Korte verklaring — the “short declaration” — was the administrative instrument drawn up by Van Heutsz “in samenwerking met Snouck Hurgronje” (in cooperation with Snouck Hurgronje) and required of submitted chiefs in the buitengewesten (outer territories). The declaration, whose three points bound the signatory to recognise his territory as part of Nederlandsch-Indië, to be loyal to the Queen and the governor-general, and to comply with all regulations and orders, was eventually signed by 261 chiefs of self-governing territories.
The three points
The source records that the korte verklaring contained three points:
- Recognition of sovereignty: the chief declared “dat zijn landschap een gedeelte uitmaakt van Nederlands Indië” (that his territory forms a part of the Netherlands Indies).
- Loyalty: the chief declared “dat hij trouw zou zijn aan H. M. de Koningin der Nederlanden en aan de Gouverneur-Generaal als Hoogstderzelver vertegenwoordiger” (that he would be loyal to H. M. the Queen of the Netherlands and to the Governor-General as their highest representative).
- Compliance: the chief declared “dat hij zou nakomen en handhaven alle regelingen, die met betrekking tot zijn landschap toepasselijk zouden worden verklaard en in het algemeen alle bevelen van de Gouverneur-Generaal of diens vertegenwoordiger zou opvolgen” (that he would comply with and maintain all regulations that should be declared applicable to his territory, and in general would follow all orders of the Governor-General or his representative).
The 261 signatories
The source records that “Deze korte verklaring is door 261 hoofden van zelfbesturende landschappen in de buitengewesten getekend” (This short declaration has been signed by 261 chiefs of self-governing territories in the outer territories). The source adds a parenthetical: “(Enige van deze landschappen, in ‘t bizonder op Timor en omliggende eilanden, zijn niet groter dan een dorp.)” (Some of these territories, particularly on Timor and surrounding islands, are no larger than a village.)
The longer contracts
The source records that “Zogenaamde lange contracten zijn gesloten met de Susuhunan van Surakarta en de Sultan van Jogjakarta, met de sultans en vorsten ter Oostkust van Sumatra, en met enkele sultans en vorsten op Borneo en in de residentie Timor” (So-called long contracts have been concluded with the Susuhunan of Surakarta and the Sultan of Jogjakarta, with the sultans and princes on the East Coast of Sumatra, and with some sultans and princes on Borneo and in the residency of Timor). The long contracts are the more elaborate instruments required of the principal surviving princes of the archipelago.
The Mankunegara and Paku Alam contracts
The source records that “Met de hoofden van het Mankunegarose en Paku Alamse huis op Java zijn contracten gesloten, die staatsrechtelijk als korte verklaringen kunnen worden beschouwd” (With the chiefs of the Mankunegara and Paku Alam houses on Java contracts have been concluded that, in constitutional law, can be considered as short declarations).
Significance
The korte verklaring is, in the source’s narrative, the principal administrative instrument of the post-1904 consolidation of Dutch authority in the buitengewesten. The 261 signatories include the submitted chiefs of the Atjeh en Onderhorigheden and of the other post-1890s consolidated territories of the archipelago.
Origin
Van Heutsz’s guiding principle was embodied in the practical application of article 67 of the Regeeringsreglement: “so far as circumstances permit, the native population is left under the immediate direction of its own chiefs, appointed or recognised by the Government.” Out of that article arose the Korte Verklaring (“Short Declaration”).
Colijn is named by du Croo as “the father of the Short Declaration and of the Memorandum on Political Policy and Administrative Care in the Outer Possessions, the right hand of Van Heutsz.”
Text
The Korte Verklaring (“Short Declaration”) was short and forceful. In it the zelfbestuur declared:
- (a) that the landschap concerned forms part of Netherlands India and consequently stands under the sovereignty of the Netherlands;
- (b) that the zelfbestuur will therefore always be faithful to Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands and to His Excellency the Governor-General as Her Highest Representative;
- (c) that the zelfbestuur will not place itself in any contact whatever with foreign powers;
and of which the last article ran: “that I (the self-governing ruler) shall observe and uphold all regulations which, with regard to (name of the territory), have been or shall be laid down or declared applicable by or on behalf of the Queen of the Netherlands, or by the Governor-General of the Netherlands Indies or His representative, and that I shall in general obey all orders that have been or shall be given me by or on behalf of the Governor-General or His representative.”
Snouck Hurgronje’s assessment
The father of the doctrine judged the short contract with the self-governing rulers as follows:
“At the conclusion of such agreements it is only a few articles that attract the attention of the self-governing rulers, such as those fixing their incomes, or disposing of the revenues of their territory. For the rest, the contract is for them simply the form in which they declare their subordination to the Government; they know very well that the degree of that subordination never depends on the content of those articles, but rather on the manner in which the administration knows how to make its will respected.”
“Therefore those agreements must be as concise as possible in form, but must above all contain in general terms the promise of the self-governing rulers to govern their territory according to the views of the government, as these shall gradually be made clear to them by the officials designated in the contract. This last may, according to circumstances, be done by oral orders (where continual contact with the self-government makes this easy), or partly by written instructions.”
