Majoor Hamell — earlier in his career Kapitein Hamell — was an officer of the Dutch Marine Corps whose career spanned two of the principal amphibious operations of the late-eighteenth-century Netherlands Indies and Caribbean theatres. As a Captain he assumed command of the Wikkie-gebied after the death of Major Pusch during the Dutch suppression of the rebel uprising of the 1760s in the Wikkie-kreek region; as a Major he commanded the landing forces under Van Braam during the 1784 operations against Salangore and Riouw. His career exemplifies the trans-Atlantic and trans-Indian-Ocean reach of the Dutch Marine Corps in the late eighteenth century, linking Caribbean operations in the Berbice and Suriname region with later actions in the East Indies that bore on the Acehnese sphere of influence.
Early service: the Wikkie-gebied (1760s)
As Kapitein Hamell, he assumed command of the Wikkie-gebied after the death of Major Pusch, who had served as a major in the Dutch colonial forces stationed in the Wikkie-kreek region and whose death prompted a re-organisation of command. Kapitein Hamell served alongside Major De and Lieutenant-Colonel Douglas during the Dutch suppression of the rebel uprising of the 1760s — the major mid-eighteenth-century rebellion against the Dutch East India Company whose leaders Atta, Quacco, Baubé and Fortuyn were suppressed by the Dutch Marines in operations along the Wikkie-kreek. Hamell’s leadership contributed to the re-establishment of Dutch authority over the plantation zones of the colony.
The Salangore landing (1784)
By 1784, Hamell had risen to the rank of Major. As Majoor Hamell, he served under Van Braam during the operations against Salangore and Riouw. He commanded the landing forces on the morning of 18 June 1784 and later supervised the capture of enemy batteries on the western side of the town. On the night before the assault, Hamell received overall command of the landing from Van Braam. His troops, comprising 291 native soldiers and additional marines, embarked at three o’clock in the morning and successfully secured a foothold despite heavy enemy fire. Hamell’s battery was later engaged in a fierce fight at the royal palace of the local ruler, where the revered figure Radya Hadgè was killed.
Later service and rewards
After the campaign, Hamell fell ill in Malakka and was replaced by Kapitein-luitenant Van Hogendorp for the subsequent landing at Salangore. Upon his return to the Netherlands, Hamell was awarded 2 500 guilders for his service (see the reward list of 1786).
Legacy
Hamell’s career exemplifies the trans-Atlantic nature of Dutch colonial military service in the late eighteenth century, linking Caribbean operations (e.g., in Berbice and Suriname) with later actions in the East Indies, including engagements that affected the Acehnese sphere of influence. The same officer who, as a Captain, had helped suppress the 1760s rebellion in the Wikkie-gebied went on, as a Major, to command the amphibious forces at Salangore in 1784 — a career progression Captain → Major over roughly two decades that was unremarkable for a long-serving Marine Corps officer of the period.
See Also
- Jacob Pieter van Braam
- Salangore
- Riouw
- Radya Hadgè
- Kapitein-luitenant Van Hogendorp
- Luitenant Wisscher
- Maajoor Pusch
- Maajoor De
- Luitenant-Kolonel Douglas
- Wikkie-creek
- Berbice
- Suriname
- Rio de Berbice
- Dutch East India Company
- Dutch Marine Corps (1665–1945)
- 1760s
- 1784
- 1786
Sources
De geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Korps Mariniers van 1665-1945, OCR text (DLP-55: 20260707_232246_DLP-55-De_geschiedenis_van_het_Nederlandsche_Korps_Mariniers_van_1665_1945_OCR.txt), pp. 78–82, 351.