A: PAST & PRESENT
UNIVERSITY
AT LO
JAVA: PAST & PRESENT
JAVA: PAST^^-PRESENT
A DESCRIPTION OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL COUN-
TRY IN THE WORLD, ITS ANCIENT HISTORY,
PEOPLE, ANTIQUITIES, AND PRODUCTS ^ ^ BY
DONALD MACLAINE CAMPBELL
LATE BRITISH VICE-CONSUL OF THAT ISLAND ; MEMBER OF THE DUTCH
COUNCIL OF SAMARANG (gEWESTELYKE RAAd) ; MEMBER OF THE CHAMBER
OF COMMERCE OF SAMARANG M M X M j&
WITH A MAP AND MANY ILLUSTRATIONS
IN TWO VOLUMES
VOLUME II
LONDON WILLL4M HEINEMANN
London : William Heiiiemamt, igi£.
0)5
C^L.
IS
C IS
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v>
^
CONTENTS OF VOLUME II
CHAPTER PAGE
XII. Accounts of Java by Travellers, 1519 to
1832 657
XIII. Antiquities 801
^--XIV. The Fruits of Java 857
XV. The Flora of Java 868
XVI. The Fauna of Java 875
XVII. The Minerals of Java 890
L^ XVIII. The Industries of Java 909'
XIX. Miscellaneous —
Part I. — Inhabitants and their Life :
Religion, Language, etc. 983
/^ ,, II. — Climate, Health, etc. 1032
,, III. — Crime, etc., Harbours, Roads,
ETC. 1073
^^,,^^, IV. — Social Life in Java, Trade,
ETC. 1153
,, V. — Government, Consuls, Education,
ETC. 1182
,, VI. — Information for Travellers,
ETC. 1220
Index 1231
303664
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Vol. II.
Ninth Century
TO FACE
Harmoxie Club, Batavia. (Built during the English Time) .
Sugar Warehouses .........
The Old Town House at Batavia. (Drawn by Major Thorn,
1811)
Castle and Wharf at Batavia, 1811
Javan Lady .....
Javan Woman ....
Tjisaraewa Lake, near Siudanglaya
Euro Budur .....
BuRO Budur .....
The Temple, Boro Budur. (As it was in the
in the Time of the Hindus)
Euro Budur : a Bas-relief
Passage from one Terrace to Another, Buro Budur
Bas-relief from the Temple of Brambanan
Buro Budur
Chandi Sewoe Temple Ruins. (Built about Seventh Century)
Colossal Figure in the Ruins of Chandi Sewu
Carvings at Buro Budur .......
The Crown Prince of Jockjakarta in Procession .
Victoria Regias in the Botanical Gardens at Buitenzorg .
Plaboean Ratoe, AVynkoopsbaai (South Coast of Java).
Park of the Governor-General at Tjipanas ....
Tjibeureum Waterfall, Soekaboemi .....
The Front Verandah leading to the Library in the Author's
House ..........
The Regent of Kendal, with Assistant-Resident Enthoven,
Patihs, Wedonos, Assistant Wedonos, Djaksas, and
Collectors
Street Sellers, Java
Fish Market. Samarang .
Javan Lady
Javan Woman and Child
Old Plan of Batavia, 1693
Punishment of a Convict at Blora
FAQB
658
658
666
666
686
636
708
802
802
820
836
848
852
852
858
862
864
866
868
870
872
874
876
878
882
882
884
884
886
888
Vlll
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Behi (Lieutenant-
TO FACE
Javan Lady .....••••*
Government Offices at Waterloo Plain, Batavia. (Built
DURING THE ENGLISH TiME)
Residency Road, Jockjakarta
Native Street Restaurant, Java .
Sugar-cane Field ....
Street in Samarang
Native Bami-selleb. in Java .
Native Cigarette-sellers in Java .
Coffee-seller .....
Javan Lady .....
Kandjeng Goesti Pangaran Adipati
Colonel on the Staff)
Makers op Batik Stamps
Panama Hat-making
Road to Tjibodas ....
Cloth-printing. ....
Stamping Cloths ....
Wood Worker ....
Chinese 5.i.i/7-seller in Java .
Sugar-cane Field ....
Fine Art Weavers ....
Making Panama Hats
Governor's Palace, Samarang. (Built by
Raffles, 1811) ....
A Club-house in Java
Concordia Club, Batavia. (The First Military Club of
Java)
The Military and Civil Hospital at Tjilatjap
The Crown Prince op Jockjakarta in Procession
Assistant-Resident ....
Assistant-Resident's House at Tjilatjap
Resident's House, Pekalongan
The House of the Public Notary op Rembang, with the Notary,
Jhr. J. W. H. Smissaert, standing in the Front
Club at Pasoeroean
New Club, Samarang. (Built 1909)
Gamelan Pelog ....
Government House, Cheribon
Front op the Author's Home in Java
Batikkers .....
A Verandah in Java
The Pradgoerit Corps of the Sultan of Jockjakarta
Sir Thomas Stamford
with the
PAGE
892
900
900
910
910
914
918
918
920
920
926
930
930
936
940
950
950
958
958
966
966
972
984
984
990
990
996
996
1002
1002
1010
1014
1020
1030
1032
1036
1052
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
IX
The Crater op the Bromo
Road-watering in Java ....
The Donan at Tjilatjap
Back View of a European House in Java
LiUDANGLAYA ......
Non-commissioned Officers Club, Samarang
Map of Java
TO FACE PAGE
, 1064
. 1074
. 1074
. 1080
1090
1098
At End of Volume
J.— VOL. II.
CHAPTER XII
Accounts of Java by Travellers, 1519 to 1832 ^
1521. The Portuguese Fernao de Magalhaes, or, as he is
better known, Magellan, was the first to sail round the world,
leaving Seville on the 10th August, 1519, passing through
the Moluccas and touching at the island of Borneo, which
he calls " that famous isle," in 1521. For fear of the
Portuguese, however (which country he had deserted to
serve the Spanish), he kept far away from the coast of Java,
and does not appear to have touched there. In any case,
if he did it was at the very mouth of the straits between Java
and Sumatra. He relates regarding the Moluccas as
follows : —
" November Sth, 1521. Before sunrising we entered the Port of
Tiridore (Tidore), which is one of the chief of the Moluccas. The
king is a Moor, but notwithstanding the prejudices of his religion,
extremely fond of the Spaniards, and so much devoted to the
service of their master that he bid us come ashore into his country
and houses, and called us his brethren and children, and as a
compliment to us changed the name of his country from Tiridore
to Castile. These Moluccas are five in number — Ternate, Tiridore,
Mutir, Macchian and Bacchian ; of all these Ternate is the chief,
and the king of it was once lord of all the rest. The clove trees
here are very tall, and as big about as a man, the boughs large
in the middle and sharp at the top, the leaves like those of bay
trees, and the bark of an olive colour.
" The cloves grow in large clusters at the tops of the boughs ;
at first they are white, red when they come to maturity, and grow
black by after drying. The leaf, bark and wood being green, is
as strong as the clove itself. They gather them twice a year,
^ In writing tliese accounts I have always as far as possible avoided
repetition ; frequently accounts follow one another.
J. — VOL. II. B
658 JAVA
in June and December, and if they don't make them in time they
grow very hard. Every man has his own peculiar trees, but
they bestow but little husbandry on them. They have also in
this island a sort of tree, the bark of which being steeped in
water may be drawn out in small fibres to the fineness of
silk, and of this the women make a sort of small apron to
cover their private parts, which is all the covering they make
use of.
" Near by is the island of Gilolo, wliich is divided between
Moors and heathens. The two kings of the Moors have con-
tributed themselves very liberally to the peopling of the island,
the one of them having 600 and the other 650 children.
" November I2th. There is a public warehouse appointed in
the city for the sale of their merchandise. They exchange at
the following rates.
" For ten yards of good cloth, onebahar of cloves, one bahar being
four canters and six pounds, and one canter one hundred pounds.
For fifteen yards of meaner cloth, one bahar of Gamble (Gambu-).
For thirty-five drinking glasses, one bahar. For seventeen
cathj^ls of quicksilver, one bahar. They brought daily provisions
to our ships, and a sort of fresh water which springs out of the
mountains where the cloves grow. It is hot when it comes out
of the spring, but very cold when it has stood awhile in some
other place. They gave us a peculiar present for the King of
Spain, which was a couple of dead birds about the bigness of
turtles, with very little heads and legs, long bills, two or three
long feathers parti-coloured at their sides, instead of wings
their whole bodies, besides of one colour, and that near a tawny ;
the Moors fancy they come down from Paradise and therefore
call them the birds of God. As for the Moluccas in general,
their products are cloves, ginger, rice, sagu bread, goats, sheep,
hens, popinjays, white and red figs, almonds, pomegranates,
oranges and lemons, and a sort of honey made by flies less than
ants, besides sugar canes, oil of cocoas, melons, gourds and a fruit
which they call camulical.
" We took leave of this royal company, not without great
sorrow. In this isle we left a leaking ship behind, giving orders,
if it could be repaired, for its return to Spain.
" We steered along the coast of Java the Less taking care not
to sail too near the shore lest the Portuguese should chance to
discover us. We dii-ected our course therefore to Sumatra."
ll.UtMo.MK (I.l'l!, HA'J'AMA. 'liril.T l>L'lilN(; JllK K N > , I , I - I i I I Ml
SUGAH WAKEHOUSES.
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 659
1545. From the voyage of Mendez Pinto we have as
follows : —
"... it was in the year 1537, and the 11th of March, that
I parted from this kingdom, in a fleet of five ships whereof there
was no general, for each of these vessels was commanded by a
particular captain, for example in the ship named the Qiisen,
commanded Don Pedro de Silva. In the St. Barba commanded
Don Fernando de Lima, of that which was called the Flower of
the Sea Lope baz bagado was captain, and in the fifth and last
ship named Galega, commanded Martin de Freitas . . .
" Being departed from Malaca to go to Zunda,^ at the end of
seventeen days, I arrived at Banta,^ where the Portugals are
accustomed to traffique. And because there was at that time a
great scarcity of pepper over all the country, and that we came
thither of purpose for it, we were constrained to pass the winter
there. We had been almost two months in this port where we
exercised our commerce very peaceably when as from the King
of Demaa,^ emperor of all the islands of Jaoa,'* Augenia, Bala,^
Madura,*^ and of the rest of the islands of that archipelago.
" There landed in this country a widow woman named Nhay
Pombaya about the age of three score years, who came as
ambassador to Tagaril, King of Zunda,^ that was also his vassal
as well as all the rest of that monarchy, for to tell him that he
was within the term of six weeks to be in person at the town of
Japara, where he was then making preparation to invade the
kingdom of Passarwan.
" Now it is their opinion that every one of these women which
the kings are accustomed to send about affairs of importance
neglect to have certain qualities for well execution of an ambassage,
and worthily discharging the commission that is granted to them,
for first of all they say, that she must not be a maid for fear she
chance to lost her honor in going out of her house, because that
even as with her beauty she contents every one. To this they
add, she must be married or at leastwise a widow after lawful
marriage that if she have had children, she must have a certificate
how she hath given them all suck with her own breasts, alledging
thereupon that she who hath borne children and doth not nourish
1 Sunda. * Java.
2 Bantam. ^ Bali.
* Demak. ° Madura.
b2
660 JAVA
them if she can, is rather a carnal, voluptuous, corrupted and
dishonest woman, than a true mother. In the meantime Nhay
Pombaya had delivered her embassage to the King of Zunda,
she presently departed for this town of Banta, whereupon the
king speedily prepared all things in readiness, she set sail with a
fleet of 30 Calaluzes, and 10 Juripangoes, well furnished with
ammunition and victual in which 40 vessels were 7,000 fighting
men besides the mariners and rowers. Amongst this number
were 40 Portugals of six and forty, that we were in all, in regard
whereof they did us many particular favors in the business of
our merchandise and publikly confessed they were much obliged
to us for following them as we did,
" The King of Zunda having departed from the port of Banta
on the 5th day of January in the year 1546 arrived on the 19th of
the same at the town of Japara, where the King of Damaa,
Emperor of the island of Jaoa, was then making his preparatives
being an army on foot of 800,000 men. This prince being adver-
tised of the King of Zunda's coming who was his brother-in-law
and vassal, he sent the King of Paneruca^ admiral of the fleet to
receive him, who brought along with him an hundred and three
score Calaluzes and ninety Lanchares, full of Luffons from the
isle of Borneo ; with all this company he arrived where the King
of Zunda was, who entertained him very courteously, and with a
great deal of honor. Fourteen days after our coming to this town
of Japara, the King of Demaa went and imbarqued himself for
the kingdom of Passaruan in a fleet of 2,700 sails, amongst which,
were 1,000 high built juncks and all the rest were vessels with oars.
The 11th of February he arrived at the river of Hicandurea which
is at the entrance of the bar, and because the King of Paneruca,
admiral of the fleet perceived that the great vessels could not
pass into port which was about two leagues ofiE by reason of
sertaine shelves of mud, he caused all those that were in them to
be disimbarqued, and the other vessels with oars to go and anchor
in the road before the town. In this army was the Emperor
Pangueyran in person, accompanied with all the grandees of the
kingdom. The orders were to burn aU the ships that were in
port, which indeed was accordingly executed. The King of
Zunda, with his brother-in-law who was general of the army,
went by land with a great part of the forces, and being all arrived
at the place where they meant to pitch theii' camp, they took care
' Panaroekan.
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 661
in the first place for the fortyfying thereof, and for placing the
canon in the most commodious places to batter the town. As
for the night ensuying it was spent in rejoycings, until such time
as it was ddi,y, when as each captain applied himself to that
whereunto his duty obliged him according to the ingineers
directions, so that by the second day the whole town was environed
with high pallisadoes, and their platforms fortified with great
beams, whereupon they planted divers great pieces of ordnance,
amongst which there were eagles and lions of metal that the
Achems^ and Turks ^ had cast, whereupon the besieged having
taken no notice for two days and taking this fortifying as a great
affront, resolved that night to make a sally upon their enemies.
Two hours before midnight they all assembled at a great place
not far from the palace to the number of 70,000 inhabitants.
The King of Passaruan was young, and imbued with excellent
qualities, no manner of tyrant, exceedingly affable to the common
people, a friend of the poor, and so charitable towards widows.
He was wonderfully content to see such heat of courage in the
town. He drew 12,000 men and divided them into four companies
of 3,000 each, whereof an unkle of the king's was general — of the
second was captain of the principal mandarins, of the third a
stranger a champa by nature, and of the fourth, one called
Panbacalino. They fell upon their enemies with a marvellous
impetuosity, and killed 30,000, besides wounded. Furthermore
they took prisoner 3 kings, 8 pates, which are as dukes amongst
us ; the King of Zunda too, with whom we 40 Portugals were.
It is scarcely to be believed how much the King of Demaa was
grieved with the disaster of the former day as well as the affront
which he received from those within by the loss of his people, as
for the bad success of the beginning of this siege whereof he
seemed to impute in some sort the fault unto our King of Zunda,
saying that this fortune had hapned by the bad directions he had
given to the centinels. Now he made solemn oath never to raise
the siege, and protested he would put to death whomsoever should
oppose his resolution, and used all kinds of diligence for the new
fortifying of the camp with good ditches, strong pallisadoes and
divers bulwarks of stone and timber, garnished on the inside with
platforms where he used in great many canons to be planted so
that by this means the camp was stronger than the town itself in
' Achineese.
^ Arabs.
662 JAVA
regard whereof the besieged did often times jeer the sentinels
without telling them. That it must needs be concluded they
were notorious cowards since instead of besieging their enemies
like valient men they besieged themselves like feeble women
wherefore they bid them return to their houses, where it was
fitter for them to fall to spinning then to make war. These were
the jeers which they ordinarily put upon the besiegers who were
greatly offended thereby,
" This town had been almost three months besieged, and yet
had the enemies advanced but little, for during all that time
wherein there had been five batteries, and three assaults given
to it, with above a thousand ladders planted against the walls,
the besieged defended themselves still like valiant men, so that
all the power of the pangueyran which was about 800,000 men,
whereof the number was much diminished. Hereupon the
ingineer of the camp promised the king he resolved to take
another different course. To that effect with a great amass of
earth and bavins he framed a kind of platform, which he fortified
with six rows of beames and wrought, so that in nine days he
raised it a fathom higher than the wall ; that done, he planted
40 great pieces of cannon upon it, together with a number of
bases and falconets wherewith he fell to battering the town of
Passeruan in such sort as the besieged were therewith mightily
damnified, so that the king perceiving that this invention of the
enemy was the only thing in the world that could most incommo-
date him in the town he resolved by the means of 10,000 volunteers
to whom for a mark of honor he gave the title of Tygers of the
World to attacque this fort — which was presently put into
execution, and for the better encouragement to them the king
himself would be their captain. With the rising sun, they fought
60 valiantly without fear at all of the dreadful ordinances as in
less than two hours, they got to the top of the platform and there
setting on their enemies who were 30,000 in number, they defeated
them all. The Pangueyran of Pate, seeing his forces thus routed,
ran thither in person with 20,000 choice soldiers intending to beat
the Passeruans from the place they had gained, but they defended
it so courageously, as it is not possible to express it in words.
" This bloody battel having indured till evening the Passeruan,
who had lost the most part of his men, made his retreat into the
town whereunto having first set fire in six or seven places, it took
hold of some barrels of gunpowder of which it seems there was a
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 663
great store there which inflamed it terribly in some parts which
was favourable to the besieged. Of these 10,000 volunteers,
6,000 lay dead on the platform. True it is that the Pangueyran
lost 40,000 killed. You are to understand that the Pangueyran
of Pate^ King of Demaa being certified by some of his enemies
whom his men had taken prisoners of the piteous estate of the
besieged and the king hurt, and their ammunition failing, ail
these things carried him more ardently than ever to assault the
besieged town. He resolved to scale it in plain day and instantly
great preparations were made, where divers Serjeants at arms on
horseback, and carrying maces on their shoulders went pro-
claiming aloud, ' The Pangueyran of Pate, who created all
things, lord of the lands which environ the seas, to the end of
nine days, and with the courage of tigers you assist in the assault
of the town of Passeruan for a recompence whereof he liberally
promiseth to do great favors, as well in money as in honorable
titles to those soldiers who shall first plant colours on the enemies
walls whereas contrarily do not carry themselves valiantly shall
in justice thereof be executed.'
" This ordinance of the king full of menaces being published all
over the camp put them in such alarm, as the commanders began
to make themselves ready, a thing they had not done before, and
to provide all things necessary for the assault which were prepared
with hues and cries intermingled with drums and other instru-
ments of war : not to be heard without much terror.
" On the 7th day the King of Demaa sate in councel to resolve
the affairs of the siege with the principal lords of his army. During
this time he had always neer to him a young page who carried his
bethel 2 to chew, and asked this page in age of 12, for some, but he
did not seem to hear ! And the king asked him a second and a
third time, and one of the lords that was neer to the page pulled
his sleeve, and bid him give the king some bethel, which immedi-
ately he did, falling on his knees when he presented him. The
king took 2 or 3 leaves without being angry, giving him a light
touch with his hand on the head^ and said ' art thou deaf, that
thou couldst not hear me,' and^ thereupon re-entered into dis-
course with his councel. Now because the Javan are the most
' Pangeran of Pate.
2 Betel.
* Amongst grown ups in the time of Majapahit, such was a mortal
insult.
664 JAVA
punctilious and perfidious nation of the world, and that withal
they of this country hold it for the greatest affront when one gives
a touch on the head, this young page imagining that the kmg had
touched him so out of contempt so that he thereby should be
infamous for ever, went aside weeping and sobbing, resolving to
revenge the injury, so drawing out his knife he stabbed the king
within the midst of the left pap, and so because the blow was
mortal the king fell instantly to the ground not able to say any
more than these three words ' I am dead.' The page was impaled
alive with a good big stake which came out at the nape of his
neck. As much was done to his father, his brother, to three score
and twelve of his kinsmen so that the race was exterminated upon
so cruel and rigorous an execution. Now the question was made
what to do with the body ; for some said to bury him here would
leave him in the power of the Passeruans, and others if he were
transported to Demaa where his tomb was, it was not possible,
but that it would be corrupted before it arrived there, and there-
fore not be received into Paradise. One of the Portugals gave
counsel which was worth him for the invention 10,000 ducates.
" This counsel was that they should put the body in a cofl&n
full of lime and camphire, and so bury it in a junck full of earth.
As soon as this marvellous mvention was carried out, the King
of Zunda, general of the army, did imbarck the great ordnance,
and ammunition making no noise, and taking care, the enemy
got no inkling of what they were doing, in order to make an
affront to them. But whatsoever care and silence was taken the
king marched out of the town in person with only 3,000 soldiers
and fell upon the enemies, who were busie in trussing up their
baggage, and in less than half an hour's space they cut 12,000 of
them in pieces. There were also 400 ships burnt wherein were
the hurt men so that by this means all the camp was near lost.
The King of Passeruan retreated into his town, for reason that
he had lost 400 men. In the meantime the King of Zunda set
sail on 9th March with all speed for Demaa, being received by the
people with great cries and all signs of mourning. The day after a
review was taken as there were found missing 130,000 whereas
the Passeruans had only lost 25,000. They had now to create a
new pangueyran or ' Eye lid of the World ' as he is wont to be
called. There was now much trouble in the shipping on account
of no king being as yet appointed and notice was therefore given
to the King of Panaruca, Prince of Balambuan, and Duke of
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 665
Cherebom, and four score were hanged on the shore, for this
pell-mell rifling of the merchant ships also of other countries
lying in the port.
" We heard whilst here of the Pate Sudaya,^ Prince of Suru-
bayoa."
1579. Francis Drake began his famous voyage round the
World in 1577, calling at Bantam. He was the first English-
man to visit Java, and his account of the place appears in
Chapter IV.
Drake says : —
" The names of the Kings or Princes of Java at the time of our
Englishmen's being there.
Raja Donaw. Raja Tymbanton.
Raja Rabacapala. Raja Mawgbange.
Raja Bacabatra. Raja Patimara.
" Certaine wordes of the naturall language of Java, learned and
observed by our men there.
Sabuck — silk. Sagu — bread of the Larnike — drink.
country.
Tadon — a woman. Eudam — rain. Jongek — ship.
Sapelo — ten. Dopolo — twenty. Treda — no.
Bayer — go. Suda — enough. Cricke — dagger.
Adadizano — I will Calapa — cocoanut. Totopps — cap.
fetch it.
Gula — sugar. Paree — ryce in huske. Braas — wet rice.
Arbo — an oxe. Cabo — gold. Bebecke — a duck.
Arigange — a deer. Hiam — a henne. Catcha — looking glass."
1587. Thomas Cavendish, with his pilot Christopher Hare
(brother of Stephen Hare, who sailed also to the South Seas),
left Plymouth in 1586.^ He says : —
" The first day of March (1587) having passed through the
Streights of Java minor, and Java major wee came to an ancker
under the south west parts of Java Major (at Bantam), where wee
^ Pati of Sedayoe.
* For the names of the ships under his command see Chapter TV.
666 JAVA
espied certaine of the people were fishing by the sea side in a bay
which was under the yland. Then our Generall taking into the
ship certaine of his company and a negro which could speak the
Morisco tongue which hee hath taken out of the great Saint Anna,
made towards those fishers, which having espied our boat ranne
on shoare into the wood for feare of our men, but our Generall
caused his negro to call unto them, who no sooner heard him call,
but one of them presently came out to the shore-side and made
answere. Our Generall by the negro with many respects enquired
of him for fresh water which they found and caused the fisher to
goe to the king, and to certifie him of a shippe that was come to
have trafique for victuals and for diamants, pearles, or any other
rich jewels that hee had for which hee should have either gold or
other merchandise in exchange. The fisher answered extremely
politely that we should have all manner of victuals that wee
would request. Thus the boat came abord againe.
" Within a while after, we went about to furnish our shippe
thoroughly with wood and water.
" About the eighth of March or hereabouts two or three canoas
came from the town unto us with egges, hennes, fresh fish,
oranges and lymes, and brought worde we should have had
victuals more plentifully, but that there were so farre to bee
brought to us where wee ridde — which when our Generall heard
hee weighed ancker and stoode in neerer to the towne ; and as wee
were under saile, wee mette with one of the king's canoas comming
towarde us ; whereupon wee shoke the shippe in the winde and
stayed from the canoa untill it came abord of us, and stoode unto
the bay which was hard by, and came to an ancker. In this
canoa was the king's secretarie who had on his head a piece of
died linen cloth tied up like a Turkes tuliban ; he was all naked
all saving about the waste, his breast was carved with the broade
arrowe upon it, hee went barefooted, he had an interpretour with
him which was a Mestizo, that is halfe an Indian and halfe a
Portuguese.
" This secretarie signified unto our Generall that he had
brought him an hogge, hennes egges, fresh fish, sugar canes and
wine (which wine was as strong as any aqua vitae, and as cleare
as any rocke water) ; he tolde him farther that hee would bring
victuals so sufficiently for him as hee and his company would
request, and that within the space of foure daycs. Our Generall
used him singularly well, banquetted him most royally, with the
THE OLD TOWN HOUSE AT BATAVIA. (^DiUim by Mujy. i „,.,,., Ihil.^
CA^Tl.K AM> \VHAKK AT BAT.WIV. 1 ■> 1 1 .
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 667
choyce of many and sundry conserves, wines bothe sweete and
other, and caused his musitians to make him musicke. This done
our General! tolde him that hee and his company were Englishmen,
and that wee had bene at China and had had trafique there with
them, and that wee were come thither to discover and purposed
to goe to Malaca. All with which the grande secretarie was
extremely astonished. The people of Java tolde our Grenerall
that there were certaine Portugals in the land which lay there as
factours continually to trafique with them, to buy negroes, cloves,
pepper, sugar and other commodities.
" This secretairie of the king with his interpretour, did much
enjoy his banquet, and lay abord our shippe one night. The
same night because they lay abord in the evening at the setting
of the watch our Generall commanded every man in the shippe
to provide his harquebuze and his shotte, and so with shooting
off 40 or 50 small shotte, and one sacre himself set the watch with
them. This was no small marveile unto these heathen people,
who had not commonly seene any shippe so furnished with men
and ordinance.
" The next morning, the Generall dismissed the grand secretarie
and his interpretour with all humanity.
" The fourth day after, which was the 12th of March, according
to their appointment came the king's canoas, but the winde being
somewhat skant they could not get abord that night, but put
into a bay under the yland untiU the next day, and presently
after the breake of day there came to the number of 9 or 10
of the king's canoas so deeply laden with victuals as they could
swim, with two great live oxen, half a skore of wonderfull great
and fat hogges, a number of hennes which were alive, drakes,
geese, egges, plantans, sugar canes, sugar in plates, cocos, sweet
oranges and soure lymes, great store of wine and acqua vitae, salt
to season victuals withall, and almost all manner of victuals else,
with divers of the king's officers which were there. Among all
the rest of the people in one of these canoas came two Portugals
which were of a middle stature, and men of marveilous proper
personage ; they were each of them in a loose jerkin and hose
which came down from the waste to the ancle, because of the
use of the countrey, and partly because it was lent, and a time for
doing of their pennance (for they accompt it as a thing of great
dislike among these heathens to weare either hose or shoes on
their feete) they had on them each a very faire and a whit« lawne
668 JAVA
shirt, with falling bands on the same, very decently only their
bare legs excepted. These Portugals were no small joy unto our
Grenerall and all the rest of the company ; for wee had not seeno
any Christian that was our friend of a yeere, and a halfe before.
Our Generall used and intreated them singularly well, with
banquets and musicke. They told us that they were no lesse
glad to see us, than wee to see them ; and enquired of the estate
of their countrey and what was become of Don Antonio their
king, and whether hee were living or no, for that they had not
of a long time bene in Portugall and that the Spaniards had always
brought them worde that hee was dead. Then our Generall satisj&ed
them in every demaund, assuring them that their king was alive,
and in England, and had honourable allowance of our Queene,
and that there was warre betweene Spaine and England, and
that we were come under the King of Portugall into the South
Sea, and had warred upon the Spaniards there, and had fired,
spoiled and sunke all the ships along the coast that wee could meete
with all, to the number of eighteene or twentie sailes. With
this report they were sufficiently satisfied. On the other side
they declared to us the state of the Yland of Java. First the
plentifulness and great chose and store of victuals of all sorts,
and of all manner of fruits as before is set downe. Then the
great and rich merchandize which are there to be had. Then
they described the properties and nature of the people as f ol-
io weth.
" The name of the king at that part of the yland was Raja
Bolamboam, who was a man had in great majestie and feare
among them. The common people may not bargaine, sell or
exchange anything with any other nation without speciall licence
from their king, and if any so doe, it is present death to him.
The king himselfe is a man of great yeeres and hath an hundred
wives, his sonne hath fiftie. The custome of the countrey is,
then whensoever the king doeth die, they take the body so dead
and burne it, and preserve the ashes of him, and within five days
next after, the wives of the said king so dead according to the
custome and use of their country every one of them goe together
to a place appointed and the chief e of the women, which is neerest
unto him in accompt, hath a ball in her hand, and throweth it
from her, and to the place where the ball resteth, thither they go
all, and turne their faces to eastward, and everyone with a dagger
in their hand (which dagger they call a crise and is as sharpe as
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 609
a rasor) stab themselves to the heart, and with their hands all
whee-bath themselves in their owne blood and falling grovelling
on their faces so ende their dayes. This thing is as true as it
seemeth to any hearer to be strange. The men of themselves
be very politique and subtile, and singularly valiant, being naked
men in any action they undertake, and wonderfully at the
commandment and feare of their king. For example ; if their
king command them to undertake any exploit, be it ever so
dangerous or desperate, they dare not nor will not refuse it though
they die every man m the execution of the same. For hee will
cut off theu' heads of every one of them which returne alive
without bringing of their purpose to pass, which is such a thing
among them, as it maketh them the most valiant people in all
the south east parts of the world, for they never feare any death.
