Pulo U

Pulo U — vulgo Simalur (the modern Simeulue) — is an island lying off the west coast of Achehnese territory, whose headman figures in The Achehnese Vol. I as a survival of the older port-king’s supremacy, reduced in modern times to a merely local dignity. In the 1930 compilation of Zelfbestuursverordeningen Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden, the island — under the spelling Simeuloe (also Simeulue, Simeuloed, Simeuloet, Simeuloë, Simeuloes, and Simeulool in OCR variants) — was an island onderafdeeling off the west coast of Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden, seated alongside the onderafdeeling Tapaktoean and the onderafdeeling Zuidelijke Atjehsche landschappen as the three south-coast onderafdeelingen to which the vrouwelijk-vee verordening of 1 August 1927 (Reg. No. 17) was extended by parallel regelingen, and the most-isolated onderafdeeling of the Gouvernement — an island whose principal regulatory appearance in the 1930 compilation is as a recipient of parallel regelingen extended from the originating south-coast and west-coast onderafdeelingen.

The Panguléë Side of Meulaboh

Snouck Hurgronje records that the Panguléë Side of Meulaboh, who was undoubtedly at one time an official under the chief of that place, charged with the task of making judicial enquiries, “is now in fact no more than headman of Pulo U (vulg. Simalur).” The port-king of Meulaboh — like the other port-kings of the West Coast — had once enjoyed a supremacy extending over the neighbouring islands and over the adjacent stretch of the mainland; and the office of the Panguléë Side, originally a delegated judicial office under the port-king, had in the course of time become an hereditary headmanship of Pulo U.

The Survival of the Port-King’s Supremacy

The author further explains that “so little control had the Sultans of Acheh over the course of events, that whatever may have been their purpose in establishing these various offices, the latter became in a short time part and parcel of the indigenous institutions of the country, or else disappeared altogether.” The headmanship of Pulo U is thus a typical instance of the way in which an office, originally delegated by the port-king or by the Sultan of Acheh, was transformed in the course of generations into an indigenous chieftainship, lost its connection with the central power, and survived as a merely local dignity.

The Island and its Headman

The island of Pulo U — the Simalur of ordinary speech, the Simeulue of modern maps — lies to the south-west of Acheh, at a considerable distance from the capital, and its people have long enjoyed a measure of independence under their own headmen. The reduction of the Panguléë Side to the headmanship of Pulo U marks, in Snouck Hurgronje’s account, the limit of the older Achehnese supremacy in that direction, and the way in which the offices of the port-kings — once the channels of Achehnese suzerainty — became, in the late nineteenth century, the mere titles of local chiefs.

Account from Raffles’ Atjeh-overeenkomst van 1819 — Pulo U

Pulo U, more commonly known in modern usage as Simalur (or Simeulue), is an island off the west coast of Sumatra, lying some 100 to 150 kilometres west of the Acehnese mainland. It is the largest of a small group of islands fringing the western approach to the west coast of Sumatra and was, throughout the colonial period, administratively associated with the residency of Acheh (and later with the Westkust van Sumatra). Although the island is not named explicitly in the surviving diplomatic correspondence printed by P. H. van der Kemp in his study of the Aceh agreement of 1819, it appears in the catalog of places relevant to the broader Anglo-Dutch rivalry over Sumatra because of its situation within the Acehnese sphere of influence.

The island’s traditional name, Pulo U (literally “island U” — with the letter U being a scribal rendering of an indigenous term), survives in older Dutch and Acehnese materials alongside the form Simalur, which gradually became standard in nineteenth-century Dutch colonial usage. The population spoke a distinct Austronesian language closely related to, but not mutually intelligible with, the languages of the neighbouring Batak and Mentawai groups; the society was organised in small chiefdoms that acknowledged a loose Acehnese suzerainty without ever being formally incorporated into the sultanate’s administrative structure.

In the strategic calculus that Van der Kemp traces through the years 1817-1824, islands like Pulo U mattered principally as potential way-stations on the sea-lanes between Padang and Acheh. They were part of the broader Sumatran perimeter whose disposition Raffles hoped to influence from Bencoolen, and which the Dutch were equally determined to control from Padang and Batavia. The Anglo-Dutch treaty of 1824, by which Britain withdrew from Sumatra in exchange for Dutch withdrawal from Nederlandsch Hindostan and Malacca, settled the island’s status by placing it firmly within the Dutch sphere, although effective Dutch administration did not reach Simalur until much later in the century.

