Tapanoeli Residency

Last updated
Tapanoeli Residency
Residentie Tapanoeli
Residency of Dutch East Indies
1844–1942
1909 Atlas sekolah Hindia-Nederland map of Tapanoeli 2.jpg
Malay-language map of Tapanoeli Residency (1909)
Capital Sibolga
History
History 
• Established
1844
• Disestablished
1942
Today part of Tapanuli

Tapanoeli Residency (Dutch : Residentie Tapanoeli) was an administrative subdivision of the Dutch East Indies with its capital in Sibolga. It was located in northern Sumatra and existed in various forms from 1844 until the end of Dutch rule in 1942. [1] The area it encompassed at various times corresponds to most of the western coast of the current day Indonesian province of North Sumatra and parts of Aceh, including much of the traditional heartland of Batak people (called in their language Tano Batak). [2] Lake Toba, a historically important crater lake, was also within the borders of the Residency.

Contents

History

View of Tapanoeli at Sibolga Bay, 1860s Tapanoeli bij Sibolga, KITLV 6778.tiff
View of Tapanoeli at Sibolga Bay, 1860s

The land that became Tapanoeli Residency had been previously essentially independent. [3] The Dutch East India Company as well as the British started to establish posts along the Western coast of Sumatra during that time; the British even established a fort at Tapanuli in 1752. [3] The Dutch expanded into Sumatra more aggressively into the 1820s and 1830s; the region that became Tapanoeli Residency had little contact with Westerners before that time, except in some coastal areas. [2] They initially established Tapanoeli as part of Ajer Bangis Residency before separating it into its own residency under the Gouvernment Sumatra's Westkust in 1844. [2] The Residency was named after a village near Sibolga Bay; its named derived from the Batak languages meaning essentially a pleasant seaside village. [1] Despite the fact that they had established the Residency on paper, the Dutch had little presence or influence in the interior of the region until the 1860s. [4]

Fort Tapanoeli, early 19th century Fort-Tapanoeli-on-Poncan-Ketek.png
Fort Tapanoeli, early 19th century

It remained sparsely populated in the 1850s, due to the mountainous terrain; one estimate put the population in 1852 at roughly 75,000 "Sumatrans" (including Malays and Bataks), under 70 Europeans, roughly 250 Chinese and 350 Javanese, but more than 7,000 slaves. [5] That estimate may be too low, as another puts the 1840 population of Tapanoeli Residency at around 350,000 in total. [6] Its economy at that time was based mainly on the small-scale extraction of resources using traditional methods, including frankincense, resin, camphor, gambier, coconut oil, rattan, gold ore, as well as the farming of cattle, goats, and so on. [7] [8] Coffee cultivation was introduced to the Bataks on government initiative in the 1840s, and it gradually became a centre of cultivation and export. [9] The Dutch also allowed German missionaries to set up missions in the Residency. [2] [4]

As plantation industries were developed in Sumatra in the late nineteenth century, the demographics of Tapanoeli changed as Javanese and Chinese workers were imported as labour. [6] The borders of the Residency were revised several times in the early twentieth century; in 1902 and 1904 Trumon and Singkil were transferred to Atjeh and Dependencies Residency, and in 1908 a number of formerly independent Batak districts were added to Tapanoeli, including Samosir. [1] At around the same time those adjustments were made, the first complete European map of Tapanoeli was released as well. [10] It gained the status of a full Residency in 1906, reporting directly to Batavia; Sumatra's West Coast, which it had formerly reported to, was demoted to the status of a residency. [1] [2] There was not much large-scale economic development on behalf of the Dutch until after 1908, when the area was opened up to European exploitation; after that, a number of rubber, coffee, and other plantations were built. [1]

As a densely forested, mountainous area Tapanoeli struggled regularly with Malaria outbreaks in the early twentieth century. [1]

After 1918, the Residency was subdivided into 4 subdivisions:

In 1938, Tapanoeli and all other residencies on the island of Sumatra were reorganized under a new regional Gouvernement of Sumatra, whose capital was in Medan. However, with the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies starting in 1942, Tapanoeli Residency ceased to exist. During the Indonesian National Revolution, the region was very contested and fell under the rule of various warlords; it was only after April 1948 that the Republic of Indonesia started to assert its control and included the area of Tapanuli in the newly created province of North Sumatra. [11]

List of residents

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Sumatra</span> Province of Indonesia

