Jonckbloet Note of 10 May 1873 was an influential colonial policy memorandum authored by Dutch politician and commentator W. J. A. Jonckbloet on 10 May 1873, published as Annex A to the Parliamentary Report on the East Indies Budget extension for 1873.
Content and Critique of the First Expedition
Written immediately following the retreat of the First Aceh Expedition from Kraton of Aceh, the Jonckbloet Note of 10 May 1873 provided a scathing critique of the assumptions underlying the spring 1873 campaign. The note famously observed that the Dutch East Indies Government had attempted to conquer the Aceh Sultanate “with a coup de théâtre,” expecting immediate capitulation without preparing for serious Acehnese resistance.
Historiographical Significance
General G. G. Booms prominently cited the Jonckbloet Note of 10 May 1873 in his 1875 defense of army commanders General J. H. R. Köhler and General E. C. van Daalen. By quoting W. J. A. Jonckbloet, Booms proved that contemporary observers in May 1873 recognized that the primary causes of the expedition’s failure lay in defective governmental planning, poor intelligence, and overhasty timing rather than tactical mistakes by the military leadership.
See Also
- 1873
- W. J. A. Jonckbloet
- G. G. Booms
- J. H. R. Köhler
- E. C. van Daalen
- First Aceh Expedition
- Dutch East Indies Government
Source
Over de eerste expeditie tegen Atjeh: Een antwoord aan Generaal de Stuers, G. G. Booms, ‘s-Gravenhage: A. van Hoogstraten & Zoon, 1875, pp. 6-9.