Detail

Forts in Kalimantan

2010-11-21

When the Dutch returned in 1816, the political situation in North West Kalimantan had changed. In the 18th century Chinese gold diggers settled in this area. They founded independent republics, the so called kongsi's, which soon got political power. On request of the sultan of Sambas the Dutch built several forts as protection against the Chinese. A war broke out and in 1824 the Chinese occupied fort Singkawang and attacked fort Sambas. The outbreak of the Java War prevented an escalation of the hostilities.

In 1850 only a small part of the 21,000 KNIL was permanent stationed on Borneo: 300 man on West Borneo and 230 in the south east. In case of war troops had to be transported from Java to the war zone. Steamships made the transport independent of the monsoons.

In 1850 the sultan of West Borneo asked Batavia again to support him against the Chinese. During the Kongsi wars (1850-1854) the KNIL occupied Pemangkat at the mouth of the Sambas River where they built a fort.  After a break of one year the Chine rook the initiative, but the reinforced Dutch army took the fortified Chinese capital Montrado, but the Chinese withdraw to the hinterland and started a guerilla war. The KNIL won but after much bloodshed under the non-combatant population.

The Dutch claimed that Kalimantan was a part of the Netherlands-East Indies, but in reality it was no more than a claim on paper. In 1823 fort Sintang was built, but after several years is was closed.  Adventurers used the vacuum and tried to create their own kingdom. The most successful was James Brooke, who in 1847 became raja of Serawak in north Borneo. The Dutch were afraid of future British expansion and in 1855 reoccupied fort Sintang. The reaction came not from the British but from the angry Dayak population. Their attack on fort Sintang failed but till 1913 there was much resistance against the Dutch. The KNIL build forts in Nangah Pinoh and Sungai Pinang to control the area.

In 1733 the Dutch signed a treaty with the sultan of Banjarmasin in East Borneo. In the 19th century their support got another economic goal. The steamship had the future and the coalmines of Bandjermasin made the Dutch East Indies independent of the import of coal. In    1852 the Dutch unfortunately supported the unpopular successor to the late sultan. The result   was a general uprising, known as the Bandjermasin war (1859/1862). It was the first war in which steam-powered gunboats sailed hundreds of kilometers inland for bombardments, blockades and landing soldiers.

After the war the sultanate was abandoned and East Borneo came under the direct rule of Batavia.  It proofed that the Bandjarmasin coal had a very bad quality and could not be used in modern steam engines.

At the end of the 19th century oil was discovered in north east Borneo. Balikpapan and Tarakan became the centre of the oil industry. After the First World War Batavia realized that the growing economic and military power of Japan was based on oil and raw material from the Dutch East Indies. The Dutch feared a Japanese commando raid to occupy the oil harbors. In 1927 soldiers of the KNIL were stationed on Balikpapan and Tarakan. After the outbreak of the Second World War in Europe in September 1939 coastal batteries and bunkers were built in both harbours. The main goal of these defenses was to win enough time to destroy the oilinstallations.

On January 11, 1942 Tarakan was the first target of the Japanese invasion of the East Indies. According to plan the Dutch destroyed the oil wells and fought a two days battle with the attackers.  In the aftermath of the battle the coast battery Karungan sank two Japanese minesweepers.  The oil installations of Balikpapan were already destroyed before the Japanese landing. The Japanese offensive to south Borneo continued and the rest of the island was occupied without much resistance.

The Japanese repaired the oil wells and built fortifications in Tarakan and Balikpapan. In May 1945 the Australians in Tarakan and later in Balikpapan. Both towns were taken after fierce fighting. It was the begin of the planned Allied offensive to liberate Java, but the war ended before the allies could realize their goal.

source:

Hooyer,G.B.; De krijgsgeschiedenis van Nederlandsch- Indië. 3 volumes (Batavia / Den Haag, 1895-1897)

Moor, J.A. De; Warmakers in the archipelago, Dutch expeditions in nineteenth century Indonesia. in J.A. de Moor and H.L. Wesseling (eds.) Imperialism and war.  (Contemporary studies in Overseas History. volume 8) E.J. Brill / University press Leiden, 1989. page 50-71.

Moor, J.A. De; Met klewang en karabijn: een militaire geschiedenis van Nederladnsch Indië (1815-1949) in  J.R. Bruijn, Dr. C.B. Wels (eds). Met man en macht. De militairegeschiedenis van Nederland 1550-2000 . Uitgeverij Balans. Amsterdam, 2003. page179-198.

Rees, W.A. van; De Bandjermasinsche krijg van 1859- 1863. 2 volumes. Thieme. Arnhem, 1865.