By: Prabowo Subianto [taken from the Book: Military Leadership Notes from Experience Chapter I]
Often, the colonial forces did not need to go to war to seize power in Nusantara. Sometimes, all they had to do was provide gifts to or bribe the ruling kings.
However, in the history of Nusantara, there were some sultans and kings whose loyalty could not be bought by the Dutch. They understood the Dutch economic strategy, and they refused to submit to promises of economic benefit and jewellery.
One of the sultans who was firm in his stance against the Dutch was Sultan Agung. Although he was not successful in seizing Batavia from the Dutch, the determination and spirit he showed to drive the Dutch East India Company (VOC) away were enough to assure him a place in history.
Until the end of his life, Sultan Agung did not submit to the offers made by the VOC despite their attractiveness to him personally.
Indonesia has experienced hundreds of years of colonisation by foreign powers. The Portuguese, the Dutch, the British, the French, and the Japanese have at different times colonised Indonesia. The French colonised Indonesia under Napoleon’s rule during the era of Governor-General Daendels. Daendels was appointed to rule Indonesia by Napoleon’s brother, the King of the Netherlands.
In those pre-independence times, the colonisers took our wealth by force. They enslaved our people.
Often, the colonial forces did not require any act of war to seize power in Nusantara. Sometimes, all they had to do was provide gifts to or bribe the ruling kings. Suppose one visits Dutch museums today, such as the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. In that museum, one can see for themselves the Dutch’s lavish gifts to the then leaders of Indonesia, the sultans and kings of Nusantara, to rule the archipelago.
Such gifts cost nothing compared to what they took from us. The invaders took advantage of the naivety of some sultans and kings of Nusantara in the past. They bought Indonesia at a very low price.
There were some sultans and kings whose loyalty could not be bought by the Dutch. They understood the Dutch economic strategy, and they refused to submit to promises of economic benefit and jewellery. Many of these idealist leaders were eventually confronted by their peers, who the Dutch had bought. Some acted because of incitement, false news, and efforts to divide and rule (divide et impera).
One of the sultans of Nusantara who was firm in his stance against the Dutch was Sultan Agung. Although he was not successful in freeing Batavia from Dutch rule, his determination and spirit to drive the VOC (The Dutch East India Company) away from the rest of Java assured him a glorious place in history. Until the end of his life, Sultan Agung refused to make peace with the VOC despite their enticing offers.
Sultan Agung Adi Prabu Hanyakrakusuma was born in 1593 in Kotagede, Yogyakarta. He was the fourth Sultan of Mataram to rule from 1613 to 1645.
He was a skilled sultan and commander who built his state and consolidated his empire into a great territorial and military power. Sultan Agung is revered in Java for his struggle to defend the island.
His real name was Raden Mas Jatmika, or Raden Mas Rangsang. His father was the second King of Mataram, while his mother was the daughter of Prince Benawa, King of Pajang. At the beginning of his reign, Raden Mas Rangsang was given the title of Panembahan Agung. Then after conquering Madura in 1624, he changed his title to Susuhunan Agung or, in short, Sunan Agung.
In 1641 Sunan Agung obtained an Arabic title – Sultan Abdullah Muhammad Maulana Mataram – from the imam of Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
Sultan Agung ascended the throne in 1613. In 1614, VOC (based in Ambon then) sent an envoy to persuade Sultan Agung to cooperate, but he rejected the offer outright.
In 1618, Mataram was ravaged by crop failure due to the protracted war against Surabaya. Nevertheless, Sultan Agung refused to cooperate with the VOC.
Sultan Agung tried to establish relations with the Portuguese to jointly destroy the VOC. However, this relation was severed in 1635 due to the Portuguese’s weak position.
The entire island of Java was once under the control of the Mataram Sultanate, except Batavia, which was still occupied by the VOC-Dutch military. At that time, Banten had been culturally assimilated. The regions outside Java that the Mataram Sultanate successfully subjugated were Palembang in Sumatra in 1636 and Sukadana in Kalimantan in 1622. Sultan Agung also established diplomatic relations with Makassar, the strongest kingdom in Sulawesi at the time.
Sultan Agung managed to turn Mataram into a great kingdom through military power, the noble culture of its people, and economic development, especially with the introduction of agricultural systems.