Anglo-Dutch Java War
Encyclopedia
The Anglo-Dutch Java War in 1810–1811 was a war between Britain
and the Netherlands
(which had been annexed by the First French Empire
), fought entirely on the Island of Java in colonial Indonesia
.
was appointed Governor General of the Dutch East Indies
in 1807. He arrived in Java aboard the French privateer Virginie in 1808, and began fortifying the island against the threat of a British siege. In particular, Daendels established an entrenched camp named "Fort Cornelis" a few miles south of Batavia
. He also improved the island's defences by building new hospitals, barracks, arms factories and a new military college.
In 1810, the Netherlands were formally annexed by France. As part of the resulting changes, Jan Willem Janssens
was appointed personally by Napoleon Bonaparte to replace Daendels as Governor General. Janssens had previously served as Governor General of the Cape Colony
, and had been forced to capitulate after being defeated by British forces at the Battle of Blaauwberg
in 1806. He arrived in Java in April 1811 aboard the French frigates Méduse and Nymphe and the corvette Sappho, accompanied by several hundred French troops (light infantry) and some senior French officers.
The British had already occupied the Dutch East Indian possessions of Ambon
and the Molucca Islands. They had also recently captured the French islands of Réunion
and Mauritius
in the Mauritius campaign of 1809–1811
. Stamford Raffles
, an official of the British East India Company
who had been forced to leave the Dutch settlement at Malacca
when the Netherlands were annexed, suggested to Lord Minto
, the Governor-General of India
, that Java and the other Dutch possession should be captured. With the large forces which had been made available to him for the Mauritius campaign, Minto enthusiastically adopted the suggestion, and even proposed to accompany the expedition himself.
before proceeding to Java. The escorting fleet consisted of four ships of the line, fourteen frigates and seven sloops of war and corvettes. They were commanded by Commodore Robert Stopford, who succeeded Commodore William Robert Broughton
, judged to be too cautious.
The ships were: HMS Scipion (74 guns) (Flagship); HMS Cornwallis
(54);
HMS Barracouta (unknown); HMS Bucephalus (unknown); HMS Caroline (unknown); HMS Cornelia
(32); HMS Dasher
(18); HMS Doris
(32); HMS Harpy (unknown); HMS Hecate
(18); HMS Hesper
(18); HMS Hussar (38); HMS Illustrious
(74); HMS Leda (36); HMS Lion (4); HMS Minden (74); HMS Modeste (unknown); HMS Nisus (38); HMS Phaeton (38); HMS Phoebe
(38); HMS Presidente
(34); HMS Procris (unknown); HMS Psyche
(28); HMS Samarange (unknown); HMS Sir Francis Drake (unknown), and the East India Company's ships Ariel; Aurora; Malabar; Mornington; Nautilus; Psyche; Thetis; Vestal.
The embarked troops numbered 12,000, half of them Indian troops of the East India Company. General Samuel Auchmuty was the overall commander, but he delegated the field command to Major General Rollo Gillespie
.
The troops included the 22nd Light Dragoons
; 14th Foot; 59th Foot
; 69th Foot
; 78th Foot; 89th Foot; 102nd Foot
. There were also contingents of the Royal Marines
, and several regiments of Madras Native Infantry and Bengal Native Infantry.
on 4 August. They reached Batavia on 8 August, to find that it had been abandoned. General Janssens had always intended to rely on the tropical climate and disease to weaken the British army rather than oppose a landing. The British were disappointed to find that part of the town had been set on fire, and many warehouses full of goods such as coffee and sugar had been looted or flooded. A major incentive in many British operations in the Napoleonic Wars had been prize money
, awarded from the sale by the Crown of seized ships, cargoes, military stores and goods. The ruin of stores at Batavia disappointed many officers.
The British next seized the Dutch military and naval station at Weltevreeden. British losses did not exceed 100 while the defenders lost over 300. In one skirmish, one of Janssens's French subordinates, General Alberti, was killed when he mistook some British troops in green uniforms for Dutch troops. However, Janssens withdrew with his main force into Fort Cornelis.
