Meuraxa was an important coastal port settlement, mukim, and fortified beachhead of the Aceh Sultanate situated near the Aceh River estuary in modern Banda Aceh, Aceh Province, Indonesia.
Description and Fortifications
Commanding the primary landing beaches of northern Aceh, Meuraxa was protected by extensive timber and coral earthworks (Coastal Fortifications in Aceh), notably Coastal Fortification No. 2, armed with artillery imported from Penang in 1872.
Role in the Military Campaigns
On 8 April 1873, the First Aceh Expedition under General J. H. R. Köhler debarked at Meuraxa under heavy surf. Acehnese defenders contested the landing, inflicting severe casualties before Dutch troops secured a beachhead bivouac.
During the Second Aceh Expedition in December 1873, the hereditary ruler of Meuraxa, Teuku Nek of Meuraxa, defected to the Dutch East Indies Government. His submission allowed General J. van Swieten to occupy Meuraxa without opposition and turn it into a major logistical supply depot and hospital station (Medical Service in Aceh).
See Also
Source
Over de eerste expeditie tegen Atjeh: Een antwoord aan Generaal de Stuers, G. G. Booms, ‘s-Gravenhage: A. van Hoogstraten & Zoon, 1875, pp. 8-11; Atjeh gedurende de tweede expeditie en later, Een Oud Officier, Batavia: Ogilvie & Co., 1876, pp. 8-10, 68-70.