Toeankoe Abdul Medjid

Properties2
tagsperson, acehnese, royal, pretender, aceh-war, 19th-century, pensioner
aliasesTuanku Abdul Majid, Tuanku Abdul Mejid, Abdul Medjid, Abdul Majid, Pretender Sultan Abdul Medjid, Sultanstelg Abdul Medjid, Toewankoe Abdoel Madjid, the relative of the former sultans

4 min read

Toeankoe Abdul Medjid — also written Tuanku Abdul Majid — was an Atjehese royal pretender to the Sultanate of Atjeh whose repeated submissions to the Dutch — in June 1887, again in May 1885, and on subsequent occasions — and whose successive Dutch pensions and allowances made him, in Kruijt’s judgement, the most striking instance of the Dutch policy of buying off dangerous enemies. He is described as a Sultanstelg (pretender to the Sultanate) who had already deceived the Dutch before May 1885 and who would later “steeds om den tuin geleid” (continually lead [the Dutch] around the garden — i.e., deceive them).

The May 1885 Negotiations

Already in May 1885 the Dutch administration again began to negotiate with a second Sultanstelg, Toeankoe Abdul Medjid, “die ons voor dien tijd reeds bedrogen had en later steeds om den tuin geleid heeft” (who had already deceived us before that time and later continually deceived us), about his submission. The negotiations took place under Demmeni’s governorship, in the period of the aajoleeren (cajoling) — as Van Heutsz would later aptly call it — when various chiefs within and outside the line were paid by the Dutch.

The June 1887 Submission

Under Van Teijn’s governorship, Toeankoe Hasschim requested a meeting at Telok Semawé and already in June 1887 the aforementioned Sultanstelg Toeankoe Abdul Medjid submitted, and — besides a gift of ƒ25,000 — enjoyed a monthly allowance of ƒ400.

The 1890s West Coast Activity

Under Deijkerhoff’s governorship, Toeankoe Abdul Medjid, paid by the Dutch, long held house on the West Coast, robbing and plundering. His brother Pangeran Hoessin sometimes joined in. Finally picked up by the Marine — who should have hanged him directly — he came to Kota Radja and was also taken into favour again. This was the unworthy, humiliating, and dangerous policy in the last years of Deijkerhoff’s governorship that brought on the Dutch the deep, intense contempt of friend and foe alike.

Significance

Toeankoe Abdul Medjid is the most striking instance in Kruijt’s brochure of the Dutch policy of buying off dangerous enemies by pensions and allowances. His successive submissions — in May 1885 and June 1887 — and his successive Dutch payments — a gift of ƒ25,000 and a monthly allowance of ƒ400, then his continued pension in the 1890s — furnish the measure of the cost of the Dutch policy of conciliation; his continued depredations on the West Coast under Dutch pension furnish the measure of its futility. His case is the precedent for the more catastrophic policy of arming Teuku Umar that would culminate in the defection of 29 March 1896.

Sources

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, p. 71.

Toewankoe Abdoel Madjid (also written Tuanku Abdul Majid) was one of the family members of the former sultans of Atjeh who, together with Toewankoe Haschim and Toewankoe Hoesin, attached himself to the war-party against the Dutch, and who was named by General Pel in 1875 as one of the influential leaders of the resistance. The Toewankoe’s — relatives of the former sultans — had, in General Pel’s analysis, “rightly seen that they have nothing more to expect from a foreign overrule.”

See Also

Source

De Atjeh-Oorlog: Kort Overzicht van Oorsprong, Verloop en Gevolg, door J. A. Kruijt. ‘s-Gravenhage: Loman & Funke, 1896. Chapter IX (the May 1885 negotiations), Chapter X (the June 1887 submission), Chapter XII (the 1890s West Coast activity). OCR-filename: 20260716_140310_DLP-101-De_Atjeh_oorlog_Nemotron-OCR-v2_OCR.txt, pp. 52, 56, 71.

Graph View

Backlinks