Kwee family of Ciledug

Last updated

Kwee family of Ciledug
Cabang Atas
Country Dutch East Indies
Indonesia
Netherlands
Place of origin Qing Empire
Founded1820s (left Fujian)
Founder Kwee Giok San
Titles
Connected families

The Kwee family of Ciledug was an influential bureaucratic and business dynasty of the 'Cabang Atas' or the Chinese gentry of the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia). [1] [2] [3] From the mid-nineteenth until the mid-twentieth century, they featured prominently in the colonial bureaucracy of Java as Chinese officers, and played an important role in the sugar industry. [3] Like many in the Cabang Atas, they were pioneering, early adopters of European education and modernity in colonial Indonesia. [3] During the Indonesian Revolution, they also hosted most of the negotiations leading to the Linggadjati Agreement of 1946. [3]

Contents

Origin and rise

The family is descended from Kwee Giok San, a Chinese migrant who left his native Fujian in the 1820s for Nanyang – the 'South Sea' – before finally settling down around the 1840s in Ciledug, a small town in the Residency of Cirebon on the border of West Java and Central Java. [2] [3] By the mid-nineteenth century, Kwee had associated himself with the Cabang Atas through his wife, Oei Tjoen Nio, a probable sister-in-law of Tan Kim Lim, Kapitein der Chinezen (grandfather of Tan Tjin Kie, Majoor-titulair der Chinezen), whose family had served as Chinese officers since the start of the nineteenth century in Cirebon and Batavia, capital of the Indies. [1] [3] By the 1860s, Kwee had acquired his own sugar factory. [3]

Kwee's descendants through his two sons, Kwee Ban Hok and Kwee Boen Pien, continued the family's ascent. [1] [2] [3] The youngest, Boen Pien, bought the important Djatipiring sugar factory, from its previous European owners in August 1873. [3] In October 1874, Boen Pien was installed as Luitenant der Chinezen of the districts of Sindanglaut, Losari and Ciledug – the family's first Chinese officer. [4] In 1884, Luitenant Kwee Boen Pien died in office and was succeeded in both his Chinese lieutenancy and Djatipiring by his second son, Kwee Keng Liem. [2] That same year, Kwee Keng Eng, also part of the family's third generation through his father Kwee Ban Hok, was appointed Luitenant der Chinezen of Cirebon, serving under the city's Kapitein. [5] The latter was, like his cousin, also the owner of an important sugar factory, that of Kalitandjoeng. [2]

In the fourth generation, Luitenant Kwee Keng Liem's eldest son Kwee Zwan Hong succeeded his father in 1908 as Luitenant of Sindanglaut, Losari and Ciledug, and was further elevated to the higher rank of Kapitein-titulair in 1924. [3] Kapitein-titulair Kwee Zwan Hong was in office until 1934, when the institution of Chinese officers was abolished in Java, and was the last sitting Chinese officer in Cirebon. [1] [2] The Kapitein's half-brother, Kwee Zwan Lwan, won a seat on the Regency Council of Cirebon in 1925, and by the 1930s had succeeded his eldest brother as a de facto head and Chinese community leader of Cirebon. [3]

Like their ancestor Kwee Giok San, successive generations of his descendants contracted strategic marriages with other families of the Cabang Atas. [1] [2] The third generation typified this web of alliances: Luitenant Kwee Keng Eng was married to Tan Oen Tok Nio, Majoor-titulair Tan Tjin Kie's sister, while the former's cousin, Luitenant Kwee Keng Liem was married to the Majoor's cousin, Tjoa Swie Lan Nio. [1] [2] On his first wife's death, Luitenant Kwee Keng Liem then married the much younger and western-educated Tan Hok Nio, grandniece of Luitenant Tan Kong Hoa of Batavia and Luitenant Tan Yoe Hoa of Bekasi. [2] In addition to Kapitein-titulair Kwee Zwan Hong from his first marriage, Luitenant Kwee Keng Liem had one daughter and three sons from his second marriage: Kwee Der Tjie, Kwee Zwan Lwan, Kwee Zwan Liang and Kwee Zwan Ho. [3]