For being in fight with any nation if any of them feeleth himself
hurte with launce or sword, he will willingly runne himself e upon
the weapon, quite through his body to procure his death the
more speedily and in his desperate sort ende his dayes, or overcome
his enemie. Moreover although the men be tawny of colour and
go continually naked, fearing no shame, yet then- women be
wonderfuUe faire of complexion, and go more apparelled, thinking
it righte to hide their privities when in pub lick. After they had
thus described the state of the yland and the orders, and facions
of the people, they tolde us further, that if their King Don Antonio
would come unto them, they would warrant him to have all the
Malucos at commandment besides China, Sangles, and the Yles of
the Phillippinas, and that hee mighte be assured to have all the
Indians on his side, that are in the countrey. After we had full
contented these Portugals, and the people of Java which brought
us victuals in their canoas, they tooke their leaves of us with
promise of all goode entertaimnent at our retournes and our
Generall gave them three greate pieces of Ordnance at their
departing which they did Avithe much sorrows. Thus the next
daye being the 16th of March we set sail from (Banten) towards
the Cabo de buena Esperancza — always intending to returne to
Banten whiche we leave with much sorrows — for we like the
facions of the Javan peoples.
" In traversing the vast ocean between Java and the main of
Africa, we make many observations as to the appearance of the
stars, the weather, the windes, the tides, the bearing, and position
of landes."
670 JAVA
A Brief Description op a Voyage performed by certain
Hollanders to and from the East Indies, with their
Adventures and Success.
" When and how the Ships Set Sail. — In the year of our
Lord 1595, upon the 10th day of the month of March, there
departed from Amsterdam three ships and a pinnace to sail into
the East Indies set forth by divers rich merchants. The first
caUed Mauritius, of the burthen of 400 tons, having in her six
demi-canon, fourteen culverins and other pieces, and four pieces
to shoot stones, and 84 men, the master John Moleuate,
the factor Cornelis Houtman. The second named Hollandia,
of the burthen of 400 tons, having 85 men, seven brass pieces,
12 pieces for stones, and 13 iron pieces, the master John Dignums,
the factor Gerrit van Buiningen. The third called Amsterdam,
of the burthen of 200 tons, wherein were 59 men, six brass pieces,
ten iron pieces and six pieces for stones, the master John Jacobson
Schellinger, the factor Reginer van Hel. The fourth being
a pinnace called the Dove, of the burthen of 50 tons, with 20 men,
tho master Simon Lambertson. With four ships upon the 21st
of the same month came unto the Texel, where they stayed for
the space of twelve days to take in their lading, and the 2nd of
April following they set sail.
" The 7th of July we saw the point of the land of Sumatra,
which is a very high land descending downward with a long
end.
" The 11th of the same month we were close under the land,
where there lay an island, and there we anchored.
" The 12th of July in the morning we saw certain ships, whereof
one came unto us ; we rowed unto it with a shallop and spake
with it, but could not understand them, but they shewed us where
we should have water, which made us glad that we might once
again have our bellies fuU of water, it being almost four months
that we had not seen any land, nor taken in any fresh victuals.
We sent our pinnace to the firm land of Sumatra, there to seek
for some relief, for at that where we lay there dwelt not any man.
The I3th of July the captain or principal ruler of Sumatra came
aboard our ships to see us, which was done with great solemnity,
he being appareled after the Turkish manner, with a wreath about
his head, and a fearful countenance, small eyes, great eyebrows,
and little beard, for a man might tell all the hairs upon his chin.
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 671
He brought us a present of betele, which are leaves which they
continually chew, and eat it with chalk.
" Sumatra. — This island of Sumatra or Taprobana (as it is
said) is the greatest of all the Oriental islands. It is divided
from the firm land of Malacca by a straight and dangerous sea,
by reason of many islands and cliffs that are within it. Out of
this island, as some men are of opinion, Solomon had his gold
wherewith he beautified the temple and his own palace, and
then in the Bible it should be named Ophir, for certainly Sumatra
is rich of mines of gold, silver and metal, and the inhabitants
thereof are very expert in melting of brass pieces. Therein is a
fountain of pure balsam. The Portugueze have no fortress
therein, yet they traffick in certain havens, especially in Pedir
and Campar. There is also in this island a place called Manancabo,
where they make poynards and daggers, by them called cryses,
which are much esteemed in those countries, and those of Malacca
and Java hold them for their best weapons, and with them are
very bold.
" The same day our pinnace returned again unto us, bringing
us good news, that we were welcome unto the country -people,
and brought us certain Indian nuts or cocoe, melons, cucumbers,
onions, garlick, and a sample of pepper and other spices, which
we liked well. The 14th of June we laded in some fresh water.
Right over against Sumatra on the south side of the equinoctial
lieth the island of Java Major, or Great Java, and these two islands
are divided by a streight commonly called the Streight of Sunda,
which lieth between these two islands, bearing the name of the
principal haven of Java, called Sunda. In this channel there
runneth a great stream, and course of narrow waters. Through
this streight Mr. Candish, an Englishman, passed with his ship,
coming out of the South-sea from New Spain.
" Java Major. — Java begimieth under seven degrees on the
south side, and so stretcheth east and south 150 miles long. It
is very fruitful, especially of rice, cattle, hogs, sheep, hens,
onions, garlick, Indian nuts, and all kind of spices, as cloves,
nutmegs, mace, etc., which they carry to Malacca. The chief
haven in the island is called Sunda Calapa. There you have much
pepper, better than of India or Malabar, and there you may
yearly lade 4 or 5,000 quintals of pepper, Portugal weight. There
liliewise you have great store of frankincense, camphor, and some
diamonds, but they have no other kind of money but a certain
672 JAVA
piece called caixa, as big as a Holland doit, but not so thick, with
a hole in the middle to hang it upon a string, in which manner they
commonly hang hundreds or thousands together, and with them
they know how to make their account, which is two hundred caixa's
make a sata, and five sata's make a thousand caixa's which is as
much as one crusado of Portugal or three Carolus Gilderns, Flemish
money, or two shillings sixpence English. Pepper is sold by the
sack, each sack weighing 45 catten weight of China, each catte as
much as 20 ounces Portugal weight, and each sack is worth in
that country at the least 5,000 caixa's and when it is highest at
6 or 7,000 caixa's. Mace, cloves, nutmegs, white and black
benjamin, camphor, are sold by the bar, each bar weighing
330 catten of China. Mace that is fair and good is commonly
worth from 100 to 120 thousand caixa's. Good cloves accordingly
and foul cloves called bastan are worth 70 and 80 thousand
caixa's the bar. Nutmegs are always worth 20 and 25 thousand
caixa's and sometimes 200,000. The wares that are there desired
and exchanged for spices, are divers sorts and colours of cotton
linen, which come out of several provinces, and if our cambric
or fine holland were carried thither, it would perad venture be
more esteemed than the cotton linen of India. The 15th of June
there rowed a scute called a prawen, hard under the land by us.
We called him but not against his wUl, and shewed him silver,
and other wares that liked him well. He bad us make towards
the strand, and told us of Bantam, saying that there we should
have all kinds of merchandise. Then we made signs unto him
that if he would bring us to Bantam, we would pay him for his
labour. He asked us five ryals of eight and a red cap, which we
granted him, and so one of the men in the scute came on board
the Mauritius and was our pilot to Bantam, where we passed by
many islands. The 19th of July as we sailed by a town, many
Portugueze boarded us, and brought us certain cocos and hens
to sell, which we bought for other wares.
" The 22nd of the same month we came before the town of
Bantam within three miles of it, and there anchored under an
island. The same day about evening, a scute of Portugueze
boarded us, that were sent by the governor to see what ships we
were, and when we shewed them that we came thither to traffick
with them, they told us, that this was the right pepper country,
and that there we might have our lading, that new pepper was
ready to be gathered and would be ripe within two months after,
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 673
which pleased us well, for we had already been fifteen months
and twelve days upon our voyage, having endured great dangers,
miseries and thirst, many of our men by sickness being
dead.
" The 23rd of June we hoisted our anchor and went close to
the town of Bantam and anchored hard by four small islands that
lay right north from the town. The same day the sabander
(who is there one of the great officers next the king) came aboard
our ships, asking us what we would have ; we said we were come
to buy pepper and other spices, and that we had ready money
and certain wares, whereof we shewed him some part, which he
liked well, saying that there we might have lading enough, shewing
us great countenance.
" The same day likewise there came a great number of scutes
unto our ships, bringing all kinds of victuals to sell, as hens,
eggs, cocos, bananas, sugar canes, cakes of rice baked, and many
other things. The 24th of June there came many men aboard
our ships, bringing divers wares to sell, shewing us great friendship
and as it seemed were very glad of our arrival there, telling us
that there we might have pepper enough and new pepper within
two months after, and that pepper was then as good and cheap as
it had been any time within ten years before, that we might
buy five or six sacks for one catti (being about twenty guilders)
which was ordinarily sold, but one sack for that price. Every
sack weigheth 54 pound Holland weight, so that a pound would be
worth about a brass penny Holland money. The same day about
noon the sabandar boarded us once again, desiring Cornelis
Houtman to go on land to speak with the governor, for as then
there was no king, for about a month before our arrival there,
the king was gone with a great army before the town of Palimban,
which he thought to take, and had almost gotten it, but there he
was stricken with a great piece by a renegado of the Portugueze,
and so was slain. His death was much lamented by the strangers
that dwelt at Bantam, for he was a good king being about 25 years
of age. He left behind hun four wives, whereof the eldest was
not above 15 years of age, and a young son of three months
old, that was to succeed him in his kingdom, and they had chosen
a protector or governor to rule in his minority whom they call
kipate, and when the kipate by the sabandar sent to our sarjeant
major to come unto him into the town, he made him answer that
he had no such commission, but he desired the governor first to
J. — VOL. II.
674 JAVA
come aboard his ship, and then he would go on shore. He likewise
desired us to go nearer to the town with our ships.
** And thereupon we sailed somewhat nearer to the island that
lay next unto the town, within half a mile from it, and there we
anchored at four fathom clay ground, the town lying about two
leagues south from us, where we had a good road. The next
morning the governor sent aboard, and the man that came, spake
not only good Portugueze but other languages. He let our
Serjeant major understand that he would come aboard and desired
that he would with a shallop, meet him half the way, which was
done about noon, and the governor came aboard with a great
company of men, where we shewed him all our wares, which he
liked well, desiring us to come on land, saying that we should be
welcome, promising us much favour, wherewith he returned to
the land with certain rich presents that we gave him. The
26th Barent Heyn, factor of the ship called the Mauritius, died
very suddenly. The 27th and 28th great numbers of people
boarded our ships, bringing all sorts of necessaries and victuals to
sell. The 29th there came an emperor, named Raia d'Amna,
aboard our ship, whose father in time past had been Emperor of
all Java, and commanded all the kings of Java, but this man,
because of his bad life, was not much accounted of. He spake
good Portugueze, for his mother was a Portugueze woman born
in Malacca. This emperor had conspired against us with the
Portugueze, but as then we knew it not. The 30th of June
Cornelis Houtman took a boat and went into the town and
there spake with the governor about certain affairs, touching a
contract to be made with him. The 1st of July Houtman went
again into the town, and when he returned he brought with him a
certain contract made and signed by the governor himself, who
most willingly consented thereunto, and said unto him, ' Go now
and buy what you will, you have free liberty,' which done, the
said Houtman with his men went to see the town, apparelled in
the best manner they could, in velvet, satin and silks, with rapiers
by their sides. The captain had a thing borne over his head to
keep him from the sun, with a trumpet before him, which certain
times he caused to be sounded. There the emperor invited them
to a banquet after the Indian manner. From thence they went
to the Portugueze, who made much account of Houtman, and
made him a banquet, saying that they had seen him in Lisbon.
The 2nd July many merchants came on board, prof erring us
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 675
pepper, very good and cheap, but because we were unskilful in
the weight, and other things, we took time to answer them. The
3rd of July the sabandar came aboard and he was our great friend,
for that after we found it so, he told us what weight the sacks of
pepper were, and what prices they bore, counselling us to buy.
" The 7th of July the governor sent us a man secretly by night,
willing us to look unto ourselves, and not to trust the emperor,
with whom all the merchants conspired, and went to invade our
ships, and that he meant to rob us as being very licentious and
evil minded.
" The 8th of July the emperor sent unto our ships and offered
to make them a banquet, bidding all the captains, masters, pilots,
gentlemen, ojBficers, trumpets and gunners to come into the town
to him, and there he would make merry with them. This was
done by the Portugueze advice, thereby to have all the chief and
principal men out of our ships, but we perceived their intent and
returned for answer that they had reason to suspect treachery,
and were upon their guard and were resolved to defend themselves.
They also desired he would not believe the Portugueze and the day
after sent him a present.
" The 1 1th of July the emperor perceiving that his device would
not take place, he went from Bantam to Icatra, a town about
10 leagues from Bantam. The Portugueze had promised him
4,000 pieces of eight, could he contrive to destroy these Dutchmen
and put their ships into their hands.
" The 12th of July we had a house offered us within the town.
The 13th of the same month, Reyner van Hel with eight gentle-
men went into the town, taking certain wares with him of every-
thing a little, and laid it in the house appointed for the purpose,
there to keep a warehouse, and to sell our merchandises, and
presently both gentlemen and merchants came thither to buy and
sell us pepper.
" The 15th and 16th many gentlemen merchants, Chinese and
Arabians, came to our warehouse and into our ships, offering us
pepper, but our factor offered them too little a price.
" The 25th of July the governor came again aboard our ships
and there looked upon certam of our wares, whereof he bought
some, and counselled us to buy pepper. About the same time
the Portugueze made great suit unto the governor, promising him
many gifts to deny us traffick and to constrain us to depart from
thence, saying we were no merchants, but that we came to spy
c 2
676 JAVA
the country, for they said that they had seen many Flemings in
Lisbon, but none like us. Among the Portugueze there was one
that was born in Malacca of the Portugueze race. His name was
Pedro Truide, or Pedro de Tayda, who was a famous pilot, and
not only frequented, but made charts of all the coasts and maps
of all the islands in the East Indies, a man well seen in travelling
and one that had been in all places of the world. He was our
good friend, and every day came to talk with our captains,
saying, ' You do not well that you make no more haste to take in
your lading, you shall have no better cheap wares, and withal
shewed us many other things, whereupon the Portugueze hated
him, and not long after, he was murthered by sixteen ruffians
about noon, as he lay asleep upon his bed. In August we did
little and took no great store of lading, in seeking to have pepper
cheaper, which the Portugueze liked not well of, and said unto
the governor that we desired not to buy, which the governor began
to hearken unto, for they offered him great sums of money that
he should not permit us to traffick, so that in the end he com-
manded that no man should carry any rice aboard our ships,
whereby we were abashed, and thereupon we sent unto the
governor for our money which he owed for the wares he had
bought, which moved him and he cast them into prison. Then
he sent an interpreter with nine slaves and one of the Dutchmen
on board to declare that he did this only to prevent their seizing
the two jonques laden with cloves, and that when they were
saUed he would release their companions. But when the messenger
returned and told the governor, that his interpreter and the rest
were detained in chains, he declared that unless they were im-
mediately released he would put the Dutch to death. The
26th of July he sent one of our gentlemen, with some of his men
and nine slaves aboard our ships."
" The Situation of the Town of Bantam : The principal Town of
Traffick in the Island of Java : Their Strength and Manner
of building, with their traffick : What People come thither :
What Wares are there most desired : What Nations bring
them thither or come to fetch them : Together with their
Keligion, Customs, and Manner of Housekeeping.
*' Bantam lieth in the island of Java Major about twenty -five
miles to sea-ward within the isle between Sumatra and Java.
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 677
On both sides of the town there runneth a river about three foot
and a half deep, so that no ships can enter into them. The town
is compassed about with a river. The town is almost as great in
compass as the old town of Amsterdam. The walls are made
with flankers. They have great numbers of pieces therein, but
they know not how to use them, for they fear them much. All
their pieces are of brass and they have many brazen bases. Their
walls are not above two foot thick, made of bricks. Every
flanker hath divers masts and pieces of wood which they use when
they are besieged by their enemies. The houses are made of
straw and reeds standing upon four wooden posts. The rich
people have their chambers all hanged mth silken curtains, or
else with cotton linen. Their houses are most placed under coco
trees, whereof the town is full. Without the walls are many
houses wherein strangers for the most part have their dwellings.
The town hath three great market places, wherein daily there
are markets holden, where you may buy all kinds of wares, and
where there cometh a great number of people very strange to
behold. Within the town there is a great church, or mosque
of wood, wherein they observe the law of Mohamet. Gentle-
men and men of any quality have their own mosques in their
houses.
" The town is not built with streets nor the houses placed in
order, but very foul, lying full of filthy water, which men must
pass through or leap over, for they have no bridges. In the town
there is great resort of divers countries and nations, as of Malacca,
Bengala, Malabar, Guibereters of Pegu, Sani Malicas, Banda,
China and of many kingdoms that have great traffick for pepper
that groweth round Bantam, which in August and September is
ripe ; there you have nutmegs out of the island of Banda, and
cloves from Molucca, which the Portugueze do most buy up.
We bought nutmegs there for a blank a pound. All victuals and
necessaries are there in great abundance to be had, as hens, harts,
fish and rice and divers kinds of fruits, as avanas, cocos, bananas,
manges, doroyens, jacca, pruna, grapes, oranges, lemons, pome-
granats, cucumbers, melons, onions, garlick, but bread they have
none, but instead of it they eat rice. Beef is their dearest victuals,
for an ox in that place is worth seven, eight or nine ryals of
eight.
" The Chinese have the greatest and most traffick in that town.
They come thither in the month of January with eight or nine
678 JAVA
great ships, bringing all sorts of porcelane, silks, damasks, gold
thread, iron pans, and Javas money called caixas, whereof
12,000 make a rial of eight. They are hanged upon strings by
two hundred together, for the which they both buy and sell all
kinds of merchandize, and there they load pepper, which they
carry into China. Without the town they have a great place
wherein they commonly use to sell their wares, and there they
dwell, and have greater and better houses than any there are
within the town, all made of reeds, only that in every house they
have a square place made of stone wherein they put their wares
to keep them from burning, as some rich men in the town likewise
have. The Chinese are very subtle and industrious people, and
will refuse no labour nor pains to earn money. There they make
much aqua vitse of rice and cocos and traffick much therewith,
which the Javars by night come to buy, and drink it secretly,
for by Mohamets law it is forbidden them. The Chinese live
there with free liberty. When they come to remain there for a
year or more as they think good, they buy themselves a wife or
two, or more as they think good, and live together like man and
wife, and when they mean to depart, they sell their wives again,
but if they have children they take them with them, and so return
to China. They have no special religion, but pray unto the devil,
that he would not hurt them, for they know that the devil is
wicked and that God is good, and hurteth no man, therefore they
think it needless to pray to God. They acknowledge not the
resurrection of the dead, but when a man dieth they think he
never riseth again. In their houses they have great painted
devils, before the which they place wax candles and sing unto
them, praying them not to hurt them, and the more monstrous
that their shapes be, the more they honour them.
" These people live very hardly and poorly within Bantam,
for there is not any work or labour, how filthy soever it be, but
they will do it to get money, and when they have gotten some-
thing, they return to China. They are very like Jews in our
country, for they never go without a pan* of balances, and all
things are good wares with them, and are ready to do any service.
When we came first before Bantam, they came every day m
great companies into our ships, and there set out their wares
to sell, as silks, sowing silks, and porcelanes, so that our upper
decks were full of pedlars, that we could hardly walk upon the
hatches."
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 679
" The Manner, Conditions, Custom, Going, Standing, Apparel,
Housekeeping, Wares, and Behaviour of the Javars in Bantam.
" The Javars and inhabitants of Bantam are proud and obstinate,
with a very stately pace. They hold the law of Moliamet, which
they have not had above 35 years, for as yet there are many
heathens among them that never were made Moors. It is a very
lying and thievish kind of people, not in any sort to be trusted.
Their apparel both of rich and poor is a cotton cloth and some of
silk about their middles, which they tie about them with a girdle
the upper part, and from the knees downward all naked. Most
of them go bareheaded, but the prinoipallest of them have a
wreath or Turkish roll about their heads, and some little caps.
Their priests come out of Mecca in Arabia, and are of a yellow
colour. Their weapon is a poniard which they call crisis. It is
made with hilts and the handle is a devil cut out of wood or bone ;
the sheaths are of wood. With them they are very bold, and it is
accounted for a great shame with them if they have not such a
dagger, both young, old, rich and poor, and young children of five
or six years old, and when they go to the wars they have targets,
and some long spears, but most of them such poniards. They
use neither great shot nor calivers when they go against their
enemies. For a small matter one king wUl make war against
another. When we came first before Bantam, we offered to make
a contract with the governor, and the council of the town, that
they should deliver us a certain quantity of pepper and we would
go with our ships before Palimban and help them to revenge
the death of their kings upon their enemies, for (as they said) we
might go within a bow shot of the town with our ships, and the
town is but of wood without walls, so that we would presently
have beaten it down to the ground. They offered us some of
their principal governors to be left for pledges in our ships, and
their men would sail in their fusts, such as should go on land and
we should do nothing else but shoot out of our ships, but our
captains would not do it, considering our small number of men.
" The Javars take as many \vives as they will and are able to
maintain, but the common people have but one, some two married
wives, and some ten, twenty and thirty concubines. For a small
matter they will send their married wives home again unto their
fathers, when they have lain five or six days with them, saying
they like them not, and so their marriage is undone, when they
desire it."
680 JAVA
" The Manner, Custom, Householding, Child-bearing, Sporting
and Cleanliness of the Women in Bantam.
" The women of the town are well kept from such as cu'cum-
cised, whereof the rich men have many, and from other men or
their friends, for their own sons may not come into the house
where the women are. They lie all naked, and chew betel, and
have a slavish woman that continually scratcheth their bodies,
that is such as are married women, but such as are concubines
are as waiting gentlewomen to the married women, when they
go out to give them more majesty, and those that have the
greatest number are of most estimation. The concubines have
but few children, for the married women poison their children,
and these concubines are bought and sold. By their apparel
a man can hardly discern the rich from the poor, for they all go
with a cotton cloth about their bodies up to their breasts, and
bound about their middles with another cloth, barefooted, and
their heads uncovered, their hair bound right upon the top of
their heads in a heap, but when they are in their pride, they wear
crowns upon their heads, whereof some of them are of pure gold,
and rings of gold and some of silver about their arms, every one
according to their ability. They are very curious about their
bodies, for they wash themselves at the least five or six times every
day. They never ease themselves, nor have the company of
their husbands, but they presently leap into the water and wash
their bodies, and therefore the water that runneth through Bantam
is very unwholesome, for every one washeth themselves in it, as
well pocky as other people, whereby we lost some of our men
that drank of the water. The women are very idle, for they do
nothing all the day but lie down ; the poor slaves must do all the
drudgery, and the men sit all day upon a mat, and chew betel,
having ten or twenty women about them, . . . and so they sit
playing all day with their women. Many of them have slaves
that play upon instruments much like our shakebois. They have
likewise great basons whereon they strike, and therewith know
how to make good musick, whereat the women dance, not leaping
much but winding and drawing their bodies, arms and shoulders,
which they use all night long, so that in the night-time they make
a great noise with basons and other instruments, and the man
sits and looks upon them, every one of the women striving to
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 681
do her best, that she may get her husband's favour and her secret
pleasure. The gentlemen, citizens and merchants have their
gardens and fields without the town, and slaves for the purpose
to labour in them, and bring their masters all kinds of fruit,
rice and hens in the town, as also the pepper that groweth there,
which runneth up by another tree, as hops with us, and groweth
in long bunches like grapes, so that there is at the least 200 grains
in one bunch. It is first green and after it becometh black and is
there in great abundance, so that it is the right pepper country,
for when we came thither they said unto us : A qui ai tanta
Pimienta, como terra : that is. Here is as much pepper as earth ;
and so we found it, and yet we departed from thence by our
follies without our lading of pepper. We staid for new pepper.
Meantime the Portugueze sent their letters into every place,
seeking to hinder our trade. At the first we might have sufficient,
for there we found enough both to buy for money or to barter.
We likewise had money and wares sufficient. We might easily
have had six or eight hundred tons, as we were advertised by
some of the country, that we should presently buy, for that the
Portugueze sought all the means they could to hinder us, as after
it appeared, and therefore he that thinketh to come soon enough,
Cometh oftentimes too late, and we used not our time so well,
as it fell out.
" The 29th of August we had a letter, sent us by night, from
our men that were in the town, that lay in a manner as prisoners,
to will us to let our pledge, viz., the interpreter, etc., detained by
force, go ashore, ortherwise they feared they should hardly escape
with their lives, and great danger might fall upon them. This
pledge came aboard with the nine slaves.
" The 30th of August we sent the pledge and the rest of our
Javars to land with promise that he would do the best he could
to get our men leave to come aboard. About evening of the same
day we had news from our men by four of our saUors, that now
they were better used, saying they thought they should come
aboard when two ships, or jonques, were gone that meant to sail
for Malacca, being laden with nutmegs and other things.
" The 1st of September and the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, we sent
many letters to the governor and he to us, and likewise to our
men that were in the town, being nine in number, all our best
merchants and captains, having with them about 6 or 700
guilderns in merchandise, and they gain to us.
682 JAVA
" The 5th of September when we perceived that delays were
dangerous, we went close to the town with all our four ships, and
so near that we had but two fathom muddy ground, and presently
with two of our boats for our security, we set upon three
Javan ships, whereof two were laden with fish and coco, wherein
we found a man of China of some account. The third ship was
laden with 20 tons of cloves, 6 tons of pepper and some benioni,
and piementa da rauo, wherein we found five Malabars, slaves
to the Portugueze, whom we likewise took, and they were very
willing to go with us, thereby to be eased of the slavery whereunto
the Portugueze put them, and perceiving that the Portugueze
went often to and from another ship that lay not far from us,
we took our pinnace and made towards it, and being hard by it,
the Portugueze left it and set it on fire. This ship had the richest
wares in it, as the Portugueze slaves told us, for it was laden with
50 tons of cloves, which were burnt in it.
" The 6th and 7th of September we heard no news, so that we
went close to the town again, shooting with our great pieces into
it, slaying divers of the people, as we were after informed. They
likewise shot with their pieces against us, which the Portugueze
did, for the Javars have little or no skill at all therein, and are
verj'- fearful of them ; and although they had many pieces in the
town, yet they did us no other hurt than only to shoot one of
Molenare's half masts in pieces.
" The 7th of September we had a skirmish which was in this
manner : we perceiving a Javan ship under sail, sent our pinnace
with twenty six in her to fetch it in, which the Javan ship per-
ceivmg, fled behind an island, where our pinnace followed him
so fast that she fell a-ground, which the townsmen perceiving,
made them ready with four and twenty boats full of men all
armed after their manner, and set forward in good order, being
divided in two companies, seven on starboard and seventeen on
lard-board of the pinnace, in order like a half-moon, threatening
us with their spears. They thought by reason of their great
number of men that they had already taken it, but it fell out
otherwise, for they in the pinnace perceiving them coming,
shot among them and they were so near unto that we could not
shoot at them, and when they were hard by the pinnace, she got
afloat as they thought to take her, having cast out an anchor in
good tune, and thereby wound themselves off the ground, but
for haste they were forced to cut their cable, because they had
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 683
not time enough to wind it up, and with all they shot one of their
boats under water. The pinnace drawing her boat after her,
the Javars presently leap'd into it, and cut asunder the rope
that held it, which they immediately stole from us, thrusting
with theu' spears in at the loopholes. Seven of their boats
bemg round about us were so sharply paid ^vith the iron pieces,
stone pieces, and calivers that the seventeen others durst not come
so near us. I think there were at the least 100 of them that
never carried news how they speeded in that skirmish, for every
boat had at the least 60 men in it, and they were so thick in them,
that they could not help themselves, nor did any thing else but
shake their spears, and they shot but one base. Their arrows hurt
us not, and so the pinnace returned again unto our ships, sailing
close before the town, and shooting into it with her ordnance.
They shot out of the town, but it hit her not, because they shot
with stone pellets, wherewith you cannot shoot so certainly as
with iron bullets.
" The 8th, 9th and 10th of September we had letters from our
men out of Bantam, by the which they desired us not to shoot
any more, for that the governor threatened to set them upon
stakes or tie them to stakes on the shoar, and shoot them with
arrows. Houtman wrote they were in good hope that they should
be put to ransom of 3,000 pieces of eight, which we councelied
them to do as well as they might.
" The 11th of September we had a letter from Houtman, and
one from the governor wherein he wrote that he would set our
men at liberty so we would be quiet, but if we desired war he
would once again come and visit us in another fort. We answered
him that there he should find us, that words were but wind, and
that he should set our men at a reasonable ransom, and thereof
send us an answer the next day.
" The 12th and the 13th of September we had no answer out
of the town, and we had want of water and could get none there-
abouts, but that which came out of the town, for that the governor
had taken order that we should get no water about the town, so
that we hoisted anchors to go seek some.
" The 17th of September we came before three or four islands,
which Molenare and Schellenger sailed between, and for that the
stream ran so strong there, they were forced to go so nigh the
shore, that they might almost leap on land, whereby they escaped
great danger, but the other ship and the pinnace sailed about the
684 JAVA
islands and so met with the other two, and casting forth their
anchors went on shore, where we spake with men that said they
would shew us where we should have water, so we would give
them two calivers. The 18th, 19th, 20th, 23rd and 24th we
stayed to lade water, for it was hard to get, and we were forced
to keep good watch, which done, hoisting anchors again, we
sailed towards Bantam, holding our course eastward. The 27th
we sailed north-east towards the land of Java Major. The 28th
setting sail again, we kept east-north-east along by the coast of
Java, and about noon, because of the great stream that runneth
in the straight, we were forced to anchor, and the 30th day we
set sail again.
" The 1st of October, in the evening, we came to a great island
being three miles from the town, and there we anchored, finding
good clay ground.
" The 2nd of October we had a letter from our men, how they
were separated one from the other and kept by the gentlemen
of the town, and their wares parted among them. The 3rd, 4th,
and 5th, when we were again before the town, we had other
letters that by our coming they were better used, and hoped to be
set at a reasonable ransom, and that they promised that one of
our men should come aboard, so he would return again into town,
that should by word of mouth certify us what hope they were in,
and the cause thereof, that we might the better believe it.
