The Treaty of 30 March 1857 with the Sultan of Aceh (Dutch: Tractaat van 30 Maart 1857) was the treaty concluded at Atjeh between the Netherlands-Indian government and the sultan of Atjeh by the major-general Van Swieten, then governor of Sumatra’s Westkust, and ratified by the Governor-General on 9 May 1857, following the negotiations opened in 1856 by the official J. F. Nieuwenhuizen. The treaty provided for “bestendige vrede, vriendschap en goede verstandhouding” between the two realms, free intercourse for the subjects of either, and the rights of the most-favoured nation. It became a dead letter almost at once, because the sultan lacked the authority to make his subordinate chiefs observe its stipulations.
Background
After the tractaat of 1824 the Dutch had engaged, in the supplementary notes exchanged by the British plenipotentiaries, to “regulate the relations with Atjeh on a regular footing, so that this state, without losing anything of its independence, should offer that continual safety to the navigator and trader which does not seem to be able to be established there except by the moderate exercise of the influence of a European power.” The realisation of these promises in practice proved “fairly well impracticable.” The maintenance of safety in the waters of Atjeh was hardly compatible with the condition that no hostile measures against Atjeh might be taken, and that this state was to lose nothing of its independence. The consequence was that “practically nothing was done for the maintenance of safety, and the piracy of the Atjehers went its way undisturbed, both with respect to Dutch and to foreign ships.”
When at last there came to be danger that foreign powers would themselves secure their rights and perhaps establish themselves permanently in Atjeh, the Dutch government felt the necessity of doing something for the maintenance of safety, and in 1855 and following years warships were sent to the Acehnese waters. In 1856 the official J. F. Nieuwenhuizen opened negotiations; in 1857 Van Swieten, then major-general and governor of Sumatra’s Westkust, brought the treaty to a conclusion.
The Text of the Treaty
The treaty provided that there should be “bestendige vrede, vriendschap en goede verstandhouding” between the two realms, that the mutual subjects should have free intercourse, and that the rights of the most-favoured nation should be exercised in each other’s territory. Art. 4 further provided:
“The Netherlands-Indian government and His Highness the Sultan of Atjeh further agree to watch strictly and with all their means that there be no pirates or slave-raiders in their territory or in other lands where they have influence. From both sides this shall be counteracted and the one who commits such acts shall be punished. From both sides no hiding-place or protection shall be given to any one involved in such things, nor to his vessel. From both sides it shall not be permitted that persons, vessels or goods taken by pirates be brought within their territory or offered for sale there.”
The close of art. 6 read: “The one who robs stranded ships or vessels, or who maltreats shipwrecked persons, or refuses them proper help, shall certainly be severely punished.” Art. 7 finally: “His Highness the Sultan of Atjeh binds himself to recognise the governor of Sumatra’s Westkust as the representative of His Excellency the Governor-General of Netherlands India, and to address him in all matters in which, with a view to mutual interest, contact is necessary.”
Failure
“The paper proved again to be patient.” Even if the sultan had been so well-disposed, he did not possess the necessary authority to ensure the maintenance of the stipulations by the subordinate chiefs. New cases of piracy or plundering of stranded ships continued to occur. On the other side the sultan felt burdened by the ever further-going extension of the Dutch along the west and east coasts of Sumatra, in the regions that he considered as falling under his territory; and here too the Dutch had continually to contend with Acehnese influence or Acehnese auxiliary troops. Above all, the tractaat of 1858 with the sultan of Siak, by which Siak with all its dependencies as far as the Tamiang river came under Dutch authority, led to continual difficulties and struggles in the lands of Tamiang, Asahan, Serdang and Batoe-Bara, which were only brought to a satisfactory end by the expedition of 1865.
Significance
The tractaat of 1857 did not advance matters much. The insecurity in the Acehnese waters remained as great as before, so great indeed that the Governor of the Straits Settlements in July 1870 issued a proclamation, “declaring that every ship that visited Sumatra’s north coast must itself bear the damage thereof, and could count on no protection from his government.” Only force could bring adequate improvement, and the use of force was forbidden by the tractaat of 1824. When in 1871 the Sumatra-tractaat with Britain released the Dutch from the British reservation, the way was open for the Atjeh-oorlog of 1873.
See Also
- J. van Swieten
- J. F. Nieuwenhuizen
- Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824
- Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1871
- Tractaat with Siak of 1858
- Article 4 of the Treaty of 1857 with Aceh
- Article 6 of the Treaty of 1857 with Aceh
- Article 7 of the Treaty of 1857 with Aceh
- Aceh War
- Siak
- Tamiang
- Sumatra’s Westkust
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. 4-5.