Van Hulstijn summarised its double effect: it was a formula “which on the one hand guaranteed a state of affairs equivalent to the introduction of direct rule, yet moderated the consequences of our intervention, and on the other offered an unsought opportunity to leave a great part of the administrative task in the hands of the existing native organisations.”
Lulofs’s caution
C. Lulofs underlined a highly important principle: this flexible and practically manageable agreement did indeed give the Government the power to regulate everything, “but that power must and shall be used sparingly, because otherwise our interference becomes too intensive — it was precisely to prevent that growing intensity that the indirect form of government was chosen.”
“Does the government take,” Lulofs wrote, “het zelfbestuur (“self-government”) den wetgevenden arbeid uit handen, dan wordt dit laatste binnen steeds enger wordend arbeidsveld terug gedrongen instede van ontwikkeld te worden, whereas one of the very reasons for choosing the indirect form was the recognition that the children of the land must be given a greater and greater share in the government of their country, at least as far as its internal management is concerned.”
Application
With the Korte Verklaring (“Short Declaration”) the “Sesam opent U!” was applied at an ever-quickening tempo, faster as confidence in Dutch strength increased: Djambi, Korintji, Midden Sumatra and the South and East Division of Borneo opened the series. As soon as van Heutsz took office as Governor-General in 1904, supported by the minister of Colonies Idenburg, the tempo was accelerated further, so that on his retirement he could acknowledge with satisfaction that the task was accomplished and Sumatra wholly brought under Dutch authority.
H. N. A. Swart implemented the Korte Verklaring system as Civil and Military Governor of Celebes in 1906–1908, and worked within it in Atjeh, where by 1927 there were, on his own testimony, at least a hundred self-governing bodies.
Significance (du Croo, 1943)
The Korte Verklaring (“Short Declaration”) was the legal instrument of the whole opening of the Buitengewesten and thereby of the end of the policy of non-intervention. It settled a struggle, in du Croo’s phrase, “between, on the one hand, exploitation coupled with abstention and, on the other, the principle that chose education, responsibility and the exercise of authority throughout the whole territory as its guideline.”
Account from Vijftig jaren economische staatkunde in Atjeh (1923)
The Korte verklaring (“short declaration”) was the three-article instrument introduced by Governor Johannes van Heutsz in 1898 to replace the older verklaring van 18 artikelen (“declaration of 18 articles”) presented for signature to the landscape chiefs of Atjeh and Onderhoorigheden, binding them simply to obedience to all orders of the provincial government — the form upon which the pretender-sultan gave his submission, and the seed of the later empire-wide Short Declaration policy.
From eighteen articles to three
“De bestaande ‘verklaring van 18 artikelen’, die den landschapshoofden ter teekening werden aangeboden, werd vervangen door de z.g. ‘korte verklaring’ in drie artikelen, waardoor die hoofden verplicht werden tot gehoorzaamheid aan alle bevelen van het Gewestelijk bestuur” — “the existing declaration of 18 articles, which was presented to the landscape chiefs for signature, was replaced by the so-called short declaration in three articles, whereby those chiefs were obliged to obedience to all commands of the Provincial government”. In the same first year of his government Van Heutsz showed on both the political and the economic field that “another spirit was abroad”, and the Dependencies soon felt the favourable results: roads and bridges were built, a telephone connection over the watershed came about with Sigli and further along the North Coast, and “the bureaucratic rule made place for a régime of works and of deeds”.
Wider significance
Author Joh. Langhout writes that it is due to the initiative and the unbroken cooperation of Governor Van Heutsz and Dr. C. Snouck Hurgronje that a wholly changed policy regarding the self-governing territories gradually developed in the whole of the Indies; he quotes the words of H. Colijn: “Men had het middel gevonden om de gevolgen van een onvermijdelijk geworden optreden te matigen, door niet over te gaan tot de invoering van een rechtstreeksch bestuur en toch een daarmede overeenkomenden toestand te verkrijgen” — “one had found the means to temper the consequences of an action that had become unavoidable, by not proceeding to the introduction of a direct administration and yet obtaining a state of affairs corresponding therewith”. The submission of the pretender-sultan was signed on the form of the short declaration; upon that signature depended Van Heutsz’s contested pledge never to banish the signer from Atjeh.
Account from Atjeh als land voor handel en bedrijf (1925)
Korte Verklaring (Short Declaration) was contract in 3 articles introduced by Netherlands government 1899 replacing long contract 18 articles to seal submission of oeléëbalang.
Example Peudawa Rajeu
Teukoe Habib Moehamat bin Sajet Oesoeir oeléëbalang Peudawa Rajeu signed Korte Verklaring in 3 articles in 1899 replacing long contract 18 articles.
Similarly Tengkoe Abdoel Hamid Orangkaja Sri Maharadja Mangkoe Boemi mbaharadja Lho Seumawe signed in 1904.