" The 6th of October in the night, one of our men came aboard
and shewed us what he past, when we shot into the town, how
they were separated and kept close prisoners and cruelly treated
by the Javars, whereby they still expected when they should be
put to death, and how they fought all the means they could to
make them to deny their faith and become Moors ; but they
remained constant, and said they would rather die, and that they
had by force shaved three of our men after the Moorish manner,
and how the Portugueze had sought all the means they could to
buy them for slaves, offering money for them that they might
send them to Malacca, how they were set at liberty again, and
might go where they would within the town, and so they hoped
all would be well, and that they should be set at liberty for some
small ransom, and that the governor asked them 3,000 rials of
eight, but they hoped to bring him to 2,000, whereat we much
rejoiced. The 8th, 9th, and 10th October we passed over to make
some agreement with them, that we might be quiet.
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 685
" The 11th October they agreed upon a ransom of 2,000 rials
of eight, and were content, that what goods soever we had taken
from them we should keep as our owti, and for our goods that they
had stolen, and forcibly taken from our men within the town,
they would keep them, and so exchange one for the other. They
likewise were content to quit us of all our debts, that we ow'd
within the to\\Ti, either to the governor or to any other man, and
that from thenceforward we should be free, and traffick in the
town, both to buy and sell when it pleased us, and with their
good wills as we had done, and before we paid our money the town
was to send two men aboard our ships, which done, we were to
pay the half of our ransom, and upon the payment thereof, they
should set half of our men at liberty, and that half of our men
being come aboard we were to pay the other half of our ransom,
which was 1,000 rials of eight, which being performed, their two
men, and their other half of our men were on both sides to be
delivered and set free, and without contradiction it was performed.
" The 12th and 13th this agreement being ended, divers
victuallers came aboard our ships to sell us hens, eggs, and all
other kind of victuals.
" The 14th we gave certain presents in sign of good wiU, to
such as had shewed us favour when we were in contention with
them.
" The 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th some of our factors went into
the town, where they bought certain pepper, and brought it
aboard our ships.
" The 19th they went again into the town, and bought a greater
quantity at five sacks for one catti, minding in that sort every
day to take in our lading ; but it fell not out as we desired, for
the Portugueze that could not brook our company, made such
means to the governor, that he gave command that we should
buy no more pepper before we had paid 1,400 rials of eight,
which he challenged of us, because we had cast anchor within the
stream ; whereupon our merchants went and agreed with him ;
which done, we thinking to buy pepper as we did before, the
governor again commanded to the contrary ; whereby we
perceived their deceit, in that he would not hold his word. The
countrymen would gladly have sold their pepper as also the
Chinese, Arabians, Mahometans, and secretly some Portugueze ;
but when we saw we could not get it out, but with great danger,
we thought it not convenient to buy. And when we spake unto
686 JAVA
the governor touching the holding of hia word he made us answer
that he had no bones in his tongue ; and that therefore he could
speak that which he meant not to. And to say the truth most
part of the Javans are a kind of deceitful people, for whatsoever
they say and presently perform, that shall you be sure of, and
no more.
" The 25th of October, there came an ambassador into Bantam
sent from Malacca to the governor with a present of 1,000 rials
of eight, desiring him to forbid us both his town and stream, that
we might not traffick there. Whereof we were advertised by
the sabandar and other of our friends, counselling our men to
get them out of the town, and not to return agam, otherwise
they would be in danger to be confined again ; and we having
sent a man into the town to save him from being taken prisoner,
our host where we lay being on shore, was forced to bring him
out covered with certain mats ; so that upon the 26th of the
same month all our traffick and friendship with them ceased.
But our host being our friend, came secretly aboard our ships,
and shewed us that he and his company had two ships lying before
the town, laden with nutmegs and mace that came from Banda ;
for the which he agreed with us at a price, upon condition that
we should seem to take them by force, that thereby he might
colour his dealing with us. Whereupon the first of November we
sailed close to the town with all our ships, and set upon the two
Javan ships, wherein we found to the number of thirty slaves
that knew nothing of their master's bargain made with us, so
that they began to resist us, wherewith we shot amongst them,
and presently slew four or five of them, the rest leap'd over-board
and swam to land ; which done we took the two ships and put
their lading into ours. The Portugueze ship that brought their
ambassador lay close under the shore, whereunto we sent two
of our boats ; but the Portugueze that were in her shot so thick
with their pieces upon our men, that our boats were forced to
leave them with loss of one of our men, but our ships shot in such
sort with their ordnance upon the Portugueze ship, that they
spoUed and broke it in pieces, wherein their captain was slain ;
and the victuallers that still brought us victuals to sell, told us
that with our pieces we had slain three of our men within the
town, and that the townsmen began to make an army of ships
to set upon us.
" The 2nd of November we espied a ship that came toward
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 687
Bantam which we joined unto with our boats ; and being near unto
it, they spread their fights which were of thick mats and began
to defend themselves. Our men shot amongst them with stone
pieces and calivers and they defended themselves with great
courage, having half pikes wherewith they thrust at us, and that
served likewise to blow arrows out of them, for they were like
trunks ; out of the which trunks they shot so great numbers of
arrows that they fell as thick as hail, and shot so exact that
therewith they hurt at the least eight or nine of our men ; but
the arrows are thin and light, so that their blast could not make
them enter into the flesh above the thickness of two fingers only
the head of the arrow (which is made of reed, and stayeth loose
in the flesh). When we shot with our calivers they ran behind
their fights ; but when they perceived that their matted fights
could not defend them, and that they were killed through them,
they entered into their boat and by strength of oars rowed from
us, leaving their ship wherein we found two dead men, and we
slew three more of them as we rowed after their boat ; so that in
all they lost five men as we after heard and that they were to
the number of forty, which done, we brought their ship to ours,
wherein we found good store of rice and dryed fish.
" The 6th of November perceiving not any hope of more
traffick for us with those of Bantam, we hoisted anchor and set
sail, setting our course towards the Streight of Sunda.
" The 7th of November we came and anchored before a river
of fresh water, about six miles from Bantam, where we took in
our provision of water ; thither certain merchants followed us
with porcelain, telling us that they were sorry for our departure,
and longed for our return again.
" The 13th of November we set sail and about evening we came
before Icatra, which is only remarkable for its river and the
country about it very fertile in fruits and provisions. In time
past it was called Sunda Calapa, which had been a rich town of
merchandise, but upon some occasions and by reason of this
hard usage, the merchants had withdrawn themselves from thence,
therefore at this present there is little or nothing to do.
" John Hughen in his book saith this was the principal town of
traffick, but that was long ago, for now there is not any trade or
merchandise.
" The 14th November we sent two of our men into the town
having some of theirs in pawn, who told us that many of the
688 JAVA
inhabitants were gone out of the town with all their goods, being in
great fear of our pieces ; and there we had great store of victuals
and much more than we required brought aboard our ships.
" The 18th we set sail from Icatra, and being about two miles
from the town, our ship called Amsterdam, fell upon a cliff ; but
it got off again without any hurt, and therewith we presently
made towards the streight.
" The 2nd December we passed by three towns, which we
might easily perceive ; we likewise passed by Tubam, or Tubaon
and anchored under Sidaya. The 3rd of December there came
men out of the town, and desired us to stay, saying that there
we might have cloves and nutmegs as many as we would, bringing
certain banqueting stuff (as a present from their king) unto
Schellenger's ship, because it lay nearest to the land, and most
of them came aboard.
*' The 4th December they came again into Schellenger's ship
bringing certain presents with them ; and among the rest a
certain bird, that could swallow fire, which is a very strange
fowl, and was brought alive to Amsterdam, which after was given
to the States of Holland at the Hague ; and some good fruits,
desiring us to send a man on shore to see their spices, whereof
they said they had great store, whereupon we sent a man out of
the Amsterdam and with him an interpreter, one of the Portugueze
slaves, they leaving three or four of their men aboard our ship
for pawns till his return. When our man came to land he was
well used and there they shewed him forty or fifty bales of cloves ;
which done they brought him before the kmg, who promised
him great favour, and told him that the next day he would
himself come aboard our ships, and deal with our captains and
with that he let our men depart.
" The 5th of December we expected the king's coming aboard,
putting out all our flags and streamers ; and about noon there
came eight or nine different great ships full of men from off the
shore, wherein we thought the king to be ; but when they were
almost at us, they divided themselves, three of them rowing to
Schellenger's ship ; and when they boarded him, they thinking
the king had been there, Reymer van Hell as factor and the master,
came forth to receive him ; but the Javans entering all at once,
Reymer van Hell said, ' What will all these people do aboard the
ship,' for there was at least two hundred men, who all at one time
drew out their poniards and stabbed our men that never suspected
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 689
them ; so that presently they had slain twelve of the ship, and
two sore wounded that boldly withstood them ; the rest of our
men being under hatches presently took their pikes, and thrust
so fast out at the grates, that the Javars would have forced the
middle part of the ship, wherein was two entries, but our men
standing at them with their swords in hand, drove them out, not
ceasing still to thrust up with their pikes ; meantime they kindled
a fire, lighted their matches and shot off their stone pieces that lay
above the hatches, wherewith they began presently to fly, most of
them leaping overboard and swam to their two boats that lay hard
by our ships, whereof one with a great piece was presently stricken
in pieces. The rest of our ships hearing us shoot in that manner,
entered into their boats and made towards them, rowing hard to
the three Indian fusts wherein were at the least 100 men, and
shot amongst them with their pieces, wherewith they leaped into
the water, every man swimming to shore, and we with two boats
after them, hewing and killing them as our deadly enemies, who
under pretence of friendship sought to murder us ; and we
handled them in such sort, that of 200 men there got not above
thirty of them to land, the rest of their fusts lay far off and
beheld the fight. Three of their fusts thought to row to the
pinnace to take her, which they might easily have done, as having
not above seven or eight men in her, being busy to set up a new
mast ; but when they perceived their men to be so handled in
the Amsterdam, and that they leap'd overboard, they turned back
again, and in great haste rowed to land, so that at that time
they got not much by the bargain. The natives lost 150 men,
and no small grief to us, for there we lost twelve men, that were
all stabbed with poniards, their names were, John Jacobson
Schellenger, master of the ship, Reymer van Hell, factor, Gielis
Gieleson, gentleman, Barent Bonteboter, Arent Cornedrager,
Cornelis van Alemuer, Simon Janson, Wiltschut, Joos the car-
penter, Adrian de Metselar, one of the Portugueze slaves and two
boys, whereof one was but twelve years old ; whereby we perceived
them to be a kind of cruel people for they had given the little boy
and the rest of our men at the least twelve stabs apiece after they
were dead, which so exasperated the Dutch, that they put all
their prisoners to the sword, who confessed that they had followed
them from Bantam ; that the jonque laden with nutmegs at
Jacatra, was intended to surprise them ; that afterwards they
went to Jopara to wait for them ; and that they came to Sidaya
J. — VOL. II. D
690 JAVA
to try if by the two jonques that appeared off, they could draw
them into the main, in order to attack them the more easily.
The same day about evening we hoisted anchors, and set sail,
having manned the Ansterdam with men out of our other ships,
and so held our course eastward. The 6th of December we came
to a great island called Madura, where we anchored and in the
evening two of their men came aboard our ships, with a message
from their governor saying, that we were welcome desiring us to
stay there, for he would traffick with us, and sell us some pepper
as they said, but we believed them not. The 7th of December
there came another boat aboard bringing certain fruit, saying
that the next day their governor would come to see our ships.
The 8th there came a great fust, and three small boats from off
the land, all full of men saying their governor was among them.
We desired them not to go to the Amsterdam, but to the Mauritius,
but they would not, but made to the Amsterdam thinking because
there had been so many murdered in her, there was not many men
aboard here at that time ; and when they were within a pike's
length of her (although they were directed to the other ships)
they remembering their late mischance, shot off three or four
stone pieces full loaded, wherewith they slew and hurt many of
the Indians ; whereupon they presently leap'd overboard and we
with our boats followed after and slew divers of them, taking
ten or twelve, thinking by them to know what their intent was
to do, but they could not certify us, therefore we let then go
again, only keeping two boys who long after stole out of the ship
and swam to land. They told us that the governor being a
bishop or chief instructor of the country, was within the boat
and slain amongst the rest ; he had therein likewise a little boy,
one of his sons, who we likewise took and sent to land. The
bishop was of Mecca, and much esteemed of among them, a great
clerk, and governor over all the rest of the country. There was a
jewel of gold set with precious stones found about him, which as
yet is kept.
" About evening we weighed anchors and set sail, and the
11th December we came to two small islands, or the island Laboe
or Leboe, or little Madare, surrounded by two other small islands,
13 leagues from Java, where we anchored ; there we found none
but poor people and fishermen, that brought us fish, hens and
fruit to sell. The 13th we set sail, and the 14th we had a west
wind, which they call passage wind, that would have served us
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 691
well to sail to Moluccas from whence we were not distant above
two hundred miles ; and as then it was a good year for cloves,
which happeneth every three years, it was told us that we might
there have a cabin laden full of cloves ; whereupon we determined
to sail thither ; but because we had already endured a long and
troublesome voyage and but ill mann'd we would not, longing to
be at home. This contrary wind holding upon the 24th December,
we came to Leboc, an island where we had been before, being
forced back by the currents.
" The 25th of December John Molenaer master of the Mauritius
died suddenly of an oppression of the lungs. This death however
was reported by the surgeons to be effected by poison ; and
Hootman was put in chains as a person suspected of the murder,
on account of the constant quarrels and threats that passed
between him and the deceased. But three days after, Hootman
was released. The 28th, 29th, 30th, and 31st of December we
were busy to take all the wares, sails and other things out of the
Amsterdam, which leaked on every side, her victuals and furniture
serving for our voyage homeward ; and lying under that island,
we had victuals brought us every day as much as we needed, both
fish, hens, venison and fruit, and at a reasonable price ; but there
we could get no water.
" The 11th of January when we had unladen the Amsterdam,
we set her on fire, to the great admiration of the natives, who
strove with their canoes to tow her ashore, to save her iron
work, but we let her burn taking her men into our ships. The
12th of January we set sail again, some desiring to sail eastward,
others westward : but in fine we set westward to sail once again
to Bantam ; wherewith the Mauritius sailed south-eastward to
get about the island of Java and we followed her. The 14th of
January we once agam perceived the east point of the island of
Madura, and held our course southward. On that side of Madura
there lieth many small islands, through which we sailed.
" The 16th in the morning our pinnace ran aground upon
the coast of Java, not far from Pannorocan, where she shot off
three pieces ; at the which warning we made thither with our
boats, and by the help of God got her off again. There we saw
a high hill that burnt under and above the fire having great smoke
most strange to behold.
" 18th of January we entered into the Streight of Balambuan,
which is not quite half a league broad in its narrowest part,
d2
692 JAVA
which runneth between Java and Baly, and by reason of the
hard and contrary stream that runs therein, we were forced to
anchor upon the coast of Java ; where we found good anchor-
ground.
" The 19th we set sail, and when we came near to the coast
of Baly, we entered into a rough stream, and our ships drove
backward as swiftly as an arrow out of a bow ; and there we found
no anchor ground, nor any anchor could have holden us ; but
the Mauritius got the coast of Java and anchored ; which in the
end we likewise did, and anchored at the least three miles from
him, for so much we had driven back in the space of half an
hour. The 20th of January we went and lay by our other
ships.
" The 21st of January there came two barks to the Mauritius
wherein there was one that could speak good Portugueze who
told us that the town of Ballaboam or Balambuan was besieged
by a strange king that had married the Kling of BaUaboam's
daughter ; and after he had lain with her, he caused her to be
slain, and then came to besiege her father. This town of Balla-
boam lies on the east-end of the island of Java, and is the same
town where Mr. Candish ten years before was when he passed
that way ; and the old king whereof he writeth was then Uving
being at the least 160 years of age. There we saw great numbers
of bats that flew over our ships, and were as big as crows, which
in that country they use to eat, as they say. About noon, we
came before the town of Ballaboam, so near unto it that we
might easily see it ; and there we lay behind a high point of
land, thinking to take in water.
" The 22nd of January we took our pinnace and sailed about
the shore, as near the land as possible we could, to seek for fresh
water ; but we found none ; for the river that ran through the
town was paled up (by them that lay before it) so that no man
might pass, either out or in, but only on the land side, and that
with great danger. The same day there came two or three men
aboard our ship, that stole out of the town by night, and came
from the king to desire our help with our great shot, which we
could not do*; because that thereabouts it was very shallow,
and we could not go near it with our ships. They told us they
had great want of victuals within the town, whereby many of
them were already dead for hunger, and much desired our aid ;
but it was not in us to do. Those that besieged the town were
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 693
Moors, but they in the town were heathens and as yet had not
received Mahomet's law ; and that as we heard after, was the
cause of their war. There we saw many storks flying and sitting
in the field. With us we cannot imagine where the storks
remain winter time, but here we saw them in the winter time.
The 24th of January we sailed from thence perceiving nothing
for us to get, and took our course right over to the island of
Baly.
" The 25th we came to Baly, where one of their barks boarded
us, telling us that there we should find a river of fresh water, and
ot all things else sufficient to serve our necessities ; whereupon
we anchored.
" The 26th of January our pinnace sent our boat to land to
see the river, and there one of our men was sent on shore ; but
when he was on land he found nothing but an army of ten thou-
sand men, that meant to relieve the town of Ballaboam and the
river was nothing worth to lade water ; whereupon our men
came aboard again. Their general thought to have gotten some
great prey out of our ships. The 27th of January we set sail
to find a convenient place to refresh us with water and other
provision, for we were informed by a man of Bengala, that of
his own consent sailed with us, and that had been in Baly, that
there we should find water and other things, to serve our necessi-
ties ; so that by night we anchored under a high point of land
on the south-west end of Baly.
" The 28th of January one of their boats boarded us with six
or seven men, saying that their king was desirous to deal with us
for such wares as he had ; and sent to know from whence we came,
and we said we came out of Holland ; and that we came to trade
fairly and honestly with the inhabitants. The 29th and 30th
there came more men aboard our ships, rowing in great haste
afar off, and the king every day sent us some fruit.
" The 1st of February we had two hogs brought aboard our
ships, that we bought for two rials of eight and we eat them very
favourly.
" The 2nd of February we set sail that we might get above the
point, where we thought to find a better place for fresh water,
but by reason the wind was contrary, we could not do it, but were
forced to anchor again.
" The 3rd of February we set sail again and then we had a
storm so that our sail blew every way, and because of the contrary
803664
694 JAVA
wind we could not reach above the point, but were constrained
to anchor ; but the Mauritius and the pinnace got past it ;
although thereby the Mauritius was in no little danger, but because
the pilot had laid a wager of 6 rials of eight, that we would get
above it, he would pass what danger soever it might be, and sailed
close along the cliffs, whereby we lay at anchor without company.
" The 4th and 5th we set sail once again to get above the point,
but could not reach it. The 6th we had a letter from Rodenburgh
that certified us how the Mauritius lay at anchor at the least
seven or eight miles beyond the point and he that brought the
letter came with it by land ; and at the same time there was a
man sent on land with a small present for the king, that we might
win his favour. The 7th our man came on board again and
brought us news how Rodenburgh with one of the Portugueze
slaves being on land, were against their wills led before the king,
but the sailors of the Mauritius had gotten men for pledges.
" The 8th of February the same man went on land out of our
ship, with more presents of velvet and a caliver, the better to
get the king's favour, which liked him well, and desired us to
bring the ship nearer to the town, saying he would send us water
and other things sufficient to supply our wants.
" The 9th we sailed into the creek with our ship and anchored
about a small half mile from the land ; and being anchored
there came at the least 70 boats of the country to see our ship, and
the king sent us word that he was desirous to hear us shoot oS
five or six of our great pieces, whereupon we shot five of our
greatest pieces and the king stood upon the shore to see them.
" The 10th we had a letter from Cornells Houtman, to desire
us to come to them, for that there they had found a good place
for water, and of all other necessaries ; so that about evening
we set sail, leaving two of our men, and a Portugueze slave
amongst the Indians, whom the king promised should come
unto us by land, yet that night we could not reach above the point
Cabo des Porcos, or Cape of Hogs ; meantime we perceived our
pinnace that came to help us.
" The 16th we got by the Mauritius that had already laden in
her water and hooped her vessels, whereupon we began presently
to do the like, and to visit our vessels that were almost spoiled.
" The 17th our men whom we left with the king, came by land
unto our ships and then we bought great store of cattle and fruit.
The 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st, we employed our time to load
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 695
water, which we had very easily and refreshed ourselves with
cattle, hogs, fruit and lemons sufficient. There came one of the
king's principal officers with our men by land, to pleasure us in
all things we desired ; he was very desirous to have some present
of us.
" The 22nd of February two of our men that sailed in the
Mauritius stayed on land, but we knew not the cause. It should
seem some great promises had been made unto them, for as we
understood, the king was very desirous to have all sorts of strange
nations about him, but our people were therein much overseen,
for there they lived amongst heathens, that neither knew God
nor His Commandments ; it appeared that their youth and wild
heads did not remember it ; one of their names was Emanuel
Rodenburgh of Amsterdam, the other Jacob Cuyper of Delft.
Within a day or two they sent unto us for their cloaths, but we
sent them not.
" The 23rd and 24th and 25th we made a voyage on land and
fetched as many hogs aboard our ships as we could eat.
" The 25th of February we hoisted anchors, minding to set
sail, and so go homeward, leaving our two men aforesaid on land,
but because it was calm weather we anchored and went once
again on land, and the 26th of the same month we set sail, and
held our course west-south-west towards the Cape of Good Hope,
through the south of Java, but we had a calm."
1600. Oliver van Noort, who was the first Dutchman to
sail round the world, left the port of Goeree on the 13th Sep-
tember, 1598, with the ships Maurice and Concord, being
joined by the ships Henry Frederic and the Hope from
Amsterdam. On the way down the English Channel the
ships called at Plymouth to take on board one Mellish as
pilot, who had travelled with Sir Thomas Cavendish round
the world. His account reads : —
" The 28th January, 1600, we came to Jortan^ (a place near
where the present town of Sourabaya stands) upon the isle of
Java, where we had news of Dutch ships at Bantam. The city
consists of about 1,000 timber houses. The king commands a
considerable part of that end of the island, and has lately con-
quered Balambangan, a little island that lies just to the south-
' Yantong, or Djiantong of the Chinese. — D. M. C.
696 JAVA
east of Jortan. They are said to be Mahometans in the country
thereabouts though the pagods in use seem still to argue some
kind of mixture of the old Indian superstition with that of Mahomet
or at least a toleration of it in the whole amongst the common
people. Their chief priest is an old man of 120, who has a good
round family of wives, and the old man lives on nothing but the
milk which he sucks from his wives' breasts."
1603. Captain Edmund Scott (or Scot) during his residence
at Bantam from 1602 to 1605 writes in his diary as follows :—
" In those days the Sultan of Bantam was the most powerful
ruler in the island [?], but the Javanese although exceedingly
proud were extreame poor by reason that not one amongst a
hundred of them will worke. The gentlemen of this land are
brought to be poore, by the number of slaves that they keepe,
which eate faster than their pepper or rice groweth. The Chinois
[Chinese] doe both plant, dresse and gather the pepper, and also
some their rice living as slaves under them, but they sucke away
all the wealth of the land by reason that the Javan are so idle.
The Javan were surely man eaters in times past before that
traffique was had with them by the Chinois, which as I have
heard some of them say is not above one hundred years since.
The Javan delight much in ease and musicke and for the most
part they spend the day sitting crosse-legged like a taylor, whitling
of a stick, whereby many of them become very good carvers.
Of the Chinois many of them hold good opinion that when they
die if they be good men, they shall be borne againe to great riches,
and be made governors, and if they be wicked men, then they
shall be turned into some ugly beast as a frog or a toade.
" The Chinois sacrifice uncooked fruit and food which they eat
themselves afterwards burning all the while painted papers cut
out in curious workes and valued by them at a certain price.
They are well scene in astronomy, they observe no Sabboth, nor
one day better than another, except when they lay the foundation
of a house, or begin some other great worke, which day they ever
after observe as a holy day. When any of them that are wealthy
die in Bantam their bodies are burnt to ashes, which ashes they
put close in jarres, and carry it to China to their friends. I have
seene when some of them have lyen adying, they have set up
seven odours burning, foure of them being great, and burning
light and have demanded the meaning of it many times, but
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 697
could never have other answer, but that it was the fashion in
China ! They delight very much these Chinois in playes and
singing, but they have the worst voices that one shall heare any
people have. Moreover they have amongst then some sooth-
sayers which some times rage and runne up and down the streetes
like madmen having swords drawne in the hands and tairing their
haire, and throwing themselves against the ground. When they
are in this franticke taking they afifirme, and other Chinois do
beleeve that they can tell what shall come to passe after. Whether
they be possest with the devill or no, who revealeth something to
them I know not, but many Chinois use them, when they send a
juncke of any voyage. The Chinois are surely the most effeminate
and cowardly people that live. On their heads they weare a
cauU, some of them being made of silke, and some of haire. The
haire of their heads is very long, which they bind up in a knot
right on the crowne of their heads. Their nobility and governors
weare hoods of sundry fashions, some being one halfe like a hat,
and the other like a French hood, others being of net worke with
a high crowne and no brims.
" The Chinois that come to Java are tall and strong of body,
having all very small blacke eyes, and very few of them have any
haire on their faces. They will steale and do any kinde of
villanie to get wealth. Their manner at Bantam is to buy women
slaves — for they bring no woman from China — by whom they
have many children, and when they returne to their owne countrey,
not minding to come to Bantam againe, they sell their women,
but their children they carry with them. If they die in Bantam
all the goods they have is the king's and if once they cut their
haire they may never returne to their countrey againe, but their
children may, always provided that they have never cut their
haire.
" One day the Chinois and Javan tryed to burn we English out of
Bantam, and we caught a Chinois that hath hidden himself in our
house. He confessed to nothing wherefore because of his sulle-
nesse, and that it was he that fired us, I caused him to be burned
under the nayles of his thumb es, fingers and toes with sharpe
5rrons, and the nayles to be torne off, and because he never
blinshed at that, we thought his hands and legs had been mummed
with tying, wherefore we burned him in the hands, armes, shoulder
and necke, but all was one with him. Then we burned him quite
through the hands and with rasphes of jTon tore out the flesh and
698 JAVA
sinewes — after that I caused them to knock the edges of his shin
bones with hot searing irons. Then I caused cold scrues of yron
to be scrued into the bones of his armes, and suddenly to be
snatched out. After that all the bones of his fingers and toes
to be broken with pincers. Yet for all this he never shed teare,
no nor once turned his head aside, nor stirred hand or foote, but
when we demanded any question he would put his tongue between
his teath and strike his chin upon his knees to bite it off. When
all the extremitie we could use was but in vain, I caused him to
be put fast in yrons againe, where the ants which doe greatly
abound there got into his wounds and tormented him worse than
we had done, as we might well see by his gesture. Even the
Javanese now had pity on the miserable creature for the king's
officers desired me hee might bee shot to death. I told them that
was too good a death for such a villaine — wherefore they being
very importunate in the evening we lead him into the fields and
made him fast to a stake. The first shot carried away a piece
of his arme, bone and all — the next stroke him through thebreaste
up neere to the shoulder — then he holding downe his head, looked
upon the w^ound, between our men and the Flemings they shot
him almost all to pieces before they left him. The other two
Chinois we caughte I set free."^
1604. Captain (afterwards Sir) Henry Middleton sailed
in 1603 in command of a squadron consisting of the Bed
Dragon (Admiral Captain Henry Middleton), the Hector
(Vice- Admiral Captain Sufflet), the Ascension (Captain
Coltlmrst), and the Susari (the name of whose captain cannot
be traced). These were the same ships in all probability
that went before with Captain Lancaster.
" Having taken leave of the [East India] Company the
ships departed for Gravesend the 25th March, 1604, and on
20th December following, after various accidents, the men very
weak, arrived in Bantam Road. They passed many compli-
ments between them and the Hollanders, who saluted each
other with their great ordnance, and the last day of the year the
General of the Dutch dined aboard the Dragon.
" The day following the English General ^ went ashore with a
1 See also above, Chapter XI., for Captain Scott's Journal at Bantam.
^ That is, Captain Henry Middleton.
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 699
letter and present from the King of England to the Kmg of
Bantam, which were with great ceremony received by that young
monarch, who was but thirteen years of age and governed by a
protector.
" On the 16th of the said month the General came aboard from
Bantam to proceed on his voyage to the Molukkas."
1605. Captain Sir Edward Michelburne sailed from Cowes,
in the Isle of Wight, in command of the ships Tiger, 246 tons,
and Tiger's Whelp, of about 50 tons, on the 5th December,
1604, arriving at Bantam on the 28th October, 1605.
" On 28th we arrived within 3 leagues of Bantam which
standeth in six degrees, and forty minutes south, and here we
anchored. The English fleet which we thought to have met with
was gone for England three weeks before, but the factors came
aboard, and we very ... to see them. They gave our General ^
an account how grossly the Hollanders who were then in the
road had slandered them to the King of Bantam, representing
them as thieves and reprobates, who came only to plunder the
Javan folk by artifice or violence, if they found an opportunity.
They added however, the Dutch were so much afraid of them,
that they durst not come into the road, but kept two or three
leagues oflf. The Greneral moved with this report, weighed anchor,
and sent the Hollanders word, that he would come and ride
close by their sides, giving them to understand at the same time,
that if they ofiEered so much as to point a gun at him, or the least
insult whatever, he would either sink them or * sink by their
sides.'
" There were of these five ships one of seven or eight hundred
tons, the rest of a far smaller burden. But of this message,
notwithstanding we came and anchored close by them, they
never had an answer. On the contrary, whereas the Hollanders
were wont to swagger, and keep great stir on shore, before the
General's arrival, they were so quiet after, that scarce one of
them was seen on land. On the 2nd November, we took leave
of our countrymen at Bantam and stood course for Patane, in
the way between Malakka, and Pedra Branca."
1605. Captain John Saris was an Englishman who resided
* Sir Edward Michelburne.
700 JAVA
at Bantam from 1605 to 1609 (being in 1608 the Governor).
He traded between that town and the several islands in the
archipelago and Borneo with its two towns of Bemermassin
(Banjermassin) and Soocodamia (Succadania). He says : —
" They were celebrated for the great store of diamonds they
yieldeth, the which are accounted the best in the world. There
is a store to be had at all times brought down the river called
Lave by prawes [prahms or lighters]. The manner of getting
them is as you dive for pearle. It [Borneo] afEordeth great store
of gold, bezar stones, wax, rotans, caynlacca, and sanguis
draconis. You must understand there are diamonds of foure
waters. The first is white, greene, yellow, and neither greene
nor yellow but a colour between both. But the white is the
best."
