Kroesen’s Letter to Toekoe Neq was a letter from the Dutch civil official Kroesen to Toekoe Neq Radja Moeda Setia, the panglima of the XXV Moekims, dated 7 January 1874. Written after the Dutch capture of the Missigit, the letter informed Toekoe Neq that the Dutch now controlled all the kampongs of the XXV sagie, invited the chiefs to submit, and warned that those who did not submit would face the destruction of their kampongs and plantations. The letter is notable for its blend of conciliation and threat, and for its practical offer of good prices for any Acehnese who wished to sell ducks, chickens, and fruit to the Dutch soldiers.
Full Text (translated)
“The reason I write you this letter is this. About ten days ago I received news from Malela that you did not dare to have a meeting with me as long as our troops were not yet in the Missigit. I give you notice therefore that the Missigit has been taken by the troops. I hope to meet you soon; a personal conversation is worth more than ten letters.
Furthermore I inform you that His Excellency the Supreme Commander intends to send out patrols from now on, in order to get to know the country. Be therefore so good as to remind your subordinates that, if they offer no resistance to our troops, they can quietly return to their respective dwellings, and that they should not flee at the arrival of our troops, for to inhabited houses no damage will be done, but the uninhabited we regard entirely as our property.
It seems expedient to us to inform the heads of the sagie XXV that we now have all the kampongs of that sagie in our power by the taking of the Missigit, that when they wish to submit they can come here, but that H.E. the Supreme Commander in the opposite case plans to destroy all the kampongs and plantations. They can now consider this.
And furthermore when there are people inclined to offer ducks, chickens, fruits etc. for sale, let them not be afraid to come; they can without doubt get good prices for their goods, for the soldiers are not short of money.
These are my words. Written on the 20th of the month Djoe’lhoedah of the year 1290 (7 January 1874).
(sd.) R. C. KROESEN.”
Significance
The letter illustrates the dual strategy of the Dutch during the consolidation phase: offer good terms to those who submit, threaten destruction to those who resist. The offer to buy produce at good prices was a practical measure designed to revive commerce and to demonstrate the material advantages of submission. The threat to destroy kampongs and plantations was the flip side — and Van Swieten’s critics later argued that it was this threat, not the conciliatory offer, that defined the true character of the Dutch policy.
See Also
Source
De waarheid over onze vestiging in Atjeh, door den Luitenant-Generaal J. van Swieten, Zalt-Bommel, Joh. Noman en Zoon, [1879], Bijlage G, pp. 475–476.