Aceh 1496-1908

Also referred to as Atjeh, Achin. An Islamic sultanate located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra, at times controlling land on both sides of the Malacca Straits. Its strategic location gave it political importance.

In 1816/1824 the Dutch and British agreed on delimitation of their mutual spheres of influence in the Malay Archipelago; Aceh was allocated to neither of them. In the SUMATRA TREATISE of 1871, Britain conceded Aceh to the Netherlands, in return for Dutch concessions regarding Sarawak/North Borneo and on the Gold Coast.
In 1832 (Quallah Battoo) and in 1838/1839 US troops landed in Aceh (Quallah Battoo, Muckie) to protect US interests.
The Sultan of Aceh sensed the imminent danger and sent a delegation to Singapore, where they contected the consuls of Italy and the USA (for a possible protectorate, 1873). The Dutch regarded this as the "Treason of Singapore" and declared war. The first Dutch attempt to conquer Aceh failed in 1873; in 1874 the Kraton (capital, called Koetaradja by the Dutch) was occupied and the Sultanate formally annexed. The Dutch controlled only the area around Koetaradja; most of the territory remained unoccupied, and the Acehnese continued to resist, regarding the struggle against the Dutch as a JIHAD.
The Dutch strategy of occupying the political center had failed; the resistance continued (2nd Acehnese War 1874-1880, 3rd Acehnese War 1884-1886, 4th Acehnese War since 1888).
In 1882, the population of Aceh was calculated as 479,419 (Meyers). Advised by scholar SNOUCK HURGRONJE, the Dutch army, under Lt. VAN HEUTSZ, adopted a new strategy of brutal repression. In 1903 the Acehnese Sultan POLIM surrendered; only in 1908 were the Dutch able to establish control over the area; guerilla resistance continued. The wars leading to the conquest and pacification of Aceh (1873-1908) have cost an estimated 10,000 Dutch and 100,000 Acehnese fatalities.