Toekoe Nek Radja Moeda Setia — usually called Toekoe Nek — was the chief of Marassa at the mouth of the Aceh River and the most important early Acehnese ally of the Dutch in the Second Aceh Expedition (1873-1874). He had already offered his services before the landing, helped the Dutch with information, advised them to seize the Taman (Kota Goenoengan), and remained central to Dutch hopes of local submission after the fall of the Kraton.
Before the second expedition
Dutch sources say that Toekoe Nek had already offered his help before the landing of December 1873. This was one reason the Dutch chose to land east of the river: they expected less resistance there, and they also wanted to spare Marassa, which was friendly to them.
Van Swieten later wrote that Toekoe Nek had also been useful earlier in the diplomatic contacts around 1873, when intermediaries still tried to move between Dutch and Acehnese authorities.
The Dutch landing and alliance
After the landing at Kwala Loë on 9 December 1873, Toekoe Nek kept sending information about enemy movements and offered practical help as guide and intermediary. Dutch writers repeatedly described him as their principal ally in the area.
His political position was not easy. His territory stood between Dutch-held ground and hostile neighboring districts. Later writers said he lived “between two fires.” That is why he kept asking the Dutch for visible military help.
Advice on the Taman
On 11 January 1874, Toekoe Nek met controller Kroesen in secret and advised that the Dutch should seize the Taman (Kota Goenoengan), the fortified pleasure-garden southwest of the Kraton. The Dutch accepted that advice, stormed the position on 12 January 1874, and greatly increased the pressure on the Acehnese center.
This was one of Toekoe Nek’s most important contributions to the campaign.
Link with the fall of the Kraton
Because the Dutch held the Taman (Kota Goenoengan), they could watch the area around the Kraton more effectively. Later Dutch accounts connected Toekoe Nek’s advice directly with the events that led to the discovery on 24 January 1874 that the Kraton had been abandoned.
Requests for protection
After the fall of the Kraton, Toekoe Nek still needed Dutch help against hostile nearby places, especially Bital and Ketapang Doewa. His requests led to the Expedition to Bital (12 February 1874) and the Expedition to Ketapang Doewa (15 February 1874). Those operations helped show both the value and the weakness of the Dutch alliance with him: the Dutch could win the field, but they did not always hold the ground long enough to secure his district properly.
Toekoe Nek and Dutch optimism
Reports from Toekoe Nek also helped shape the tone of the General van Swieten War Telegrams after the fall of the Kraton. Later defenders of Van Swieten said that the command had reason to believe local submission was coming, because allies like Toekoe Nek were giving encouraging information.
Significance
Toekoe Nek Radja Moeda Setia is significant because he was the most important local Acehnese ally of the Dutch in the critical weeks between the landing of December 1873 and the occupation of the Kraton in January 1874. His advice, his information, and his requests for protection all had direct effects on the early course of the war.
See Also
- Marassa
- Second Aceh Expedition (1873-1874)
- Jan van Swieten
- Kroesen
- Taman (Kota Goenoengan)
- Capture of the Kraton (24 January 1874)
- Expedition to Bital (12 February 1874)
- Expedition to Ketapang Doewa (15 February 1874)
- General van Swieten War Telegrams
- Kwala Loë
- 9 December
- 11 January
- 12 January
- 24 January
- 1874
Source
De geschiedenis van Nederland in onzen tijd, by J. A. de Bruyne (Schiedam: J. F. Dupont, 1912), pp. 21–26.
Over de eerste expeditie tegen Atjeh, by G. G. Booms (‘s-Gravenhage: A. van Hoogstraten & Zoon, 1875), pp. 14–15.
Atjeh gedurende de tweede expeditie en later, Een Oud Officier (Batavia: Ogilvie & Co., 1876), pp. 8–10, 14–18.
Onze vestiging in Atjeh, critisch beschreven, by G. F. W. Borel (The Hague: D. A. Thieme, 1878), pp. 55, 57, 65, 75, 93–94, 103–104, 124, 132, 162, 266, 279, 288.
De waarheid over onze vestiging in Atjeh, door J. van Swieten (Zalt-Bommel: Joh. Noman en Zoon, 1879), pp. 21, 25, 88, 465.
Atjeh-Album van Eigen Haard (Amsterdam, 1896), pp. 14–15.