Java War

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about war between Diponegoro and the colonial Dutch. For war between the Dutch and the British, see Anglo-Dutch Java War. For World War II sea battle, see Battle of the Java Sea.

Java War

The Submission of Prince Dipo Negoro to General De Kock, by Nicolaas Pieneman

Date	1825-1830
Location	Java
Result	Prince Diponegoro exiled to Magelang; Rebellion halted due to exile

Belligerents

The Netherlands
Pro-Netherlands Javanese

Rebellion forces of Prince Diponegoro

Commanders

General De Kock

Prince Diponegoro

Strength

50,000

100,000

Casualties and losses

1,000^{[citation needed]} to 10,000^{[citation needed]}

10,000^{[citation needed]} to 200,000^{[citation needed]}

The Java War or Diponegoro War was fought in Java between 1825 and 1830. It started as a rebellion led by the illustrious Prince Diponegoro. The trigger was the Dutch decision to build a road across a piece of his property that contained his parent's tomb. Among other causes was a sense of betrayal by the Dutch felt by members of the Javanese aristocratic families, as they were no longer able to rent land at high prices. There were also some problems with the succession of the throne in Yogyakarta: Diponegoro was the oldest son, but as his mother was not the queen, he did not have any right to succeed his father.

The troops of Prince Diponegoro were very successful in the beginning, controlling the middle of Java and besieging Yogyakarta. Furthermore the Javanese population was supportive of Prince Diponegoro's cause, whereas the Dutch colonial authorities were initially very indecisive.

However, as the Java war prolonged, Prince Diponegoro had difficulties in maintaining the numbers of his troops.

The Dutch colonial army however was able to fill its ranks with troops from Sulawesi and later on with troops from the Netherlands. The Dutch commander, General De Kock, was able to end the siege of Yogyakarta on September 25, 1825.

Prince Diponegoro started a fierce guerilla war and it was not until 1827 that the Dutch army gained the upper hand.

It is estimated that 200,000^{[citation needed]} died over the course of the conflict, 8,000 being Dutch.^{[citation needed]} The rebellion finally ended in 1830, after Prince Diponegoro was tricked into entering Dutch custody near Magelang, believing he was there for negotiations for a possible cease-fire, and exiled to Manado on the island of Sulawesi.

Because of the large number of European soldiers who perished in the war, the Dutch government decided to recruit African soldiers in Gold Coast, the so-called "Belanda Hitam" ("Black Dutchies").

[edit] See also

Anglo-Dutch Java War

[edit] Sources

Netherlands Java War 1825-1830
Carey, P.B.R. Babad Dipanagara : an account of the outbreak of the Java War (1825-30) : the Surakarta court version of the Babad Dipanagara Kuala Lumpur: Printed for the Council of the M.B.R.A.S. by Art Printing Works, 1981. Monograph (Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Malaysian Branch); no.9.
Sagimun M. D. Pangeran Dipanegara : pahlawan nasional [Jakarta] : Proyek Biografi Pahlawan Nasional, Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, 1976. {In Indonesian)