.
The captured station at Weltevreeden proved an ideal base from which the British could lay siege to Fort Cornelis. On August 14, the British completed a trail through the forests and pepper plantations to allow them to bring up heavy guns and munitions, and opened siege works on the north side of the Fort. For several days, there were exchanges of fire between the fort and the British batteries, manned mainly by Royal Marines
and sailors from HMS Nisus.
On 21 August the Dutch launched a sortie and briefly seized three of the British batteries, until they were driven back some of the Bengal Sepoys and the 69th Foot
.
At dawn on 26 August, a deserter helped General Rollo Gillespie to capture two of the redoubts by surprise. Gillespie, who was suffering from fever, collapsed, but recovered to storm a third redoubt. The French General Jauffret was taken prisoner. Two Dutch officers, Major Holsman and Major Muller, sacrificed themselves to blow up the redoubt's magazine.
The three redoubts were nevertheless the key to the defence, and their loss demoralised most of Janssens's East Indian troops. Six thousand of them surrendered. The remainder fled the fort. Many Dutch troops also defected, repudiating their allegiance to the French.
The siege cost the British 630 casualties. The defenders' casualties were heavier, but only those among officers were fully recorded. Forty of them were killed, sixty-three wounded and 230 captured, including two French generals.
With his effective force reduced to a handful of men, Janssens surrendered two days later. The two French frigates Méduse and Nymphe evaded the British fleet and escaped to France.
and Palembang
(both in Sumatra
), Makassar
and Manado
(both in Celebes
), and Timor
were formally ceded to the British. Raffles was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Java. He ended Dutch administrative methods, liberalized the system of land tenure, and extended trade. In 1816, the British returned Java and other East Indian possessions to the Dutch as part of the accord ending the Napoleonic Wars
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
(which had been annexed by the First French Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
), fought entirely on the Island of Java in colonial Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
.
Background
The Netherlands had been controlled by France for several years and was already at war with Britain. The strongly pro-French Herman Willem DaendelsHerman Willem Daendels
Herman Willem Daendels was a Dutch politician who served as the 36th Governor General of the Dutch East Indies between 1808 and 1811....
was appointed Governor General of the Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
in 1807. He arrived in Java aboard the French privateer Virginie in 1808, and began fortifying the island against the threat of a British siege. In particular, Daendels established an entrenched camp named "Fort Cornelis" a few miles south of Batavia
History of Jakarta
The history of Jakarta begins with its first recorded mention as a Hindu port settlement in the 4th century. Ever since, the city had been variously claimed by the Indianized kingdom of Tarumanegara, Hindu Kingdom of Sunda, Muslim Sultanate of Banten, Dutch East Indies, Empire of Japan, and finally...
. He also improved the island's defences by building new hospitals, barracks, arms factories and a new military college.
In 1810, the Netherlands were formally annexed by France. As part of the resulting changes, Jan Willem Janssens
Jan Willem Janssens
Jonkheer Jan Willem Janssens GCMWO was a Dutch nobleman, soldier and statesman who served both as the governor-general of the Cape Colony and Dutch East Indies.-Early life:...
was appointed personally by Napoleon Bonaparte to replace Daendels as Governor General. Janssens had previously served as Governor General of the Cape Colony
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
, and had been forced to capitulate after being defeated by British forces at the Battle of Blaauwberg
Battle of Blaauwberg
The Battle of Blaauwberg, also known as the Battle of Cape Town, fought near Cape Town on 8 January 1806, was a small but significant military engagement. It established British rule in South Africa, which was to have many ramifications during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries...
in 1806. He arrived in Java in April 1811 aboard the French frigates Méduse and Nymphe and the corvette Sappho, accompanied by several hundred French troops (light infantry) and some senior French officers.
