The History of Palembang : the War of Palembang Sultanate Against European Imperialist .

The Sultanate of Palembang Darussalam was an Islamic empire in Indonesia which was located in the vicinity of the present-day city of Palembang, South Sumatra. This sultanate was proclaimed by Sri Susuhunan Abdurrahman, a Palembang aristocrat in 1659, but its existence was abolished by the Dutch colonial government on 7 October 1823 and made it the Dutch colony since then(wikipedia.com).

The Fall of the Sultanate of Palembang Darussalam had been brought about by a series of military attack by VOC (Vereenigden Oostindisce Compagnie), a Dutch trade Union in the East Indies.  The Sultanate of Palembang Darussalam was a prosperous Islamic kingdom with many  commodities including pepper,coconuts, rice and tin after the potential deposits found on the Bangka Islam.The economic potentials of the sultanate invited the VOC to dominate the trade by bringing the Sultanate under VOC control by using military attacks.

In 1610 the kingdom of Palembang had firts contact with the VOC. During the reign of Prince Sedo Ing Kenayan, VOC opened a trade representative office in Palembang. However  between 1647-1659 there was a dispute between Palembang and the VOC regarding the monopoly rights to the pepper trade on the Musi River. 

The presence of the Dutch in Palembang was not without reason. It seems that they had already known that the Palembang Sultanate was one of the largest pepper producers in the archipelago.In addition, the Bangka and Belitung regions which were part of the Palembang Sultanate were also known as large tin producers. Not to mention the strategic location of Palembang so that it became a stopover for merchant ships from outside which increasingly linked the Dutch desire to control Palembang.

In 1659 the VOC attacked the Kingdom Palembang and the Kuto Gawang Palace became a sea of fire and flattened to the ground. Pangeran Sido Ing Rejek (1652-1659) escaped and died in Saka Tiga, Indralaya. Following the destruction of the kingdom of Palembang, then the Sultanate of Palembang Darussalam was founded by Kimas Hindi or Pangeran Candiwalang, the younger brother of Pangeran Sedo Ing Rejek as the next ruler of Palembang with the title Sri Susuhunan Abdurrahman Khalifatul Mukmin Sayidul Iman. 

Establising the Palembang Darussalam Sultanate free of Mataram control, he became the first Sultan. In 1706 he crowned his son the son of Ratu Agung as the second King of Palembang Darussalam with the title Sultan Muhammad Mansur (1706-1714). Then Sultan Muhammad Mansur was replaced by his younger brother, Raden Uju, who was later crowned Sultan Agung Komaruddin Sri Truno (1714-1724). Then he was replaced by his nephew Pangeran Ratu Jayo Wikramo with the title Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin I who ruled from 1724-1758. 

Prince Adi Kesumo was the second son of Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin I who was crowned the fifth Sultan of Palembang Darussalam with the title Sultan Ahmad Najamuddin I who ruled from 1758- 1776.Then Sultan Ahmad Najamuddin I was replaced by a crown prince whose title Sultan Muhammad Bahaudin was crowned as the sixth Sultan of Palembang Darussalam who reigned from 1776-1803. 

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the Palembang Sultanate experienced significant economic growth. The inability of the VOC and the Dutch government to exercise a monopoly (both financially and militarily) made Palembang more free to take large profits through illicit trade with other parties, such as Britain and China. Deposits of commodities such as tin and pepper to the Dutch continued to decline, until they disappeared altogether in the early 19th century. Even so, Sultan Muhammad Bahauddin ( 1776–1803) still tried to maintain good relations with the Netherlands, and did not intend to fully cancel the contracts that had existed between the two parties.

Mutinghe War

On September 14, 1811, there an incident of mass murder of the inhabitants of the Dutch lodge in the Sultanate of Palembang on September 14, 1811. This massacre was carried out by a group of aristocrats from the Palembang Sultanate, although contemporary sources also imply British involvement wishing to replace the Dutch in Palembang. 

The first foreign nation to come into conflict with the sultanate was Britain, which held a temporary mandate over the Dutch colonies in the archipelago until the war against Napoleon in Europe was over. The incident of killing Europeans in Palembang known as the "Palembang Massacre" made Raffles furious to the leader of the sultanate at that time, Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II (1803-1821).

Raffles then ordered Major General Robert Gillispie to storm Palembang, but was met with fierce resistance from Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II. After surrendering to the British, the territory of the sultanate was divided into two, the hinterland became the rule of Badaruddin II, while the capital was controlled by Sultan Ahmad Najmuddin II, Badaruddin II's cousin who was traitorous.

Things started to change when the 1814 London Convention was inaugurated. The essence of this convention states that Britain must give back the VOC colonies it controls to the Kingdom of the Netherlands.The Dutch East Indies colonial government ruled the archipelago, but this young government also left behind the chaos that had occurred in Sumatra as a result of Raffles who divided the Palembang Sultanate.That's why in 1818, the two sultanates were reunited with Badaruddin II as their sultan.

