The Expedition to Deli of May-October 1872 was the Dutch military expedition against the rebellious Malay chiefs Datoe Ketjil and Datoe Djatil in the territory of the sultan of Deli on the east coast of Sumatra, undertaken at the request of the sultan and of the pangeran of Langkat to suppress a conspiracy among the Malay chiefs and Bataks to throw off the authority of both princes and to drive the Europeans from the country. The expedition preceded the Atjeh-oorlog by almost a year and was, in the source work’s view, “not wholly without connection” with the events in Atjeh.
Background
In the territory of the sultan of Deli on Sumatra’s east coast — a dependency of Siak lying south of the territory of Atjeh — there had been established, under the patronage of the sultan, since 1864 various agricultural enterprises, especially tobacco plantations, which by the profits they yielded gave rise to continually new establishments. By June 1871 contracts had been concluded for 20 enterprises, covering a territory of 17,900 bouws, in which more than 3,000 Chinese workmen were employed. In one of the five districts into which the state of Deli was divided, the voogd of the under-age head of Soenggal, Datoe Ketjil, opposed the establishment of the tobacco enterprises. In May 1872 he came into open revolt, having allied himself with his brother Datoe Djatil, who as head of Timbang Langkat tried to escape the authority of the sultan of Deli and of the pangeran of Langkat. Later it even appeared that there had been a conspiracy, in which nearly all the Malay chiefs and many Bataks were involved, to make themselves independent of both princes, to limit their territory to the coast, and to drive the Europeans from the country. The conspiracy failed because the two named datoes had begun hostilities too early.
The Expedition
On 14 May 14 May 1872 a small troop force of 5 officers and 135 rank-and-file, supported by the warships Banka and Den Briel at the roadstead, advanced against the revolted datoes and took their chief strongholds. The datoes opened negotiations, but when they let the time set on 19 June 19 June pass, the commander, Captain Koops, again advanced upon Sapoeroek and the nearby fortifications, which he took. As meanwhile his troop strength began to shrink, and the revolt continually assumed larger proportions, on 10 July 10 July a reinforcement of more than 400 men under Lieutenant-colonel Von Hombracht arrived, which could adequately protect the attacked plantations. In repeated expeditions he pursued the enemy into his hiding-places, although he met stubborn resistance at certain fortifications such as Laoe Potah, and forced the rebels to submission, so that by the end of October the rest was completely restored.
Significance
By decree of 15 May 15 May 1873 a reorganisation of the administration of Sumatra’s Oostkust was carried out, by which this was separated from the residency of Riouw and made into a separate residency. The expedition to Deli was, in the source work’s view, not wholly without connection with the events in Atjeh; both belonged to the wider pattern of Dutch expansion along the coasts of Sumatra, which the Sumatra-tractaat of 1871 had made possible.
See Also
- Deli
- Datoe Ketjil
- Datoe Djatil
- Sultan of Deli
- Pangeran of Langkat
- Soenggal
- Timbang Langkat
- Sapoeroek
- Laoe Potah
- Siak
- Sumatra’s Oostkust
- Riouw
- Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1871
- Batak War (1878)
- Aceh War
Source
De geschiedenis van Nederland in onzen tijd, by J. A. de Bruyne, Directeur der Hoogere Burgerschool te Zierikzee. Deel IV. 1872-1883. Nieuwe uitgave. Schiedam: J. F. Dupont, 1912, Hoofdstuk I, pp. 37-38.