The British in Java
It is a constant matter of regret to British travellers who have visited Java that the island, once in our possession, should have been restored to Dutch rule.
It is not our purpose, however, to discuss the reasons for that restoration, contenting ourselves with the reflection that the capture of Java was merely part of the plan for breaking the power of Napoleon and destroying his dream of dominating the East. The alliance of European Powers having succeeded in encompassing the great Frenchman's downfall, there were doubtless good reasons at the time for reinstating the Dutch in an island where they had been established for two hundred years.
A perusal of the history of the British Expedition against Java brings into strong relief the annihilation of space and the improvements in marine travel during the past century.
It was on April 18, 1811, that the troopships carrying the first Division, commanded by Colonel Robert Rollo Gillespie, sailed from Madras Roads. On May 18, they anchored in Penang Harbour, and on June 1, at Malacca. Here they awaited the remainder of the flotilla, and were joined by Lord Minto, then Viceroy of India; Lieutenant-General Sir Samuel Auchmuty, Commander-in-Chief; and Commodore Broughton. While here, the British learned that Marshal Daendels, the Dutch Governor-General, had been recalled, and that General Janssens, with a large body of troops from France, had landed and taken over the command in Java.
Marshal Daendels had been the Governor-General when the Colony was taken over by the Crown of Holland from the Dutch East India Company. He has left the mark of his influence upon the Colony to this day, and many of the public works that remain as evidence of the pioneer days were due to his force of character and initiative. Some of his methods may not commend themselves to us in these more humane and enlightened days, any more than they were approved by his great English successor, Sir Stamford Raffles, such, for instance, as his construction of the post-road from Anjer Head to Banjoewangi, a distance of over 700 miles, at the cost of from twelve to twenty thousand lives; but it is not always easy to estimate at a distance of a hundred years the peculiar difficulties and conditions under which European Governors administered an oriental Colony. If, at times, he exceeded his instructions, as British Governors also had to do before they came under the thralldom of a Colonial Department at the end of a telegraph cable, we can forgive much in a man who accomplished so much.
Sir Stamford Raffles is careful to explain in the preface of his "History of Java" that as "in the many severe strictures passed upon the Dutch Administration in Java, some of the observations may, for want of a careful restriction in the words employed, appear to extend to the Dutch nation and character generally, I think it proper explicitly to declare that such observations are intended exclusively to apply to the Colonial Government and its officers. The orders of the Dutch Government in Holland to the authorities at Batavia, as far as my information extends, breathe a spirit of liberality and benevolence; and I have reason to believe that the tyranny and rapacity of its Colonial officers created no less indignation in Holland than in other countries of Europe."
On June 11, the British armada set out on the final stage of its journey. We can imagine the imposing show it made as it lay in the roadstead of Malacca, now shorn of its ancient importance and long since superseded as the foremost shipping port in the Far East.
The squadron consisted of four line of battle ships, fourteen frigates, seven sloops, eight Honourable East India Company's cruisers, fifty-seven transports and several gunboats—altogether over 100 sail. Composed equally of European and Indian troops, there were upwards of 10,000 men under Sir Samuel Auchmuty's command. The European troops included the 14th, 59th, 69th, 78th, and 89th Regiments of Infantry, Royal Artillery, and Royal Marines, and a small detachment of Royal Engineers.
A course was set for a rendezvous off the coast of Borneo, and on August 4, 1811, a landing was effected at Chillingching, a village about ten miles east of Batavia. To the astonishment of the British Commander, his landing was not opposed, the defending force being concentrated in the neighbourhood of Weltevreden and Meister Cornelius, to-day the thriving residential suburbs of Batavia.
General Janssens rejected Lord Minto's summons to surrender.
On August 10, Batavia was in the hands of the British troops, and on that day, after two hours of hard fighting, Weltervreden was captured, the 78th Highlanders having a heavy casualty list amongst their officers.
The French troops bravely contended every foot of ground, and battles, with heavy losses on both sides, were fought on August 22, August 24, and August 26. Colonel Gillespie, who led the advance in each of these engagements, performed prodigies of bravery in the latter fight, for we read that "Colonel Gillespie took one General in the batteries, one in the charge, and a Colonel, besides having a personal affair in which another Colonel fell by his arm."
