1871

Properties2
tagsyear, 19th-century, aceh, british, chronology, colonial, diplomacy, dutch, military, timeline
aliases1871 (year), 1871 AD, 1871 CE, Year 1871, the year 1871

8 min read

Figures, places, and events in Acehnese history associated with the year 1871.

People

Places

Events

Account from Schets eener parlementaire geschiedenis (1955)

The following account is drawn from the parliamentary history of the Dutch Second Chamber as narrated by Vermeulen in the colonial section of the 1955 fourth revised edition of Rengers’s *Schets*.

1871 was the year in which the Sumatra-tractaat ([[1871)|Sumatra-tractaat]] between the Netherlands and England was signed, the diplomatic prelude to the Atjeh-oorlog ([[1873-1904)|Atjeh-oorlog]] two years later. By placing the whole of Sumatra — including the independent Atjeh sultanate — within the Dutch sphere of influence, the treaty removed the principal external constraint that had hitherto preserved Atjehnese sovereignty, and thereby set the stage for the Dutch declaration of war of 1873.

The Sumatra-tractaat

The treaty, formally an Anglo-Dutch arrangement consolidating earlier understandings, provided that the whole of Sumatra would fall within the Dutch sphere of influence. In exchange, the Netherlands conceded to British subjects the same commercial rights as those enjoyed by Dutch subjects throughout Sumatra. Minister Van Bosse delivered “zeer geruststellende verklaringen” — very reassuring statements — in the Tweede Kamer about the consequences of the instrument he had just signed.

Parliamentary reception

The reassurance proved short-lived. As Van Welderen Rengers (lib.) observed in the Tweede Kamer more than two decades later, in colonial affairs “het allerminst het spreekwoord [geldig]: c’est le premier pas qui coûte” — it is least of all true that the first step costs the most. The first step, the signature of the Sumatra-tractaat ([[1871)|Sumatra-tractaat]] in 1871, had been taken easily; it was the subsequent steps, dictated by prestige, that cost money and lives. Some chambermembers at the time had indeed feared “moeilijkheden met Atjeh” — difficulties with Atjeh — but had been quieted by Van Bosse’s reassurances.

Significance

1871 is significant for the encyclopedia of Acheh history because the Sumatra-tractaat ([[1871)|Sumatra-tractaat]] of that year is the diplomatic hinge on which the entire tragedy of the Atjeh-oorlog ([[1873-1904)|Atjeh-oorlog]] turns. By recognising Atjeh as falling within the Dutch sphere, the treaty simultaneously supplied the Dutch government with the international warrant for subjugation and removed the principal external counterweight — British interest — that had previously deterred action against the sultanate.

Account from Schets eener parlementaire geschiedenis (1955)

The following account is drawn from the parliamentary history of the Dutch Second Chamber as narrated by Vermeulen in the colonial section of the 1955 fourth revised edition of Rengers’s *Schets*.

1871 is the year in which the Dutch government concluded a treaty with Britain by which Dutch possessions on the coast of Guinea were ceded to Britain in exchange for a free Dutch hand on Sumatra. The treaty is the immediate diplomatic prelude to the Atjehoorlog of 1873-1904. Conquest of Atjeh was, the source insists, “nog niet gedacht” (not yet contemplated) in 1871; only the suppression of piracy was intended. The slide from suppression to conquest was, however, already implicit.

The 1871 treaty

The 1871 treaty — known in the Netherlands as the Sumatra-tractaat — settled the lingering Anglo-Dutch competition in the Indonesian Archipelago. The Netherlands ceded its possessions on the coast of Guinea to Britain; in exchange, Britain released the Netherlands from the 1824 undertaking to respect Atjehnese independence. The Dutch hand on Sumatra was now free.

The Dutch position

The source is explicit that, in 1871, conquest of Atjeh was not yet contemplated: “Aan verovering van Atjeh werd nog niet gedacht, alleen aan onderdrukking van zeeroof” (Conquest of Atjeh was not yet contemplated, only the suppression of piracy). The 1871 treaty was, on the Dutch reading, a narrowly anti-piracy instrument. The 1872 announcement of a Dutch envoy’s visit to the sultan — to negotiate a new treaty — was consistent with this reading.