See Also
- 1938
- G. C. E. van Daalen
- Troemon
- Pacificatie van Atjeh
- Zelfbesturen
- Atjéh-enquête
- 1919
- Gajo Loeës
- Verklaringen in achttien artikelen
- Boni
- Aceh War
- Tamiang
- 1878 Langkat–Tamiang Transfer
- 1899
- Panglima Polem
- 1911
- Gouvernement Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden
- Sarakata
- Alaslanden
- Buitenbezittingen
- J. van Swieten
- Politieke Contracten
- Anglo-Dutch Treaty of London (1824)
- Këdjoeroen Bidin
- 1914
- Oelèëbalang
- Idenburg
- 1904
- 1927
- C. Snouck Hurgronje
- 1878
- Koeta-Radja
- Fock
- 1907
- 1874
- Keudjeuroeën
- Sultans of Atjeh
- J. B. van Heutsz
- Poeloe Nas
- 1877
- 1898
- H. N. A. Swart
- Zelfbestuurs-ordonnantie
- 1903
- Groot-Atjeh
- Bali
- Moesapat
- Zelfbestuursregelen 1919
- H. J. Spit
- J. Kreemer
- Atjeh en Onderhorigheden
- Buitengewesten
- Atjehoorlog
- Nederlandsch-Indië
- J. B. van Heutsz
- Dr. C. Snouck Hurgronje
- Hendrikus Colijn
- Joannes Benedictus van Heutsz
- Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje
- Zelfbestuur
- Opening der Buitengewesten
- Non-interventiepolitiek
- Regeeringsreglement
- C. Lulofs
- P. van Hulstijn
- Submission and banishment of the pretender-Sultan
- Government of Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden
- Pacification of Atjeh
- Peudawa Rajeu
- Lho Seumawe
- Uleebalang
Account from Land en Volk van Atjeh Vroeger en Nu
Three-article political contract between the Dutch government and the zelfbestuurders of self-governing landschappen, replacing the longer souvereiniteitsverklaring. The Atjeh version, the ‘korte Atjeh-verklaring’ (1898), designed by Van Heutsz and Snouck Hurgronje, became the ‘uniform model korte verklaring’ for most of the rest of Nederlandsch-Indië, with minor local modifications.
Source: J. Jongejans, Land en Volk van Atjeh Vroeger en Nu (Baarn: Hollandia Drukkerij N.V., c. 1938), pp. 332, 338.
Source
De Buitenbezittingen, Deel II, Aflevering 2: Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden, bewerkt door het Encyclopaedisch Bureau, Mededeelingen van het Bureau voor de Bestuurszaken der Buitenbezittingen (Weltevreden: Landsdrukkerij, 1917), pp. 44–45, 122.
J. B. van Heutsz als Gouverneur Generaal 1904-1909, by J. C. Lamster (Amsterdam: P. N. van Kampen & Zoon N.V., 1938), pp. 46–47, 49, 173–177. Rijksarchief, Den Haag.
“Dispereert Niet: Twintig Eeuwen Historie van de Nederlanden”, Deel XI, by A. Algra and H. Algra (Franeker: T. Wever, 1946).
De Buitenbezittingen 1904 tot 1914, Deel I, bewerkt door het Encyclopaedisch Bureau, Mededeelingen van het Bureau voor de Bestuurszaken der Buitenbezittingen, Aflevering X (Weltevreden: Landsdrukkerij, 1917), pp. 5–7 (section “Bestuurs-organisatie”).
Atjèh. Algemeen samenvattend overzicht van land en volk van Atjèh en onderhoorigheden, door J. Kreemer, Archivaris van het Atjèh Instituut. Tweede Deel. Leiden: N.V. Boekhandel en Drukkerij voorheen E.J. Brill, 1923. Identifier: Delpher MMKB02B:000001798; PPN 395084288. Koninklijke Bibliotheek.
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), pp. 218-219.
Generaal Swart, Pacificator van Atjeh (“General Swart, Pacifier of Atjeh”), by M. H. du Croo, Colonel K.N.I.L. (retired), with the collaboration of H. J. Schmidt, Titular Colonel K.N.I.L. (retired), with a foreword by His Excellency Lieutenant-General K.N.I.L. (retired) G. K. Dijkstra (Maastricht: N.V. Leiter-Nypels, 1943), Chapter V, pp. 34–35.
Vijftig jaren economische staatkunde in Atjeh, by Joh. Langhout (The Hague: N.V. Boekhandel v/h W. P. van Stockum & Zoon, 1923), pp. 80–81.
Atjeh als land voor handel en bedrijf, by Dr. R. Broersma, Gebrs. Cohen, Utrecht, 1925, pp. 39-40, 56.
Land en Volk van Atjeh Vroeger en Nu, by J. Jongejans, Oud-Resident van het Gewest Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden, with a foreword by Dr. H. Colijn (Baarn: Hollandia Drukkerij N.V., c. 1938), pp. 332, 338.