Aceh War 1874-1905
Aceh War 1874-1905
Aceh War 1874-1905 - The Aceh War occurred throughout the years 1874-1905 between the Acehnese people and the Dutch East Indies Colonial Government. Please note beforehand, the Kingdom of Aceh has a very well-known position as a trading center. Aceh produced a lot of pepper , mines and forest products , so the Dutch wanted to occupy the Aceh kingdom and control it . the Acehnese still wanted to maintain their sovereignty even though the Dutch wanted to dominate.
Around 1875, Teuku Umar made a move by approaching the Dutch and his relationship with the Dutch was getting stronger, this relationship was done to fight the Dutch colonialism of Aceh by using tactics and strategies to approach the Dutch.
In 1876 the Dutch had directed their troops and carried out large-scale attacks against the centers of power and strength of the Acehnese troops, such as Simpang Ulim and Tanjung Seumantok.
In December 1876 the two regions were conquered by the Dutch and forced to recognize Dutch sovereignty. Habib Abdurrahman in June 1877 had succeeded in holding negotiations with Tengku Cik Ditiro and Imam Leungbangta in Pidie to discuss issues related to war strategy.
Meanwhile attacks on Dutch forts were intensified. Habib's attack was mainly aimed at disrupting and weakening the Dutch posts which were the closing line that circled between Kreung Raba, Lambaro, Uleekarang and Clients.
In addition to attacks on military posts and intercepting convoys of Dutch troops, damage to military buildings was also carried out, such as the bridge connecting the Krueng Cut and Cross towns and the burning of the armory at Pendeti. Tengku Cik Ditiro attacked the Dutch post in Cigieng, while the King of Samalanga, Tengku Cik Bugis led the resistance on the battlefield in the Greater Aceh region. The widening of the battlefield in the Aceh area made it difficult for the Dutch to divide their troops to be sent to various regions.
To occupy Samalanga a large Dutch army was dispatched on August 8, 1877 under the leadership of Colonel Van der Heidjen. To accompany these troops, no less than 11 warships were deployed, plus 6 chartered carriers. This troop landed on the coast of Peli Baroh.
This caused panic among the Dutch soldiers. In the fierce battle that then took place, the Acehnese managed to kill several officers. Besides that, there were still many subordinate officers and Dutch soldiers who died and suffered injuries due to the events of the war.
In June 1878 there had been battles between Habib's troops and Dutch troops in various places. These include Blang Eu, Peukan Rhino and Bukit Sirun. Then there was also a fierce battle in the valley of Beradin, manta opium dang le taron. Since Habib Abdurrahman led the resistance, the Dutch had a lot of difficulty in defending the areas they occupied. However, with the departure of troops led by Van Heidjen on July 23, 1878, the Dutch managed to control the battle areas and occupy Seunaloh in succession on July 25. Occupied aneu bate on 27 july, aneu galong and montasik on 28 july.
One thing that slightly weakened the strength of the Acehnese was the surrender of Habib Abdurrahman on October 13, 1878 in battles - the battles so far Habib had shown a brave attitude. Maybe Habib Abdurrahman surrendered because his headquarters in Montasik had been taken by the Dutch and because of his defeat in the battle at Longi.
Tengku Muda Baid, the head of Mukim VII Baid, surrendered and the Dutch gave the task of quelling the popular resistance that was still raging in the Aceh area, especially in the Baid area. Later, it turned out that the young teungku baid turned to the side of the people and fought against the Dutch.
In a battle, Tengku Muda Baid was caught by the Dutch and finally Tengku Baid was exiled by the Dutch to the Banda area. Meanwhile, Teungku Cik Ditiro was still fighting against the Dutch. The Dutch fort in Sigli was attacked in April and May 1878. The Dutch fort in Pidie, which was built since 1876, remains the target of the Acehnese fighters.
In order to weaken the Dutch fighters, they carried out strict supervision so that rice and goods for daily needs and weapons were imported through Bandar Pidie, not transported directly to the Greater Aceh area to help the fighters, given the continued disturbance of this matter from the Teungku Cikditiro troops against the fort. In the Netherlands, van der Heidjen immediately carried out attacks on Cik Ditiro's largest defense strongholds in the Pidie area. The attack of the Dutch troops against the Garot fighters' camp could be thwarted by Cik Ditiro's troops.
In the resistance against the Dutch in the West Aceh area, the role of Tengku Umar was very large, the resistance was initially carried out in his own area, on land but then expanded to the entire Maelaboeh area. That's why the Dutch tried to surrender their troops to seize the land village which was the headquarters of Tengku Umar. In the Aceh Besar area, in 1882, Teungku Umar launched various attacks on Dutch posts and forced the Dutch to leave several of their posts, including those in the Kreung area.
In 1884 Sultan Mahmud Daudsyah had grown up and with the support of Mangkubumi Tuanku Hasyim and the scholars, including Teungku Cik Ditiro, had been active in carrying out his duties as the Sultan of Aceh, based in the Kaumala area. During the reign of this sultan, Aceh's resistance to the Dutch continued to be intensified by the Aceh sultanate. From this, the Dutch became more aware that facing the greatest resistance from the people in various regions would be difficult and would be more costly and costly. Therefore, the Dutch focused more on controlling the areas they had controlled, such as the Kotaraja area and the surrounding area. The safeguards included in this cross concentration were strengthened.
On June 14, 1886, Teungku Umar attacked the Hok Canton ship anchored in the Ragaih Beach area. Teungku Umar he suspected the owner of the ship who came from Denmark that the captain of the ship would arrest Tengku Umar and hand over Tengku Umar into the hands of the Dutch for a fee of 25,000 dollars. To conquer Aceh, the Netherlands in the end took another path, namely wanting to know the secrets of Aceh, especially regarding its social and cultural life.
The Dutch East Indies colonial government also received instructions from Snouck Hurgronje who had studied Islam in Aceh, he said that one of the best ways the Dutch could take to control the Aceh region was to divide the forces that existed within the Acehnese people. and meanwhile the resistance in the Aceh area continued to be carried out by Acehnese fighters against the Dutch.
The urgency of Aceh forced the Panglima Polim and 150 of his followers to surrender on September 6, 1903. With this incident, the resistance of the Acehnese people weakened again and made it easier for the Dutch to instill their power in all areas in Aceh. This does not mean that the conflict between the Dutch and Acehnese has disappeared completely, the fact is that in the 20th century the Acehnese people's resistance to the Dutch colonial government was still numerous and often occurred.
On the other hand, the Acehnese fighters were also aggressively attacking the Dutch government such as the guerrilla attack on Aceh by the Dutch. The Acehnese fighters were very eager to dispel the domination by the Dutch over the Aceh area. The Aceh War occurred in 1881-1904, the war was continued in a guerrilla manner and the fi sabilillah war was waged. Where the system of guerrilla warfare was carried out until 1904.