1901

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tagsyear, timeline, political, colonial, dutch, aceh, ethical-politiek, 20th-century
aliasesYear 1901, 1901 AD, the year 1901, 1901 (year)

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Figures, places, and events in Acehnese history associated with the year 1901.

People

Places

Account from Oom Ambon van het K.N.I.L. (1954) — 1901

1901 was the year in which Van Heutsz went to Samalanga and, on 3 February of that year, finally captured it after the three earlier failed attempts of 1880. The year 1901 is one of the key years of the late-Aceh War Dutch offensive, and the year for which Dominee Thenu was made Ridder in de Orde van Oranje Nassau at age 33 — his first major decoration.

Account from De Sociaaldemokraten in de Tweede Kamer (c. 1901) — the height of socialist opposition

The year 1901 was also a significant period in the parliamentary opposition to the Aceh War on the Dutch home front, marked by renewed socialist attacks on the war’s economic motivations and the continued exploitation of both Acehnese and Javanese people. The socialist members of the Tweede Kamer intensified their criticism of the war during the budget debates for the Dutch East Indies.

The Indische begrooting debate

During the 1901 Indische begrooting (Indies budget) debates, H. van Kol spoke strongly against “Imperialisme” and “de veroveringszucht, waarvan Dr. Kuyper zich ditmaal de profeet had gemaakt” (the conquest fever, of which Dr. Kuyper had this time made himself the prophet). He argued once again that “kapitalistische hebzucht onze koloniale politiek bestuurt, met het onvermijdelijk gevolg van koloniale gruwelen” (capitalist greed directs our colonial policy, with the inevitable consequence of colonial atrocities).

He made the following specific points:

  • The Aceh War remained “de melkkoe van allerlei goudzoekers” (the cash cow of all sorts of gold diggers).
  • The minister was a “ijverig voorstander” (zealous advocate) of the war.
  • The government remained “doof” (deaf) to demands for the settlement of the “eerschuld” (debt of honour) — the 187 million guilders that the Dutch state had taken from the colonial treasury since the separation of the Dutch and colonial finances in 1867.

Exhaustion of soldiers

Van Kol also drew attention to the toll the war was taking on Dutch soldiers: “de uitputting van den soldaat in Atjeh” (the exhaustion of the soldier in Aceh) and the increase in venereal diseases among European troops. He contrasted this with the situation among indigenous and Ambonese soldiers, who were allowed to marry and thus in much better condition.

Military spending vs. social welfare

Van Kol condemned the expenditure of “vijf miljoen” (five million guilders) for a tramway in Aceh, which he characterized as being for “militaristische doeleinden” (military purposes), while the government claimed it could not afford irrigation works on Java or other development projects. This contrast was central to the socialist critique of colonial expenditure — see Economic interests in the Aceh War.

The Learning Bill

In the same year, the Leerplicht (Compulsory Education Bill) was debated. The socialist members, including Troelstra, Schaper, and Van Kol, opposed the bill as it was proposed because it did not include adequate social safeguards such as school meals, school clothing, or a ban on child labour. They abstained from the vote, arguing that the bill was a “schijnwetje” (sham law) that would not truly benefit the children of the poor.

Significance

The 1901 debates represent the height of socialist parliamentary opposition to the Aceh War before the next election. Van Kol’s critique was comprehensive, linking the war to imperialist ideology, capitalist greed, colonial atrocities, the exploitation of Javanese labour, and the neglect of social welfare in both the colony and the Netherlands. The debates of 1901 also saw the socialist party take a principled stand on the Learning Bill, reinforcing their commitment to social justice over compromise.

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*.

1901 is the year of the troonrede in which Queen Wilhelmina proclaimed that the entire government policy in the Indies was to be “doordrongen van het besef, dat Nederland tegenover de bevolking dezer gewesten een zedelijke roeping heeft te vervullen” — penetrated by the consciousness that the Netherlands owed a moral vocation to the population of these regions. This was the official proclamation of the ethical policy in the name of which the conquest and pacificatie of Atjeh would be carried through.

The troonrede

The troonrede of 1901 gave an ereplaats — place of honour — to the “staatkunde van zedelijke verplichting” — policy of moral obligation — which Kuyper’s anti-revolutionary Ons Program ([[1878)|Ons Program]] of 1878 had been the first to formulate in political form. The doctrine of the moral vocation of the Netherlands towards its colonial populations was soon adopted by the other political parties; “het zou trouwens niet denkbaar zijn, dat ze was afgewezen” — it would not have been conceivable, after all, that it should have been rejected.

The ethical policy and Atjeh

The ethical policy was proclaimed at the very moment the Atjeh-oorlog ([[1873-1904)|Atjeh-oorlog]] was being brought to its crisis. In 1901 the Dutch also undertook expeditions to Djambi and Korintji; in 1904 Van Daalen’s expedition to the Gajoland and Alasland interior would complete the conquest of the sultanate. The conquest of Atjeh and the proclamation of the ethical policy were thus two faces of a single program: subjugation in the name of civilisation.

Material consequences

The year 1901 also marked the beginning of concrete reforms. Misoogst and hongersnood in parts of Java had made it impossible to wait for the report of the Commissie tot onderzoek van de mindere welvaart ([[1902)|commissie tot onderzoek van de mindere welvaart]] that would be installed in 1902. The principal causes of the Indies poverty — population growth and the pressure that the Atjeh-oorlog ([[1873-1904)|Atjeh-oorlog]] was exerting on the colonial budget — were already well known, even if not always openly acknowledged.

Significance

1901 is the year in which the conquest of Atjeh received its ethical sanctificatie — its consecration. After 1901 the pacificatie, the Van Daalen expedition, and the annexation of Djambi-Korintji (1901), Borneo (1904), Celebes (1905) and Bali (1906) all proceeded in the name of the moral vocation the troonrede had proclaimed.

Account from Atjeh by H.C. Zentgraff (1938)

Zentgraff notes two key events of 1901. On 25 June 1901 — Van Heutsz’s verjaardag — he took the befaamde Bateë Iliq in Meureudoe and Samalanga: een 25 Juni zooals Van Heutsz die nooit zal vergeten. On 31 December 1901 the benteng of Koeta Blang Djeurat was stormed; the 5th brigade under Heynen distinguished itself at the NW bastion — 79 enemy dead, no man escaped.

Atjeh, door H.C. Zentgraff. Gedrukt bij Drukkerij “De Unie”, 1938, Batavia.

Account in du Croo’s Generaal Swart (1943)

H. N. A. Swart married Victorina Maria Geertruida Stadlmair on 22 May 1901, returned from leave on 21 August aboard the s.s. Koning Willem III, and arrived in Atjeh for the third time — alone — on 17 September 1901. On 6 December 1901 he received the distinguishing mark for long Netherlands service as an officer.

See Also

Source

Oom Ambon van het K.N.I.L., by G. W. T. Dames, Maj. Inf. K.N.I.L. b.d. (‘s-Gravenhage: Koninklijke Bibliotheek, 1954).

De Sociaaldemokraten in de Tweede Kamer (Amsterdam, c. 1901). Vrije Universiteit Bibliotheek, pp. 20-21, 24-27.

Figures, places, and events in Acehnese history associated with the year 1901.

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. 279, 285.

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.

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