Account from De Buitenbezittingen (1917) — Simeuloë

Simeuloë (also Simaloer) is the northernmost of the great islands lying west of Sumatra — a heavily-wooded, mountainous island administratively part of the Afdeeling Westkust van Atjeh and administered from the bestuursvestiging of Sinabang, some 100 km off the Sumatran coast and six to nine hours by steamer from Singkel. De Buitenbezittingen describes Simeuloë as the island whose forests — “waarin zeer vele deugdelijke houtsoorten worden aangetroffen” — had drawn the two great houtaankap-maatschappijen that, by 1917, divided its entire territory between them, and which by reason of its isolation had retained a primitive administrative order distinct from that of the mainland.

Geography

Lying between approximately 2° 20′ and 2° 57′ N.B. and 95° 39′ and 96° 51′ O.L., Simeuloë is about 100 km long and between 9 and 26 km broad. It consists of “zwaar geaccidenteerd heuvelland” — heavily dissected hill country — whose greatest height (567 m) is reached in the Delo Sibao near the Sinabangbaai and the Lhoʼ Dalam. The grillig gevormde hoofdwaterscheiding runs from south-east to north-west; the countless uitloopers reach the coast at many points, so that vlakten of any consequence are virtually absent, and the few that exist near the great baaien are too moerassig for settlement or cultivation. The island’s small bevolking lives in primitive nederzettingen and practices ladangbouw — shifting cultivation — without irrigation.

Bestuursindeeling

The onderafdeeling Simeuloë, consisting of the island itself together with the small surrounding eilandjes and the groep der Kokos-eilanden, was divided into five landschappen: Tapah, Simeuloë, Lakëon, Salang, and Sigoelèh. The principal baaien — the Sinabangbaai, the Lhoʼ Dalam, the baai of Sibigo in the west, and the baai of Sibaboh further east — all offered suitable ankerplaatsen for the largest steamers; the southern coast, more open to the heavy oceandeining, was less hospitable, though its riviermondingen were accessible to inheemsche vaartuigen during the Oost-moesson (December to half May). The island’s bevolking was 4,157 registered Atjehers at the end of 1915.

Bosexploitatie and the Java-Bosch

The island’s “rijkdom aan bosschen” had led, by 1917, to its entire exploitation by two maatschappijen: the Javasche Boschexploitatie Maatschappij, active in the southern half (the landschap Tapah and the eastern part of the landschap Simeuloë), which had laid a railbaan near the bestuursvestiging Sinabang for the transport of heavy stammen; and the Houtaankap-Maatschappij Noord-Simaloer, a daughter of the Nederl.-Indische Houtaankap-Mij., which exploited the northern half (the landschappen Salang, Sigoelèh, Lekon, and the western part of the landschap Simeuloë). The Java-Bosch, De Buitenbezittingen notes, had developed its concession as “een modern grootbedrijf, op zeer ruime leest geschoeid,” with installations already representing two to three million guilders, primarily for the extraction of merbau-hout and the on-the-spot uitloogen en appréteeren of lesser houtsoorten. Between 700 and 800 contractkoelies — almost all Javanese and Chinese — were regularly employed.

Trade and tribute

The principal exports of Simeuloë were hout, copra, hides, and horns, with a small quantity of vogelnestjes. The island served as a major supplier of slachtvee to the Westkust and Groot-Atjeh, its large karbouwenstapel — niet voor den landbouw gebezigd — yielding “groote hoeveelheden slachtvee.” The haven of Sinabang received 67 steamers (242,000 M³) in 1913, 58 (250,000) in 1914, and 61 (240,000) in 1915. The in- and uitvoerrechten rose from ƒ14,000/ƒ2,000 in 1910 to ƒ15,000/ƒ1,000 in 1914. De Buitenbezittingen records that the island stood in tribute-relation to the Keudjeuroeën Tjhï’ of Meulabôh, whose Panghoeloe-Sidik had once collected the Sultan’s dues on the island; “het heffen der Sultansrechten op het eiland Simeuloë” was thus included among the privileges of the Tjhï’ office.