1607. Captain David Middleton, in command of the ship
Consent, 115 tons, broke ground at Tilbmy Hope on the
12th ]\Iarch, 1607, and on Saturday, the 14th November of
the same year, anchored in Bantam Koad about four in the
afternoon. He says : —
" At Bantam we found the merchants in very good health,
and all things in good order. Next day the Captain went ashore,
and spoke with Mr. Towerson, the chief, concerning the ship's
business, and agreed to have the iron and lead which they had
brought, carried ashore. After this having refitted our ship
and taken in goods and merchants for the Molukkas, we set sail
on 6th December. We returned to Bantam on 22nd April,
1608, and found not one European ship in the road, but there
were four juncks which came from China with taffatas, damasks,
and divers other merchandizes. On 15th July, 1608, the Captain
and merchants, having despatched their business, took their
leaves and set sail homewards to their native country England,
after their long and tedious voyage."
1608. Captain William Keeling sailed from the Downs on
the 1st April, 1607, in command of the ships Dragon and
Hector, and arrived at Bantam on 4th October, 1608. He
says : —
" We got into the road of Bantam where six Holland ships
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 701
were found ; two were laden with cloves, and two more to be
laden with pepper. The Greneral ^ found thirteen English alive,
whereof four were merchants, and received a letter from Captain
David Middleton. The sixth October he paid Uncte and Tegin,^
the two Chinese, their wages and released them. The 20th
October he called his merchants and having formerly resolved to
return with the Dragon for England, upon special considerations, he
now consulted about employing the pinnace not yet finished,
and it was resolved to send her with Brown and Sidall for Banda.
That John Heme, John Saris and Richard Savage should remain
at Bantam, and that so soon as the pinnace should return from
Banda, John Saris should go in her to Sequedana in Borneo.
" The 15th November the General sent for Jacques Lermite,
the Portugal, and discovered to them a design of the Javans to
cut their throats, whereof he received very particular information.
The 22nd the ambassador of Siam came to visit the General, and
dined with him. He affirmed that one might sell a thousand
pieces of red cloth in his country, in two days, and great quantities
yearly ; for they cloathe their elephants and horses with it.
That gold is there plenty, and good, being worth three times
the weight in silver, but there are precious stones in abundance and
cheap ; and that his master would account it a great happiness to
have commerce with so great a King as His Majesty of England,
with whom as he understood, the King of Holland was not to
be compared.
" The 28th the General took leave of the king, the governor,
the admiral, the old Shah Bandar, Jura Bassa, Tanjong and of
the H. Nauders, designing to stay no longer.
" The 2nd December at night, the merchants came on board,
bringing a letter from the King of Bantam to King James, and
two picots of kanton, as a present to him. The twelfth they
espied a sail, before they got out of the streights, which proved
to be the Hector. Her captain stayed behind Surat. By her
they understood that the Portugueze had taken eighteen English,
among whom were several of the factors, and goods to the value
of nine thousand dollars.
" The 14th they got into the road of Bantam once again,
being forced to a longer voyage or loss of reputation.
^ That is, William Keeling ; the commanders of squadrons were after-
■wards called " generals " in those days.
•^ No doubt Ang Te and The Gin.
702 JAVA
" The 16th there came a small Fleming from Amsterdam, with
news of peace between Spain, France and the Netherlands ;
and that the end of his coming was to order the Dutch to desist
from their design against [the Portuguese] Malakka. The
General appointed Messieurs Molineux and Pockham to return
for England, and took the rest with him for the Molukkas.
" The 17th he removed into the Hector and the masters
exchanged ships.
" The 21st he despatched Mr. Towerson, pressing his departure
with all speed.
" The 23rd the Dragon set sail from Bantam.
" The 1st January, 1609, about one o'clock in the morning,
the Hector weighed, and with a gale oj0t the shore left Bantam for
Jakkatra.i
" The 8th the General went and anchored far out before
Jakkatra, the king having sent his Shah Bandar to desire powder
and match, he presented him thirty pounds of the former and a
roll of the latter. The General bought of them for forty -five
dollars a Portuguese boy (given to the king by the Hollanders)
who would by no means forsake Christianity.
" On 10th January the General departed."
1609. Captain David Middleton set sail from the Do\^tis
on the 24th April, 1609, in the ship Expedition, arriving at
Bantam on the 7th December of the same year. He
writes : —
" At Bantam the Captain made all the dispatch that might be,
both night and day, to get the iron ashore. He would not stay
even to set up his pinnace, but was obliged to give a great many
gifts more than would have been necessary, if the former state
of the country had been as in former times. ^ He left Mr. Hen-
worth in the factory, and because he knew more of those who
were in it, and besides was in a strange place, the Captain left
with him, at his request Edward Neetles, and three more of his
company. After this he took such commodities as he thought
most vendible in those places where he was to go.
" Henworth was very loathe to stay behind, but the Captain
had nobody else to leave in the factory, being obliged to take
' Old Batavia.
* That is, if there had been leBs competition.
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 703
Mr. Augustine Spalding with him, on account of his understanding
the language.
" Hen worth was charged to tell the governor ^ plainly in case
he sent for him, that the Captain had express orders not to yield
to any of his former demands ; yet that he might take what he
would, for he must deliver him nothmg. The 18th December in
the evening, the Consent set sail for the Molukkas. The 24th
January 1610 they arrived at the island of Bangaia, where the
king and most of the people were fled, for fear of some enemy,
but who that enemy was the Captain could not with any certainty
learn. A Hollander who was there told him that this adversary
was the King of Makasar as he thought, and that the reason the
former fled was because the latter would force him (who was a
Gentile) to turn Moor. But the Captain was rather of opinion
that he fled for fear of the Dutch, who would have built a fort
there, but when they saw the people was gone, they gave over
the design. This one Hollander bore such sway, that never a
man left upon the island durst displease him. He had as many
women as he pleased, and kept two houses full of the choice
maidens of the country. He had also many slaves of both sexes.
He was withal a pleasant companion, and would dance and sing
all day long going almost naked, whereby he won the hearts of
the natives, among whom he would carouse and be drunk for two
days together. He had lived long in the country, and set up for
himself, nor would he be commanded by any Hollander. He
lived over against Amboyna, and if the Dutch governor wished to
speak to him at any time he was obliged to send two of his
merchants in pledge until his return. Here the English met with
good refreshing, and were in better health than when they set
sail from England.
" On the 9th October, the Captain returned to Bantam. Here
he found that Mr. Hen worth and Edward Neetles both died soon
after he left them, so that all the goods remained, not a yard of
cloth havmg been disposed of to the Chinese. ^ Most of the
company being still troubled with sore legs and many sickly,
the Captain left the unsound aboard under the surgeon's care ;
and manned the junks with those who were in perfect health.
' The King of Bantam's representative.
2 It is apparent from this remark that even at this early date the
Europeans conducted their business of selling to the natives through the
Chinese.
704 JAVA
" There came eight Dutch ships to Bantam for pepper, while
the Captain was there, and because they were to stay a year for
their lading, they took in planks and materials for making
flangers and strengthening their castles at Nanda and Tarnate.
" The gunner and one of the quarter masters died, and three
more presently after them. Messieurs Davis and Thomas Clay-
borne being sick, the latter dangerously, and the Captain also not
feeling well with grief, to see the condition his men were reduced
to, he hastened to be gone from that contagious country, hoping
that his people would mend out at sea. Three days before he
quitted Bantam four sail of a new Dutch fleet of nine ships entered
the road. They brought a great number of women, to inhabit
the places they had conquered."
Captain Middleton, having left Kichard Moodies in charge
(temporarily) of the English factory, and left orders for
Mr. Spalding (when he arrived from the Molukkas) to
undertake a voyage to Sukkadania in Borneo for diamonds,
departed from Bantam on the 16th Novenber, 1610, and
had a very good passage to the road of Saldania, where he
cast anchor on the 20th January and took in water. At this
place he found his brother, Sir Henry Middleton, had arrived
on the 24th July, and left on the 10th August. There also
he found the copy of a letter which Sir Henry had written
to the Company and sent home by a Hollander the day
after he came into the road. Upon this occasion he observes
to the Company that if they had not received that letter it
was plain to see that they were never to expect any at the
hands of the Dutch.
1610. Captain Anthony Hippon sailed from Blackwall on
the 3rd January, 1610, in command of the ship Glohe, and
arrived at Bantam on the 26th April, 1612. The following
is an account written by the master's mate, Nathaniel
Marten : —
" The twenty-sixth about four in the afternoon, they cast
anchor in Bantam Road, and presently after they came to anchor,
Mr. Spalding (the governor of the factory) with two o thers came
aboard.
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 705
" On the thirty -first May about four in the afternoon, the
merchants came aboard, and about nine they set sail, steering
N.N.E. with the wind at South. After a long voyage, the
Olohe arrived abreast of the Lizard on 20th August, 1615, having
spent in the voyage four years and about eight months."
The following account of the same voyage of Captain
Anthony Hippon is given by " Mr. Peter Williamson Floris,
a Cape merchant in the same voyage " ^ :
" We arrived at Bantam on 26th April, 1612, and found the
Dutch ready to depart for Jakatra, by reason of the governor's
new exactions. But the English having no regular factory there
after some contest, agreed with him (the Dutch Grovernor) for
three per cent, custom.
" By David IVIiddleton's order a factory had been settled at
Sukkadania (in Borneo) and continued by Mr. Spalding ; but it
seemed (as things were carried) rather for private than public
benefit. We sailed from Bantam and on 22nd June, 1612, came
into the road of Patane, where they found the Bantam, a ship of
Enkhuysen, of whom they learned the customs of the place.
The people of Patane were at enemy with Japan, and latter had
burned Patane twice in five years. Here the English after much
ado got leave to build a warehouse here, fire free ; which at
length they did hard by the Dutch factory, in a place assigned
them thirty fathom in length, twenty in breadth. The house
they built was eight fathom long and four broad. But the
demands on them seemed very unreasonable, amounting, besides
former charges, to four thousand rials of eight. To which how-
ever, in hopes of future benefit, we yielded. Sickness also much
afflicted us, as if the plague had been in the ship, and Captain
Hippon died the month of July. Mr. BrowTi was nominated his
successor in the box No. 1, but he being dead before. No. 2 was
opened, wherein Thomas Effington was appointed. Hereunto
was added loss by thieves, who entering the factory by night,
stole out of the chest two hundred and eighty three ryals of eight,
and other goods ; at the same time fifteen persons were sleeping
and a lamp burning in the house besides a great black dog, and
watch kept in the yard, which gave a suspicion that the thieves
were among themselves, but whoever they were, they were never
found out.
^ This is a translation from the Dutch.
J. — VOL. II. B
706 JAVA
" John Persons and six more were left in the factory here,
when the ship departed for Siam on 1st August. On the 3rd of
January, 1615, we arrived again at Bantam, where we found the
ships James, Hosiander, and Concord. We went on shore and
received of Mr. John Jordayne (the governor or principal factor
at Bantam) several letters, viz. from Sir Thomas Smith, intimating
that the several stocks of the East India Company were united,
etc., from Mr. Cockin at Makkasar, that he had received the
cargo, sent by William Ebert, with other circumstances, from
Adam Denton and Mr. Gourney complaining of the dead market
in India on account of the wars, and from Mr. Lucas concerning
his fears on the same occasion."
1611. Captain John Saris, who had already resided in
Bantam from 1605 to 1609 and been governor of the English
factory there from 1608 to 1609, after Edmund Scott left
(as was seen in Chapter XL), sailed on the 18th April, 1611,
from the Downs in command of the ship Clove. The account
says : —
" On the twenty fourth of October we came to anchor in the
road of Bantam, where we found the Hector, which arrived there
the day before with the James.
" The arrival of all these ships, and expectation daily of the
trades increase, Pepper-corn, Darling and Thomas to follow,
occasioned a great alteration in the prices of commodities, those
of any request being raised to thrice the price that they were
sold before the Hector's arrival. Cloves, which the mariners for
the Hector and James had bought for sixteen ryals of eight the
pikul, were now risen to forty, and upwards ; pepper from
ten ryals of eight, ten sacks to twelve and a half etc.
" The 25th October they went to court, accompanied with
the merchants, and made divers presents to the governor, Pan^ran
Chamarra, which were well received. This pangran (or lord)
ruled all, and was as protector to the king, who did not act
himself, though of years sufficient. They desired his order for
speedy landing of their goods, which he granted, provided the
king's officers were made acquainted with the quantity, that he
might not be wronged in his customs.
" The 28th October, a letter from Mr. William Adams out of
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, L519 TO 1832 707
Japan, was read to all the merchants, that they might take
notice of the hopes there were of trade in that country,
" It was now concluded (in regard the Flemmings were so
strong, and almost sole commanders of the Molukkos, and Banda ;
that Bantam was so unhealthy, and that their people likewise
strangely disordered themselves with drinking and wenching
ashore) that the Hector should, with all speed, be dispatched for
England, and that fourteen thousand sacks of pepper should be
provided for lading her, and the Thomas. Being apprehensive
that if once there should come news of the arrival of other ships
expected, pepper would be raised still more. Accordingly, they
bargained with Lak Moy, for two thousand sacks of pepper, at
an hundred twenty and a half ryals of eight, the hundred sacks,
and with Kiwi (Kee Wee) for a thousand sacks, at an hundred
twenty five ryals the hundred, and for three thousand sacks more,
at an hundred and fifty ryals the hundred. They made trial
ashore, what a pikul of cloves weighed English, and found it to
be an hundred and thirty two pound suttle, good weight.
" The 9th November Sir Henry Middleton arrived at Bantam
in the Pepper -corn.
" The 15th (at the governor's earnest request) there mustered
eighty men before the court, out of the Clove, the Hector, the
Pepper-corn, and the Salomon, which gave him great satisfaction,
the Flemmings having denied him. This was to celebrate the end
of the Mohammedan Lent.
" The 17th November the Captain agreed with Kiwi for four
thousand sacks of pepper, at sixteen ryals for every ten sacks,
with allowance of three in the hundred, basse,
"The 18th November there arrived eleven sail of Flemming's
great ships, and the Thomas in their company. She had gotten
at Priaman, only three hundred and twelve bahars of pepper,
and twenty tael of gold.
" The 22nd November an hundred Flemmings, properly
accounted, with their pikemen in bright armour, marched to
the court, where they threw themselves into a ring, and gave
three volleys of shot. The governor sent word, that the king
thanked them, and that having done enough they might depart
with their iron hats, for so the Javans called helmets.
" The 28th November three Holland ships laden for the most
part with pepper and mace, set sail, homeward bound, and five
more departed for Banda, and the Molukkas.
e2
708 JAVA
"The 11th December the Hector set sail from Bantam, for
Morough, the watering place (where there is a sweet air, and good
refreshing of oranges, with other wholesome fruits, are to be had
there to attend till the Thomas was full laden.
" The 28th December Kiwi, the chief China merchant, invited
Sir Henry and General Saris, with all the merchants to dinner,
and entertained them with a play, performed on a stage, by
Chinese actors, with good pronunciation and gesture.
" The 12th January, 1612, the Thomas set sail for England,
having in her thirty six English and three Indians,
" The 14th January (1612), in the morning, they set sail from
the Road of Bantam to Japan (Nangasaki).
" The 3rd January, 1613, we came to anchor once more in
Bantam road, where the General (Saris) (to their great concern)
found no lading in readiness. For which, blammg those whom
he had left there to provide it, all their excuse was, that they
did not expect him so soon.
" This was a loss to them, for as it was known that they were
homeward bound, and must lade pepper, the people took advan-
tage of it, and raised the price. This Kiwi, the chief Chinese
merchant, told the General in plain terms, and refused to sell
for twelve and an half ryals the ten sacks. Of the ten left in
the factory here for the return voyage (at their departure for
Japan) they found but five living on their return. But between
Firando (Japan) and Bantam, they only lost one man.
" The 4th, in the morning, the General visited the Governor
of Bantam, and presented him with two fair kattans, besides
divers other things of value. He afterwards bargained with
Kiwi and Lak Moy for four thousand sacks of pepper, at thirteen
ryals of eight, the ten sacks, basse, three the hundred, and
appointed the merchants to hasten the milling thereof all they
could.
" The 5th was spent in reducing their several factories here
to one government, and settling them in one house. Order was
also taken that the expense of diet should be more frugally
managed, and not so much spent in arrack houses, abroad, or on
hang-hy-swarts at home, as of late had been. The number of
warehouses likewise were lessened, and the goods better stowed.
" The 6th, the pepper received the day before, being weighed
again, they found most of the sacks, hardweight, and many to
want of what the king's beam allowed, whereof the General sent
.;;■*
f
w-
'W'^
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 709
for the weigher, and using him kindly, begged him to take a
little more care for the future, and, to engage him the more,
ordered him five ryals of eight, whereupon he promised to mend
his fault.
" Sunday, the 16th, the Greneral, happening to stay on board,
about two, afternoon, the town was all in a flame. Wherefore the
skiff was presently sent ashore, well manned, to help the merchants
to guard the goods. The wind was so violent that almost all
the town was burnt down in a moment. But the English and
Dutch houses had the good fortune to escape.
" The 20th, Saris procured Lak Moy and Lan Ching, two
Chinese merchants, to translate the letter, which the King of
Firando had given him for King James. It was written in the
Chinese character and language, which they translated into the
Malayan, and in English.
" The 22nd, another fire broke out, which consumed all the
houses that the former had spared, yet the Dutch and English
houses escaped again.
'* The 26th January, 1614, arrived from Holland, the ship
Flushing, a thousand tons burden. At the island Mayo, the
company had mutinied, and would have murdered the captain
in his cabin, had not a Scotchman discovered the plot, just as
they were ready to execute their design, so that they were seized
between the decks with their weapons about them. In this ship
were several English and Scotch soldiers. Towards evening they
set sail for Jakatra.
" The 13th February, we got through the Streights of Sunda,
and arrived at Plymouth on the 27th September, 1614."
Will Adams was the first Englishman to land in Japan ;
Captain John Saris, who arrived in the ship Clove in 1614,
was the first Englishman to do business there. He met in
Japan with a most cordial reception and unusual kindness
from all classes. He was given the right to travel anywhere
he liked, a charter more liberal than any European Govern-
ment would have granted to a foreigner at that time. Saris
established an Enghsh factory at Hirado, but after ten
years of commercial intercourse with Japan the factory
closed down, the business having been ousted by the
710 JAVA
cleverer and more business-like Dutch. The Englishmen
attached to the factory left Japan with the factory's last
ship, and their countrymen had no further intercourse with
this land, until Raffles sent his mission under Dr. Ainslie in
1812, as related elsewhere.
1616. George Spilbergen, a Dutchman, left Texel on the
8th August, 1614, with the ships Great Sun, Full Moon,
Huntsman, Zeemew, Arolus, and Morning Star with orders
to sail round the world to the East Indies. The account
says : —
" On June 27th, 1616, we put into Japara for a supply of provi-
sions and then proceeded to Jacatra, where we arrived on
September 7th, and where we found it necessary to careen our
ships, and provide them with double sheathings, which notwith-
standing we did with great caution on account of the near neigh-
bourhood of Don Juan de Sylva, who was expected to sail from
Malacca, in order to cruise upon the Dutch. While we were thus
employed at Jacatra, we had the satisfaction of perceiving the
mighty increase of the Dutch trade, for in that small space of
time no less than four ships from the Moluccas laded with the
richest spices and four more from Holland with very rich cargoes
did arrive in ye harbour of Jacatra. But what in this country
was of much greater consequence, aU the ships were well manned
with several hundred soldiers on board for the supply of garrisons.
There came in also there, a very rich ship from Japan having on
board a very large quantity of rials of plate, uncoined silver and
other very valuable goods, taken out of a Portugueze prize in its
passage to Macao, which it never reached. There arrived also a
vessel which had passed round the Streights of Magellan, called
by name the Concord of Horn, commanded by Jacques le Maire.
But as it was known, he did not make this voyage on account of
the East India Company, the president John Peterson Coen
caused his ship and cargo to be confiscated, and his crew distri-
buted amongst the ships in the Company's service."
I cannot help observing here how very soon exclusive
corporations began to exercise acts of severity, for the East
India Company had not been founded above fourteen years,
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 711
and yet they already took upon them to break the spirits
and cramp the trade of their countrymen.
1616. WiUiam CorneHson Schovten sailed from Texel
with his supercargo, Jacques le Maire, on the 14th June,
1615, and the following ships :— The Horn, 110 tons burden,
22 men, and the Unity, 360 tons burden, 65 men. The former
carried eight cannon and the latter nineteen pieces of cannon
and twelve swivels. The account says : —
" October 16th, 1616, we anchored in the road of Japara, and
on the 28th at Jacatra, where we found three Dutch and as many
English ships in the road. The following night one of our seamen
died. On the last of October arrived John Peterson Koen,
president of the East India Company at Bantam, and the very
next day we sent for the captain and the supercargo. After a
very little discourse he required them in virtue of his commission
for the East India Company to deliver up the ship and the cargo
immediately.
" The captain and the supercargo agreed that the seizure was
unlawful, since they had not offended against the intention of
the Company's charter, since they did not come to the Indies by
the forbidden passages, viz. the Cape of Good Hope or Streights
Magellan, but by a passage of their own discovery, which in its
consequences, must be extremely advantageous to the commerce
of their countrymen. But all they could say signified as nothing,
for the president told them if they thought they suffered wrong,
they received permission to seek redress in Holland. In a little
more than a fortnight died Jacques le Maire, chiefly of grief and
vexation."
1621. Commodore Beaulieu, the French naval ofificer,
sailed from Honfleur on the 2nd October, 1619, for the East
Indies with the following fleet : — The Montmorency, 450
tons, with 162 men, 22 guns and 20 padereroes ; the Hope,
400 tons, 117 men, 26 guns and 20 padereroes ; the Hermi-
tage, 75 tons, 30 men, 8 guns and 8 padereroes.
They were victualled for two and a half years. On the
23rd January, 1621, this fleet arrived at Acheen, where they
found an English ship of 600 tons commanded by Captain
712 JAVA
Eoberts. A very long account is given of the kingdom of
Acheen, which was very powerful, being able to call an
army of 40,000 from around the town, and a pack of artillery
consisting of 2,000 brass guns. The king's fleet consisted
of 100 galleys.
The great strength, however, of the kingdom of Acheen
seemed to have been in 900 elephants, which had been
trained to be unmoved by the noise of cannon, and on a
signal to ride over and tread down the enemy, which they
never failed to do.
1625. The Nassau fleet left Holland in 1623 under the
command of Jacques le Hermite, and consisted of the
Amsterdam, 800 tons, 237 men, 20 brass and 22 iron cannon ;
the Delft, 800 tons, 242 men, 20 brass and 20 iron cannon ;
the Eagle, 400 tons, 144 men, 12 brass and 16 iron cannon ;
the Greyhound, 60 tons, 20 men, 4 brass cannon ; the Orange,
700 tons, 216 men ; the Holland, 600 tons, 182 men, 10 brass
and 20 iron cannon ; the Maurice, 360 tons, 169 men,
12 brass and 20 iron cannon ; the Hope, 260 tons, 80 men,
14 iron cannon ; the Concord, 600 tons, 170 men, 18 brass,
14 iron cannon ; the King David, 360 tons, 79 men, 16 brass
cannon ; the Griffin, 320 tons, 78 men, 14 iron cannon.
There were thus eleven ships and 1,637 men, of whom
600 were soldiers, divided into five companies of 120 men
each.
The fleet left Goeroea by way of Cape Horn on the 29th
April, 1623, for the East Indies. The account says : —
" On January 25th, 1625, we arrived at the Isle of Guan and
with a large force landed, to find water and punish the natives
who insulted our first party ; on the 5th February, our general
decided to hold a review of our negro prisoners which we found
were nearly 1,260.
" Here we bought large quantities of rice for an old hatchet,
and 200 fowls, but they would not give us any cattle although
we offered them any satisfaction. When we had sold we Dutch-
men experienced our dexterity, viz, that of cheating, for when we
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 713
examined those balls of rice, which we thought we had bought so
cheap, we found inside stones and dirt, besides the natives had
stole all they could lay their hands on, which shows how cautious
one must be when dealing with the natives of these Ladrones
islands.
" On August 29th, we arrived at Batavia, The ships were here
divided and sent to Surat and Malacca, Coromandel and divers
places ; the Delft and Amsterdam were sent to the Isle of Onrust
to careen X
" This ^^^;S the final decision of the Governor-General, and the
council of the Indies, who did enquire into the question."
1634. Johan Nieuhoff sailed from Amsterdam on the
23rd August, 1633, on board the Calf, Cornelius Just,
master. They passed the Cape on the 9th March, 1684, and
arrived at Batavia on the 30th August, where Nieuhoff went
ashore and soon afterwards was sent in the train of an
embassy from the Government of Batavia to China as
steward. His account of Java is as follows : —
" The island of Java lies six degrees to the southward of the
equinoctial line. On north coast are several good harbours,
commodious creeks and flourishing towns. Formerly the island
was divided into several petty kingdoms, but at present they are
all united under the jurisdiction of the King of Bantam, who
governs the western part of the island, and the Emperor of
Matarem, who is in possession of the eastern and by far the
better part of Java, of which the Dutch still style him Emperor.
" Near the sea coast the island is fertile, but hitherto the
Europeans have made no progress in the country, the ingress
whereof is hindered by impossible forests, and stupendous
mountains. The island abounds in oxen, hog, sheep, fish, fowl,
rice, salt. The woods are infested with rhinoceros, tigers and
other wild beasts. Few climates are more temperate and whole-
some. The natives of Java are a cheating, lying, proud and
barbarous people, they are of brown complexion and have flat
faces. Their hair is thin and black, their eyebrows large, their
cheeks round. The men are strong limbed and robust, wearing a
piece of calico wrapped several times round from their waist
downwards. The women are generally small and wear the same
714 JAVA
kind of garment, reaching from their armpits to their knees, all
below which is bare. For near two centuries past the Javanese
who live near the sea have been Mahometans, the rest of the
natives are pagans, and they are indulged m the liberty of having
two or three wives, besides as many concubines as they can
maintain.
" Formerly Batavia was no more than an open village inhabited
by pagans and surrounded by a palisade of bamboos, but since the
Dutch have established a settlement there, it is one of the finest
cities in the East Indies.
" The Javanese and Chinese call it Ralakka from a sort of
cocoa tree which abounds in the neighbourhood. It is watered
by a beautiful river that takes its rise in a neighbouring mountain,
and after wandering through a thousand little meanders, collects
itself into a body before the city of Batavia, where it discharges
itself into the sea.
" The city of Batavia is of a quadrangular figure, fortified with
a stone wall, having 20 bastions and 4 great gates, two of which
are exceedingly magnificent.
" The bay in which it is situated had 17 or 18 islands in or
about it, whereby the violence of the waves and winds is checked
and broken so that the harbour which will contain above a
thousand vessels is one of the safest in the world, and several
barks may lie close under the banks of the river in a muddy
bottom without anchors ; it is shut up every night at 9 o'clock by
a chain, through which no ship is permitted to pass without
paying a certain custom. The streets of this city run in straight
lines, and are most of them thirty feet broad, being paved with
brick near the houses, which are handsome and convenient, each
having a good garden, well laid out and stocked with plants, fruit
and flowers. There are fifteen streets which have canals of water
in them, and over one of the canals which is edged and paved with
stone are 4 or 5 strong bridges consisting each of as many arches,
every one of which is 12 feet broad. There are 56 bridges in
this city besides many draw bridges without the waUs, which are
made of wood. The cross church which was built in 1640 is
superior to any other in Batavia ; its steeple is beautifully adorned
with iron work, the stone edgings in its front are very finely
carved, and its top ornamented with cherubims. The structure
upon the whole is lightsome and airy, and the pulpit and seats
are made of ebony, with fine iron work round them. The town
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 715
house which stands in the centre of the city is buUt of brick, two
stories high, the ascent to the second storey being by a flight of
stone stairs.
" The courts of justice meet in this house, as do likewise the
senators, the directors of hospitals, and other public buildings —
criminals are executed on a scaffold erected before it for that
purpose.
" The officers of justice and the prison keeper lodge within the
inner court, which is surrounded with a high wall and a double
row of pillars.
" The hospital for the sick, which stands on the banks of the
great river, contains generally two or three hundred poor patients
who are provided with every necessary in a plentiful manner
at the expense of the Company. There is a place called the
Spin-house erected for the confinement of lewd women, where
they are kept continually at work, and if they neglect it in the
least, they are punished in a very severe manner. On the brink
of the river are two slaughter houses supported by wooden piles,
by which means the offal of the beasts that are killed is easily
disposed of in the river. Here they kill twice a week, and every
butcher has a particular stall in which he kills his meat, being
obliged to pay a tenth penny of excise for every beast according
to the value put upon it by the farmer. Beef was sold at four-
pence a pound, likewise pork, but mutton was much dearer.
" Opposite to the town house in the same square, is a building
divided into shops, which are let to the Chinese at the rate of
three crowns a month for each shop ; in these they sell stuffs and
calicoes, and all sorts of cloaths ready made.
" The Chinese hospital is a neat brick building maintained
by a tax on marriages, burials and public shows, together with
the voluntary contributions of Chinese merchants. In this
house the sick and superannuated natives of China find a refuge.
In the same street is a foundling hospital, and a little farther
off a building in which all the artizans in the Company's service
are lodged, and in which Mr. Nieuhoff took up his residence for
some time.
" The fish market of Batavia stands on the west side of the
river, and is supported by strong wooden piles, and covered with
pantiles. About the middle of it is the dwelling place of a certain
officer who stops all fishing boats, and obliges them to immediately
Bell their cargo by public auction to the highest bidder. The
716 JAVA
purchasers are Chinese, who pay the officer two pence in the
croAvn for every bargain, and they have their different stalls
at the rate of two rials a month. This market is kept open
from 10 in the morning till 4 in the afternoon.
" From 4 in the morning till late at night there is scarcely
any passing for the crowd through the fruit market, which is
supplied with all sorts of herbs, fruits etc. by the Chinese and
negroes who are obliged to pay an excise of the hundredth penny.