West Sumatra is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the west coast of the island of Sumatra and includes the Mentawai Islands off that coast. The province has an area of 42,119.54 km2 (16,262.45 sq mi), with a population of 5,534,472 at the 2020 census. The official estimate at mid 2022 was 5,640,629. West Sumatra borders the Indian Ocean to the west, as well as the provinces of North Sumatra to the north, Riau to the northeast, Jambi to the southeast, and Bengkulu to the south. The province is subdivided into twelve regencies and seven cities. It has relatively more cities than other provinces outside of Java, although several of them are relatively low in population compared with cities elsewhere in Indonesia. Padang is the province's capital and largest city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Sumatra</span> Province of Indonesia

North Sumatra is a province of Indonesia located on the northern part of the island of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Medan. It is bordered by Aceh on the northwest and Riau and West Sumatra in the southeast, with two different coastlines located on the Indian Ocean and the Strait of Malacca, and a maritime border with Malaysia to the east. The province also shares a very narrow maritime border with Thailand to the northeast. North Sumatra is Indonesia's fourth most populous province after West Java, East Java and Central Java, and the third-largest province on the island of Sumatra after the neighbouring Riau and South Sumatra. It covers an area of 72,981 km2. According to the 2020 census, the province's population in that year was 14,799,361. The mid-2022 official estimate was 15,115,206. North Sumatra is a multi-ethnic province. The Malay people are regarded as the natives of the east coast of the province, while the west coast of the province is mainly inhabited by the Batak. The central highlands region around Lake Toba is predominantly inhabited by other Batak groups. The Nias people are natives to Nias Island and its surrounding islets. With the opening of tobacco plantations in East Sumatra during the colonial era, the colonial government employed many contract labourers for plantations, mainly Chinese, Javanese and Indian migrants. The majority did not return after their contract ended and decided to stay in the province. The recent rapid urbanisation also attracted neighbouring people from Aceh, Riau and West Sumatra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Batak</span> Ethnic group in Indonesia

Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of closely related Austronesian ethnic groups predominantly found in North Sumatra, Indonesia, who speak Batak languages. The term is used to include the Karo, Pakpak, Simalungun, Toba, Angkola, and Mandailing ethnic groups. Which are related groups with distinct languages and traditional customs (adat).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Batak Christian Protestant Church</span> Church of Protestant Christian denomination

The Huria Kristen Batak Protestan is a Lutheran church among the Batak people, generally the Toba Batak in Indonesia. It uses the Dutch Reformed style of worship due to the Dutch colonial heritage at the time it was founded. With a baptized membership of 4,500,000, it is one of the largest Protestant churches in Indonesia and Southeast Asia. Its present leader is Ephorus (bishop) Robinson Butarbutar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mandailing people</span>

The Mandailing is an ethnic group in Sumatera, Indonesia that is commonly associated with the Batak people. They are found mainly in the northern section of the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. They came under the influence of the Kaum Padri who ruled the Minangkabau of Tanah Datar. As a result, the Mandailing were influenced by Muslim culture and converted to Islam. There are also a group of Mandailing in Malaysia, especially in the states of Selangor and Perak. They are closely related to the Angkola and Toba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Si Singamangaraja XII</span>

Patuan Bosar SinambelaginoarOmpu Pulo Batu, better known as Si Singamangaraja XII, was the last priest-king of the Batak peoples of north Sumatra. In the course of fighting a lengthy guerrilla war against the Dutch colonisation of Sumatra from 1878 onwards, he was killed in a skirmish with Dutch troops in 1907. He was declared a National Hero of Indonesia in 1961 for his resistance to Dutch colonialism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toba Batak people</span> Group of the Batak people in Indonesia

Toba Batak people are the largest sub-group of the Batak people of North Sumatra, Indonesia. The common phrase of ‘Batak’ usually refers to the Batak Toba people. This mistake is caused by the Toba people being the largest sub-group of the Batak ethnic and their differing social habit has been to self-identify as merely Batak instead of ‘Toba’ or ‘Batak Toba’, contrary to the habit of the Karo, Mandailing, Simalungun, Pakpak communities who commonly self-identify with their respective sub-groups.

Tapanuli may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Administrative divisions of the Dutch East Indies</span> Administrative regions in former colony

The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was divided into three governorates, namely the Great East, Borneo (Kalimantan) and Sumatra, and into three provinces in Java. Provinces and governorates were further divided into residencies. Residencies under the provinces were divided into regencies, and residencies under governorates were divided into departments and then further into regentschappen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdul Hakim Harahap</span> Indonesian politician (1905–1961)

Abdul Hakim Harahap was an Indonesian politician who held various positions, including deputy prime minister, in the 1950s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mangaradja Sinaga</span>

Colonel Mangaradja Sinta Mardame Sinaga was a politician and military person who served as the Regent of North Tapanuli from 1968 until 1979. He was the first military person to hold the office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raja Junjungan Lubis</span>