To find out the extent of the sultan's loyalty to the colonial government, the Dutch sent an expedition to the interior under the leadership of Muntinghe in May 1819.During his expedition Muntinghe was attacked by the people of Palembang and he blamed the sultan for the actions of his people. 

As a guarantee that the sultan would not do anything wrong, the colonial government asked the crown prince (Pangeran Ratu) to be brought to Batavia.The sultan's request was flatly refused. The Dutch responded to this by sending 200 soldiers and two of their warships, Eendtagt and Ajax, to punish Badaruddin II.However, the attack by 200 Dutch soldiers into Kuto Besak failed due to the strong fortress that was guarded by the people of Palembang.

Unable to penetrate the Kuto Besak wall (which was 2 meters thick), Muntinghe retreated and returned to Batavia on June 15, 1819.This victory was greeted with joy by the people of Palembang. But the sultan knew that the Dutch would return with greater strength.

Palembang War

The Dutch fleet returned to Palembang on 18 September 1819, accompanied by a very festive release when they departed from Batavia.The number of personnel deployed amounted to 2000 personnel and dozens of battleships led by Marine Admiral Wolterbeck.However, this second Dutch attempt also met with failure, because all the strategies put in place by Sultan Mahmud Badarudin went according to plan. The defeat angered the high-ranking officials in Batavia and finally Wolterbeck was demoted from the post of warlord in Palembang.

This time the Dutch prepared massively for their war needs in Palembang. Preparations were carried out for 3 years, from 1819 to 1821.To strengthen its fighting fleet, the Dutch ordered ships directly from Amsterdam. Some of them are special vessels used for uprooting wooden stakes.In addition, the Netherlands also brought in European troops who were veterans of the Napoleonic wars. For the leader of the fleet this time was Major General de Kock.

The strength of the Netherlands at that time was estimated to be 10 times greater than the second attack, with a total of 7000 personnel and 47 battleships. The large fleet finally left for Palembang on 9 May 1821 from Batavia.

In the sultanate camp, there was no significant upheaval. Badaruddin II finally relinquished the position of sultan and inherited it to Pangeran Ratu.Even so, the war command was still led by Badaruddin II. The fortresses on the islands of Kembaro and Plaju were reinforced with cannons purchased by Badaruddin II from a European.The number of people who are ready to take up arms for the sultanate itself is around 7000 to 8000 people.

De Kock's fleet finally arrived at the mouth of the Musi river on 22 May 1821. The obstacles that Wolterbeck encountered during the second attack were well handled by de Kock.Hidden gun posts on the shore of the Musi river were discovered and destroyed because he had obtained Badaruddin II's strategic map from a treacherous cleric.The only real obstacle to the fleet was disease. Many European soldiers were not able to adapt to tropical weather and finally 100 personnel died due to tropical disease outbreaks.

De Kock's fleet finally arrived at the mouth of the Musi river on 22 May 1821. The obstacles that Wolterbeck encountered during the second attack were well handled by de Kock.Hidden gun posts on the shore of the Musi river were discovered and destroyed because he had obtained Badaruddin II's strategic map from a treacherous cleric.The only real obstacle to the fleet was disease. Many European soldiers were not able to adapt to tropical weather and finally 100 personnel died due to tropical disease outbreaks.

The chaos finally exhausted the fleet and decided to retreat. The number of victims killed on the Dutch side was around 101 people, while on the Palembang side it was not known.Not wanting to suffer greater losses, de Kock asked Badaruddin II for a truce. He promised not to attack Palembang's forts on Friday.

In exchange Badaruddin II himself had to promise not to attack on Sundays. This is done to honor the holy days of each religion.Badaruddin II himself agreed because he also wanted to give his troops a chance to rest when they were fasting (at that time it was the month of Ramadan).

But the agreement only lasted a few days, because even though on Friday there was no armed contact, suddenly the Dutch troops stormed the fortresses on Kembaro Island and Plaju at dawn.Close war broke out, Dutch rifles against the spears and bayonet troops of Palembang. Due to a sudden attack, the defenses on Kembaro and Plaju Islands fell.

De Kock's fleet also sailed to the city center of Palembang and intended to destroy the Kuto Besak fortress. However, the 2 meter thick wall and solid rows of cannons made the ravaged fleet even more frustrated.Finally de Kock pulled out another cunning ploy. He showed Sultan Najamuddin IV (a relative of Badaruddin II who was unilaterally appointed by the Dutch) on one of his warships.Badaruddin II then decided to stop his attack because he didn't want to kill his own relative just for the satisfaction of defeating de Kock.Finally, the Kuto Besak fort fell and Badaruddin II and his warlords were captured by the Dutch.

So ended the third and final battle between the Palembang Sultanate against the Colonial Government. The title of sultan was finally handed over to Najamuddin IV from Pangeran Ratu on June 29, 1821.Badaruddin II and his family were finally exiled by the Dutch to Ternate on July 3, 1821. In fact, Najamuddin IV was unable to rule the sultanate because the people of Palembang did not support him.As a result, the Dutch intervened and finally abolished the sultanate system and replaced it with the residency of Palembang on 7 October 1823.

Source : https://daerah.sindonews.com