The British had already occupied the Dutch East Indian possessions of Ambon
Ambon Island
Ambon Island is part of the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The island has an area of , and is mountainous, well watered, and fertile. Ambon Island consists of 2 territories: The main city and seaport is Ambon , which is also the capital of Maluku province and Maluku Tengah Ambon Island is part of the...
and the Molucca Islands. They had also recently captured the French islands of Réunion
Réunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
and Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
in the Mauritius campaign of 1809–1811
Mauritius campaign of 1809–1811
The Mauritius campaign of 1809–1811 was a series of amphibious operations and naval actions fought to determine possession of the French Indian Ocean territories of Île de France and Île Bonaparte during the Napoleonic Wars...
. Stamford Raffles
Stamford Raffles
Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles, FRS was a British statesman, best known for his founding of the city of Singapore . He is often described as the "Father of Singapore"...
, an official of the British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
who had been forced to leave the Dutch settlement at Malacca
Malacca
Malacca , dubbed The Historic State or Negeri Bersejarah among locals) is the third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang. It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south...
when the Netherlands were annexed, suggested to Lord Minto
Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto
Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto PC , known as Sir Gilbert Elliott between 1777 and 1797 and as The Lord Minto between 1797 and 1813, was a Scottish politician diplomat....
, the Governor-General of India
Governor-General of India
The Governor-General of India was the head of the British administration in India, and later, after Indian independence, the representative of the monarch and de facto head of state. The office was created in 1773, with the title of Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William...
, that Java and the other Dutch possession should be captured. With the large forces which had been made available to him for the Mauritius campaign, Minto enthusiastically adopted the suggestion, and even proposed to accompany the expedition himself.
British forces
The British force sailed from Madras and Calcutta in April, 1811. The complete force gathered at PenangPenang
Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...
before proceeding to Java. The escorting fleet consisted of four ships of the line, fourteen frigates and seven sloops of war and corvettes. They were commanded by Commodore Robert Stopford, who succeeded Commodore William Robert Broughton
William Robert Broughton
William Robert Broughton was a British naval officer in the late 18th century. As a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, he commanded HMS Chatham as part of the Vancouver Expedition, a voyage of exploration through the Pacific Ocean led by Captain George Vancouver in the early 1790s.-With Vancouver:In...
, judged to be too cautious.
The ships were: HMS Scipion (74 guns) (Flagship); HMS Cornwallis
HMS Cornwallis (1801)
HMS Cornwallis was a Royal Navy 54-gun fourth rate. Jemsatjee Bomanjee built the Marquis Cornwallis of teak for the East India Company. The Company sold her to the Royal Navy in 1801 shortly after she returned from an expedition against the Mahe Islands...
(54);
HMS Barracouta (unknown); HMS Bucephalus (unknown); HMS Caroline (unknown); HMS Cornelia
HMS Cornelia (1808)
HMS Cornelia was a Royal Navy 32-gun fifth-rate frigate, launched in 1808 at South Shields.Cornelia joined the service in 1808, under the command of Captain Henry Folkes Edgell and in 1810 was deployed to the squadron at the Cape of Good Hope...
(32); HMS Dasher
HMS Dasher
Five ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Dasher: was an 18-gun sloop launched in 1797. She became a convict hulk in 1832 and was broken up in 1838. was a wooden paddle packet launched in 1837 and sold in 1885. was a Charger-class torpedo-boat destroyer launched in 1895 and sold in 1912. was...
(18); HMS Doris
HMS Doris (1808)
HMS Doris was a 36-gun fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy that served between 1808 and 1829. She was the second ship of the Royal Navy to be named after the mythical Greek sea nymphe Doris....
(32); HMS Harpy (unknown); HMS Hecate
HMS Hecate (1809)
HMS Hecate was a Royal Navy 18-gun , built by John King at Upnor and launched in 1809. After serving in the British Navy, essentially entirely in the East Indies, she served in the Chilean Navy as Galvarino from 1818 until she was broken up in 1828....
(18); HMS Hesper
HMS Hesper (1809)
HMS Hesper was a Royal Navy 18-gun ship-sloop of the Cormorant class, launched in 1809 at Dartmouth. Her original builder, Benjamin Tanner, became bankrupt during her construction, so John Cock completed her. In 1810 she was reclassed as a 20-gun sixth rate ship ; in 1817 she was again re-rated,...
