Van Swieten’s Letter on Civilized Warfare was the second of two letters dispatched by Lieutenant-General Van Swieten to Sultan Mahmud Shah on 1 December 1873, during the Second Aceh Expedition. While the first letter of the same date set out the Dutch peace terms modelled on the Siak treaty, this second letter proposed a mutual agreement to observe the usages of civilized warfare — specifically, the humane treatment of prisoners, the protection of non-combatants including religious figures and medical personnel, and the respectful burial of the dead according to Islamic custom. It was one of the earliest formal Dutch attempts to establish rules of engagement with an Acehnese adversary and was notable for its explicit recognition of Islamic religious practice.
Context
The letter was written from the Dutch headquarters after the landing at Kwala Loë on 9 December 1873 and the subsequent advance to Penajoeng. Van Swieten, having failed to elicit any response from the Sultan to his earlier proposals, sought to establish — even in the midst of hostilities — a framework for humanitarian conduct that would distinguish the Dutch from the Acehnese and, he hoped, create the conditions for eventual negotiation.
Key Provisions
The letter opened with an affirmation of the shared duty of “civilized nations who worship the one God and obey His laws” to observe certain humanitarian principles even in war. Van Swieten then proposed specific undertakings:
Regarding prisoners and non-combatants: “I promise Your Highness that no harm will be done to Acehnese who might become my prisoners of war, that they will be provided with food and necessities, and that if wounded, they will be cared for alongside my wounded and sick.”
Regarding women and children: “I promise that no harm will be done to women and children, nor to men who conduct themselves peacefully.”
Regarding the dead: “I promise also that your dead will be buried in accordance with the religious customs of Islam, by a Mohammedan priest who is attached to my army for that purpose.”
Regarding reciprocity: “In return, I ask and request Your Highness to likewise honour our dead and bury them in a fitting manner, that no harm be done to Dutch soldiers when they are made prisoners by you, but that they be exchanged for an equal number of Acehnese, and that no harm be done to the civilian persons, clergy, and physicians who are in my army with a humanitarian purpose.”
Regarding parlementaires: “Furthermore, I request Your Highness to give orders that no harm be done to my envoys, but that they be treated courteously and their letters received and read, just as I in turn will do with those of Your Highness — for how could we come to deliberation and negotiations if the lives of our envoys were not safe and their persons not sacred?”
Van Swieten concluded: “There must after all once be opened negotiations between Your Highness and the Government which I represent, and a treaty of peace concluded. When we have conducted the war in a civilized manner, the peace will be more durable and the mutual trust greater.”
The Sultan’s Silence
The letter was carried into the Acehnese lines by the native emissary Mas Soemo Widikdjo, who was charged with delivering both letters of 1 December 1873. Neither the letter nor the envoy returned. When on 2 January 1874, Van Swieten addressed his ultimatum to the Sultan, he specifically asked: “What have you done with my envoy MANTRIE MAS SOEMOE WIDIKDJO, a man of standing and advanced years?”
The Sultan’s silence, and the disappearance of Mas Soemo Widikdjo, confirmed the Dutch command in their belief that the overture had been rejected — and that the emissary had been killed or detained.
Significance
The letter of 1 December 1873 is significant for several reasons:
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Early articulation of the laws of war in a colonial context: It represents one of the earliest formal Dutch attempts to establish humanitarian rules of engagement with a non-European adversary in the East Indies.
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Recognition of Islamic practice: By promising that the dead would be buried by a Muslim priest according to Islamic custom, Van Swieten explicitly acknowledged and respected the religious practices of the adversary — a gesture that was both humanitarian and diplomatic.
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The principle of reciprocity: The letter’s insistence on mutual observance — that both sides treat prisoners, non-combatants, and the dead with respect — established a framework for reciprocity that Van Swieten regarded as essential to the eventual conclusion of peace.
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The fate of the parlementair: The letter’s specific request for the safety of envoys, and the subsequent disappearance of Mas Soemo Widikdjo, became a central element in Van Swieten’s justification for the hardening of the Dutch position and the subsequent bombardment of Pedir.
See Also
- Jan van Swieten
- Sultan Aladin Mahmoed Shah
- Mas Soemo Widikdjo
- Van Swieten’s Dagorder (20 November 1873)
- Van Swieten’s Ultimatum to the Sultan (2 January 1874)
- The Death of Mas Soemo Widikdjo (January 1874)
- Aceh War
Source
De waarheid over onze vestiging in Atjeh, door den Luitenant-Generaal J. van Swieten, Zalt-Bommel, Joh. Noman en Zoon, [1879], Bijlage D, pp. 471–472.