Java War

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 1825–30 Location Java Result Dutch victory Prince Diponegoro exiled to Magelang; rebellion halted due to exile
Belligerents
The Netherlands Pro-Netherlands Javanese	Rebellion forces of Prince Diponegoro
Commanders and leaders
General De Kock	Prince Diponegoro
Strength
50,000	100,000
Casualties and losses
1,000[citation needed]–10,000[citation needed]	10,000[citation needed]–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 Prince Diponegoro. The proximate cause was the Dutch decision to build a road across a piece of his property that contained his parents' 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. Also, the succession of the throne in Yogyakarta was disputed: 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 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 guerrilla war and it was not until 1827 that the Dutch army gained the upper hand.

It is estimated that 200,000^[1] died over the course of the conflict, 8,000 being Dutch.^[1] 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 Dutch").

See also

• Anglo-Dutch Java War

Indonesia portal

References

1. ^ ^{a b} M.C. RicKlefs: A History of modern Indonesia since 1300, p. 117.

Books

• 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.
• MC Ricklefs, A History of modern Indonesia since 1300, 2nd ed, 1993, pp. 116–17.
• Sagimun M. D. Pangeran Dipanegara: pahlawan nasional [Jakarta]: Proyek Biografi Pahlawan Nasional, Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, 1976. (In Indonesian)

External links

• Netherlands Java War 1825-1830