History Today, September 23, 1915: The Position Of Sultan Of Ternate, Muhammad Usman Syah Was Removed By The Dutch

Haji Muhammad Usman Syah, who served as Sultan of Ternate from 1902-1915. (Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA History today, 108 years ago, September 23, 1915, the colonial government of the Dutch East Indies ended the power of Haji Muhammad Usman Syah as Sultan of Ternate. The poncopotan was perpetuated because the man who is familiarly called Haji Usman Syah launched an uprising against the Dutch.

Previously, the Dutch lifestyle monopolized that the spice trade in Ternate was considered detrimental. The people of Ternate often had bad luck. The people's movement is limited. They are squeezed like dairy cows. The tax raids drawn from the people are also not playing big.

The desire of the colonial government of the Dutch East Indies to control the archipelago has never collapsed. They did not only focus their power on the island of Java. Because, Dutch power is growing to Sulawesi. Ternate, for example.

The area that has been colonized since the era of the Dutch trading airline, the VOC has become a money mine. Colonials are able to control everything. From the election of Sultan Ternate to taxes. The Dutch cleverly blackmailed the people of Ternate like dairy cows.

The law then received widespread opposition. The people of Ternate considered the Dutch to be outrageous. Taxes that swelled then created resistance. All the people of Ternate and surrounding areas tried to rebel against the Dutch in 1914.

The rebellion was widely known as the Jailolo War. The war was commanded by a fighter named Banau. Banau's sincerity against the Dutch received appreciation from here and there. Moreover, he succeeded in killing the Dutch Controller, Agerbeek.

The narrative made him supported by many parties. Sultan of Ternate, Haji Muhammad Usman Syah helped Banau. The Sultan of Ternate moved his territory to fight the Dutch simultaneously.

Attack after attack made the Dutch furious. Even the Dutch did not want to lose. The colonizers also deployed their troops to fight back in the Jailolo War. The Dutch will not be willing to let go of their territory.

Even though they have lost their power, some of the next Sultans of Ternate are still struggling to get Ternate out of the Dutch grip. With limited capabilities because they are always monitored, they are only able to secretly support the struggle of their people. The last one was 1914 Sultan Haji Muhammad Usman Syah (1896-1927) mobilizing the people's resistance in his territory.

Starting in the Banggai area under the leadership of Hairuddin Tomagola, but failed. In Jailolo the people of Tudolongi, Tuwada, and Kao under the leadership of Kapita Banau managed to cause losses on the Dutch side, many Dutch soldiers were killed including the controlr of the Dutch Agerbeek and their headquarters were torn apart," wrote J. SuyURThi Pulungan in the book History of Islamic Civilization in Indonesia (2019).

The struggle of the people of Ternate in the Jailolo War was not a big joke. However, that does not mean the resulting attack could repulse the Dutch. The superiority of the weapons and fleet made the Dutch able to turn things around. The Dutch became above the wind.

Many insurgency leaders were arrested. Sultan Haji Usman Syah, moreover. The Dutch then chose to detain him. This strategy is so that the followers of Sultan Haji Usman Syah will be charcoal.

Moreover, the position of Haji Usman Syah as ruler of Ternate was removed by the Dutch on September 23, 1915. Even then Haji Usman Syah underwent his finally days in exile, Bandung.

Regarding the fate of Sultan Haji Usman Syah, after three months of being detained in Bacan, the Zawaw ship was deported to Batavia (Jakarta). Based on the Governor General's Decree dated September 23, 1915 number 47, Sultan was removed from his position.

"He then served his disposal period in Bandung for 19 years without a court process. He only returned to Ternate in 1933, at the request of Sultan Jabir Syah. To run the government in Jailolo, Resident Ternate appointed a military officer with the rank of captain to hold the position of Controllition assisted by a civilian as a gezaghebber (head of the district level government)," explained M. Adnan Amal in the book The Spice Islands (2016).