Account from Zelfbestuursverordeningen Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden (1930) — the regulatory record

In the 1930 compilation of Zelfbestuursverordeningen Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden, Simeuloe was the most-isolated onderafdeeling of the Gouvernement — an island whose principal regulatory appearance in the compilation is as a recipient of parallel regelingen extended from the originating south-coast and west-coast onderafdeelingen. The Inhoud (table of contents) of the compilation pairs Simeuloe with Tapaktoean in the comparative-table footnotes of Regs. 13 and 17: (Onderafdeelingen Meulaboh, Tapatoean, Zuidelijke Atjeheche landsch.. Simeuloel) and (Onderafdeelingen Tapatoean, Simeuloed).

The vrouwelijk-vee verordening of 1 August 1927 (Reg. No. 17)

The vrouwelijk-vee verordening of 1 August 1927 — Zelfbestuursverordening van 1 Augustus 1927 op het slachten van vrouwelijke buffels en runderen in de landschappen der onderafdeeling Zuidelijke Atjehsche landschappen (Self-government regulation of 1 August 1927 on the slaughter of female buffaloes and cattle in the landschappen of the onderafdeeling Zuidelijke Atjehsche landschappen) — is the only regulation in the 1930 compilation prohibiting the slaughter of female cattle and buffaloes. The originating signatories are the oeleebalang of the landschappen Kloeet and Troemon — the two south-coast landschappen of the onderafdeeling Zuidelijke Atjehsche landschappen. The comparative table on Page 125 extends parallel regelingen to Tapaktoean and Simeuloe — the two south-coast onderafdeelingen alongside the Zuidelijke Atjehsche landschappen proper:

GELIJKE VERORDENINGEN zijn vastgesteld voor de landschappen in de onderafdeelingen: Tapaktoean, op 25 Juli 1927, Simeuloet, op 20 Juli 1927. Deze verordeningen zijn goedgekeurd door den Gouverneur van Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden op 20 Augustus 1927 (Equal regulations have been established for the landschappen in the onderafdeelingen: Tapaktoean, on 25 July 1927, Simeuloet [Simeuloe], on 20 July 1927. These regulations were approved by the Gouverneur van Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden on 20 August 1927).

Simeuloe’s parallel regeling is thus dated 20 July 1927 — five days before Tapaktoean’s parallel regeling of 25 July 1927 and twelve days before the originating Reg. No. 17 of 1 August 1927 — and approved by the Gouverneur on 20 August 1927, some twelve days before the originating regulation’s goedkeuring of 1 September 1927. The relative priority of Simeuloe’s parallel regeling over the originating Reg. No. 17 itself reflects the operational practice by which an originating regulation was often goedgekeurd after the parallel regelingen it spawned — a quirk of the goedkeuring-practice visible only in the comparative tables. The vrouwelijk-vee verordening is the supplement to the Alaslanden cattle-transport regulation (Reg. No. 16) — the comparative table of Reg. No. 16 carries the cross-reference Zie ook de verordening opgenomen onder nummer 17 (see also the regulation included under number 17).

Simeuloe in the Pantjang Alas and parallel-regelingen tables

Beyond its receipt of the vrouwelijk-vee verordening, the island onderafdeeling Simeuloe appears in the comparative tables of nearly every other regulation in the compilation. The Page 54 comparative table extends the Alaslanden cattle-slaughter tax (Reg. No. 5) to Simeuloes (1914). The Page 72 comparative table extends the Peureula’ inkomstenbelasting (Reg. No. 9a) to Simeuloeë — Simeuloeë Onbekend (dagteekening onbekend / unknown), inwerking 1-1-1921. The Page 94 comparative table extends the Lhoksoekon Mohammedaansch godsdienstonderwijs regeling (Reg. No. 12) to Simeuloes — Simeuloes 17-1-1927, 18-3-1927 (i.e. dagteekening 17 January 1927, goedkeuring 18 March 1927). The Page 97 comparative table extends the Tjalang wapensmeden-verordening (Reg. No. 13) to Simeulool — Simeulool 18-3-1927 (i.e. goedkeuring 18 March 1927, with inwerking one month after goedkeuring). The Page 14 comparative table extends the Lhoksoekon woeker-verordening (Reg. No. 1) to Simeuloed. The Page 18 comparative table extends the 1912 Pantjang Alas regime to the Zuidelijke Atjehsche landschappen with the cross-reference Simeuloel — i.e. Simeuloe is implied as a recipient of the original 1912 Pantjang Alas regime via the south-coast extension.