There is a Latin and Greek school, which is a plain handsome
building, besides which there are many private academies for
the instruction of youth, and in the year 1667 a printing house
was estabUshed which has met with good encouragement. In
the castle are apartments for all the Members of the Council of
the Indies as well as for most of the Company's servants, such as
the general bookkeeper, the secretary of the great councO etc.,
but the palace of the governor which is within the walls of the
castle is extremely magnificent.
" This edifice which is built of brick is much higher than any
other building in the city, and an iron ship curiously wrought,
which crowns the turret instead of a weathercock, may be seen
a great way at sea. The great hall is adorned with bright
polished armour, besides ensigns, flags and other spoils which the
Dutch in several engagements have taken from their enemies. In
this place the governor hears and redresses complaints, and
commonly attends at prayers which are said every evening.
" The inhabitants of Batavia are a compound of divers nations,
amongst whom the Dutch are the richest and most powerful.
Next to these are the Chinese, who are perhaps the most ingenious
cheats in the world ; they farm excises and customs, and have
a finger in everything by which money is to be obtained. They
live under a governor of theif own, and dress in a silk or calico
coat with wide sleeves, as they do in China, having their hair
long, and neatly twisted, for there they pay no regard to the
Tartarian edicts which in China obliges the natives to out ofi
aU their hair except one lock. The Malayans are next to the
Chinese both in riches and trade, and they also have a governor
of their own ; their houses are planted round with cocoa trees
and covered with leaves. They are continually chewing betel
or sucking tobacco through lacquered sugar canes, and their
dress consists of light silks and calicoes.
" Most of the pedlars are Moors, who have little stalls in the
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 717
neighbouring market towns, and sell coral and glass beads about
the streets. Some of them have small vessels in the river wherein
they import free stone from the adjacent islands. The natives
of Amboyna are a daring, ill-looking quarrelsome people ; they
have long black hair and are armed with scymitars and shields
of an oval figure, they are most of them carpenters, and esteemed
very ingenious. The Javanese support themselves by husbandry,
planting of rice, building of boats and fishing ; their boats are
extremely swift, and for their expedition are called flying boats.
These people build their houses of bamboo cane.
" The country may be laid under wat^r by sluices upon any
occasion, and its fertility is apparent from the flourishing state
of its gardens and orchards, as well as the rice and sugar fields.
" There are numbers of large scorpions and locusts in Batavia,
also all sorts of spiders.
" The gardens about Batavia are pestered with caterpillars
about 5 inches long ; they feed on the herbs and leaves like
locusts."
Johan Nieuhoff concludes his remarks about Java with
the following lines : —
" Sic vicina jacet Celebris Battavia ponto,
Quae suprema suis turribus astra petit.
Totius mundi vere est paradisus et ingens,
Gloria Belgarum qui repepulere Javos.
Luxuriat gemmis argento messibus auro.
Insula parva capit quidquid in orbe datur.
Pergit Laurigeris nomen praegrande trophaeis
Quaerere sic Patriae fama perennis erit."
1639. John Albert de Maudelshoe, the great traveller,
left Mecklenburg during 1636 to make an overland journey
through Persia, Hindustan, and China.
He visited Java either at the end of 1639 or at the
beginning of 1640.
An account of his travels is given in his own tongue, and
the following regarding Java is a translation : —
" The inhabitants deduce their origin from the Chinese. Each
town of note in Java has its particular prince, the Kings of
Bantam and Balambuan are the most potent. Ten leagues to the
718 JAVA
north is the city of Panarucan. Ten leagues to the west Joartam,^
noted for its convenient harbour in the river, where ships going to
Moluccas commonly touch to take in fresh water and provisions.
Upon the same river lies the city of Gorici ; the city of Surabaca
has its own king. He keeps his court at Sidaya, which is well
fortified but destitute of a safe harbour.
" To the west lies the city of Toboan, and further on a neck
of land the city of Japara. Twenty-five leagues hence and forty-
five from Bantam lies Mataram, a great city and the residence
of a powerful king, who once pretended to the sovereignty over
all the rest of the island, and still styles himself Emperor of Java.
Five leagues to the west of Japara is the city of Pata^ and three
leagues further Dauma,^ under the jurisdiction of King of Mataram
as well as that of Tagal.
" The next is the fair and strong city of Charabaon,* next the
city of Jacatra, and thence to Bantam. The houses of Bantam
are miserably built, and the walls are very wretched as well as
the gates ; though at every hundred paces provided with a great
piece of cannon which are of little use in a place where the curtains
are not defensible, and have instead of towers only scaffolds.
" The whole city of Bantam has only three principal streets
which are not paved but sandy, the channels which run through
them being stinking and foul, which sends forth a very nauseous
smell all over the city. At each corner of the streets stand
guards as also at the prison gates near the palace, and each
person of note keeps a guard of ten or twelve for his own security
in his house. Their houses are merely built upon piles, they are
commonly of reeds and canes, and the partitions all of bamboos,
or canes slit very thin. All the foreigners here live without the
city, and the merchants meet daily in one or other of the three
great market places belonging to this city.
" The bazar or exchange is chiefly frequented by foreigners,
who meet there at break of day and continue till 9 of the clock.
" The second market place faces the great mosque, where the
women buy and sell pepper, beetle, areca, bananas, melons and
white and yellow sandal wood.
" The armourers who sell arms, guns, pistols, swords, standing
^ Near the present Bangil, on the river that flows past Sourabaya.
^ Pati.
^ Demak.
* Cheribon.
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 719
higher up to the right, and to the left the confectioners with their
sweetmeats.
** Near them is the place they sell all sorts of beans, and next
to that the onion market, where the cloth sellers and usurers have
their meeting. Hard by this you see the poulterers, who deal in
geese, kids, pigeons, parrots and all sorts of tame fowl. Thence
you see several ways, one leading to the Chinese shops, the second
to the herb market, and the third to the shambles. Among the
Chinese to the right the jewellers, who deal in precious stones,
have their station, and the Bengalians with their toy shops on the
left. The sale of all these things lasts only till 9 o'clock, when
the markets for all sorts of provisions are opened before the
palace, and about noon the Chinese market begins.
" The city of Tuban, or Tubaon, challenges the next place after
Bantam in the island of Java, being stronger than all the rest
though not so large, yet better built than Bantam. Its palace is
very spacious, and remarkable for the many apartments made
here for divers sorts of beasts that are kept with more than
ordinary care, such as elephants, fighting cocks, and parrots, the
last of which are much more beautiful than those transported to
Europe, because they are too tender to endure the fatigues of so
long a voyage.
" Their chief traffick lies in pepper, which they exchange in
the island of Baly for calicoe, cotton and silk and carry those
commodities to Banda, Ternate, and the Philippine Isles, to
truck for cloves, mace and nutmegs.
" The natives live mostly on fish ; they have no other garments
but a piece of calicoe wrapped round their loins, except that the
better sort wear a kind of loose camblet coat reaching only to
their thighs. They are great lovers of horses, their saddles being
made like our great saddles.
" The natives inhabiting the inland countries of Java are
pagans, and believing the transmigration of the soul eat neither
fish nor flesh. To the south there are a few Mohammedans of
the Turkish sect. They have two great feasts, the chief of which
is on the 5th August. There are few amongst the Javanese who
have three or four, nay sometimes twelve wives, besides their
concubines, who are obliged to wait upon the wives, though their
children have the same prerogative as the legitimate offspring.
Their children go naked, the girls having only when grown up
a plate of silver or gold They marry at 8 or 9,
720 JAVA
or 10 years of age. In their marriage they use but few cere-
monies. Certain poles are stuck, on the wedding day, before
the house of the bride and bridegroom, with tassels of white and
red cotton, and after dumer the bridegroom goes on horseback
through the town, where the slaves, who are part of his dowry,
go to meet him and bring him some presents.
*' Women of fashion are kept under such restraint that they are
not permitted so much as to see their sons in their chambers,
neither does a man speak or approach a woman of rank when he
goes abroad, but everybody gives her way, even the king himself.
" They are known only by their retinue, being for the rest clad
after the common fashion, viz., in a kind of calico or silk petticoat
reaching down from the breast to the middle of the leg. They
wear neither stockings nor head ornaments, but tie then' hair
upon the crown, except it be at weddings, or any other solemnity,
when they have coronets on their heads, and rmgs and bracelets
upon theu' fingers and about their arms. They are much addicted
to cleanliness that they never do anything without washing or
bathing themselves, which is one of their chief employments, and
which they look upon as a proper means to intice their husbands,
in which they strive to outvie one another.
" In their courts of judicature the plaintiff and defendant are
obliged to plead their own causes. Their punishment of criminals
is to tie them to a post, and stab them with a dagger. Foreigners
have this advantage, that providing they can make their peace
with the party complaining, they may redeem themselves from
death, except in the case of premeditated murder.
" The king's council, which consists sometimes of 500 persons,
meet by moonlight, under a great tree, where they continue till
the moon sets. The king when present sits in the middle.
" The natives of Java are a proud, perfidious, and cruel genera-
tion, and so stubborn that such as know they have deserved death
will rather be killed than taken. Their hair is very long and
generally of a chestnut colour, they have broad flat faces and
large jaw bones and eye brows, little ears and thin beards, are
for the rest middle sized but very strong limbs. They seem not
to want courage were they bred up to all the advantages of our
modern arms, but they are contented with their pike, battle axe,
broadswords and a dagger.
*' Their bucklers are of wood, and sometimes of boiled leather.
They wear also armour, the pieces of which are joined together
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 721
with iron rings. Their soldiers receive no pay in time of peace, —
they have a way of blowing small poisoned arrows through
trunks by which the wound is made incurable.
" But those inhabiting the Strait of Sunda living under their
own king are much more honest and open hearted. The grounds
of Java are either farmed out by the king or lords to certain free
people, or cultivated by slaves, and produce rice, pepper and cocoa.
Some slaves here take their masters' trees, and other commodities
at a certain rate, which they sell to the best advantage they can.
Others work abroad for their masters' profit, at a set rate per
diem. Others maintain themselves, and work alternately, six
days for their masters, and as many for themselves. They
commonly adulterate their pepper with black gravel as they do
all other commodities they sell to strangers, being very crafty in
their commerce, though very few rich merchants venture their
persons on any long voyage, but traffick like our European
merchants by the assistance of factors. Bonds and other
securities are written upon the bark of trees and characters being
engraven with a sort of bodkin, which is either rolled up after-
wards, or laid together four square betwixt two boards, which
they have a way to tie neatly together with pack thread ; some-
times they use Chinese paper.
" The traffick of the Persians that live here is precious stones,
stuffs and drugs, and the Arabians and Banjans exchange their
commodities chiefly for china ware. Those of Guzerat live for
the most part upon fishing ; all those foreigners are clad after the
same fashion in a calico garment with a turban of the same stuff,
" At their arrival, they purchase a woman, who is to serve for
all purposes. At their departure they dispose of her again, but
must make provision for the children if they leave any behind.
But the Chinese are of all foreigners here the most industrious
in their trading, being looked upon in the same light as the Jews
in Europe. Their main business is to forestal and buy up the
pepper in the country agaiiist the coming of their fleet to Bantam,
which consists commonly in ten ships of 50 tons each in January.
" These bring in a sort of wretched money called pity by the
Javanese, and kas in the Malayan language, being a mixture of
lead and brass, so brittle that if it fall upon the ground it certainly
breaks. They are made in the city of Chincoa in China, having
each a four square hole in the middle, through which they string
them upon straw. It passed at first very current in Java, but
J. — VOT,. II. F
722 JAVA
since this baseness has been discovered it goes at a very low-
rate. The Chinese sell their porcelain here at cheap rates, and
bring also silk, satin and damasks of their own manufactory,
which they exchange for pepper, lacque, indigo, sandal wood,
nutmegs, cloves, tortoise shells and ivory ; they have neither
temples nor priests at Bantam.
" Java abounds both in wild and tame beasts ; the forests
are filled with elephants, rhinoceros, leopards, tigers, serpents,
lizards, hogs without bristles. The rivers are well stocked with
fish, there having been oysters seen. Deer, wild goats and boars.
The rivers feed also abundance of crocodiles ; the Chinese tame,
fat and eat them for a delicacy. Civet, wild fowls. The
rhinoceros is in the same esteem nowadays as with the unicorn of
the ancients ; his flesh, blood and teeth being used for medicinal
purposes.
" The Javanese exasperated by the ill usage they often received
from the Portuguese, would not for a long tune permit any
strangers to have any settlements there, till at last the hopes of
gain engaged the Kings of Bantam and Jacatra to let the English
and Dutch set up their factories there under certain conditions,
which being but ill-observed by the Javans, the Dutch took this
opportunity of justifying their settlements at Jacatra, and that
with so much expedition that the Javans, finding themselves
not in a condition to force them, thence engaged with the English
to assist them in the expulsion of these bold strangers. In the
first sea engagement January 2nd, 1619, near Bantam, the Dutch
had the worst, upon which the King of Jacatra, in conjunction
with the English, besieged their fort for six months, till the Dutch
fleet, being reinforced, obliged the English to quit both the fort
and the Streights of Sunda, and landing their men took the city
of Jacatra by storm and put all to the sword.
" The next thing they had to do was to compleat their fortifica-
tions, which they did so effectually that in a little time they made
them very regular, with four bastions of free stone, well entrenched
and pallisaded, and defended by a proportionable number of half
moons, redoubts etc.
" The King of Matram laid siege to it twice since, viz. 1628 and
1629, but was forced to raise it as often."
1648. John Baptist Tavernier, a Dutchman, left Holland
about 1646, and travelled through India.
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 723
On the 14th April, 1648, he embarked at Mingrela, a Httle
town about twenty-five miles from Goa, in a Dutch vessel
bound for Batavia, where he arrived on the 22nd June, 1648.
His story is rather fabulous ; it is as follows : —
" The King of Bantam's palace was never by any curious
architect. It is a square place encompassed with a great many
pillars, varnished over with several sorts of colours, against
which the king leans when he sits down. The roof is covered
with branches. Not far off is a roof supported by four pillars
where he hath 16 elephants. His harem, or the woman's apart-
ment, was certainly a very small place.
'■ The next day about six in the morning my brother and I and
a Dutch chirurgeon were going along a narrow way between a
river on one hand, and the pales of a great garden on the other.
Behind the place, a rascally Bantamois had hid himself, one of
these that was newly come from Mecca.
" These furies presently take their cris in their hand, the
blade whereof is poisoned, and run through the streets crying a
Mecca (meaning to Mecca) and kill all those who are not Mohom-
medans and then kill themselves. They think they are thereby
serving God. These Bantams from Mecca on their return think
themselves saints. I made voyages to Japara and Sumatra,
and then returned to Java."
1681. Captain Robert Knox, the Englishman who escaped
from Ceylon in 1680, after being twenty years a prisoner in
the hands of Rajah Singh of Kandy, was placed in charge of
the ship Tonqueene Marchant by the East India Company,
when he returned to England and dispatched to Tonquin
late in 1681. He says : —
" She was but 130 tuns burthen. I went out in her anno 1618
and sailed trom the Downs in September. We ware in all 25
men in her, and went in company with 5 others, all small ships
bound for the East Indies.
" It being a bad season of the year it was May, 1682, before
I came to Bantam, which was the port I was bound to ; being
arrived thare in the rode, contrary to our expectations we found
the Hollanders had taken the place, and the English were expelled
thence and gone to the city of Batavia ; they had left two English
F 2
724 JAVA
factors on board the Dutch men of war that ware then riding in
the rode to advise all English that came theather to repare to
Batavia to the English agent and council ; upon this notice the
next day I sailed from Bantam and found all our factors at
Batavia. Soon after they sent me to Tonqueene, whare by God's
blessing I safely arrived, though I had never a man in the ship
that had ever bin thare before.
" According to custome, a China pUott came on board of me,
whare I rode without ye barre, with a letter from our English
factors resident in that place to welcome me to the port ; and
advise me to intrust the barer, who was the Compaines pilott, to
bring the ship over the barre, into the river, and according to
order next morning I set sail and steered as my pilott directed,
he only point with his hand to goe this way or that way as he saw
by his marks on the land.
" Soone after we ware under saUe we came upon the pitch of
the barre, and the ship struck on the ground so that she beat ;
her rudder head came up into the great cabbin that we could
not steere but it pleased God the next sea hover her quite over the
barre and the water deepened againe. The ship being new and
stronge gott noe harme, and we drew the rudder downe againe into
its place, and it was as well as before. The ship went aboute
20 miles up into the river whare I buried aboute 8 of my men,
most principal officers, as chief mate, carpenter, and boatswame.
" In the January, 1682, the ship being laden with very rich
goods, as wrought silks and muske, and filled up with lackered
wares, I was sent backe to Batavia, and having lost so many men
out of my small number, was faint to hire some Chinese to helpe
saile the ship, nevertheless by God's blessing I gott safe to
Batavia againe. Mine being a small ship and the goods I had
brought very rich, the agent and councell, according to orders
out of England, tooke out all the silk and muske and loaded them
on board a large ship called the Surratt Marchant who lay the
same time in Batavia rode ; and the English having lost their
trade at Bantam, they had noe pepper to lade me, but put in some
few parcell of cassa lignum (for they had not goods to fill the ship)
and sent me whome for England.
" Heere at Batavia I had gott a recrute of men for those that
I had buried, and by God's blessing goeing along with mee. I
safely arrived with my small ship to England againe. But note
this by the by, that the small ship, which they distrusted to bring
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 725
their rich goods whome but sent almost empty away came whome
and arrived very safely, without any losse or hazard and the great
ship, the Surratt Marclmnt, which was intrusted with all the rich
goods I had brought from Tonqueene, perished by the way whome
with all her men, and was never since heard of."
1685. Captain Cowley sailed from Virginia on the 23rd
August, 1683, in the ship Revenge (an old French prize with
wine which had not been sold) wuth seventy men, and
Captain John Cooke as master (who died later off Duke of
York's Isle). The account says : —
" In the Streights of Le Mairse (Cape Horn), we did meet with
the English ship called Nicolas of London of 26 guns, commanded
by Captain John Eaton, and agreed to keep company to the East
Indies together. In the month of December (1685) we put into
Cheribon, a factory belonging to the Dutch on the same island as
Batavia and Bantam. Here we met several pieces of bad news,
such as that King Charles was dead, and the Dutch had deprived
the English of their factory at Bantam, which was the second
place of trade we English possessed m the East Indies, and we
can never sufficiently wonder that care was not taken, the loss of
it having been extremely prejudicial to our East India Company.
" While we were here, Captain Cowley did see that the Dutch
were forming schemes to the prejudice of our trade, and resolved
therefore to hasten with all speed to Batavia, where they were
very kindly received by the Governor General, who enquued
after their healths. While being there. Captain Cowley and Mi".
Hill did leave the ships, and purchased a sloop from Batavia,
where there were at this time twenty Englishmen, for we intended
to go to see our countrymen at Sillabar, where the English have
a factory on the Isle of Sumatra, But so far were the Dutch from
permitting this that they took the sloop from us paying however
the cost, and put the Dutchman in prison who sold it ; to justify
tliis, they made use of pretences, but the true reason was, that
they had formed a design on Sillabar, for which attempt they
were obliged to postpone ; they did not desire the English there
should in number become too strong.
" The scheme they made use of for driving the English thence
was singular enough, for they had lent the King of Sillabar a
considerable sum of money, some years before, which they now
726 JAVA
proposed to demand, and to oblige the king pay them in pepper,
by which agreement they would have secured all the trade in his
dominions, as then the English must have withdrawn their
factory. But just as they were fitting out a squadron in order to
put this very singular design into execution, the Emperor of Java
broke out into war which diverted the storm for the time, because
they were obliged to employ those ships against their enemy."
1688. Captain William Dampier, who had already been
to Bantam in the ship Martha, of London (Captain Earning,
commander), as a sailor before the mast, left Virginia on
the 23rd August, 1683, for a long voyage round the world.
Captain Cowley was in command of this squadron, bound
to the South Seas, and to fight the Spaniards. Dampier
as soon as they got to the Indies, separated from Cowley.
Dampier says : —
" On the 19th May, 1688, we arrived at Achin, and soon after
I went to Fort St. George and Tonquin, which after a stay of
five months I came back to Bencouli [Bencoolen], an English
factory. I then returned to England with extremely much
experience.
" On the 14th January, 1698, I sailed from the Downs in His
Majesty's ship Roebuch, carrying 12 guns, 50 men and boys and
20 months provisions.
" On June 23rd, 1700, we saw the Streights of Sunda, and
towards the latter end of the month, we arrived safely in the road
of Batavia. I staid at Bantam upwards of three months where I
first ordered the ship to be repaired, and afterwards careened, for
which purpose I hired vessels to take in our guns, ballast, provisions
and stores.
On August 9th, 1703, we fitted out two ships of 26 guns and
120 men each, designed for the South Seas. The one named the
St. George, Captain William Dampier Commander, in which Mr.
William Funnell was mate, and the Fame, John Pulling Com-
mander."
1700. Captain Alexander Hamilton, who was travelling
about the East Indies from 1688 to 1723, gives the following
account of Java, the date being about 1700 : —
" And now having ended my tour around Sumatra, I must
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1882 727
return to the southward, and travel to the eastward of Sumatra,
and to the southward of the Equator, among those famous islands,
and Java being west-most, I begin there, and march eastward
among islands far from any continent. Princes Island is close
to the west point of Java. It has a channel between it, and Java,
but there is some danger in it. There are no inhabitants on it ;
but there are three places that afford good water, and wood
enough for ships bound out of the Streights of Sunda to Europe,
There are several other islands in the streights, as Caccotoa,
Duars m the way, the Button and Cape, and several others
without name.
" The first place of commerce in the west end of Java is the
famous Bantam, where the English and Danes had their factories
flourishing till anno 1682, at which time the neighbourly Dutch
fomented a war between the old King of Bantam and his son, and
because the father would not come into their measures, and be
their humble slave, they struck in with the son who was more
covetous of the crown than of wisdom. They, with the assistance
of other rebels, put the son on the throne and took the old king
prisoner and sent him to Batavia, and in 1683 they pretended a
power from the new king to send the English and Danes a packing
which they did with a great deal of insolence according to custom.
They next fortified, by building a strong fort within a pistol shot
of one that the old king had built before, to bridle their insolence.
" The only product of Bantam is pepper, wherein it abounds
so much that they can export 10,000 tons per annum. The road
is good, and secure for the safety of shipping. It is in a pleasant
bay, wherein are several small islands, which retain their English
names still, and the natives still lament the loss of the English
trade among them, but the king has much more reason than his
subjects to regret the loss of their commerce. The good-will the
natives bear to the Dutch may be conjectured from their treat-
ment, when they find an opportunity, for if an Hollander goes
but a musket shot from their fort, it is five to one, if ever he
returns ; for they are dexterous in throwing the lance, or shooting
of poisoned darts, through a wooden pipe, or trunk ; and the
king never redresses them, pretending the criminal cannot be
found.
" Batavia is about 20 leagues to the east of Bantam, and a
great number of small islands lie scattered in the way too tedious
to mention. Pulo-panjang off Bantam, and Edam off Batavia,
728 JAVA
are the most conspicuous, and the road of Batavia is ahnost
surrounded with islands, some of them inhabited, and some not.
Its topography I'll refer to another time, with some historical
accounts of it both ancient and modern,
" Cheraboan is the next colony on the coast to the eastward of
Batavia, where they have a fort, and a small garrison.
" Tagal is also a Dutch settlement, with a small fort for its
defence, and there is no other remarkable place, tiU we come
to Samarang, a good colony, with a fort of mud, and wood to
defend it.
" Damack, and Contus, two places that lie between Samarang
and Japara, are noted, one for the abundance of rice that it
exports, and the other for great quantities of good sugars, that it
produces. They are peopled mostly with Chinese, and so is
Japara, which formerly had an English factory, but is now
altogether in the Dutch hands. It is defended by two forts, one
on an hill, and the other in a plain, where the town stands, and
has a small river to wash its walls. The road is secured by two
islands, that lie about a league off the town. I bought good white
sugar in cakes here, for two Dutch dollars per picul, being 140 lb.
English suttle weight.
" Tampeira is the next place to the eastward, and to the east-
ward of it is Rambang about 2 leagues from it, where the Dutch
have a small wooden fort, and a little garrison of sixteen men.
Those two afford nothing but excellent timber for building.
And to the eastward of Rambang is Sorobay, which lies within
the island of Madura, and I believe is the eastermost settlement
the Dutch have in the island of Java. It produces much pepper,
some bees-wax, and iron.
" Sorobay is about 125 leagues to the eastward of Batavia, and
the country along shore, as pleasant, and fruitful in grain and
fruits as any in the world. Tame cattle and wild game are very
plentiful, good and cheap. At Rambang, I bought a cow,
fleshy and fat, for two pieces of eight, that weighed above 300
weight, and wild hog and deer we killed daily with our fowling
pieces as we did also peacocks, and wild poultry. The cocks
are all like one another, with red necks and bodies and black
wings and tail, and the hens are exactly like large partridges.
The cocks are pretty large, and when they take wing, they make
a noise that may be heard half a mile. Their flesh is both savoury
and juicy, and the wild hog is excellent. In the woods are many
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 729
flying squirrels. Some of them I have seen tame in cages, they
also have little horses, wild in the woods, and some tigers, but being
not much pinched for hunger, they seldom attack men. They
have one dangerous little animal called a jackoa, in shape almost
like a lizard. It is very malicious and bites everything that
offends it, and the flesh cankers unless immediate cauterizings
arc used, and if that cannot be had, the piece must be cut out,
for, if once it blisters the skin, there is no cure for it afterwards,
but he seldom fails of giving notice where he is by a loud noise
calling jackoa (tokay).
" I was once at supper with some Dutch gentlemen, at Ram-
bang, in an house thatcht with cocoa-nut leaves, and we were
no sooner set, but one of those jackoas opened its throat almost
over our heads. The Dutch gentlemen took the alarm, and rose
from the table in great haste, and ran out of the room, calling to
me, who sat still (not a little surprised to see their sudden flight)
to follow them, for my life was in danger, and on hearing that
admonition, I was not long after them, but its noise spoiled our
supper.
" As there are many species of wild animals in those woods,
there is one particular called the oran-outang. It is nearest to
human both in shape and sagacity, among all the herd of animals.
I saw one about four feet high, gross bodied, long arms from the
shoulders to the elbows. His finger-ends reach just to his
knees, as he stood upright. His thighs and legs plump, but too
small in proportion to his body, his feet long, and broad at the
toes, but a little too narrow at the heel. His belly prominent
covered with a light coloured fur, the rest of his body being
brown, and the fur thicker and longer than the belly fur. His
head somewhat large. His face broad and full. His eyes gray
and small, his nose little and flat. His upper lip and under jaw,
very large. He blows his nose properly, can kmdle a fire and blow
it with his mouth, and I saw one broyl a fish to eat with his
broyld rice. The females have their regular menstrua, they have
no tail, and walk upright. They are of a melancholy disposition,
and have a grave dejected countenance, and even when they are
young, they are never inclined to play, as most other animals are.^
There is a smaller sort, but of a different species, called oumpaes,
but their legs and arms are very small.
" I was in Samarang in 1704, in the months of July and August,
' In fact they are veritable missing links. — D. M. C.
730 JAVA
when navigation on the coast is accounted dangerous. A war
happened then to break out, between the natives of that part of
Java, and the Dutch, about the succession of a new Sun Suonan
or emperor, the old one demising about that time. The Dutch
would impose the old emperor's brother on them against the
general bent of the nation ; and the nobility were for his eldest
son, being the established law and custom of the country. I
being then bound for Batavia the commodore desired me to
carry a pacquet of letters for the General and his council, which
I did, and delivered them, before they were six days old to the
General, Jan van Hoorn, which piece of service recommended
me to his favour, which he demonstrated afterwards in some
indulgences I had, and some confidence he reposed in me.
" The war begun, lasted 20 years longer than at first the Dutch
imagined. It taught the Javans the art of war, having a great
number of Maccassers and Bailies, who had been trained up in
the Dutch Company's wars against several nations. Many of
them came into the eldest son's interest, who having as good
courage, and subtle stratagems, with much greater agility of
body than the Dutch, made the war more terrible and dangerous
than any of the Company had ever entered into, notwithstanding
the Pretender had a large party of Javans, and was assisted by
Maccassers, Amboinese, Bailies and Bougies, but they wanted the
European discipline that the others who had served the young
emperor, for they could encamp and mine, as well as the Dutch.
" A Dutch captain in his march towards the Dutch camp fell
with his company into an ambush of Javans. Some of his men
were killed, but he and most of his men were taken prisoners.
The Dutch camp was pitched, on the side of a river, and the
Javans a few miles above them, on the same river's side. Next
day to the Dutch great amazement, they saw the captain and his
men swimming down the stream, with all their legs, thigh bones
and arms broken, and most of them alive. Their country men
took them out of the river, and used means to save their lives,
but very few lived, which put their whole army in some dread by
observing what quarter they might expect if any of them were
taken prisoners.
" The religion of Java is partly Mahometan, and partly pagan.
The pagans choose women to be priestesses, and they are generally
old, and well skilled in witchcraft. And it is reported, that they
have frequent conversation with the devil, who appears to them
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 731
in a horrid monstrous shape, and the priestesses sacrijfice a hog to
him. The emperor resides at an' inland town called Cartasouri,
about three days journey from Samarang, where I'll leave him
and proceed to ; —
" The island of Madeira, that produces nothing for a foreign
market, but deer skins. They may be had in great abundance,
and very cheap.
" The island confronts Java to its very eastermost point. I
have no knowledge of the islands to the eastward of Java, but
what I have had by information from the Dutch, who are the
only possessors of that commerce, except two English ships that
fell in among some of those islands, and so I will go on in those
same observations, and remarks.
" I observed before that Sorobay was the eastermost settlement
the Dutch have on Java, neither have they any footing, that I
have heard of, on the south side of that island, though the natives
are pretty well civilized and as ships from Europe fall in with
that coast, they will bring off provisions to sell them, particularly
if they see English colours, for very often the Dutch buy their
commodities, but pay nothing for them.
" The island of Bally lies next to Java to the eastward. It
abounds in provisions for the inhabitants, but affords nothing fit
for exportation. The natives are daring and bold, even to
desperation. Many of them enter in the Dutch service and make
good soldiers. Between Java and Bally are the Streights of
Bally.