In the fourth generation, Kapitein-titulair Kwee Zwan Hong married Lim Ke Tie Nio, daughter of Lim Goan Tjeng, Luitenant der Chinezen of Batavia, while his half-sister, Der Tjie, married Han Tiauw Bing, son of Kapitein Han Hoo Tjoan of the Pasuruan branch of the powerful Han family of Lasem. [1] [2] Their brothers, Zwan Lwan, Zwan Liang and Zwan Ho were married respectively to Jenny Be Kiam Nio, daughter of the bureaucrat and courtier Be Kwat Koen, Majoor-titulair der Chinezen of Surakarta; to Roos Liem Hwat Nio, heiress of a Surabaya family and grandniece of Luitenant Liem Bong Lien of Pasuruan; and to Betty Tan Ing Nio, granddaughter Tan Goan Piauw, Kapitein der Chinezen of Buitenzorg and Landheer (or landlord) of the vast Tegalwaroe domains. [2] [3]

Pioneers of modernity and an international outlook

Family members of the fourth and fifth generations who matured in the 1910s were 'agents of change' and 'carriers of modernity' in the words of the Dutch historian Peter Post, in particular the daughter and three sons of Luitenant Kwee Keng Liem's second marriage. [3] The Luitenant and his wife employed European tutors and governesses to give their children a modern western education, and later sent some of them to board with European families in Batavia in order to attend the colonial capital's superior western-style educational institutions. [3] Kwee women, like the men of the family, enjoyed a lot of freedom and embraced western-style modernity. [3]

Another example of their modern outlook to their peers was the family's enthusiastic adoption of car ownership. [3] The first car in the Dutch East Indies belonged to the colony's premier native monarch, Pakubuwono X, Susuhunan of Surakarta, who bought a Mercedes Benz in 1894, thereby becoming the world's first car-owning monarch. [3] A cousin of the Kwee family, Tan Gin Han, son of Majoor Tan Tjin Kie, bought a luxurious six-metre Fiat in 1914. [3] Later that year, inspired by their cousin, the Kwee brothers bought a Lancia Theta Coloniale. [3] By 1916, the family had four automobiles; and by the 1920s they had acquired two luxury cars: a Pierce-Arrow (also owned by the likes of Emperor Hirohito of Japan and Shah Reza Pahlavi of Iran) and a Marmon. [3]

In 1929, the Kwee family of Ciledug played host to King Rama VII of Siam at Djatipiring thanks to the intercession of their well-connected in-law, Majoor-titulair Be Kwat Koen of Surakarta, whose family had earlier hosted the monarch's father, King Chulalongkorn, in 1896. [6] [3] This visit gave the family much prestige, highlighting as it did their modern outlook and international connections. [3]

Beyond sugar, revolution and exile

Due to the sugar crisis during the Great Depression, the Kwee brothers of the fourth generation sold Djatipiring in 1931. [3] Kwee Zwan Liang moved to Bandung, capital of West Java, while his other brothers, Kapitein-titulair Kwee Zwan Hong, Kwee Zwan Lwan and Kwee Zwan Ho moved to Linggadjati, a fashionable hill station outside Cirebon, where they built their villas. [3] The Kwee family compound and garden in Linggadjati became a well-known attraction of West Java all through the 1930s; and the family often hosted visiting dignitaries. [3]

During the Indonesian Revolution (1945—1949), the Kwee family befriended their neighbor in Linggadjati, Sutan Sjahrir, the first Prime Minister of Indonesia, and offered their compound as a venue for Dutch-Indonesian peace negotiations. [3] Linggadjati had the benefit of being located halfway between the headquarters of the two warring factions: Batavia, where the Netherlands Indies Civil Administration had reestablished itself on the one hand; and Yogyakarta, where the revolutionary government was based on the other hand. [3] It was, thus, at the family compound that the historically momentous Linggadjati Agreement of 15 November 1946 was negotiated. [3]

With the increasing radicalization of newly independent Indonesia under Sukarno's revolutionary government in the 1950s, members of the Kwee family of Ciledug began leaving Indonesia for the Netherlands, where most of them reside today. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

Khouw Kim An Fifth Majoor der Chinezen of Batavia

Khouw Kim An, 5th Majoor der Chinezen was a high-ranking Chinese Indonesian bureaucrat, public figure and landlord who served as the fifth and last Majoor der Chinezen of Batavia, Dutch East Indies. The Chinese Mayoralty was the highest-ranking, Chinese government position in the East Indies with considerable political and judicial jurisdiction over the colony's Chinese subjects. The Batavian Mayoralty was one of the oldest public institutions in the Dutch colonial empire, perhaps second only in antiquity to the viceregal post of Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies.