(18); HMS Hussar (38); HMS Illustrious
HMS Illustrious (1803)
HMS Illustrious was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 3 September 1803 at Rotherhithe.Illustrious served as a gunnery ship from 1854, and was broken up in 1868....
(74); HMS Leda (36); HMS Lion (4); HMS Minden (74); HMS Modeste (unknown); HMS Nisus (38); HMS Phaeton (38); HMS Phoebe
HMS Phoebe (1795)
HMS Phoebe was a 36-gun fifth rate of the British Royal Navy. She had a career of almost twenty years and fought in the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812...
(38); HMS Presidente
French frigate Président
The Président was a 40-gun frigate of the Gloire Class in the French Navy, built to a 1802 design by Pierre-Alexandre Forfait. She served with the French Navy from her completion in 1804 until late 1806 when the Royal Navy captured her...
(34); HMS Procris (unknown); HMS Psyche
French frigate Psyché (1804)
Psyché was a 36-gun vessel built between February 1798 and 1799 at Basse-Indre as a privateer. As a privateer she had an inconclusive but bloody encounter with HMS Wilhelmina of the Royal Navy, commanded by Commander Henry Lambert, off the Indian coast in April 1804. The French then brought her...
(28); HMS Samarange (unknown); HMS Sir Francis Drake (unknown), and the East India Company's ships Ariel; Aurora; Malabar; Mornington; Nautilus; Psyche; Thetis; Vestal.
The embarked troops numbered 12,000, half of them Indian troops of the East India Company. General Samuel Auchmuty was the overall commander, but he delegated the field command to Major General Rollo Gillespie
Rollo Gillespie
-Early life:Robert Rollo Gillespie grew up in County Down, in what was then the Kingdom of Ireland, after turning down the opportunity of going to Cambridge university he joined the 3rd Irish Horse as a Cornet. In 1786 he was involved in a duel in which he killed the opposing duellist. Fleeing to...
.
The troops included the 22nd Light Dragoons
22nd Dragoons
The 22nd Dragoons was the title held by a series of four Cavalry regiments of the British Army raised and disbanded between 1716 and 1945. The last regiment of this name existed during the Second World War, from 1 December 1940 until 30 November 1945....
; 14th Foot; 59th Foot
59th (2nd Nottinghamshire) Regiment of Foot
The 59th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1755 in response to the threat of renewed war with France. It was amalgamated with the 30th Regiment of Foot in 1881 to form The East Lancashire Regiment as part of the Childers Reforms.-Formation and numbering:In...
; 69th Foot
69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot
The 69th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1758 and amalgamated into The Welsh Regiment in 1881....
; 78th Foot; 89th Foot; 102nd Foot
New South Wales Corps
The New South Wales Corps was formed in England in 1789 as a permanent regiment to relieve the marines who had accompanied the First Fleet to Australia. The regiment, led by Major Francis Grose, consisted of three companies...
. There were also contingents of the Royal Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
, and several regiments of Madras Native Infantry and Bengal Native Infantry.
Fall of Batavia
Rather than make a direct attack on Batavia, Auchmuty landed his troops four days' march away at the undefended fishing village of CilincingCilincing
Cilincing is a subdistrict of North Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia. It is the northeastern most Subdistrict of Jakarta. Cakung Drain, part of Jakarta's flood canal, flow through Cilincing to Jakarta Bay....
on 4 August. They reached Batavia on 8 August, to find that it had been abandoned. General Janssens had always intended to rely on the tropical climate and disease to weaken the British army rather than oppose a landing. The British were disappointed to find that part of the town had been set on fire, and many warehouses full of goods such as coffee and sugar had been looted or flooded. A major incentive in many British operations in the Napoleonic Wars had been prize money
Prize money
Prize money has a distinct meaning in warfare, especially naval warfare, where it was a monetary reward paid out to the crew of a ship for capturing an enemy vessel...
, awarded from the sale by the Crown of seized ships, cargoes, military stores and goods. The ruin of stores at Batavia disappointed many officers.
