Van Swieten declares the Aceh War ended (1874) was the public pronouncement delivered by opperbevelhebber Jan van Swieten in his afscheidsrede (farewell address) of 23 April 1874 in the conquered Kraton of Atjeh — five days before his departure — opening with the famous words: “Mijne heeren, ik beschouw den oorlog met Atjeh als geëindigd” (Gentlemen, I consider the war with Atjeh to be at an end). Borel records that the speech “maakte op zijne toehoorders bepaald een pijnlijken indruk” — made a distinctly painful impression on its hearers — and offers the lapidary verdict: “qui veut trop prouver, ne prouve rien.”
The Address
The afscheidsrede was delivered on 23 April 1874 in the great hall of the Kraton, which since the fall of 24 January 1874 had been converted into the Dutch hoofdplaats of Kota Radja. The assembled officers expected a valedictory review of the campaign, a tribute to the troops, and a handing-over of command to kolonel Pel. Van Swieten did indeed praise the “dapperheid, ijver en volharding” of the troops. Then came the famous opening: “Mijne heeren, ik beschouw den oorlog met Atjeh als geëindigd.”
The Argument
To support the declaration, van Swieten offered a series of optimistic reasons. The enemy was, he insisted, “geheel verslagen en ontmoedigd” — completely defeated and discouraged. The bevolking lacked wapens, munitie, kleederen and “zelfs aan de voornaamste levensbehoeften zooals rijst, zout.” The Atjehnees trade was vernietigd. The coastal vazal-staten — among them the radja van Gigieng — had accepted the Dutch flag. On these grounds van Swieten concluded that the war was over. He promised the troops that they would have nothing more to do but rust; Kota Radja would become “eene aangename gezellige garnizoensplaats” — a pleasant and convivial garrison town.
The Reaction
The speech, Borel records, “maakte op zijne toehoorders bepaald een pijnlijken indruk.” The officers who had fought the Mesigit on 6 January 1874 at a cost of 220 dood en gekwetsten, who had endured the daylight raid on Penajoeng of 13 January, who had seen the échec above the Kraton of 29 January and the futile expeditions to Bital and Ketapang Doewa of February, knew that the enemy was far from “geheel verslagen.” Three days later, on 16 April 1874, came the noodlottige échec at Lampoe Oek, with nearly a hundred Dutch dead and wounded. The speech, Borel remarks, was made in defiance of the most recent intelligence from the field. The lapidary verdict — “qui veut trop prouver, ne prouve rien” — captures the reaction of the audience: nobody believed him.
The Programme
What followed the speech was the practical application of the doctrine it proclaimed. Van Swieten “stak het zwaard voor goed in de scheede” — for good sheathed the sword — and applied the afwachtende houding. “Geen vechten meer met den vijand, maar werken met schop en spade” — no more fighting with the enemy, but work with spade and shovel. Excess troops were removed: the Javaansche hulptroepen of Mangkoe Negoro and Pakoe Alam were sent back to Java, along with a veld-batterij. The vesting-artillerie and the achterlaadkanonnen of 12 c.M. — the best geschut the Dutch had — were shipped back with them. Work began on a vierkante gehastionneerde redoute at Penajoeng, on the improvement of the marine-benteng, and on the conversion of the Kraton into a permanent hoofdplaats. Within three days van Swieten had boarded the Prins Alexander der Nederlanden and departed. The first bitter fruit of the new system would be plucked the very morning of his departure.
See Also
- Second Aceh Expedition (1873–1874)
- Van Swieten’s afscheidsrede (1874)
- Departure of Jan van Swieten from Atjeh (April 1874)
- Battle of Lampoe Oek (16 April 1874)
- Desecration of Dutch graves at Lampoeloe (1874)
- Afwachtende houding
- Jan van Swieten
- Generaal Pel
- Mangkoe Negoro
- Pakoe Alam
- Vesting-artillerie in Atjeh
- Achterlaadkanonnen van 12 c.M.
- 1874
Source
Onze vestiging in Atjeh, critisch beschreven, by G. F. W. Borel, Kapitein der Artillerie. ‘s-Gravenhage: D. A. Thieme, 1878. pp. 48, 54, 58, 68–77.