" The island of Flores to the eastward of Lamback, next Bally,
Combava, next Lamback, and the two islands Sappi, next Combava,
is an island 50 leagues long, and 18 broad. In anno 1703 Captain
Wright, in the Leghorn galley, lost his passage from Banjar on
Borneo, to Batavia, and by contrary winds, and strong currents,
was driven to this island, and anchored at a town on the west
end of it called Larrentoucka. Finding the place convenient and
safe to pass three or four months of the westerly monsoons, he
took an house ashore, and kept some times one part of his ship's
crew ashore, and some times another to refresh them. He gave
warning to the people of the town not to trust his men, but they
minding their own profit, had trusted the seamen about £100
sterl. A little before he was ready to sail, the creditors came
and demanded their money. He refused payment, alledging
that a public crier was ordered by a magistrate to proclaim the
732 JAVA
prohibition. The creditors said it was true they could not recover
anything by law, but if he valued his own health, he would
satisfy them, if not in all, yet m part, and so he paid one half,
which most of them were content with, but one of the witches
was not, but threatened his destruction, if she had not all her
demand paid. The captain knowing that the natives were very
skiKul in the art of poisoning, resolved to prevent their taking
any opportunity that way, and so went on board to eat and
sleep, and was so cautious that he would not so much as taste
their green fruits, nor smell their flowers, after the time that the
old hag threatened him, and yet before he left the place, he found
himself much troubled with grippings and fluxes.
" I was at Batavia when he came there. He could not reach
the road with his ship before he anchored, and was forced to
anchor without, and sent his boat on board of my ship, to desire
help to weigh their anchor. I sent a boat with 20 men and
officers to bring their ship into the road, which next morning they
did ; the poor man was brought to that pass by the effects of
poison, that he could not walk without being supported, nor
could he lift his hand to his head. I waited on him ashore, and
he desired to be carried to his usual quarters, at the sign of the
Red Lion, kept by a woman called Black Moll, a native of the
island of Flores, and he giving her an account of his condition, and
how ignorant he was of the cause of it, she bid him be cheerful,
for she knew how he had been poisoned, not by anything taken
inwardly, but by a spell, and bid him recollect himself, and try if
he could remember if he had not stept over a bit of paper, or the
leaf of a flag, in going in or out of any house, which after a little
pause, he could very well remember he had. She assured him
that he should be perfectly well in a month's time, and she per-
formed her promise to admiration. I left Batavia before the cure
was perfected, but afterwards when I came to Batavia, she gave
an account that she had restored him to perfect health, and seven
years after, I saw him at Fort St. George."
1705. Captain William Funnel's account is as follows : —
" On October 21st, 1705, we entered the harbour of Batavia, and
as soon as we landed, were sent with our men into custody, and
our goods were taken. After a little while the major of the
castle sent for us, and desired we would transmit to the general,
by him, an account of our losses, and that we should be satisfied
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 733
on all accounts as to our effects, loss of time, and imprisonment.
Accordingly we each of us drew up a list of our losses, and sent it
to the general by the major, who very kindly returned to us for
an answer that very speedily we should have our freedom. On
October 27th we were all sent for to the fort, and most of our
ready money was returned to us, but for our goods, loss of time
and imprisonment, we could have no satisfaction. In the space
of about seven weeks I remained here, I made all the observations
I could on the place, and its inhabitants.
" The former I found in as good condition as was possible, and
the latter appeared to me as prudent and industrious a people
as ever I saw. I shall content myself with making a short
description.
" This city of Batavia is the chief place the Dutch have in
India, receiving by shipping the product of India, Japan, and
China. It is inhabited by several sorts of persons such as Dutch,
Portugueze, Chinese, Persians and Negroes, but the Malayans are
the natives. The Dutch are masters of the place, and have a very
fine large town, in which are seven churches, Dutch, Portugueze,
Malays, Chinese, with several very spacious houses built after the
European style. The town is all walled and moted round, and
the walls are abundantly provided with cannon. In the middle
of the town, in a great square place is a very fine Stadt House,
where all the public affairs are transacted. The town with all its
fortifications is commonly governed by one of the States of Holland
who has the title of General of India, and all other governors are
subordinate to him.
" The inhabitants here do not care how often they change their
general, for at the coming of a new one, all prisoners are released,
except such as have committed murder.
" He has twelve to assist hin, who have always the title of
Rads, or Lords of India. These are such as have been formerly
chief governors in several places in India, as of Ceylon, Amboyna,
Malacca etc.
" The town is divided by canals, over which almost in every
street there are bridges laid, and boombs to hale across, which let
no boats go in or out after sunset. The chief produce of the place
is pepper, of which the Dutch yearly export great quantities.
Here are also some few diamonds, and other precious stones.
Of fruits here are, plantains, bananas, oranges, lemons, pome-
granates, mangastans, and rumbostans.
734 JAVA
" The mangastan is about the bigness of a golden runnet, it is
quite round, and looks like a small pomegranate. The wind and
weather at Batavia is extremely regular, and the Dutch inhabi-
tants know how to make use of it at all seasons to the best
advantage. The anchor ground all along the north side of Java,
from the island Madura to Batavia, is fine ousy ground, and clear
of rocks. The principal places on this side of the islands are,
Batavia, Bantam, Japara, Samarang, Surabon, Taggall, the
Quale and Rambang. All these places are settled by the Dutch.
They afford rice, with which they supply all their out factories
hereabouts, as also very good plank for building ships with. The
chief place for building is Rambang, whither the freemen go to
build their small vessels, as sloops and brigantines, also several
ships of five, six or seven hundred tons, lade with timber at
Rambang, the Quale-Japara, and each ship, when full, taketh a
great raft of the largest of the timber in tow to Batavia. All this
timber is commonly landed upon a small island between four or
five leagues from Batavia, where the ship carpenters are usually
kept at work, nay, they are said to be never out of employ; they
are about 200 in number, and the island is called Unrest, or
Onrust. The Dutch careen their ships here, and it is very well
fortified, being all round a bed of guns."
1710. Commander Woodes Rogers, in the Duke, 300 tons,
30 guns, and 170 men, with Thomas Dover as second
captain, and three lieutenants, and Captain Stephen
Courteney, in the Duchess, 270 tons, 26 guns, and 151 men,
with Edward Cooke as second captain, and three lieutenants,
sailed from Bristol on the 15th June, 1708, to circum-
navigate the globe. The account is as follows : —
** On or about the 20th June, we sighted the Celebes, and
anchored near three islands, where we saw a small vessel. Our
pinnace came up to her, and found she was going to Macassar,
but we took her master on board to pilot us, who promised to do
so if we would keep it secret, for fear of the Dutch. We later ran
by the island of Madura, and soon made the high land of Cheribon.
Next day we saw a great ship ahead ; she proved a Dutch ship,
about 600 tons, and 50 guns, belongmg to Batavia, and was
plying to some of the Dutch factories for timber. In the after-
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 735
noon of the next day we saw the ships in the roads of Batavia,
and there after anchored on 20th July (1710).
" Some sloops came on board, and I was absolutely a stranger
to the humours of the people.
" Our men had been quarrelling and jangling for some days
before ; a disputed title to a lump of sugar would have created a
tumult, which could only be pacified with the prospect of a small
dram, but now there was nothing but hugging and shaking of the
hands, and blessing their stars and questioning if there was such
a paradise on earth ; and all this because they had arrack for
eighteen pence a gallon, and sugar at a penny a pound.
" The city is square with a river running through it, and
fortified by a strong wall, and twenty two bastions. About ten
years past there was an earthquake which over-turned part of the
mountains, and altered the course of the river, so that the canals
in and about Batavia are not nearly so commodious as they have
been.
" The banks of the canals through the city are faced with
stone on both sides, as far as the boom, which is shut up every
night at nine o'clock, and guarded by soldiers.
" There are channels cut out of the main river for smaller
vessels, and every boom pays toll. All the streets run in straight
lines, and most of them above thirty feet broad, on each side
clear of the channels, and paved next the houses wdth bricks. All
the streets are very well built and inhabited, fifteen of which have
channels, and they reckon 5G bridges on them, most of them of
stone. The country seats and buildings round the city are
generally neat and well contrived, with handsome gardens, for
fruit, flowers, fountains and statues.
" The vast quantities of cocoa nut trees everywhere, afford
delightful groves. They have fine structures here, particularly
the cross church, built of stone, and inside very neat. There are
two or three churches for the Dutch, and two of the Portuguese
protestants, who are a mixt sort of people.
" There is one church also for the protestant Malayans. The
town house is built of brick, in a square about the centre of the
city, two stories high and very finely buUt, where all courts are
held, and all matters relating to the civil Government determined,
and the senators of the military affairs meet. There is an inner
court enclosed by a high wall, and a double row of stone pillars,
where the officers of justice live.
736 JAVA
" Here are hospitals, spin houses, and rasp houses, the same as
in Amsterdam, with all other public buildings equal to most
cities in Europe. The Chinese have also a large hospital in this
cit}^ for their aged and sick persons, and manage their charity
so well that you never see a Chinese that looks despicable in the
street.
" The Dutch women have greater privileges in India than in
Holland or any where else. For on slight occasions they are
divorced from their husbands, and share the estate betwixt them.
A lawyer told me at Bantam, he has known out of fifty eight
causes all depending on the Council Chamber, fifty two of them
were divorces. Great numbers of the natives who are criminals
are chained by pairs, and kept at hard labour, under a guard
perpetually, clearing the channels and moats round the city.
Three leagues west of the town is the island of Onrest, where all
the Company's ships are refitted. There are magazines of naval
stores defended by platforms of guns, and the castle at Batavia
is quadrangular, lies in a level, and has four bastions and curtains
faced with white stones, and provided with watch houses.
" In this castle or rather citadel, the Dutch Governor General,
and most of the members of the Council of India, with other
officers of Batavia, have their residence.
" The governor's palace is of brick, large, and well built. In
this palace is the council chamber, the secretary's office, and
chamber of accounts. The general's wall is hung with bright
armour, ensigns, flags etc. taken by the Dutch there. The
governor gives audience to strangers who are introduced to bim
by the Shabander, who is commissioner of the customs. The
garrison on duty is generally about 1,000 strong and aU the out
works are said to be furnished with provisions, as well as can be,
but the soldiers are kept much under, except the governor's
guards who have large privileges and make a fine appearance.
The Governor General lives in great splendor as a king. He has
a train and guard, viz. a troop of horse, and a company of foot
with halbards in liveries oi yellow satin, richly adorned with
silver lace, and fringes to attend his coach when he goes abroad.
The guards are as well equipped as those of most princes in Europe.
His lady has also her guards and train.
"He is chosen but for three years, out of the twentj'-four
counsellors called Raads of India, twelve of whom must always
reside in the city. The Chinese have the greatest trade here,
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 737
farm most of the excise and customs, live according to their own
laws, and are allowed their idolatrous worship, and have a chief
that manages their affairs with the Company, who allows them
great privileges and particularly a representative in council, who
has a vote, when any of the Chinese are tried for life.
" The Javanese, or the antient natives, are numerous, and said
to be barbarous and proud of a dark colour, and flat faces, thin,
short, black hair, large eyebrows and cheeks. The men are
strong -limbed, but the women are small. The former have a
wrapper of calico three or four times round their bodies, and the
latter from their armpits to then? knees. The men have two or
three wives besides concubines, and the Dutch say they are much
addicted to lying and stealing. Those on the coast are generally
Mohammedans, but the others are pagans. The women are not
so tawny as the men, and many of them handsome, but in general
amorous and unfaithful to their husbands, being very apt to give
poison, which they do very cunningly. The town is very populous,
but not one sixth of them Dutch. The Chinese go all bear headed
and the Dutch say of them that they are more industrious and
acute m trade than themselves.
" The discipline and order of the Dutch here both in civil and
military affairs is truly admirable. They have all the necessaries
for building and careening ships, and their officers as regular, as
in His Majesty's yards, whereas we have nothing like it in India.
They keep the natives very much in awe, being perfectly despotic
in their Government, because they say the natives are naturally
so treacherous, that they are obliged to punish them severely for
small faults. But they are more tender to the Chinese, because
of the great trade they have by their means, and that they pay
great rents for their shops, besides large taxes, and from 16 to 30
per cent, for money, which they frequently borrow of the Dutch.
I was told that there are here about 80,000, who pay the Dutch a
doUar ahead each month, for liberty to wear their hair, which
they are not allowed to wear at home, since they were conquered
by the Tartars.
" They come hither from China fourteen of sixteen junks
yearly, being flat bottomed vessels from 300 to 500 tons burden.
The merchants come along with their goods which are lodged in
different partitions in the vessels, like warehouses, for which they
pay a certain price, and not for the weight or measure of the cargo,
as we do, so they iBll them with what they please. They come in
J. — VOL. II. G
738 JAVA
with an easterly monsoon, and generally arrive in November or
December, and return the beginning of June, so that the Dutch
have all the Chinese commodities brought to them cheaper than
they can fetch them, and being conveniently situated for the
spice trade they have all in their own hands. They have seldom
less than twenty sail of ships at Java, from 30 to 50 and 60 guns
each, with men enough for them, on all occasions, so that they
might easily drive us out of most parts, if not all India should we
ever have an unfortunate war with them. Their soldiers are very
well trained, and there is a company always on duty at every
gate of the city and citadel, and they have 7 or 8,000 disciplined
Europeans in and about the city, who can be assembled and ready
for action at a very short warning. There are many pleasant
seats about the city, and the adjacent country abounds with rice,
sugar cane fields, gardens, and orchards, mills for sugar, corn and
gunpowder, so that this is one of the pleasantest cities in the
world. I do not think it is so large as Bristol, but it is more
populous. They have schools for Latin, Greek, etc., and a
printing house. They have lately begun to plant coffee here,
which thrives very well, so that in a little time they may be able
to load a ship or two. But I am told it is not so good as that in
Arabia. We sailed from Batavia on 14th October."
1710. Captain Edward Cooke left the Downs in 1708
in the fleet under command of Captain Woodes Kogers.
The following account is given : —
" On Tuesday 20th June, 1710, according to our reckoning
we came to ancker off Batavia, but with the Dutch it was
21st June. When we came to ancker we fired 13 guns to salute
the Dutch flag, but it being night, the commandant did not
answer, but in the morning he sent his boat to make an apology,
and then fired gun for gun with every ship. Soon after this very
friendly salute we waited upon the Shebander (a sort of master
attendant) and were introduced to the Governor who received
us with cordiality, and examined our commission, but would not
let us heave down in the States dock at Onrust, we not being a
king's ship. He was enquiring of the success of the voyage,
which we did not tell him too much about, for these Dutchmen
are very crafty. All manner of trafique, except for provisions,
was prohibited with the natives or inhabitants of the city, upon
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 739
the severest penalties, to avoid every occasion of dispute with the
East India Companies. On October 14th we sailed, and on the
19th October, we came to ancker off the Java Head, when two
English gentlemen came off to us to demand the release of a
man who had concealed himself, unbeknown on board. A party
went on shore to shoot, as winds were contrary. One gentleman
was seized quite unawares with a tiger, but he did yell so loud
that the tiger ran away, only leaving him very badly hurt. They
came in sight of great herds of animals."
1719. Captain John Clipperton sailed from Plymouth
on the 13th February, 1719, in command of the ship Success,
together with Captain Shelvoscke, in command of the Speed-
well. The ships, after passing round the Horn, visited the
ports of Manila, Macao, Amoy, and Canton, at the latter
being well received by the English factory. They returned
to Europe by the Straits of Sunda, but reported nothing
of particular interest.
1722. Commodore Roggervein, a gentleman, we are told,
of great " parts and penetration," sailed from Texel on
the 12th July, 1721, with his fleet, consisting of the Eagle,
36 cannon. 111 men, Captain Job Coster, on which the
commodore embarked ; the Tienhoven, 28 cannon, 100
men. Captain James Bouman ; the African Galley, 14
cannon, 60 men. Captain Henry Rosenthal.
His intention was to sail to the East Indies by the Straits
of Magellan on behalf of the West India Company. The
result of tliis venture has been given earHer in this book.
The Governor-General at Batavia, as the representative
of the East India Company, confiscated their ships on their
arrival. The account relates as follows : —
" We anchored at the road of Japara just on the close of
September (1722), and saluted, according to custom, both the
city and the fort, and quickly hoisted out our shallops to go
ashore at Japara, and on our arrival were surprised to find that
on shore it was Saturday, though in quitting our ships, we thought
it was Friday. The fi.rst step was to pay a visit to the person
g2
740 JAVA
who resided there on the part of the Company, in order to acquaint
him with our reasons thither. This person happened to be
Ensign Kuster, a very civil, well behaved man, who instantly
assembled a council to consider what measures were to be taken
on this occasion. An account of the arrival was sent to
]\Ir. Swaardekroon, who was at this time Governor General of
the East Indies. The answer he sent us was extremely favourable,
and he promised to assist with everything in his power.
" The town was used by the sailors a great deal, and they
spent their time in swearing, drinking, and passing whole days
and nights in debauched houses, the people at Japara being as
profligate and lewd as it is possible to conceive a people, insomuch
that the first question many of them asked of strangers, whether
they have not brought some new oaths.
" The town of Japara is seated at the bottom of a mountain
of moderate height, is of middling size, and inhabited chiefly
by Javanese, Chinese and Dutch. When it was in the hands of
the Portugueze, it was much more considerable m extent, than
it is at present. The East India Company, before they got
possession of Jacatra, fixed here the principal magazines for
their merchandize, and it was their chief factory, on which aU
the factories of the island of Java were dependent, but that
establishment was sunk long since, the factory being transferred
to Samaran [Samarang]. The port of Japara is equally safe,
and there is a fort built mostly of wood, on the top of the moun-
tain, at the foot of which the town is seated, that commands
the whole road. The King of Japara generally speaking resides
at a place called Kattasura [Kartasoera] which lies 29 leagues
up the country, where the Dutch have a strong fort, and a good
garrison.
" This prince is a Mohommedan, and according to the practice
of most Eastern monarchs, is constantly served by women, of
whom he takes as many as he pleases, either as wives or concu-
bines. Some of his priests are obliged to go every year to Mecca,
in order to make vows there for the safety and prosperity of the
king and royal family. His subjects are extremely faithful and
to the last degree devoted to his service. The principal persons
in his court are obliged, as often as they have an audience, to
approach him creeping on their knees. Such as commit the
slightest fault are poniarded on the spot with a little dagger
called a krid. The natives of this country are for the most part
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 741
of very brown complexion, and their teeth exceedingly bad,
which is owing to their betel, which they are chewing continually.
The prevailing diversion among these people is what they call
their tandakes, which are in fact a kind of comedies. After
resting at Japara we sail to Batavia, where our ships are seized.
" The city of Batavia is an emporium where all the merchandise
and riches of the East Indies are laid up, and that wealthy
Dutch East India Company possess. It fell into the hands of
the Dutch in 1618, and was till then known as Jacatra. Soon
after it came into their possession they built in the neighbourhood
of the old city, a fort ^ which they called Batavia. By that time
it was well finished, the natives of the island animated and assisted
by the English, attacked it several times, but without success.
The last time they kept it blocked up for some time, till the
Dutch were assisted by a squadron from Europe, under the
command of the Admiral Jan Pietersz Koen. Then it was that
affairs began to change their face, the siege was immediately raised
and the islanders obliged to flee with the utmost precipitation.
" The Dutch delivered from their enemies, and having con-
sidered the excellent position of the fort, they immediately
resolved to build a town near it. It was with this view that they
demolished Jacatra and built upon its ruins that famous city,
which from the name of their fort they called Batavia.
" This city arrived at perfection in a very short space of time,
by the extraordinary diligence with which it was carried on,
notwithstanding the many obstacles it met with on the part
of the two kings of Mataram and Bantam, the former of whom
besieged it about 1629, and the latter about 1649. It is surrounded
by a rampart of one and twenty feet thick, covered on the outside
with stone, and fortified with twenty- two bastions. This rampart
is environed by a ditch about 45 yards over, especially when
the tides are high in the spring. The avenues of the town are
defended by several forts, each of which is well furnished with
excellent brass cannon. Among these forts there are six which
serve to be particularly mentioned, viz., Autjol, Anke, Jacatra,
Ryswj''ch, Nordwych, and Vythock. The fort of Autjol is situated
on a river of the same name, and at the distance of 1,200 yards
from the city. It is built entirely of square stone, and is always
provided Mdth a strong garrison. The fort of Auke is on the
' Near where the present Bank of the Netherlands India factory-
stands. — D. M. C.
742 JAVA
river of the same name, and distant from the city 500 yards,
built like the other of square stone entirely. The fort of Jacatra
also lies on a river of the same name, is exactly like the other two
forts, and is about 500 paces from the city. The road thither
is between two rows of fine trees, regularly planted, with very
fine country houses and gardens on each side. The three other
forts are built in the same manner, of the same materials, lying
all on the land side of the town, and at a very small distance from
it. By this means the two first serve to secure the city on the
side of the sea, and the other four defend its entrances on the
land side, and at the same time protect the houses, plantations
and gardens of the inhabitants, and any side on which their
enemies should attack them would be sure to meet with a strong
resistance. They take besides, another precaution, which is not
suffering any person to go beyond these forts without a pass-
port. The river which preserves its ancient name of Jacatra
passes through the midst of the town and forms 15 canals of
running water, all faced with free stone, and adorned with trees
that are ever green, and which consequently afford a most
charming prospect. Over these canals are 56 bridges, besides
those which lie outside the town. The streets are all of them
perfectly straight, and generally speaking 30 feet broad. The
houses are built of stone, and mostly very high, because the place
has not of late years been exposed to hurricanes. The city is
about a league and a half in circumference, it is surrounded with
a vast number of houses, so that there are at least ten times the
number of houses without the city, that there are within it, and
therefore strictly speaking they might be regarded as its suburbs.
The city has five gates including that of the port near to which
there is a barrier, which is regularly shut at 9 o'clock in the
evening, and at which there is posted night and day, a strong
guard of soldiers. There were formerly six gates, the last being
called Speelman's gate, because built by Governor Speelman,
who died about January 11th, 1684, has been walled up since.
" There is a very fine town house, and four churches for the use
of the reformed religion, that is to say, the Calvinists. The first
of these was built m the year 1640, and is called the Krin's Kirk,
i.e., Cross Church. The second was built in 1670. In both these
they preach in Dutch. The third belongs to the protestant
Portuguese, and the fourth to the Malayans. Besides these
churches there are abundance of other places of worship for all
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 743
sorts of religions. Tliey have likewise in this city a spinhtiys, or
an house of correction, in which women who behave loosely are
confined, an orphan house, a magazine of sea stores, many of
spices, wharfs, cord manufactures, and many other public
buildings,
*' The garrison consists commonly of two to three thousand men.
Before the great number of forts, before spoken of, there is the
famous Citadel of Batavia, which is a very fine regular fortifica-
tion, situated at the mouth of the great river,^ facing the city,
and flanked with four bastions, two of which command the sea,
and the other two of the town. This citadel hath two great
gates, the one called the Company's Gate, which was built in
1636, with a bridge of square stone, consisting of 14 arches, each
26 yards long, and 10 feet broad, the other called the Water Gate,
built in 1630. All the keepers of the magazines have their
lodgings in the citadel, along both sides of the curtain. There
are besides two posterns, one in the east curtain, and the other
in the west, which are never opened, but for the service of the
garrison. It is in this city that the Governor General of the Indies
has his habitation. His palace is built of brick, 2 stories high,
with a most noble front, after the Italian manner. Over against
his palace is that of the director general, who is the next person
to the governor. The counsellors, and other principal officers of
the Company, have also their appartments there, as have like-
wise the physician, the surgeon, and the apothecary. There is a
neat little church, which was built in 1644, remarkably neat and
light. There were besides in the citadel arsenals, and magazines *
furnished with ammunition for many years. In a word, this
citadel is the general factory, where all the archives are kept, and
where all the affairs of the Company are transacted.
" The city of Batavia is not only inhabited by Dutch, but
abundance of Portuguese, French and other Europeans estab-
lished here on account of trade. These Portugueze are for the
most part, descendants of those who lived here formerly, or at
Goa. The Chinese inhabitants are very numerous, it is reckoned
in the city and suburbs, they are at least 5,000. These people
seem born for trade, enemies to idleness, and who think nothing
hard or laborious, the performance of which is attended with a
certainty of gain. They can live upon a very little, are bold,
> Now known as the Kali Besar, — D. M. C.
"^ Still standing unimpaired by the climate. — D. M. C.
744 JAVA
enterprising, have a great deal of address, and are indefatigably
industrious. They have a penetration and subtUity very extra-
ordinary, inasmuch that they seem to make good their own
saying, that the Dutch have one eye, but they have two, but with
all this they are deceitful to the last degree, take a pride in
imposing upon those who deal with them, and boast of their
cunning.
" In husbandry and navigation they very far surpass all other
Indian nations which assemble here, viz., Javanese, Malayans,
negroes, Amboynese, Armenians, Balians, Mardykers, Macassars,
Timors, Bougis, etc.
" Most of the sugar mills in Batavia belong to the Chinese, and
the distillery of arrack is entirely in their hands. They are the
carriers of Asia, and the East India Company itself frequently
makes use of their vessels. They keep all the shops and most of
the inns in the city, and are likewise the farmers of the duties,
excises and customs."
1747. The following is an account by an Englishman
voyaging to the East Indies, but his name is not given : —
" The vessel left Gravesend on 30th July, 1746 :
" On 19th April [1747] we came to anchor in Batavia road,
having taken 14 days to pass through the straits of Sunda. The
island of Onrust, or No Rest, bore us N.W. by N., the island of
Edam N.N.E., and the cupola of Batavia church S. by E.
" We found nine Dutch ships, several Chinese junks, and the
English East India Company's ship Dragon from Borneo aU at
anchor.
" The men of Batavia go naked to the middle, which is covered
with a piece of calico, or cotton reaching nigh to the knee. Some
of the women go in the same manner, but those about the towns
and coast, wear a waistcoat of white cotton, with straight sleeves,
and laced before, which sloping at the breast, show their neck to
advantage. As their waistcoat does not reach quite down to this
thin petticoat, there appears tawny skin all round the middle.
Both sexes have generally good features, and marry very young,
the women being ripe to bear children at 12 years.
" The Javan women are exceedingly amorous and have a
peculiar excellency which many of our English ladies cannot
boast, namely constancy. But mdeed they expect that the men
should be no less faithful in their turn, for if the female find any
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 745
reason to suspect her gallant of infidelity, a potion is found to put
an end to all future intercourse. They have fine regular features,
little swelling breasts, sprightly eyes, shining black hair, a pleasing
softness in their manner, and a most agreeable smile. They are
very cleanly, bathing every morning and evening.
" The island is exceedingly hot, and in some parts unwholesome,
especially about the bays and shores, but it is exceedingly fertile.
" The Malayan language is spoken by the natives, and I have
known several Englishmen who in six months' residence have
been capable to transact any business and speak tolerably well.
" Though they have grapes in plenty here, yet is the climate
too hot for making wine.
" Until 1682 both the Dutch and English had factories at
Bantam, but after a local trouble between the king and his son
in which the English supported the father who was worsted by
his son, they and their factory were sent a-packing with a great
deal of insolence and inhumanity.
" The Dutch still have a garrison here of four or five hundred
soldiers to secure their factory, and keep the natives in subjection,
who have a rooted enmity to the Dutch, for if a Dutchman goes but
a very small distance from the fort, it is a great chance he never
returns.
" The only product of this part is pepper, they can export
10,000 tons. The road is still pretty good, with a pleasant
bay in which several small islands are situated which till
within these few years past retained their English names. The
natives called them by those names to show their regard for the
English, and how much they lament the loss of their trade among
them.
" The town of Batavia is square with a strong wall, 30 bastions,
well planted with cannon. The governor's house and principal
officers' houses are all inside a strong fort at the west side of the
city.
" In the middle of the city is a large square, used as a parade
for the gari'ison. On the west side of this square stands a church
with a large cupola. On the south of this square is the stadt
house .
" Men of business here seldom wear coats, but a waistcoat.
I lodged in an Irishman's house, who made a deal of money ;
when I went to bed I had five or six slaves to attend me, one
with a candle, another to untie my clothes. There are several
746 JAVA
Scotch and Irish gentlemen here, who are people of the best
fashion. I became acquainted with Mr. Scot and IVIr. Garden,
both Scotchmen, who were men in great reputation and in a
rising way ; I also saw Captain Gosling of the ship Sussex, who
may not appear in England.
" The ground from 10 to 12 miles round Batavia is pretty
well cultivated. The Dutch grandees have country houses and large
retinues and also their pleasure houses in the islands in the bay,
where they pass to and fro in boats built for the purpose ; these
islands being shaded with groves, are cool and pleasant.
" The English had once a settlement at Japara, which is now
well fortified by the Dutch. Sugar is cheap here, and was bought
for two Dutch dollars a parcel of 133 lbs. English."
1765. Commodore Byron, in His Majesty's ship Dolphin,
left the Downs on the 21st June, 1764, to sail round the
world. He gives an account as follows : —
"We anchored on 27th November (1765) at Batavia and
saluted the fort with 11 guns which were returned. We found
lying here above a hundred saU, among others a large English
ship belonging to Bombay, which saluted us with 13 guns.
" There is always lying here a Dutch commodore belonging
to the Company, who among his countrymen is a man of great
importance. This gentleman thought fit to send his boat on
board of me, with only the coxswain in her who was a very
ragged fellow ; as soon as he was brought to me he asked whence
I came, whither I was bound, and many other questions equally
impertinent ; he was desired immediately to walk over the
ship's side, which he was graciously pleased to comply with.
" As it was the rainy season, and arrack was plentiful, I decided
to make my stay as short as possible. I went on shore to wait
upon the Dutch governor, but was told he was at his country
house, 4 miles distant. I met however an officer called a
* shebander,' who is a kind of master of ceremonies, who informed
me that I could visit the governor, and he would attend me.
I accepted his offer, and we set out together in his chariot. The
governor received me with great politeness, and told me I might
either take a house in any part of the city, or be provided with
lodgings in the hotel, which I liked. The hotel is a licensed
lodging house kept by a Frenchman, an artful fellow who is put
in by the governor himself. It has indeed more the appearance
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 747
of a palace than a house of entertainment, being the most magni-
ficent building in Batavia.