Tio Tek Ho Fourth Majoor der Chinezen of Batavia

Tio Tek Ho, 4th Majoor der Chinezen was a Chinese-Indonesian bureaucrat who served as the fourth and penultimate Majoor der Chinezen or Chinese headman of Batavia, now Jakarta, capital of Indonesia. This was the most senior position in the Chinese officership, which constituted the Chinese arm of the civil bureaucracy in the Dutch East Indies. As Majoor, Tio was also the ex officio Chairman of the Chinese Council of Batavia, the city's highest Chinese government body.

Tan Eng Goan First Majoor der Chinezen of Batavia

Tan Eng Goan, 1st Majoor der Chinezen was a high-ranking bureaucrat who served as the first Majoor der Chinezen of Batavia, capital of colonial Indonesia. This was the highest-ranking Chinese position in the civil administration of the Dutch East Indies.

Sia (title) Noble title

Sia was a hereditary title of Chinese origin, used mostly in colonial Indonesia. It was borne by the descendants of Chinese officers, who were high-ranking, Chinese civil bureaucrats in the Dutch colonial government, bearing the ranks of Majoor, Kapitein or Luitenant der Chinezen.

Khouw Yauw Kie Indonesian bureaucrat

Khouw Yauw Kie, Kapitein der Chinezen, also spelled Khouw Jaouw Kie, Yaouw Kee, was a high-ranking Chinese-Indonesian bureaucrat. He was the first scion of the influential Khouw family of Tamboen to serve on the Chinese Council of Batavia.

Cabang Atas Chinese gentry of colonial Indonesia

The Cabang Atas — literally 'highest branch' in Malay — was the traditional Chinese establishment or gentry of colonial Indonesia. They were the families and descendants of the Chinese officers, high-ranking colonial civil bureaucrats with the ranks of Majoor, Kapitein and Luitenant der Chinezen. They were referred to as the baba bangsawan [‘Chinese gentry’] in Malay, and the ba-poco in Java Hokkien.

Tan Tjoen Tiat Second Majoor der Chinezen of Batavia

Tan Tjoen Tiat, 2nd Majoor der Chinezen was a Chinese-Indonesian bureaucrat who served as the second Majoor der Chinezen, or Chinese headman, of Batavia, now Jakarta, capital of Indonesia. This was the most senior Chinese position in the colonial civil bureaucracy of the Dutch East Indies. As Majoor, Tan was also the Chairman of the Chinese Council of Batavia, the city's highest Chinese government body.

Oei Tjie Sien (1835–1900) was a Chinese-born colonial Indonesian tycoon and the founder of Kian Gwan, Southeast Asia's largest conglomerate at the start of the twentieth century. He is better known as the father of Oei Tiong Ham, Majoor-titulair der Chinezen (1866–1924), who modernized and vastly expanded the Oei family's business empire.

Letnan Cina Oey Thai Lo was a notable Chinese-Indonesian tycoon who acted as a pachter for tobacco in the early 19th century.

Aw Tjoei Lan, better known as Njonja Kapitein Lie Tjian Tjoen, sometimes spelt Auw Tjoei Lan, was a Chinese-Indonesian philanthropist, community leader, social activist and founder of the charity organization 'Ati Soetji'. Through her foundation, she fought against human trafficking and prostitution, and promoted education among orphans, in particular young girls.

Han Oen Lee

Han Oen Lee, Luitenant der Chinezen (1856—1893) was a Chinese-Indonesian magnate, who governed the Chinese community of Bekasi as its Luitenant der Chinezen, an important administrative post in the Dutch colonial bureaucracy. He was also the Landheer (landlord) of the particuliere land of Gaboes. Today, he is best known as the father of the late colonial statesman Hok Hoei Kan (1881—1951).

Kang Keng Tjong, also spelt Kan Keng Tiong, was a Chinese-Indonesian tycoon and one of the richest men in Batavia, capital of the Dutch East Indies.

