Dutch East Indies Colonial Government In Batavia Was Invaded By The British In Today's History, August 4, 1811

The naval war between England and the Netherlands in a painting by Pieter Cornelisz van Soest in 1667. (Royal Greenwich Museum)

JAKARTA – Today's history, 211 years ago, August 4, 1811, the British invaded the colonial government of the Dutch East Indies. The attack was carried out in full force. Britain brought 60 warships with 12 thousand troops.

Everything stems from the ambition of Thomas Stamford Raffles (later became: Lieutenant Governor General of the Dutch East Indies) to control the Nusantara. Raffles understands that the strength of the Dutch East Indies since Daendels left him has weakened. He also mercilessly conquered his opponent.

Perhaps the power of Governor-General Herman Willem Daendels was just for a while. However, the impact is quite large. He restored the body of the colonial government. The owner of the power who was once full of corrupt officials, he began to fix it. Whoever is found to be corrupt, the punishment awaits. In fact, to the point of death.

Portrait of Sir Thomas Stanford Raffles by George Francis Joseph. (Wikimedia Commons)

Therefore, Daendels became one of the pioneers who dared to execute corruptors in the Nusantara. For him, there is no mercy for geeks who harm the colonial government, aka corrupt officials only become parasites from the government wheel.

His ability to lead had an impact on Javanese kings and Bumiputra officials. Daendels asserts that there is nothing that distinguishes them from the Javanese king. The position is equal. All kinds of extravagant ceremonies carried out to greet the king were eliminated. Sitting must be in the aligned position. Inevitably anger came.

Already complete. Daendels despised corrupt officials and the King of Java. However, the flame of Daendels' spirit to lead had to be extinguished. Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte needed his services to lead the war. Daendels was recalled to France on June 29, 1811.

Map of Java in Sir Thomas Stanford Raffles' masterpiece, The History of Java. (Wikimedia Commons)

“Dandels' withdrawal to the Netherlands was accompanied by his appointment as commander in chief. There he was given instructions to lead the unit of Wurtemberg and was involved in the invasion of Russia on June 22, 1812. After Napoleon lost at Waterloo and the Netherlands became independent again, Daendels offered himself to King Willem I, but received no response,“ said Joko Darmawan in the book Sejarah Nasional: Ketika Nusantara Berbicara (2017).

Daendels' departure was immediately used by the British to invade Batavia on August 4, 1811. The British were able to go to Batavia with full force: 60 warships with 12 thousand troops. The raid was none other than the initiation of Raffles.

Fort Marlborough in Bengkulu, one of the remnants of British colonial rule in Indonesia. (Antara)

In Raffles' eyes, Nusantara is a paradise. Its natural wealth is second to none, and so is its culture. He considered the Nusantara as the center of high civilization in ancient times. Therefore, it is a shame if it is not immediately mastered.

“It took almost 24 and four hours to complete the landing of 12 thousand people from the ship in Cilincing. The British army consisted of almost equal size European and Indian regiments.”

“It was thought that the Indians would cope better with Java's climate than the Europeans, but it soon became apparent that no one was immune to the poison of the swamp and the heat of the sun. There has not been a battle yet, but the rotten air has killed the first line of infantry at the end of the first day, and will soon take the first casualties,” said Tim Hannigan in the book Raffles and the British Invasion of Java (2015).

The British invasion of the Dutch in Batavia is part of today's history, August 4, 1811, in Indonesia.