1930

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tagsyear, colonial, dutch, aceh, marechaussee, jubilee, terpentijn, baleq, koloniaal-instituut, 20th-century, science, industry, timeline
aliasesYear 1930, 1930 AD, the year 1930, 1930 (year)

6 min read

1930 was marked in Acehnese colonial history by two notable events: the fortieth anniversary (veertig-jarig bestaan) of the Korps Marechaussee van Atjeh en Onderhorigen, celebrated on 2 April 1930, and the publication of the Atjeh-terpentijn pamphlet by Ir. W. Spoon of the Afdeeling Handelsmuseum — the principal contemporary monograph on the early factory-scale production of Indonesian turpentine from the Baleq enterprise.

Events

  • 40-year jubilee of the Korps Marechaussee (2 April 1930) — The Korps Marechaussee van Atjeh en Onderhorigen celebrated its fortieth anniversary on 2 April 1930. The army commander (legercommandant) Lieutenant-General H.A. Cramer travelled in person to Atjeh for the ceremonies; all available officers from posts across Atjeh and Onderhoorigheden gathered at Koetaradja. In Den Haag a grand dinner was held at De Witte — described as a Kandoeri Rajeu (great feast) with a menu of Gajoeland dishes. Captain Struijvenberg wrote the historical overview for the occasion.

  • Publication of the Atjeh-terpentijn pamphlet (19 November 1930) — The Atjeh-terpentijn pamphlet by Ir. W. Spoon was published as Berichten van de Afdeeling Handelsmuseum van de Kon. Vereeniging Koloniaal Instituut No. 57, extracted from De Indische Mercuur of 19 November 1930 and published by J. H. de Bussy of Amsterdam. The pamphlet is the principal contemporary monograph on the Baleq enterprise.

  • Chemical investigation of Atjeh-turpentine samples (1930) — Dr. D. B. Spoelstra of the Afdeeling Handelsmuseum performed the fractional distillation of 2500 g of Atjeh-turpentine (sample H.M. no. 1607) under 30 mm pressure, establishing the 85–90% α-pinene and approximately 4% Δ3-carene composition of the factory-scale product. M. A. van Royen tested the samples against the draft Ontwerp-normaalblad V 597.

  • European market-reception survey (May 1930) — The Afdeeling Handelsmuseum addressed a circular letter of 5 May 1930 to the 28 members of the Vereeniging van Vernis- en Verffabrikanten en -Handelaren in Nederland, enclosing sample H.M. no. 1607 and chemical data. Eleven written evaluations were received — the principal documentary record of the European market reception of factory-scale Atjeh-turpentine.

  • Production at the Baleq enterprise (1930) — By 1930 the area under exploitation at the Baleq enterprise was approximately 1,600 ha, entirely in production. The production figures for 1929 — the latest available in the pamphlet — were 356 tons of resin and 104 tons of turpentine.

People

Places

  • Koetaradja — Gathering point for the Korps Marechaussee jubilee ceremonies.
  • Gajoeland — Theme of the jubilee banquet menu in Den Haag.
  • Baleq — Site of the colonial government’s turpentine and resin factory, operated by ‘s Lands Caoutchouchedrijf.
  • Takengon — Town near the Baleq enterprise.
  • Amsterdam — City of publication of the Atjeh-terpentijn pamphlet.

Account in du Croo’s Generaal Swart (1943)

At the census of 1930 the percentage of literates in Atjeh was still only 1.1 per cent, against 5.5 per cent on Java, despite the growth of volksonderwijs since 1908.

The fortieth anniversary of the Korps Maréchaussée (2 April 1930)

On 2 April 1930 the Korps Maréchaussée celebrated the fortieth anniversary of its foundation by Gouvernementsbesluit of April 1890, and received from Queen Wilhelmina the right to carry a vaandel (colour) — granted, in the words of the koninklijk besluit, “aangezien het Korps Maréchaussée van Atjeh sedert de oprichting een belangrijke rol heeft vervuld bij de vertegenwoordiging en handhaving van het Nederlandsch Gezag.”

For the occasion the Batavia daily Het Nieuws van den Dag voor Nederlandsch-Indië issued the sixteen-page Extra Jubileum-nummer Het Korps Maréchaussée in Atjeh: De Atjehsche Garde, carrying an editorial history of the corps, an interview with Colonel L. A. Snell (“Old Hand”), the memoir of the former maréchaussée W. J. Mosselman, portrait notices of decorated officers and men, and the Overzicht van Onderscheidingen for the whole period 1890–1930.

The ceremony was to be held before the Kerkhof te Peutjoet near Koeta Radja. A deputation travelled from Java on board the Tasman.

At that date the corps stood at 23 officers and 1,214 men, its five divisions quartered at Blang Kedjeren, Meulaboh, Takèngan, Lam Meulo and Lho Soekon, with a sixth division at Bakongan formed at the end of 1927. Over the forty years approximately 950 of its members had fallen and about 250 had been wounded.

See Also

Account from Land en Volk van Atjeh Vroeger en Nu

Volkstelling (census) — the first to cover all of Aceh; showed the residency has just over 18 inhabitants/km², 97% indigenous, with the most densely populated afdeeling Noordkust reaching max 50/km².

Source: J. Jongejans, Land en Volk van Atjeh Vroeger en Nu (Baarn: Hollandia Drukkerij N.V., c. 1938), pp. 21, 24, 94.

Source

Atjeh, by H.C. Zentgraff (Batavia: Drukkerij “De Unie”, 1938), chapter on the Korps Marechaussee jubilee.

Atjeh-terpentijn: tegenwoordige kwaliteit en nieuwe beoordeelingen, by Ir. W. Spoon, Berichten van de Afdeeling Handelsmuseum van de Koninklijke Vereeniging Koloniaal Instituut No. 57 (Amsterdam: J. H. de Bussy, 1930).

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.

Het Korps Maréchaussée in Atjeh: De Atjehsche Garde, 1890 - 2 April 1930 (“The Corps of Maréchaussée in Atjeh: The Atjehnese Guard”), Extra Jubileum-nummer of Het Nieuws van den Dag voor Nederlandsch-Indië issued for the fortieth anniversary of the corps (1930), pp. 1-16. Offprint DLP-143, Bibliotheek KITLV, accession 621 116 794.

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. 21, 24, 94.

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