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View all search resultsDiponegoro just wants to get respect: Carey
The five-year guerrilla campaign resulted in a pyrrhic victory for the Dutch colonial government, leaving them in bankruptcy with millions of guilders of debt.
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Celebration: British historian Peter Carey (left) speaks at the Urip iku Urub (Life is Light) book launch in Malang, East Java, in November. He was accompanied by editor FX Domini BB Hera (center) and historian Kuncoro Hadi. The book was presented as a birthday gift for Carey, who turned 70 in April. (-/Nedi Putra AW)
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his week, two hundred years have passed since Prince Diponegoro and his followers took up arms and started a war that lasted for five years, one of the biggest wars of the 19th century outside of Europe. This war also kicked off a nationalist ferment that would culminate in the country's independence on Aug. 17, 1945. It was among the most significant anti-colonial wars in the country's history.
The five-year guerrilla campaign resulted in a pyrrhic victory for the Dutch colonial government, leaving them in bankruptcy with millions of guilders of debt.
This July 20th marks two hundred years since the start of the war, when Diponegoro's followers engaged in a scuffle with Dutch road workers, who received orders for to conduct repair works near the prince's estate in Tegalrejo, East of Yogyakarta. British historian Peter Carey, who has dedicated his career to researching the Javanese prince, spoke with The Jakarta Post's Nur Janti about the prince's motives and strategy. Below are excerpts from the interview.
Question: What motivated Diponegoro to go to war?
Answer: So it comes down to a very simple thing: he wanted to be respected. Diponegoro said to the Dutch, “If you respect me, honor my language, religion and way of life, there will be no problem. We could live together. But there is one condition: if you rent a plot of land or buy tobacco, coffee or anything from rural Java, you must pay a fair price. Otherwise, there is no chance of us remaining friends.”
Read also: Diponegoro and the birth of Indonesian nationalism
Were there any other motives, maybe Diponegoro’s desire to become a sultan?