Raja Junjungan Lubis was an Indonesian Mandailing politician who became the Regent of Batanggadis, Regent of Central Tapanuli, Mayor of Sibolga, Governor of North Sumatra, and member of the People's Representative Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gouvernment of Atjeh and Dependencies</span> Dutch East Indies administrative division in Sumatra

The Gouvernment of Atjeh and Dependencies was an administrative subdivision (governorate) of the Dutch East Indies located in northern Sumatra in the region of present-day Aceh, Indonesia which existed from the late nineteenth century to 1938. The capital of the governorate was at Koetaradja. In 1938, due to a reorganization of the government structure of the Indies, it no longer had a governor and became a Residency instead, called the Atjeh and Dependencies Residency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Preanger Regencies Residency</span> Dutch East Indies administrative division in Java

Preanger Regencies Residency, sometimes referred to as Preanger Residency and renamed Priangan Residency after 1931, was an administrative division (residency) of the Dutch East Indies located in Parahyangan, West Java which existed from 1817 to 1925. Its capital was in Cianjur until 1856 and thereafter in Bandung. The residency contained the municipality of Bandung and the regencies of Bandoeng, Soemedang, Tasikmalaja, Tjiamis and Garoet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Semarang Residency</span>

Semarang Residency was an administrative subdivision (Residency) of the Dutch East Indies located on the northern coast of Central Java and named after its capital city Semarang. It existed from 1818 to 1942, although its borders were changed many times during that period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bantam Residency</span>

Bantam Residency, sometimes spelled Banten Residency, was an administrative division (Residency) of the Dutch East Indies which existed from 1817 to 1942; it was located at the western point of Java and its capital was at Serang. Its borders largely correspond to the present-day Indonesian province of Banten.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blora Residency</span>

Blora Residency was an administrative division (Residency) of Central Java province of the Dutch East Indies with its capital at Blora, which existed between 1928 and 1931. It was significantly larger than the present-day Blora Regency, as it also contained Grobogan Regency and Purwodadi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madoera Residency</span> Administrative subdivision of the Dutch East Indies

Madoera Residency was an administrative subdivision (Residency) of the Dutch East Indies located on the island of Madura and with its capital at Pamekasan. It also included some smaller islands off Madura such as the Kangean Islands and Sapudi Islands. The Residency was divided into 4 districts : Pamekasan, Bangkalan, Sampang and Soemenep. It existed from the 1880s, when the Dutch established more direct control over the Island, to 1942 when the Japanese invaded the Indies, except for a brief period 1928-31 when it was divided into two smaller residencies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sumatra's East Coast Residency</span> Administrative subdivision of the Dutch East Indies

Sumatra's East Coast Residency was an administrative subdivision of the Dutch East Indies with its capital in Medan. It was located in northern Sumatra.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Stibbe, D. G., ed. (1921). Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch-Indië . - Vierde Deel (in Dutch). Nijhoff: Brill. pp. 273–7.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Aritonang, Jan S. (1994). Mission schools in Batakland (Indonesia), 1861-1940. Leiden. pp. 2–6. ISBN   9789004319912.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. 1 2 Cribb, R. B. (2000). Historical atlas of Indonesia. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. pp. 80–5. ISBN   0-8248-2111-4.
  4. 1 2 Aritonang, Jan S. (1994). Mission schools in Batakland (Indonesia), 1861-1940. Leiden. pp. 111–2. ISBN   9789004319912.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ↑ Couperus, Petrus Theodorus (1852). De residentie Tapanoeli (Sumatra's Westkust) in 1852 (in Dutch). p. 19.
  6. 1 2 Reid, Anthony (2005). An Indonesian frontier : Acehnese and other histories of Sumatra. Singapore: Singapore University Press. p. 55. ISBN   9789971692988.
  7. ↑ History of Padang Lawas, North Sumatra. Gramedia. 2014. pp. 291–2. ISBN   9782910513702.
  8. ↑ Couperus, Petrus Theodorus (1852). De residentie Tapanoeli (Sumatra's Westkust) in 1852 (in Dutch). pp. 33–41.
  9. ↑ Dobbin, Christine (2017). "Chapter VII: Epilogue". Islamic revivalism in a changing peasant economy : central sumatra, 1784-1847. Abingdon, Oxon: Taylor & Francis. ISBN   9781315398167.
  10. ↑ Kent, Alexander James, ed. (2020). Mapping empires : colonial cartographies of land and sea : 7th International Symposium of the ICA Commission on the History of Cartography, 2018. Springer International. p. 41. ISBN   9783030234478.
  11. ↑ Cribb, R. B. (2000). Historical atlas of Indonesia. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. p. 158. ISBN   0-8248-2111-4.
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.