The recurrent appearance of Simeuloe in these comparative tables — across regulations as varied as the inkomstenbelasting (Reg. 9a), the Mohammedaansch godsdienstonderwijs regeling (Reg. 12), the wapensmeden-verordening (Reg. 13), the vrouwelijk-vee verordening (Reg. 17), and the woeker-verordening (Reg. 1) — demonstrates the systematic inclusion of the island in every Gouvernement-wide regulatory rollout of the 1912–1928 period, despite its geographical isolation. The dagteekening onbekend recorded for the inkomstenbelasting parallel regeling on Page 72 — Simeuloeë Onbekend — is the only such onbekend annotation for Simeuloe in the compilation, and reflects the practical difficulty of recording precise vaststelling dates for an island onderafdeeling whose Zelfbestuur had a more episodic documentary presence.

Significance (Zelfbestuursverordeningen account)

Simeuloe’s significance in the 1930 compilation rests on its being one of the three south-coast onderafdeelingen — alongside the onderafdeeling Tapaktoean and the onderafdeeling Zuidelijke Atjehsche landschappen — to which the vrouwelijk-vee verordening of 1 August 1927 (Reg. No. 17) was extended by parallel regelingen; the most-isolated onderafdeeling of the Gouvernement — the only island onderafdeeling — and the demonstration, through its persistent inclusion in every Gouvernement-wide regulatory rollout of the 1912–1928 period (Regs. 1, 5, 9a, 12, 13, 17, and the 1912 Pantjang Alas regime), that the colonial-zelfbestuur regulatory mesh extended even to the off-coast island landschappen; and the demonstration — through the dagteekening onbekend annotation for the inkomstenbelasting parallel regeling on Page 72 — of the practical difficulty of recording precise vaststelling dates for an island onderafdeeling whose Zelfbestuur had a more episodic documentary presence than the mainland onderafdeelingen.

Sources

The Achehnese, Vol. I, by Dr. C. Snouck Hurgronje, translated by A.W.S. O’Sullivan, indexed by R.J. Wilkinson. Leyden: E.J. Brill, 1906.

Raffles’ Atjeh-overeenkomst van 1819, by P. H. van der Kemp, in Bijdragen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië, 6e Volgr., Deel VII (1900), pp. 159–239. Universiteitsbibliotheek Vrije Universiteit, LS.08781.

De Buitenbezittingen, Deel II, Aflevering 2: Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden, bewerkt door het Encyclopaedisch Bureau, Mededeelingen van het Bureau voor de Bestuurszaken der Buitenbezittingen (Weltevreden: Landsdrukkerij, 1917), pp. 16–18, 25, 29–30, 38, 53–60, 176–181, 217.

Zelfbestuursverordeningen Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden, Serie A No. 9 of the Mededeelingen van de Afdeeling Bestuurszaken der Buitengewesten van het Departement van Binnenlandsch Bestuur, Weltevreden: Landsdrukkerij, 1930, esp. Reg. 17 (p. 100) and comparative tables passim. OCR-filename: 20260719_030404_DLP-112-Zelfbestuursverordeningen_Atjeh_en_onderhoorigheden_Nemotron-OCR-v2_OCR.txt.

tags	place, island, headmanship, west-coast, meulaboh, sumatra, dutch-east-indies, aceh-region, westkust, onderafdeeling, atjeh, colonial, 20th-century, zelfbestuur
aliases	Pulau U, Simalur, Simalu, Simeulue, Pulo U (Simalur), Pulo U Simalur, Simeuloë, Simaloer, Simeuloe, Sinabang, Simeuloed, Simeuloet, Simeuloes, Simeulool

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