Chinese uprising in Mandor, Borneo

The Chinese uprising in Mandor (Borneo) in 1884 and 1885 was an uprising of ethnic Chinese, helped by the Dayaks, against the Dutch East Indies government.

This was the Dutch view of events - i.e. as an area already under Dutch rule, where that rule was threatened by an uprising. The insurgents appear to have seen things differently, evidently considering themselves as the last-ditch defenders of overwhelmingly Chinese Lanfang Republic which existed in this are since the late 18th Century, upholding it against a Dutch invasion which put a final end to its existence in 1884-85.

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Background

In western Borneo the Chinese established their first major mining settlement in 1760 and ousted Dutch settlers and the local Malay princes, including establishing a state of their own, the Lanfang Republic. By 1819 they came into conflict with the new Dutch government and were seen as "incompatible" with its objectives, yet indispensable for the development of the region. Thus, there was a long history of conflict preceding the outbreak of 1884-1885.

Start of the uprising

In a sudden outbreak of rebellion among the Chinese in Mandor on October 23, 1884, Controller De Rijk and 4 or 5 of his aides were killed in or near his home. The revolt spread very quickly because the Chinese were helped by the Dayaks and thus armed groups emerged which repeatedly attacked the Dutch patrols. There were defined as "gangs" by the Dutch authorities, and by their method of operation could also be termed as guerrilla bands.

Further events

Dutch colonial records provide details of various incidents and of the soldiers killed in them, defined - as was common usage at the time - as either "European" or "Native". As can be seen, these records provide little information on the motivation and grievances of the Chinese and Dayak insuregents, and take for granted that they had to be fought and suppressed.

The following incidents were marked in Dutch records:

The Mandor monument

In memory of the fallen in the Mandor revolt in 1889, the Dutch colonial authorities erected in Pontianak a memorial column.

At the front of the obelisk was a marble plate with the following names:

The text underneath reads: Fallen in battle.
The text at the back reads: In memory of:

The number and names of fallen Chinese and Dayak insurgents were not recorded with such exactitude.

Sources