Van Daalen’s 1904 march through Gajo, Alas and Batak lands (1904) was an event in the history of Aceh recorded by Jongejan in Land en Volk van Atjeh Vroeger en Nu. Van Daalen, then a Majoor, made his famous march through Gajo, Alas and Batak lands in 1904.
Date and Context
The event is dated to 1904.
Account
Van Daalen, then a Majoor, made his famous march through Gajo, Alas and Batak lands in 1904. He encountered some heavily fortified kampongs (largely Gajo inhabitants) where fierce resistance was offered. Once the fortification Koetö Leugat Baroe fell, armed resistance was broken and most Alasser chiefs came to submit. Alassers had resisted less fiercely from the beginning than the Gajos. The ‘Van Daalen boom’ on the Gajoweg was a memorial to this march.
Significance
The event is recorded by Jongejan as part of the broader historical narrative of Aceh and the Atjeh conflict period. It illustrates the complex interplay of local Atjehers politics, Dutch colonial administration, and the religious and military leadership that shaped the region’s history.
See Also
Source
Land en Volk van Atjeh Vroeger en Nu, by J. Jongejans, Oud-Resident van het Gewest Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden, with a foreword by Dr. H. Colijn (Baarn: Hollandia Drukkerij N.V., c. 1938), pp. 78, 108.