Altogether, the British captured three General officers, 34 field officers, 70 captains and 150 subaltern officers in these fights.
The rout of the enemy was complete. General Janssens made his escape to Buitenzorg, thirty miles distant, with a few cavalrymen and the remnants of his army of 13,000 men. He did not remain here long, but fled eastwards.
A British force was shipped to Cheribon, where a large number of French officers were captured; and the port of Samarang was next attacked, with the object of forcing General Janssens back upon Solo, while the eastern end of the island was occupied by another British force. On September 10, an action was fought outside Samarang, and Janssens, defeated, retreated to Fort Salatiga; but eventually, being deserted by his troops, he opened up negotiations for capitulation.
This must have been a bitter experience for General Janssens, for it was not only the crowning misery of his defeat but marked the end of his military career, assuming that his Imperial master retained his power in Europe.
"Souvenez vous, Monsieur," Napoleon is reported to have said to him upon taking up his appointment, "Qu'un Génèral Francais ne se laissa pas prendre une seconde fois!"
The island having been wrested from the French, the British authorities set about the reform of the civil administration. This was not to be accomplished, however, without a test of strength between the natives and their new masters. An act of treachery soon called the troops into the field again.
During the Governorship of Marshal Daendels, the Sultan of Djocjakarta had been the most turbulent and intriguing of the native princes, and his conduct immediately after the British occupation gave occasion for serious uneasiness. Mr. Stamford Raffles, who had been appointed by Lord Minto Lieutenant-Governor of Java in December, 1811, went in person to see the Sultan. A treaty was entered into, under which the Sultan confirmed to the Honourable East India Company all the privileges, advantages and prerogatives which had been possessed by the Dutch and French authorities. To the Company also were transferred the sole regulation of the duties and the collection of tribute within the dominions of the Sultan, as well as the general administration of justice in cases where British interests were concerned.
This expedition of Mr. Raffles seems to have had exciting experiences, for we read:
[21]"The small British escort which accompanied Mr. Raffles, consisting only of a part of the 14th Regiment, a troop of the 22nd Light Dragoons and the ordinary garrison of Bengal Sepoys in the Fort and at the Residency, were not in a condition to enforce terms anyway obnoxious to the personal feelings of the Sultan. The whole retinue, indeed, of the Governor were in imminent danger of being murdered. Krises were actually unsheathed by several of the Sultan's own suite in the Audience Hall where Mr. Raffles received that Prince, who was accompanied by several thousands of armed followers expressing in their behaviour such an infuriated spirit of insolence as openly to indicate that they only waited for the signal to perpetrate the work of destruction, in which case not a man of our brave soldiers, from the manner in which they were surrounded, could have escaped."
For a time, however, an open breach of the peace was averted by the tact of Mr. Raffles and the outward appearance of bravery of the officers and men accompanying him.
Several expeditions were made into the interior to put down petty brigands, in much the same way as the Dutch are engaged in Flores and Celebes to-day, and a more imposing display of military force had to be made in Sumatra.
In the following year, the Sultan of Mataram in Djocjakarta again became troublesome, and it was found necessary to send a strong expedition against him. On June 20, the famous Water Castle at Djocjakarta was captured by assault, and the Sultan taken prisoner. He was exiled to Prince of Wales Island (Penang), and the Hereditary Prince was placed on the throne. The ruling native at Solo, who rejoiced in the imposing title of Emperor, made terms with the Lieutenant-Governor, and peace was established throughout the island, and was not disturbed seriously during the remainder of the British occupation.
Mr. Raffles set himself to establish a more humane administration than had hitherto prevailed, and anyone who wishes to realise the thoroughness with which this able administrator set himself to the task should read his "History of Java." It is replete with shrewd observations of the native customs, industries, antecedents, and languages, and shows how little change has been effected in the character and domestic customs of the people during the last hundred years.
The essence of his policy of administration is contained in the following sentence written by him:—"Let the higher departments be scrupulously superintended and watched by Europeans of character; let the administration of justice be pure, prompt and steady;" and it is satisfactory to one's sense of patriotism to know that that is the spirit which pervades British administration in her Crown Colonies to-day.