The Tan family of Cirebon was an influential family of government officials, sugar barons and landowners in the Dutch East Indies, particularly in the Residency of Cirebon. The preeminent and oldest family of the ‘Cabang Atas’ gentry in Cirebon all through the 19th and early 20th century, their most well-known member today is Tan Tjin Kie, Majoor-titulair der Chinezen.

Tan Tjin Kie, Majoor-titulair der Chinezen was a high-ranking bureaucrat, courtier, sugar baron and head of the prominent Tan family of Cirebon, part of the ‘Cabang Atas’ or Chinese gentry of the Dutch East Indies. He is best remembered today for his lavish, 40-day-long funeral ceremony of 1919, reputedly the most expensive ever held in Java.

Tan Gin Ho, Luitenant der Chinezen (1880–1941) was a bureaucrat, Malay-language writer and scion of the influential Tan family of Cirebon, part of the ‘Cabang Atas’ gentry of the Dutch East Indies.

Be Biauw Tjoan Tycoon and Majoor-titulair der Chinezen of Semarang

Be Biauw Tjoan, Majoor-titulair der Chinezen was one of the most important Chinese-Indonesian magnates in the second half of the nineteenth century. A bureaucrat, revenue farmer (pachter) and businessman, he headed the influential Be family of Bagelen, part of the ‘Cabang Atas’ gentry of the Indies.

Tan Ndjiang Nio Peranakan aristocrat

Tan Ndjiang Nio (1825–1870), better known as Njonja Majoor Be Biauw Tjoan, was a Peranakan aristocrat of the 'Cabang Atas' elite of the Dutch East Indies. A lynchpin of her class, she was the wife, daughter, granddaughter, sister, daughter-in-law and mother-in-law of Semarang's Majoors der Chinezen. This was the highest rank of the Chinese officership, a branch of the civil bureaucracy through which the Dutch governed their Chinese subjects in the Indies.

Kwee Thiam Tjing Indonesian writer, journalist and political activist

Kwee Thiam Tjing Sia, also known by his pen name Tjamboek Bērdoeri ['Thorn Whip'], was a prominent Indonesian writer, journalist and left-wing political activist. He is best remembered for his 1947 book, 'Indonesia dalem Api dan Bara', and for his role as a co-founder of the Partai Tionghoa Indonesia [the 'Chinese-Indonesian Party'] in 1932.

Francisca Louisa Zecha (1848–1939), usually known as Louisa Zecha, was a prominent, colonial Indonesian community leader and the Indo-Bohemian matriarch of the Lauw-Sim-Zecha family, part of the 'Cabang Atas' gentry of the Dutch East Indies. She attracted significant attention due to her controversial interracial marriages to two Peranakan Chinese magnates, Lauw Tek Lok, Luitenant der Chinezen of Bekasi and Sim Keng Koen, Kapitein der Chinezen of Sukabumi. The posts of Kapitein and Luitenant der Chinezen were high-ranking civil administration positions in the Dutch colonial bureaucracy. Zecha's community leadership, philanthropy, personal bravery and longevity earned her widespread respect and admiration in colonial society by the time she died in 1939.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Haryono, Steve (2017). "Chinese officers in Cirebon". Wacana. 18 (1): 216–236. doi: 10.17510/wacana.v18i1.578 . ISSN   2407-6899 . Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Haryono, Steve (2017). Perkawinan Strategis: Hubungan Keluarga Antara Opsir-opsir Tionghoa Dan 'Cabang Atas' Di Jawa Pada Abad Ke-19 Dan 20. Utrecht: Steve Haryono. ISBN   9789090302492 . Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Post, Peter (2019). The Kwee Family of Ciledug: Family, Status, and Modernity in Colonial Java. Volendam: LM Publishers. ISBN   9789460224928 . Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  4. ↑ "Officiëele Berichten". Java-bode : nieuws, handels- en advertentieblad voor Nederlandsch-Indie. Bruining. 31 October 1874. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  5. ↑ "Bestuur over Vreemde Oosterlingen". Java-bode : nieuws, handels- en advertentieblad voor Nederlandsch-Indie. Bruining. 9 April 1884. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  6. ↑ Rush, James R. (2007). Opium to Java: Revenue Farming and Chinese Enterprise in Colonial Indonesia, 1860-1910. Singapore: Equinox Publishing. ISBN   9789793780498 . Retrieved 11 November 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.