** All the houses have a stately appearance, and the Chinese
were the architects. The streets are well laid out, and canals
run through most of them, ^vith trees planted on each side.
" The beef here is bad, and mutton scarce.
" We sailed on the 10th of December."
1767. Captain Samuel Wallis in command of His
Majesty's ship Dolphin (which, had just returned from her
voyage round the world) left Plymouth Sound on the
26th July, 1766, for a voyage round the world. He relates
as follows : —
** On Monday the 30th November (1767) we anchored in the
Batavia road, and found here 14 sail of Dutch East India ships,
and a great number of small vessels, and H.M.S. Falmouth lying
upon the mud in a rotten condition. I sent an officer on shore
to acquaint the governor of our arrival, to obtain his permission
to purchase refreshments and to tell him I would salute him
if he would engage to return an equal number of guns. The
governor readily agreed, and at sunrise on Tuesday the 1st of
December I saluted him with 13 guns, which he returned with
14 from the fort.
" Soon after the purser sent off some fresh beef, and plenty of
vegetables, which I allowed, but no liquor. On the 2nd I sent
the boatswain and the carpenter with the carpenter of the
Falmouth to look at such of her stores as had been landed at
Onrust, with orders that if any were fit for our use they were
to be brought, but they were rotten, and the ship was in a
shattered condition, many of her ports being washed into one,
and there was no place in her where a man could be sheltered
from the weather. The few people that belonged to her were
in as bad a state as their vessel, being quite broken and worn
down, expecting to be drowned as soon as the monsoon set in.
Among other necessaries we were in want of an anchor, having
lost two, but the price demanded here was very exorbitant.
On the 5th, I went on shore mj^self and visited the different
store houses and arsenals, and found dealers trying to extort
four times the value of articles.
" We left on December 8th."
748 JAVA
1768. Philip Carteret, commander of His Majesty's ship
Swallow, left Plymouth on the 22nd August, 1766, to sail
round the world. He relates as follows : —
" On the evening, Sunday 29th May (1768), we saw the cluster
of small islands called Carimon Java. On 2nd June, we hauled
in and made the land of Java, which proved to be that part of the
island which makes the eastern most point of the bay of Batavia,
called Carawang Point. We anchored at night near the two
small islands called Leyden and Alkmar, in sight of Batavia and
next day (3rd February) we anchored in the road.
" We found here eleven large Dutch ships, besides several that
were less, one Spanish ship, a Portuguese scow and several Chinese
junks. Next day we saluted the town with 13 guns, and the
same number was returned.
'* In the afternoon I called upon the governor, and acquainted
him with the condition of the ship, desiring hberty to repair her
defects, to which he replied that I must petition the council.
" On the 6th therefore, which was council day, I petitioned the
council, setting forth more particularly the condition of the ship,
and requesting leave to use the wharfs and store houses as should
be necessary. On the next day, the shebander, with Mr. Garrison,
a merchant of the place, as interpreter and another person came
to me.
" On the 15th not having received a reply to my letter to the
council, I wrote a second, directed like the first in pressing terms,
and on the 18th the shebander came again to me and acquainted
me that the council had given orders for the repair of the ship at
Onrust.
" A pilot was ordered to attend me, and on 22nd we anchored
at Om'ust and cleared the ship of her stores, a Dutch ship taking
them in.
" While we remained here, two ships belonging to our India
Company put into this port, and we found among other private
ships from India, one called the Dudley from Bengal. I received
many civilities from the Dutch admiral Houting. Mr. Houting is
an old man, an admiral with the rank of commander in chief of
their marine.
" He received his first maritime knowledge on board an English
man of war, speaks English and French extremely well. He was
so obliging as to give me a general invitation to his table, in
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 749
consequence of which I was often with him. He was indeed the
only officer belonging to the Company from whom I received any
civility, or with whom I had the least communication, for I found
them in general a reserved and supercilious ^ set of people.
" The governor, though a servant of a republic, takes upon
himself more state than any sovereign in Europe. Whenever he
goes abroad, he is attended by a party of horse guards and two
black men go before his coach in the manner of running footmen,
each having a large cane in his hand, with which they not only
clear the way, but severely chastise all who do not pay homage
that is expected from people of all ranks as well those belonging
to the country as strangers.
" Almost everybody in this place keeps a carriage which is
drawn by two horses, and dx-iven by a man upon a box like our
chariots, but is open in front. Whoever in such a carriage meets
the governor, either in the town or upon the road, is expected not
only to draw it to one side, but to get out of it and make a most
respectful obesiance, while his Excellency's coach goes by, nor
must any carriage that follows him drive past on any account,
but keep behind him, however pressing be the necessity for haste.
A very mortifying homage of the same kind is also exacted by
the members of the council C3i\ledEdeleHeeren,ioT whoever meets
them is obUged to stop his coach, and though not to get out, to
stand up in it and make his reverence. These Edele Heeren are
preceded with one black man with a stick, nor must any person
presume to pass their carriage any more than that of the governor.
" These ceremonies are generally complied with by the captains
of Indiamen, and other trading ships, but having the honour to
bear His Majesty's commission, I did not think myself at liberty
to pay to a Dutch governor any homage which is not paid to my
own Sovereign ; it is however, constantly required of the King's
officers, and two or three days after I came hither, the landlord
of the hotel where I lodged told me he had been ordered by the
shebander to let me know that my carriage, as well as others
must stop, if I should meet the governor or any of the council,
but I desired him to acquaint the shebander that I could not
consent to perform any such ceremony, and upon this intimating
somewhat about the black men with sticks, I told him that if any
insult should be offered me, I knew how to defend myself, and
would take care to be on my guard, and at the same time pointing
1 This is not correct. — D. M. C.
750 JAVA
to my pistols which there happened to lie upon the table. Upon
this he went away, and about three hours afterwards he returned
and told me he had the orders of the governor to acquaint me
that I might do as I pleased,
" The hotel at which I resided is licensed by the governor and
council, and all strangers are obliged to take up their abode there
except officers in His Majesty's service, who are allowed private
lodgings. At this place I continued during three or four months,
and during all that time I had the honour to see the governor but
twice. Soon after the news of the Prince of Orange's marriage,
I arrived here. He gave a public entertainment, to which I had
the honour to be invited, but having heard that Commodore
Tinker upon a like occasion, finding that he was to be placed
below the gentlemen of the Dutch Council, had abruptly left the
room, and was followed by all the captains of his squadron, and
being willing to avoid the disagreeable dilemma of either sitting
below the council, or following the commodore's example, I
applied to the governor to know the station that would be allotted
me before I accepted his invitation, and finding that I could not
be permitted to take place of the council, I declined it. On both
occasions I spoke to his Excellency, he had not the civility to
offer me the least refreshment.
" The defects of the ship were at length repaired, and we set
sail from Onrust on 15th September, and I sent my lieutenant to
take leave of the governor on my behalf, and offer my service if
he had any despatches for Europe.
" It was happy for me, I was able to procure a supply of
English seamen here, otherwise I should not have been able to
bring the ship home, for I had now lost no less than 24 of the
hands I had brought out of Europe, and had 24 more so ill that
7 of them died on our passage to the Cape.
" On the 20th we anchored on the S.E. side of Princes Island
in the Streight of Sunda, and the next norning, I sent out the
boats for wood and water."
1768. Captain Louis de Bougainville, a colonel of foot,
was the first Frenchman to sail round the world, being
commodore of the expedition on the frigate La BoudeusCf
which, with the store-ship UEtoile, left Nantes on the
15th October, 1766. He says : —
" Thus after keeping the sea for so long we arrived on
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 751
28th September (1768) at one of the finest colonies in the universe.
On our arrival there were 13 or 14 Dutch Company's ships in
the road, one of which is a flag ship. This is an old ship which
is left at this station ; it has the jurisdiction of the road, and
returns the salute of all the merchant ships. I had already
sent an officer to inform the governor general of our arrival,
when a barge from this flag ship came on board with a paper
written in Dutch, which I knew nothing of. The officer who had
been sent to the general did not return till 9 o'clock in the evening ;
he had not seen his Excellency, who was in the country, and he was
brought before the Shabander, or introducer of strangers, who
appointed him to return the next morning and told him that if
I would come on shore, he would conduct me to the general.
" We set out at 6 o'clock in the morning (as visits are made
very early on account of the heat), conducted by the Shabandar,
IVIr. Van der Huys, and we went to IVIr. Van der Para, General of
the East Indies, who was at one of his country houses about
3 leagues from Batavia. We found him a plain but civil man,
who received us perfectly well, and offered us all the assistance
we could be in need of. He consented to have our sick put into
the hospital of the company, and immediately sent orders for
their reception. He appeared neither surprised nor displeased
at our having touched at the Moluccas. As to the supplies
which the King's ships were in want of, it was agreed that we
should give in an account of our demands to the Shabandar who
should be charged with providing us with everj'thing. One of
the purquisites of this place was to gain something by us, and
something by the undertakers,
" When all this was settled the general asked me whether I
could not salute the flag ; I answered I would on condition that
the salute was returned gun for gun from the place. Nothing,
says he, is more equitable, and the citadel has got the proper
orders. As soon as I was returned on board I saluted with
15 guns, and the town answered the same. I immediately
sent to the hospital our sick from both ships, in number 28, of
the greater part ill of a bloody-flux, but some with scurvy.
" We at the same time thought of getting a lodging in town,
during our stay ; this we got in a great and fine house called the
Inner Logement where you are lodged and boarded for two
dollars a day. The house belongs to the Company who let it
to a private person, and by that means give him the exclusive
752 JAVA
privilege of lodging all strangers, only men of war are not subject
to this law, and therefore the officers of the Etoile went to lodge
in private family. We hired the carriage with room for two
persons to visit the environs. On the third day of our arrival,
we went in a body to pay a visit of ceremony to the general, the
shabandar having previously given notice. He received us in
another country seat named Jacatra^ of which the distance from
Batavia is only about a third of the house where I had been on
the first day. The road which leads to it cannot be compared
than to the place called Boulevards at Paris supposing them to
be embellished with a canal of running water. We ought to have
made several other visits of ceremony, likewise introduced by
the Shabandar, namely the Director-General, the President of
Justice, and the Chief of the Marine. Mr. Van der Huys told us
nothing of it, and we only visited later. His title is Scopenhagen
(Schout by Nacht) which signifies Rear Admiral.
" He keeps a great retinue, lives very high and makes himself
amends, for the bad moments he has often passed at sea, enjoying
all the honours due to Edel Heers in a delicious villa. The principal
inhabitants of Batavia endeavoured to make our stay agreeable
to us. Great feasts in the town, and country concerts, charming
walks, the sight of the emporium of the richest country in the
world. Here is likewise a pretty good play house. We were
never tired of admiring the houses with their elegant gardens
which are kept in order and taste and with that neatness which
is peculiarly observable to the Dutch.
" Mr. Mohr, a clergyman at Batavia, a man of immense riches,
built an observatory in the garden of one of his country houses,
which would be an ornament to any royal palace. On account
of the unwholesome water, people at Batavia drink nothing but
seltzer water which they get from Holland at a vast expence.
The luxury which prevails at Batavia is very striking ; the
magnificence and taste with which the interiors of houses are
decorated, are proofs of the riches of the inhabitants. We have
however been told that Batavia is not near so great as it had been,
as the Company have forbid private commerce which was a source
of an immense circulation of riches. I only know that the persons
in their service still know the secret of making 30, 40 and 100
and up to 200,000 livres of yearly revenues, of their places, to
1 Now used as business houses. The Borneo Company, Limited, hire a
portion of this old palace. — D. M. C.
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 753
which the salaries of 1,500, 3,000, and at most 6,000 livres are
annexed. House rents are for certain two-thirds below their
ancient value. There are no means of conveying money to
Holland except through the Company who take charge of it at
the rate of 8 per cent, discount. Besides this it is impossible
to send over such cash by stealth, the specie which is current
here losing 28 per cent, in Europe.
" The Company employs the Emperor of Java to strike a
particular coin, which is the currency throughout India. There
are many violent diseases at Batavia, from the best state of
health people were in three days brought to the grave by violent
fevers.
" The court of justice decides without appeal in all cases.
About 20 years ago they condemned a Governor of Ceylon to
death. That Edel Heer was convicted of exercising horrible
oppressions in his government and was executed at Batavia, on
the place opposite the citadel [probably stadt house]. The
constancy of the Javanese in suffering the most barbarous
torments is incredible, but when they are executed, they must
have white drawers on, otherwise there is a revolt for they fear
from the tenets of their religion a bad reception in the next
world, without them.
" The greatest safety of the Dutch consists in the ignorance
of Europe concerning the true state of these wonderfully rich
isles, and in the mysterious clouds, which ■wrap this garden of
the Hesperides in darkness. ^
" Mr. Dalrymple, the first governor of Papua, where the Dutch
have a settlement, tried to make the Moluccas more known, but
his post after three years was abandoned, and he sailed for
Bencoolen in the ship Patty, Captain Dodwell, which called at
Batavia in 1768. The Patty sank in the roads of Bencoolen
when she arrived there.
" M. Watson in 1764, who commanded H.M.S. Kingsherg, a
frigate of 26 guns, sailed also many times through the Moluccas,
and always obliged the natives to furnish pilots by firing off
muskets at them until they furnished one."
1770. Lieutenant James Cook, commander of His
Majesty's bark Endeavour, left Deptford on the 25th May,
1 This was true almost down to to-day.
J. — VOL. II. H
754 JAVA
1768, on his celebrated voyage round the world, visiting
New Zealand and Australia. He says : —
" On October 1st, 1770, bore on to Java Head, and soon after
saw Princes Island, and the island of Cracatoa. Cracatoa is a
remarkably high peaked island.
" On 2nd October, we fetched close in with the coast of Java
and sent a boat ashore to procure fruit and some grass for the
buffaloes. In an hour or two the boat returned with four cocoa
nuts and a small bunch of plantains which had been purchased
for a shilling, and some herbage for the cattle, which the Indians
not only gave us, but assisted our people to cut. We later on
passed Auger Head, and saw two Dutch ships lying here. I sent
my lieutenant on board one of them to enquire for news of our
country. He returned and told me the two vessels were Indian
men from Batavia, one of which was bound for Ceylon and one
to the coast of Malabar, and that there was also a flyboat or
packet, appointed to examine all ships that pass the streight, but
said to be here to carry letters only.
" At 6 o'clock we anchored, the wmd having obliged us to do so,
and one of the country boats came alongside of us, on board which
was the master of the packet. He seemed to have two motives
for his visit, one to take any account of the ship and the other to
sell us refreshments, for in the boat were turtle, fowls, ducks,
parrots, paroquets, rice birds, monkies and other articles which
they held at a very high price. I gave a Spanish dollar for a
small turtle which weighed about 36 pounds, a dollar for 10 large
fowls, afterwards 15 more at the same price ; for a dollar we
could also have two monkies, or a whole cage of rice birds. The
master of the ship brought with him two books in one of which
he desired that any of our officers could write down their names,
of the ship with that of the place from which she sailed, and where
she was bound to, and in the other, the names of the ship and
commander, in order to transmit them to the governor and
council.
" We perceived that in the first book, many ships, particularly
Portuguese, had made entries of the same kind. On the 5th a
proa came alongside in which was a Dutch officer, who sent me
down a printed paper in English, duplicates of which he had in
other languages, French and Dutch. It contained nine questions :
" (1) To what nation the ship belongs, and its name ?
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 755
" (2) If it comes from Europe, or any other place ?
" (3) From what place it lastly departed from ?
" (4) Whereunto designed to go ?
" (5) What, and how many ships of the Dutch Company by
departure from the last shore there layed, and their
names ?
" (6) If one or more of these ships in company with this, is
departed for this, or any other place ?
" (7) If during the voyage any particularities is happened or
seen ?
" (8) If not any ships in sea, or Streights of Sunda, have seen,
or hailed in and which ?
" (9) If any other news worthy of attention at the place from
which the ship lastly departed or during the voyage is
happened.
" Batavia in the Castle,
" By order of the Governor General and the
Counsellors of India.
" J. Brander Bungl, Secretary.
" At 4 o'clock in afternoon of Tuesday 9th [October 1770] we
came to anchor at Batavia, and we found here the Harcourt
Indianman from England, two English private traders of that
country, 13 saU of large Dutch ships and a considerable number
of small vessels. A boat came immediately on board from a ship
which had a broad pennant flying, and the ofiicer on board having
enquired who we were, we returned him such answer as we
thought fit to give him ; both he and his people were as pale as
spectres. In the meantime I sent the lieutenant on shore to
acquaint the governor of our arrival, and to make an excuse for
our not saluting. I applied for leave to heave the ship down.
" We repaired immediately to the house of Mr. Leith, the only
Englishman of any credit who is resident at this place, he received
ua with great politeness, and engaged us to dinner : to this
gentleman we applied for mstructions how to provide ourselves
with lodgings and necessaries whUe we should stay ashore, and
he told us there was an hotel, or kind of inn, kept by the order of
the Government, where all merchants and strangers were obliged
to reside, pay half per cent, upon the value of their goods for
warehouse room, which the master of the house was obliged to
provide, but that as we came in a King's ship, we should be at
liberty to live where we pleased, upon asking the governor's
h2
756 JAVA
permission, which would be granted of course. He said that it
would be cheaper for us to take a house in the town, and bring
our own servants ashore if we had anybody upon whom we could
depend to buy in our provisions, but as this was not the case,
having no person among us who could speak the Malay language,
our gentlemen determined to go to the hotel. At the hotel there-
fore beds were hnmediately hired and word was sent that we
should sleep there at night.
" At 5 o'clock, I was introduced to the Governor-General, who
received me very courteously ; he told me I should have every-
thing I wanted. I told him what I wanted, and he said my
request should be laid before the council. The next morning I
attended the council chamber, and I was told I should have
everything I wanted.
" In the meantime the gentlemen ashore agreed with the
keeper of the hotel for their lodging and board, at the rate of
two rix dollars, or nine shillings sterling a day each, and as there
were five of them, and they would probably have many visitors
from the ship, he agreed to keep them a separate table, upon
condition that they should pay one rix dollar for the dinner of
every stranger, and another for his supper and bed. Under this
stipulation they were to be furnished with tea, coffee punch,
pipes and tobacco, as much as they could consume ; they were
also to pay half a rupee, or one shilling and threepence a day for
each of their servants. Their table, though it had the appearance
of magnificence, was wi'etchedly served. Their dinner consisted
of one course of 15 dishes, and their supper of one course of
13 dishes, but nine out of ten of them consisted of bad poultry
variously dressed, and often served up the second and third and
even fourth time ; the same duck having appeared more than
once roasted, found his way to the table as a fricasee, and a fourth
time in the form of forced meat. It was not long however before
they learnt that this treatment was by way of essay, and that it
was the invariable custom of the house to supply all strangers
at their first coming with such fare as could be procured for
the least money, and consequently would produce the most
gain, that if either through indolence or good nature they were
content, it was continued for the benefit of the host, but if they
complained it was gradually amended till they were satisfied,
which sometimes happened before they had the worth of their
money.
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 757
" After a few days, Mr. Banks hired a little house, the next door
on the left hand of the hotel, for which he paid after the rate of
ten rix dollars or two pounds five shillings sterling a month for
himself and his party, but here they were very far from having
the convenience or the privacy which they expected ; no person
was permitted to sleep in this private house occasionally, as a
guest to the person who hired it, under a penalty, but almost
every Dutchman that went by ran in without any ceremony to
ask what they sold, there having been very seldom private
persons at Batavia who had not something to sell.
" Everybody here hires a carriage, they are open chaises made
to hold two people, and driven by a man sitting on a coach box,
for each of these we paid two rix dollars a day. In the meantime
I procured an order that the ship might be sent to Onrust. The
expenses to be incurred by refitting the ship, rendered it necessary
for me to take up money in this place, which I imagined might
be done without any difficulty, but I found myself mistaken, for
after the most diligent enquiry, I could not find any private
person that had ability or inclination to advance the sum I
wanted. In this difficulty I applied to the governor himself by
a written request, in consequence of which the shebander had
orders to supply me with what money I should require out of the
Company's treasury.
" A few days afterwards, we went alongside the wharf on
Cooper's Island which lies close to Onrust, in order to take out
our stores. Our men were for the most part all seized with fevers.
Dr. Solander was also attacked, and his disorder grew worse,
and Mr. Monkhouse the surgeon was confined to his bed ; no
doubt all were affected by the low swampy situation of the place,
and the numberless dirty canals which intersect the town in all
directions. Malay servants were hired to attend the sick, but
they had so little sense either of duty or humanity that they could
not be kept within call, and the patient was frequently obhged
to get out of bed to seek them. Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander
were so bad that the physician declared they had no hope of
recovery but by removing into the country. A house was there-
fore hired for them at a distance of about two miles from the
town, which belonged to the master of the hotel, who engaged
to furnish them with provisions, and the use of slaves.
" They bought each of them a Malay woman which removed
the causes of their being so ill served ; the women were their
758 JAVA
own property, and the tenderness of the sex even here made
them good nurses. Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander now recovered
slowly.
" 26th November. The raining season had now commenced,
as we had seldom seen such rain for near four hours without
intermission.
" Mr. Banks' house admitted the water in every part like
a sieve. Next day we were surprised to see the bedding every-
where hung out to dry.
" December 24th. While we lay here, the ship Earl of Elgin,
Captain Cook, belonging to the English East India Company,
came to anchor in the road. She was bound from Madras to
China, but having lost her passage, put in here to wait for the
next season. The Phoenix, Captain Black, an English country [?]
from Bencoolen also came to an anchor. The ship being perfectly
rejfitted, in the afternoon of Christmas Eve I took leave of the
Governor, and several of the principal gentlemen of the place,
with whom I had found connections, and from whom I received
every possible civility and assistance.
" On the 26th, we weighed and set sail, the Elgin Indiaman
saluted us as we passed with three cheers and 13 guns, which we
returned.
" Just before leaving, a seaman ran away from one of the
Dutch ships to us, and the Dutch officials demanded his return,
but as he turned out to be a British subject, who preferred our
service to theirs, I declined to part with the man on any terms,
and told the Shabander to inform the governor. I heard no more
of this affair.
" Batavia seems to have been pitched upon by the Dutch for
the convenience of water carriage, and in that it is a second to
Holland, and superior to every other place in the world. There
are few streets that have not a canal of considerable breadth
running through them, or rather stagnating in them ; as the
houses are large and the streets wide, it takes up a great extent.
Within the walls in 1726 were 1,242 Dutch houses, and 1,200
Chinese, and without the walls 1,066 Dutch and 1,240 Chinese,
besides 12 arrack houses, making in all 4,760. The streets are
spacious and handsome, and the banks of the canals are planted
with rows of trees, that make a very pleasing appearance, but
the trees concur with the canals to make the situation unwhole-
some. The stagnant canals in the dry season exhale an intolerable
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 759
stench, and the trees impede the course of the air by which in
some degree the putrid effluvia would be dissipated. In the wet
season the inconvenience is equal for then these reservoirs of
corrupted water overflow their banks in the lower part of the
town, especially in the neighbourhood of the hotel, and fill the
lower stories of the houses, where they leave behind them an
inconvenient quantity of slime and filth. Yet these canals are
sometimes cleaned, but the cleaning of them is so managed
as to become as great a nuisance as the foulness of the water,
for the black mud that is taken from the bottom is suffered to
lie upon the banks, that is, in the middle of the street, till it has
acquired a sufficient degree of hardness to be made the lading
of a boat, and carried away. As this mud consists chiefly of
human ordure which is regularly thrown into the canals every
morning, there not being a necessary house in the whole town,
it poisons the air while it is drying to a considerable extent.
Even the running streams become nuisances in their turn by the
nastiness or negligence of the people, for every now and then a
dead hog or a dead horse is stranded upon the shallow parts,
and it being the business of no particular person to remove the
nuisance, it is negligently left to time and accident.
" The houses are generally well adapted to the climate, they
consist of one very large room or hall on the ground floor, with
a door at each end, both which generally stand open. At one
end a room is taken ofi by a partition, where the master of the
house transacts his business, and in the middle between each end
there is a coiu-t which gives light to the hall, and at the same time
increases the draft of air. From one comer of the hall the stairs
go up to the floor above where also the rooms are spacious and
airy. In the alcove which is formed by the court the family
dine, and at other times it is occupied by the female slaves who
are not allowed to sit down anywhere else. The public buildings
are most of them old, heavy and ungraceful, but the new church
is not inelegant, it is built with a dome, that is seen from a great
distance at sea, and though the outside has rather a heavy appear-
ance, the inside forms a very fine room ; it is furnished with an
organ of a proper size, beiag very large, and is mostly magnifi-
cently illuminated by chandeliers.
" The town is enclosed by a stone wall of a moderate height,
but the whole of it is old and many parts are much out of repair.
This waU itself is surrounded by a river which in some places
760 JAVA
is 50 and in some 100 yards wide, the stream is rapid but the
water is shallow.
" The wall is also lined inside by a canal which in different parts
is of different breadths, so that in passmg either out or in through
the gates, it is necessary to cross two draw-bridges, and there
is no access for idle people or strangers to walk upon the ramparts
which seem to be but ill-provided with guns. In the N.E.
corner of the town stands the castle or citadel, the walls of which
are both higher and thicker than those of the town, especially
near the landing place where there is depth of water only for
boats which it completely commands, with several large guns
that make a very good appearance.
" Within this castle are apartments for the Governor-General,
and all the Council of India, to which they are enjoined to repair
in case of siege.
" Here are also large store houses where great quantities of
the Company's goods are kept, especially those that are brought
from Europe, and where almost all the writers transact their
business.
" In this place also are laid up a great number of cannon,
whether to mount upon the walls on shipping we could not find
out. Besides the fortifications of the town, numerous forts are
dispersed about the country to the distance of 20 or 30 miles ;
these seem to have been intended sunply to keep the natives in
awe, and indeed they are fit for nothing else. For the same
purpose a kind of houses, each of which mounts about eight guns,
are placed in such situations as command the navigation of three
or four canals, and consequently the roads upon the banks ; some
of these are in the town itself, and it was from one of these that
all the best houses belonging to the Chinese were levelled with the
ground in the Chinese rebellion of 1740. These defences are
scattered over all parts of Java and the other islands of which the
Dutch got possession m these seas. If the Dutch fortifications
here are not formidable in themselves, they become so by their
situation, for they are among morasses where the roads, which
are nothing more than a bank thrown up between a canal and a
ditch, may easily be destroyed, and consequently the approach of
heavy artillery be either totally prevented, or greatly retarded.
Besides in this country, delaj'' is death, for that whatever retards
an enemy will destroy him. In less than a week we were sensible
of the unhealthiness of the climate, and in less than a month half
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 761
the ship's company were unable to do their duty. We were told
that of a hundred soldiers who arrive here from Europe, it was a
rare thing for fifty to survive the first year, that of those fifty,
half would then be in the hospital, and not ten of the rest in
perfect health.
" The pale wretches whom we saw crawling about with a
musquet which they were scarcely able to carry inclined us to
believe it was all true. Every white inhabitant of the town
indeed is a soldier, the younger are constantly mustered, and
those who have served five years are liable to be called out when
then" assistance is thought to be necessary. The Portuguese,
indeed, are in general good marksmen because they employ
themselves much in shooting wild hogs and deer. But if it is
difiicult to attack Batavia by land, it is utterly impossible to
attack it by sea, for the water is so shallow that it will scarcely
admit a long boat to come within cannon shot of the walls,
except in a narrow channel called the river, that is walled on both
sides by strong piers, and runs about half a mile into the harbour.
At either end it terminates under the fire of the strongest part of
the castle, and here its communication with the canals that inter-
sect the town is cut off by a large wooden boom, which is shut
every night at 6 o'clock, and upon no pretence opened till the
next morning.
" The harbour of Batavia is accounted the finest in India, and
to all appearance with reason, it is large enough to contain any
number of ships as the ground is so good that the anchor will hold
till the cable decays ; it never admits any sea that is troublesome
and its only inconvenience is the shoal water between the road
and the river. When the sea breeze blows fresh, it makes a
cockling sea that is dangerous to boats, and a Dutch boat, laden
with sails and rigging for one of the Indianmen, was entirely lost.
" Round the harbour on the outside lie many islands, which
the Dutch have taken possession of, and apply to different uses.
To one of them called Edam they transport all Europeans who
have been guUty of crimes that are not worthy of death ; some
are sentenced to remain there 99 years, some 40, some 20, some
less down to 5 in proportion to their offence, and during their
banishment they are employed as slaves in making ropes and
other drudgery. In another island called Purmerent they have
a hospital where people are said to recover much faster than
in Batavia. In a third called Kuyper they have warehouses
762 JAVA
belonging to tlie Company. At Onrust they repair their own
shipping, having wharfs here (and at Kuyper), and keep a large
quantity of naval stores.
" The country round Batavia is for some miles a continued
range of country houses and gardens. Many of the gardens are
very large and are planted with trees almost as thick as they can
stand. These impenetrable forests stand in a dead flat which
extends some miles beyond, and it is intersected in many direc-
tions by rivers, and more still by canals which are navigable for
small vessels. Nor is this the worst, for the fence of every field and
garden is a ditch, and interspersed among the cultivated ground
there are many filthy fens, bogs and morasses ; it is not strange
therefore that the inhabitants of such a country be familiar with
death and disease ; preventative medicines are taken almost as
regularly as food.
" We did not see a single face in Batavia that indicated perfect
health, for there is not the least tint of colour in the cheeks either
of man or woman, the women indeed are most delicately fair,
but with the appearance of disease that can never be perfect
beauty. People talk of death at Batavia with as much in-
difference as they do in camp, and when an acquaintance is said
to be dead, the common reply is ' Well, he owed me nothing,' or
' I must get my money of his executors.'
" To this description of the environs of Batavia, there are but
two exceptions ; the governor's country house is situated upon a
rising ground, but its ascent is so inconsiderable that it is known
to be above the common level only by the canals being left behind.
His Excellency, who is, however, a native of this place, has, how-
ever, with some trouble and expense continued to enclose his own
garden with a ditch, such is the influence of habit upon the taste
and understanding.