The Singapore consuls

The 1872 announcement produced, however, an Atjehnese request — relayed through the resident of Riouw — that the Dutch mission be postponed on the pretext of internal discord in Atjeh that had first to be settled. The Dutch government acceded to the request, only to learn that the Atjehnese chiefs had used the delay in Singapore to visit the consuls of Italy and the United States; with the latter, “was zelfs een voorlopige overeenkomst gesloten” (a preliminary agreement was even concluded). The Dutch demand for clarification, and the unsatisfactory response, produced the declaration of war of 26 March 1873.

Significance

1871 is the diplomatic hinge on which the Atjehoorlog turns. The Sumatra-tractaat of that year freed the Netherlands from the 1824 undertaking and gave it a free hand on Sumatra. Without the 1871 treaty, the 1873 declaration of war would have risked British intervention; with the 1871 treaty, the war became a purely Dutch affair.

Account in du Croo’s Generaal Swart (1943)

C. Lulofs’s figures identify the period 1871–1890 as the only one noteworthily distinguished, Atjeh apart, from the twenty-five preceding and sixteen following years in the deployment of Dutch troops in the Buitengewesten.

Nineteenth-Century Historiography & Campaign Analysis

Diplomatic Shifts and Treaty Revision

In 1871, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Great Britain concluded a new convention that effectively superseded the protective clauses of the Treaty of London 1824. By granting the Netherlands freedom of action in Sumatra, the events of 1871 removed British diplomatic oversight and opened the path for the Dutch East Indies Government to assert sovereignty over the Aceh Sultanate. This diplomatic change immediately heightened tensions at Kraton of Aceh, prompting Acehnese emissaries to seek foreign arms and alliances in Penang and elsewhere.

Military Foresight and Reconnaissance Proposals

Anticipating military conflict following the treaty of 1871, Army Commander General T. H. Kroesen submitted formal recommendations to the Dutch East Indies Government in 1871 to dispatch a qualified military staff officer aboard the steamship Djambi to survey the Acehnese coastline and the approaches to Kraton of Aceh.

As highlighted by General G. G. Booms, General T. H. Kroesen’s 1871 proposal was rejected due to minor administrative disagreements, leaving the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army without critical intelligence when the First Aceh Expedition sailed in 1873.

See Also

Account from Land en Volk van Atjeh Vroeger en Nu

Sumatra Treaty with England gave Holland the free hand in Atjeh. For 2 more years, Dutch tried through vertoogen (representations) to establish better relations with Atjeh. Atjeh established relations with Turkey, France, America, Italy.

Source: J. Jongejans, Land en Volk van Atjeh Vroeger en Nu (Baarn: Hollandia Drukkerij N.V., c. 1938), pp. 37.

Source

Generaal Swart, Pacificator van Atjeh (“General Swart, Pacifier of Atjeh”), by M. H. du Croo, Colonel K.N.I.L. (retired), with the collaboration of H. J. Schmidt, Titular Colonel K.N.I.L. (retired), with a foreword by His Excellency Lieutenant-General K.N.I.L. (retired) G. K. Dijkstra (Maastricht: N.V. Leiter-Nypels, 1943), passim.

Nederlanders over de Zeeën: 350 Jaar geschiedenis van Nederland buitengaats, onder redactie van Dr. H. J. de Graaf, met medewerking van Prof. G. Gonggrijp, W. R. Menkman en Prof. Jhr Dr P. J. van Winter, 2e geheel herziene druk (Utrecht: W. de Haan N.V., MCMLV), pp. 209, 216.

Over de eerste expeditie tegen Atjeh: Een antwoord aan Generaal de Stuers, G. G. Booms, ‘s-Gravenhage: A. van Hoogstraten & Zoon, 1875, pp. 14-16; Atjeh gedurende de tweede expeditie en later, Een Oud Officier, Batavia: Ogilvie & Co., 1876, pp. 10-12.

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.

Schets eener parlementaire geschiedenis van Nederland van 1849 tot 1901, by Mr W. J. van Welderen baron Rengers, 4th rev. ed., Vol. IV: Oost-Indië 1891-1918 by Dr W. H. Vermeulen (‘s-Gravenhage: Martinus Nijhoff, 1955), pp. 267-268.

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.

Figures, places, and events in Acehnese history associated with the year 1871.

Land en Volk van Atjeh Vroeger en Nu, by J. Jongejans, Oud-Resident van het Gewest Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden, with a foreword by Dr. H. Colijn (Baarn: Hollandia Drukkerij N.V., c. 1938), pp. 37.

Graph View

Backlinks