The British next seized the Dutch military and naval station at Weltevreeden. British losses did not exceed 100 while the defenders lost over 300. In one skirmish, one of Janssens's French subordinates, General Alberti, was killed when he mistook some British troops in green uniforms for Dutch troops. However, Janssens withdrew with his main force into Fort Cornelis.
Siege of Fort Cornelis
Fort Cornelis measured 1 miles (1,609.3 m) in length by between 600 yards (548.6 m) and 800 yards (731.5 m) in breadth. Two hundred and eighty cannon were mounted on its walls and bastions. Its defenders were a mixed bag of Dutch, French and East Indies troops. Most of the locally raised East Indian troops were of doubtful loyalty and effectiveness, although there were some determined artillerymen from CelebesSulawesi
Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...
.
The captured station at Weltevreeden proved an ideal base from which the British could lay siege to Fort Cornelis. On August 14, the British completed a trail through the forests and pepper plantations to allow them to bring up heavy guns and munitions, and opened siege works on the north side of the Fort. For several days, there were exchanges of fire between the fort and the British batteries, manned mainly by Royal Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
and sailors from HMS Nisus.
On 21 August the Dutch launched a sortie and briefly seized three of the British batteries, until they were driven back some of the Bengal Sepoys and the 69th Foot
69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot
The 69th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1758 and amalgamated into The Welsh Regiment in 1881....
.
At dawn on 26 August, a deserter helped General Rollo Gillespie to capture two of the redoubts by surprise. Gillespie, who was suffering from fever, collapsed, but recovered to storm a third redoubt. The French General Jauffret was taken prisoner. Two Dutch officers, Major Holsman and Major Muller, sacrificed themselves to blow up the redoubt's magazine.
The three redoubts were nevertheless the key to the defence, and their loss demoralised most of Janssens's East Indian troops. Six thousand of them surrendered. The remainder fled the fort. Many Dutch troops also defected, repudiating their allegiance to the French.
The siege cost the British 630 casualties. The defenders' casualties were heavier, but only those among officers were fully recorded. Forty of them were killed, sixty-three wounded and 230 captured, including two French generals.
Later actions
General Janssens escaped the fort, with some of the defenders. He was joined on 3 September by 1,200 mounted irregulars under Prince Prang Wedono and other Javanese militia. On 16 September, he attacked a British force under Colonel Samuel Gibbs, but was repulsed. Many of the native militia killed their Dutch officers in the ensuing rout.With his effective force reduced to a handful of men, Janssens surrendered two days later. The two French frigates Méduse and Nymphe evaded the British fleet and escaped to France.
Aftermath
Java, PadangPadang, Indonesia
Padang is the capital and largest city of West Sumatra, Indonesia. It is located on the western coast of Sumatra at . It has an area of and a population of over 833,000 people at the 2010 Census.-History:...
and Palembang
Palembang
Palembang is the capital city of the South Sumatra province in Indonesia. Palembang is one of the oldest cities in Indonesia, and has a history of being a capital of a maritime empire. Located on the Musi River banks on the east coast of southern Sumatra island, it has an area of 400.61 square...
(both in Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
), Makassar
Makassar
Makassar, is the provincial capital of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, and the largest city on Sulawesi Island. From 1971 to 1999, the city was named Ujung Pandang, after a precolonial fort in the city, and the two names are often used interchangeably...
and Manado
Manado
Manado is the capital of the North Sulawesi province of Indonesia. Manado is located at the Bay of Manado, and is surrounded by a mountainous area. The city has about 405,715 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in Sulawesi after Makassar...
(both in Celebes
Sulawesi
Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...
), and Timor
Timor
Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, north of the Timor Sea. It is divided between the independent state of East Timor, and West Timor, belonging to the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. The island's surface is 30,777 square kilometres...
were formally ceded to the British. Raffles was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Java. He ended Dutch administrative methods, liberalized the system of land tenure, and extended trade. In 1816, the British returned Java and other East Indian possessions to the Dutch as part of the accord ending the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
.