" A famous market also called Passar Tanabank [Tanahabang]
is held upon an eminence that rises perpendicularly about 30 feet
above the plain [King's plain] and except these situations the
ground to an extent between 30 and 40 miles round Batavia is
exactly parallel to the horizon. [At a distance of about 40 miles
inland there are hills of a considerable height, and where, as we
are informed, the air is healthy and comparatively cool. Here
the vegetables of Europe flourish in great perfection, particularly
strawberries. Upon these hills, some of the principal people
have country houses, which they visit once a year, and one was
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 763
begun for the governor upon the plan of Blenheim, but it has never
been finished. The effects of the air is said to be almost miraculous
and to these hills the people are sent by the physicians for the
recovery of healthy?
" The quantitj'- of fruit that is consumed at Batavia is incredible,
but that which is publicly exposed to sale is generally over-ripe.
A stranger however may get good fruit in a street called Passar
Pisang, which lies north from the great church and very near it.
** This street is inhabited by none but Chinese fruit sellers who
are supplied from the gardens of gentlemen in the neighbourhood
of the town, with such as is fresh, and excellent in its kind, for
which however they must be paid more than four times the market
price.
" The town is generally supplied from a considerable distance,
where great quantities of land are cultivated merely for the
production of fruit. The country people to whom these lands
belong meet the people of the to\vn at two great markets, one
on Monday called Passar Sineen [Parrar Senen] and the other
on Saturday called Passar Tanabank. These fairs are held at
places considerably distant from each other, for the convenience
of different districts ; neither of them however are more than five
miles from Batavia.^
"The quantity of fruit is astonishing, 40 or 50 cart loads
of the finest pine apples, packed as carelessly as turnips in England,
and as common.
" The inhabitants of this part of India practise a luxury ; they
are continually burning aromatic woods and resins, and scatter
odours around them in a profusion of flowers, possibly as an
antidote to the noisome effluvia of their ditches and canals.
Of sweet smelling flowers they have a great variety. Flowers
are sold about the streets every evening at sunset either strung
upon a thread in wreaths of about two feet long or made up into
nosegays of different forms, either of which may be purchased
for about a haffpenny.
" Fish is amazingly plentiful, and there are many sorts, all
very cheap.
" Although Batavia is the capital of the Dutch dominions
in India, it is so far from being peopled by Dutchmen that not
one fifth part even of the European inhabitants of the town
^ By Batavia is meant where the offices now are. — D. M. C.
764 JAVA
and its environs are natives of Holland, or of Dutch extraction ;
the greater part are Portuguese, and besides Europeans, there
are the Indians of various nations besides the Chinese and negro
slaves. In the troops there are natives of almost every country
in Europe, but the Germans are more than all the rest put
together : there are some English and French, but the Dutch,
though other Europeans are permitted to get money here, keep
all the power in their own hands, and consequently possess all
public employments. No man of whatever nation can come
hither to settle, in any other character than that of a soldier in
the Company's service, in which before they are accepted they
must covenant to remain five years. As soon however as this
form has been complied with, they are allowed upon application
to the council to absent themselves from their corps, and enter
into any branch of trade, and by this means it is that aU the white
inhabitants of the place are soldiers.
" Women, however, of all nations are permitted to settle
here, without any restrictions. When we were at Batavia, there
were not 20 in the place that were born in Europe, but that the
white women, who were by no means scarce, were descendants
from European parents of the third or fourth generation, the
gleanings of many families who had successively come hither, for
it is certain that whatever be the cause, this climate is not so
fatal to the ladies as to the other sex.
" These women imitate the Malayans in every particular, their
dress is made of the same materials, their hair is worn in the
same manner, and they are equally enslaved by the habit of
chewing betel.
" The merchants carry on their business here with less trouble
perhaps than anywhere else in the world ; every manufacture
is arranged by the Chinese, who sell the produce of their labour
to the merchant, resident here, for they are permitted to sell
it to no one else, so that when a ship comes in and bespeaks
perhaps a hundred leaguers of arrack or any quantity of other
commodities, the merchant has nothing to do but to send orders
to his Chinese to see them delivered on board ; he obeys the
command, brings a receipt signed by the master of the ship for
the goods to his employer, who receives the money, and having
deducted his profit, pays the Chinese his demand.
" With goods that are imported, however, the merchant has a
little more trouble, for these he must examine, receive and
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 765
lay up in his warehouse according to the practice of other
countries.
" The Portuguese have become mixed with the Malays, and
have adopted their customs, they live by hunting and washing
linen mostly. They are however only now Portuguese in name.
The natives, or Oranslams or Islams [Mahomedans] are remark-
ably temperate ; the food consists chiefly of rice with a small
proportion of buffalo, fish or fowl, and sometimes of dried fish
and dried shrimps, which are brought hither from China ; every
dish however is highly seasoned with cayan pepper, and they
have many kinds of pastry made of rice flour, and other things
to which I am a stranger ; they also eat a great deal of fruit,
particularly plantanes [bananas].
" Wine and strong liquors do not professedly make part
of their entertainment at feasts, neither do they often indulge
with them privately, contenting themselves with their betel and
opium.
" The principal solemnity among them is a wedding upon
which occasion both the families borrow as many ornaments of
gold and silver as they can to adorn the bride and bridegroom,
so that their dresses are very showy. The feasts that are given
upon these occasions among the rich last sometimes a fortnight,
and sometimes longer, and during this time, the man although
married on the first day, is by the women kept from his wife.
" The language chiefly spoken is Malay, for although every
little island has a language of its own, and Java has two or three,
this is the lingua franca. A dictionary of Malay and English
was published in London by Thomas Bowrey in the year 1701.
" The women wear as much hair as they can grow upon the
head and to increase the quantity they use oils ; of this ornament
nature has been very liberal, it is universally black. Both sexes
constantly bathe themselves in the river at least once a day, a
practice which in this hot country is equally necessary both to
personal delicacy and health.
" The principal tame quadrupeds are horses, cattle, buffaloes,
sheep, goats and hogs. The horses are small, never exceeding
in size what we call a stout galloway, but they are nimble and
spirited.
" Buffaloes are plenty, but the Dutch never eat them, nor will
they drink their milk, being prepossessed with a notion that
both are unwholesome and tend to produce fevers.
766 JAVA
" Besides these are dogs and cats. In the distant mountains
are wild horses and cattle, but no wild buffaloes. In the forests
are deer, wild hogs, tigers and rhinoceroses and monkies.
" The Chinese are very numerous in this place, but possess
very little property, many of them live within the walls and keep
shops. The fruit sellers of Passar Pissang have been mentioned
already, but others have a rich show of European and Chinese
goods. The far greater part live in a quarter by themselves
without the walls called Campang China. Many of them are
carpenters, joiners, smiths, tailors, dyers of cotton, and
embroiderers, maintaining the character of industry given of
them, and some are scattered about the country where they
cultivate gardens, sow rice and sugar, or keep cattle and buffaloes,
whose milk they bring daily to town.
" There is nothing clean or dirty, honest or dishonest, provided
there is not too much danger of a halter, that the Chinese will not
readily do for money, but though they work with great diligence
and patiently undergo any degree of labour, yet no sooner have
they laid down their tools than they begin to game, either at
cards or dice, and this they apply with such eagerness as scarcely
to allow time for the necessary refreshment or sleep, so that it is
as rare to see a Chinese idle as it is to see a Dutchman or a native
employed.^ In manners they are always civil, or rather obsequious,
and in dress they are remarkably neat and clean. The Chinese
have a singular superstition with regard to the burial of their
dead, for they will upon no occasion open the ground a second
time ; their burying grounds therefore in the neighbourhood of
Batavia cover many hundreds of acres, and the Dutch grudging
the waste of so much land will not sell any for this purpose but
at the most exorbitant price ; the Chinese however contrive to
raise the purchase money, and afford another instance of the folly
and weakness of human nature in transferring a regard for the
living to the dead. They take an uncommon method to preserve
the body entire. They enclose it in a large thick coffin of wood,
not made of planks, but hollowed out of solid timber like a canoe ;
this being let down into the grave is surrounded with a coat of
their mortar called Chinam about 8 or 10 inches thick which in a
short time becomes as hard as stone.
" The relations of the deceased attend the funeral ceremony,
' This exactly describes the Chinaman to this day. — D. M. C.
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 767
with a considerable number of women that are hired to
weep.i
" Another numerous class among the inhabitants of this
country is the slaves, for by slaves the Dutch, Portuguese and
Indians are constantly attended ; they are purchased from
Sumatra and almost all the Eastern islands. The price of these
slaves is from 10 to 20 pounds sterling, but girls if they have
beauty sometimes fetch a hundred. The best slaves and conse-
quently the dearest come from' the island of Bali, the most beautiful
women from Nias ; but they are of tender and delicate constitu-
tion, and soon fall a sacrifice to the unwholesome air of Batavia.
These slaves are wholly in the power of their masters with respect
to any punishment that does not take away life.
" The master seldom inflicts punishment himself, but applies
to an officer called a mariner, one of whom is stationed in every
district. The punishment is again not inflicted by the mariner
himself, but slaves bred up to it.
" The punishment is by stripes, and they are given with rods
of rattans, and fetch blood at every stroke. A common punish-
ment costs a man a rix dollar, and a severe one a ducatoon, about
six shillings and eightpence.
" The master is also obliged to allow the slave three dubbel-
cheys, equal to sevenpence haKpenny a week as an encouragement,
and to prevent his being under temptations to steal.
" Concerning the government of this place I can say but little ;
we observed however a remarkable subordination among the
people. Every man who is able to keep a house has a certain
specific rank acquired by the length of his services to the Company.
The different ranks which are thus acquired are distinguished by
the ornaments of the coaches, and the dresses of the coachmen ;
some are obliged to ride in plain coaches, some are allowed to
paint them in different manners and degrees, and some to gUd
them.
" The coachman also appears in clothes that are quite plain,
or more or less adorned with lace. The officer who presides here
has the title of Governor-General of the Indies, and the Dutch
governors of all the other settlements are subordinate to him,
and obliged to repair to Batavia that he may pass their accounts.
If they appear to have been criminal or even negligent he punishes
» Exactly as to-day.— D. M. C.
768 JAVA
them by delay, and detains them during pleasure, sometimes one
year, sometimes two years, and sometimes three, for they cannot
quit the place till he gives them a dismission.
" Next to the governor are the members of the council called
here edele heeren, and by the corruption of the English idoleers ;
these idoleers take upon them so much state that whoever meets
them in a carriage is expected to rise up and bow, then to drive
on one side of the road, and there stop till they are past, the same
homage is required also to their wives and even theii' children,
and it is commonly paid them by the inhabitants. But some of
our captains have thought so slavish a mark of respect beneath
the dignity which they have derived from the service of his
Britannic Majesty, and have refused to pay it, yet, if they were
in a hired carriage, nothing could deter the coachman from
honouring the Dutch grandee at their expense. Justice is
administered here by a body of lawyers, who have ranks of
distinction among themselves. Concerning their proceedings in
questions of property, I know nothing, but in criminal cases their
decision seems to be severe with respect to the natives, and
lenient with respect to their own people to a criminal degree.
" A Christian is seldom punished with death, and indulged with
an opportunity to escape, whilst the poor natives on the contrary
are hanged, and broken upon the wheel, and even impaled alive
without mercy.
" The Chinese have judicial officers of their own under the
denominations of captains and lieutenants, who determine in
civil cases subject to an appeal to the Dutch court.
" The taxes paid by the Chinese to the Company are very
considerable, and that which is exacted for liberty to them to
wear the hair is by no means the least. They are paid monthly,
and to save the trouble and charge of collecting, a flag is hoisted
upon the top of a house, when payment is due, in the middle of
the town, and the Chinese have experienced that it is to their
interest to repair thither with their money without delay. The
rix dollar is equal to forty -eight stivers, about four shillings and
sixpence in English currency.
" The language if not exactly similar to the corresponding
words in the language of the islands in the South Seas, is mani-
festly derived from the same source.
** Possibly the learning of Egypt might run in two courses, one
through Africa and the other through Asia, disseminating the
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 769
Bame words in each, especially terms of number, which might
thus become part of the language of people who had never had
any communication with each other.
" From the similitude between the language of the Eastern
Indies and the islands of the South Sea, conjectures may be
formed with respect to the peopling of these countries.
" After leaving Java Head most of our crew were attacked
with fevers and fluxes which no medicine checked, so that who-
ever was seized with it might consider himself a dead man."
1775. Charles Peter Thunberg, a Swede, left the Texel
on the 14th December, 1771, in one of the Dutch ships
which sailed to the Cape called ScJioonzigt, the captain of
which was named Rondecrantz. After spending some years
at the Cape, Thunberg, with two Enghshmen, Major Gordon
and Mr. Mason, embarked on the 2nd March, 1775, on the
ship Loo, Captain Berg, bound for Batavia.
On the 18th May they arrived safely at Batavia road,
and the day following Mr. Thunberg went on shore and
put up at the Gentleman's Hotel, a very large house for
the accommodation of strangers. The governor, who
resided at some distance from the town, received him in
the most condescending manner, and assm-ed him of his
protection and assistance. Dr. Hoffman, to whom he was
recommended, invited him to live with him and make use
of his table ; and Mr. Radermacker, one of the council,
finding that our traveller had been more successful in
cultivating plants and natural curiosities than gold, sent
him a present of fifty ducats, even before he could wait
on him. Thi'ough the kind attention of Mr. Radermacker,
he had a sensible Javanese to accompany him in his botanical
excursions. Mr. Radermacker, who conceived a liigh degree
of friendship for him, tried to persuade him to remain at
Batavia and accept the appointment of physician, then
vacant, the yearly income of which was 6,000 or 7,000
rix dollars.
J. — VOL. II. I
770 JAVA
Thunberg returned to Europe on the 30th January, 1779.
1789. Captain Bligh, the commander of the ship on
which the celebrated mutiny occurred, after having been
put, together with several of his officers, in a small boat
with a few provisions and some cutlasses, reached Timore
after a 2,000 miles journey ; here he got a ship to take them
to Java. The following is an extract from Captain Bligh' s
journal : —
" Sunday the 6th September, 1789. In the afternoon we saw
the high land of Cape Sandana, which is the N.E. part of Java.
We steered westward along the coast of Java, and on the 10th, at
noon, we anchored at Passourwang in two fathoms distant from
the shore about half a league, the entrance of the river bearing
S.W. The coast is here so shoal that large ships are obliged to
anchor three or four miles from the land. As soon as we were at
anchor, I got in my boat and went on shore. The banks of the
river near the entrance were mud, on which grew a few mangrove
bushes. Among them we saw hogs runnmg, and many were
lying dead in the mud, which caused a most mtolerate stench, and
made me heartily repent having come here, but proceeding about
a mUe up river, the course of which was serpentine, we found a
very pleasant country, and landed at a small and well constructed
fort. The houses at Passourwang are neatly built, and the
country appears to be well cultivated. The produce of this
settlement is rice, of which they export large quantities.
" There are but few Dutch here ; the Javanese are numerous,
and their chief lives with considerable splendour. They have
good roads, and ports are established along the coast, and it
appears to be a busy and well regulated settlement. The next
day, about noon, we sailed, and on the 12th in the evening
anchored in the Sourabaya road, in seven fathoms, the flagstaff
bearing S. | W. distance from the shore one mUe. We found
riding here seven square rigged, and several smaller vessels.
Sourabaya is one of the most pleasant places I ever saw. It is
situated on the banks of a river, and is a mile and a half distant
from the sea shore, so that only the flagstaff can be seen from the
road. The river is navigable up to the town, for vessels of 100
tons burden, and the bank on one side is made convenient for
tracking.
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 771
" The country near the town is flat, and the soil light, so that
they plough with a single bullock or buffalo. On the 17th we
saUed from Sourabaya. At noon we anchored at Grissee, which
is a town with a small fort belonging to the Dutch.
" We remained here about two hours. The navigation through
the Straits of Madura is so intricate that with the little oppor-
tunity I had I am unable to undertake a description of it. The
next day, September 1 8th, having passed the Straits, we bore
away to the westward along the coast of Java. We had regular
soundings all the way to Samarang, off which place we anchored
on the 22nd in the afternoon, the clunch bearing S.E. distance
from the shore haff a league depth of water two fathoms. The
shoalness of the coast here makes the road of Samarang very
inconvenient, both on account of the great distance which large
ships (of which there are several in the road) are obliged to be
from the shore, and of the landing, which is in a river that cannot
be entered before half-flood. This river resembles the one at
Passourwang, the shores being low, with offensive dead animals
lying about them. Samarang is surrounded by a wall and ditch.
Here is a very good hospital and a public school, chiefly for
teaching the mathematics. They have likewise a theatre.
Provisions are remarkably cheap here, beef being 10 doits per
pound, and the price of a fowl twelve doits. On the 26th we
sailed from Samarang, and on the 1st of October we anchored in
the Batavia road."
1793. Earl Macartney, with the staff and suite of his
embassy, embarked on the ships Lion and Hindostan for
Canton on the 26th September, 1792. The account relates
as follows : —
" On the 6th March (1793) the ships anchored in Batavia Road,
and his Excellency first received the compliments of the Dutch
Government on board, and was afterwards flattered on shore
with distinguished honom's.
" The city of Batavia, situated amidst swamps, and stagnated
pools, mdependent of climate and inattention to cleanliness, is
perhaps one of the most unwholesome places in the universe.
The morning sea breeze ushers in noxious vapours, and the
meridian sun deleterious miasmata, the wan and languid appear-
ance of the people, and the obituary of the pubUc hospitals, which
l2
772 JAVA
recognised nearly 100,000 deaths within the last twenty years, are
melancholy proofs of the assertion, and proclaim it, with justness,
the grave of Europeans, The acknowledged unhealthiness of
Batavia, notwithstanding the inducement of rapid acquisition of
fortune, discourages Europeans from going thither, if by any
possible means they can remain comfortably at home. This
accounts for the preposterous unfitness with which offices and
professions are filled and personated. There were two men in the
place, originally barbers, the one acted as clergyman, for the
good of the soul, the other as physician for that of the body. The
fortifications of Batavia, which at first view seemed to imply
great strength, would not in Europe be considered formidable, and
it should be observed that one of the counsellors of the Indies who
had exerted his military talents to guard the settlement from
external attacks, declared that their chief dependence was upon
the havock which the climate and noxious air of the atmosphere
were likely to make upon the enemy's forces. The troops on
the establishment were 1,200 Europeans, of whom 1,100 were
infantry, and the rest artillery and cavalry. There were besides
three hundred volunteers of the town, not disciplined, formed
into two companies.
" The irregulars consisted of enrolled natives of Java, who
were never embodied, and of Chinese ; in all very numerous.
Add to this every person who becomes a settler at Batavia is
compelled to take up arms in its defence.
" The castle is constructed of coral rock, and the town hall
partly of dense lava from the mountains in the centre of the
island. There is no stone of any sort discovered for miles behind
the city of Java. The marble and granite used here in various
edifices is brought here by Chinese junks. These sail from the
ports of Canton and Fokien and are mostly laden with tea, silks
and porcelain.
" The Dutch settlers in this place, acquiring wealth and
influence under the Company, neglect their former habits of
industry, and temperance, and too often sacrifice health and
sometimes life to indolence and voluptuousness. Convivial
pleasures in particular are carried to excess. In many respectable
houses, fish and flesh are served with tea and coSee for breakfast,
very soon after this gin, claret, Madeira, Dutch small beer, and
English porter are placed in the portico of the great hall, and
pipes and tobacco served to every guest. In this they are busied
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 773
with little interruption till near the hour of dinner, which is one
o'clock.
" Just before dinner each guest is served with a bumper of
Madeira wine, as a whetter or bracer ; two men slaves attend for
this purpose.
'* Afterwards enter three female slaves ; one holds a silver jar
containing rose or common water to wash with, a second, an empty
silver bason with a cover, to receive the water after having used
it, and the third has towels to wipe the hands with. Other
female slaves wait at table, which is covered with a variety of
dishes, but with stomachs so cloyed, little is received into them,
except liqueurs. A band of music, all slaves, play at a small
distance during the repast. Coffee immediately succeeds dinner,
and soon after they retire to bed, consisting only of a mattress,
bolster, pUlow and a chintz counterpane, but no sheets, and the
night-dress consisting of a muslin cap, and a long loose gown
is put on. If he be a bachelor, a female slave attends to fan
him during his sleep. About six they rise and dress, drink tea,
take an airing in their carriage, and form parties to spend the
evening. The morning meetings are seldom attended by the
ladies. Most of these are descended from Dutch settlers, and
their education has by no means been neglected. ^Vhen at home
they are clothed in a long chequed gown of cotton, with no
headdress. When abroad on morning visits, out on airings in
their carriages, or engaged in parties in the evenings, they dress
splendidly in gold and silver spangled muslin robes, with their
hair, unpowdered, adorned with a profusion of jewels. They are
not solicitous to mould the shape, from fancied elegance, at the
expense of ease, neither are they guided by any standard of
fashion.
" Every native lady takes abroad with her a female slave,
handsomely di-essed, who, on her mistress being seated, sits
before her on the floor, holding in her hand a gold or silver box
containing a pungent masticatory. It is compounded of areca
nut, cardamom seeds, pepper, tobacco, and slaked lime rolled
within a betel leaf.
" If when at public assemblies the ladies feel themselves
incommoded by heat, whether occasioned by their dress or not,
they withdraw and change their costly robes for a loose attire.
The younger gentlemen follow the example, and substitute
white jackets, often with diamond buttons, for their heavy
774 JAVA
formal vestments, and the elders of the council quit their periwigs
and put on night-caps,
" The members of this Government, but on these occasions,
have always combined their personal gratification with the
Eastern policy of striking vulgar minds with reverential awe,
by assummg external and exclusive distinctions. They alone,
for instance, are privileged to wear a broad crimson velvet ; to
them only, one of the city gates is opened ; their carriages have
distinguishing heraldic ornaments, and others meeting them
must stop and pay them homage ; they certamly do succeed in
maintaining absolute power, not only over the descendants of
the aborigines of the countrj^ but likewise over the slaves imported
into it, and the Chinese attracted thither in the hope of gain.
The Chinese from their industry and ingenuity have rendered
themselves indispensably necessary to the Dutch, who acknow-
ledge the settlement could scarcely subsist without them. Their
residence at Batavia is in the suburbs, their houses are low
built, mostly of wood, and crammed with people. Every sort
of mechanical employment is done by them ; in town also they
become clerks, agents, or hucksters, and in the country farmers,
particularljT- in the cultivation of the sugar cane.
"The shops at Batavia, resembling those of brokers dealing
in second-hand articles, were thinly supplied with British mer-
chandize, very unlike those at Rio de Janeiro, a plain proof
that the interior inhabitants of Java are either unable or not
willing to purchase costly manufactures. But there are spacious
magazines for depositing the rich product of the Molucca, or
Spice Islands, exported hence to all parts of the world, besides
sugar, pepper, coffee and arrack, the produce of the place.
" The Dutch Company, from an mordinate thirst for gain,
suggested the idea of monopolizing the whole of the spice trade
to themselves.
" The districts round Batavia subject to the Dutch, are
supposed to contain 50,000 families, enumerating in all 300,000
persons. The city of Batavia, and suburbs, contam eight
thousand houses. Those belonging to the Dutch are clean,
spacious, and built suitably to the climate, both windows and
doors are wide and lofty, and the ground floors are laid with
marble. Many of the houses were uninhabited, which with other
circumstances indicated a declension of their commerce. The
Company's vessels were lying in the road without men to navigate,
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 775
or cargoes to fill them. They had no ships of war to protect
theh" commerce, and even pirates came to the harbour's mouth
and attacked and carried off their vessels. They were besides
threatened with an invasion from the Isle of France, at a time
Avhen they knew the place was not in a proper condition for
defence, half the troops destined for this purpose being ill m the
hospitals, and lastly commissioners were expected from Holland
for the reform of abuses, whose presence were as much deprecated
as that of an enemy.
" Notwithstanding all this the ambassador, Lord Macartney,
and his suite were treated with all marks of attention and
respect, until he embarked on the 17th March."
With regard to the commissioners who were sent out to
reform abuses, it must be mentioned that a badly paid Govern-
ment staff, allowed to do private busmess to make up for this,
had gradually usurped all the Company's profits, by buying too
dear and getting a private return, and by profiting by all over-
weights, etc. Presents (they were really bribes) of a most royal
description had to be given to the Dutch officials nearly every time
business was done. The cost of these presents coming again mto
the price, the Company was mulcted of large sums, and gradually
made debts, instead of profits, which debts grew as time went on.
The subterfuges made use of to hide all the delinquencies
when the commissioners arrived, make one of the most amusing
farces ever played. When these gentlemen arrived they were
received by a special deputation of ladies and gentlemen, com-
prising the ranlv and fashion of the place. Paid crowds were on
shore to cheer them on landing, every gun in the place saluted,
whUe the musketeers fired salvoes of welcome.
The ways were lined with troops, in those places where there
were soldiers, otherwise with Malays and Chinese. Amidst a
great deal of handshaking, introductions, blowing of trumpets,
bowing and scraping, and a saluting guard, their high and
mighty excellencies were ushered into carriages to drive to the
palace or resident's house. Here receptions of the rank and
fashion, dinners, dejeuners, balls, supper-parties, picnics,
reviews, parties given by the high native authorities, followed
one upon the other so quickly, that their excellencies were in
too muddled and excited a mood to inspect business or accounts.
The great respect moreover that was shown to them (they could
776 JAVA
Bcarcely walk ten yards without forts and musketeers saluting,
guards turning out etc.), flattered them so much that they
gradually put away all thought of being so hnpolite as to look
into affairs, or to throw doubt on their correctness, by any
enquiring.
They gradually fell into the delightful round of dissipation
prepared for them ; took their 101 guns, the musket-salvoes,
the lining of the ways with soldiers or natives, the parties, balls,
dinners, dejeuners and so forth, all as a matter of course, and,
flattered up to their finger-tops, returned to Holland with assur-
ances that everything was absolutely in order, and that the
losses the Company was making were genuine ones, due to the
high price of Eastern produce, so that there was nothing to be
done by the Company but to grin and bear it. This the Company
did, and in another chapter we have seen what was its ending,
and how many millions it closed short. Of course, for all this
entertaining the Company had to pay, the Dutch officials in Java
arguing that if the East India Company sent out commissioners
they must pay for them.
1793. Sir George Staunton also passed through Batavia
with Lord Macartney's embassy in 1793. His account reads
as follows : —
" On the 6th March the ships anchored in Batavia Roads,
which is very capacious, and has a safe anchorage for shipping.
Several Chinese vessels were riding at anchor, and the vast
quantity of Dutch vessels lying before the city announced it as their
chief place of trade, as well as their principal seat of Government.
" The Batavian Government celebrated the anniversary of the
birth of the Prince of Orange, Stadtholder of the United Provinces,
with festivities and increased splendour, and the Earl of Macartney
and his suite were inv^ited, A salute of 21 guns was fired from
H.M.S. Lion.
' ' The entertainment took place at the house of the Governor-
General a short distance from town ; an avenue of trees bordered
by canals lead to the spot ; on one side the unexpected exhibition
of the humours of a Flemish fair ^ arrested the tune and attention
of some of the guests ; while on the other a drama was performed
by several Chinese actors, in a cast or pulpitum, said to be the
origmal scene of dramatic representation.
1 Parsar malem. — D.M.C.
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 777
" A grand ball preceded the banquet, and splendid illumina-
tions and artificial fireworks were displayed in the garden. The
Mahometan princes in Java are all despots, and do not rule in the
hearts of their subjects. According to the Dutch accounts the
tyrannic sway of the emperor is supported by prodigious armies
throughout his territories, and by a very considerable female
guard about his person. These heroines are trained to a domestic,
as well as to a military life, among whom many from mental
accomplishments are the companions as well as attendants of his
imperial majesty. If the same accounts be correct that the
number of female births in Java surpasses that of the males, the
singular institution above mentioned may have originated from
the facility of obtaining recruits.
" The island of Celebes to the eastward of Borneo and some
other Eastern Islands supply Java with slaves ; and though a
change of master may not have generally aggravated their
condition, yet some among them, who before they were made
captives lived in a state of independence, have been known to
take offence on the slightest occasions, and to avenge themselves
by assassination. Under this apprehension it is that female
slaves are preferred in Batavia, for every use to which they can
be applied, and then number of course exceeds that of the males.
" The shops at Batavia resembling those of brokers dealing in
second-hand articles were thinly supplied with British merchandise,
very unlike those of Rio de Janeiro, a plain proof that the interior
inhabitants of Java are either unable or unwilling to purchase
costly manufactures. The houses of Batavia belonging to the
Dutch are clean and spacious, and built for the climate with
windows wide and lofty. The ground floors are laid with marble.
There are 8,000 houses in Batavia, and the districts around
subject to the Dutch are supposed to contam 300,000 persons in
all. Many of the houses are at present uninhabited, owing to the
East India Company being on the declme."
1817. Captain Murray Maxwell, in command of His
Majesty's shiip Alceste, carrying the embassy of Lord Amherst,
sailed from Spithead for China on the 9th February, 1816.
An account reads as follows : —
" We arrived at Batavia on the 9th March, 1817, and comfort-
able quarters were provided for us at the hospitable houses of
778 JAVA
Messrs. Milne and Terreneau, and much kind attention was ex-
perienced from Captains Forbes, Dalgairns Hanson, and McMahon,
who were on the staff of Sir William Keir. Comfortable quarters
were also found for our men, who in a day or two were landed and
marched through Batavia to Weltevreden. At Weltevreden the
officers met with a small but choice band of their countrymen
whose society will not easOy be forgotten, or ever remembered
without pleasure. \Batavia is considered and with much reason
to be one of the most unhealthy spots in the world, but this
character is applicable only to the town itself, which agreeably to
Dutch usage, wherever they could find one, is built in a swamp.
The effect of this within seven degrees of the Equator is precisely
what might be expected, but at Ryswick and Weltevreden, where
the ground rises certainly not above a dozen or fifteen feet and
situated within three miles of the town, health is retained. No
European who can possibly avoid it ever sleeps in the city, but
after transacting his business removes to the neighbourhood.^
Among seamen and soldiers a night or tv/o spent in Batavia is
deemed mortal, but the increased fatality among their clan of the
community proceeds evidently from their never sleeping there
but for the express purpose of getting drunk, and when immersion
in putrid and marsh effluvia in so hot a climate is applied to a
body rendered highly susceptible of their impression from previous
ebriety, it is not to be wondered that a fever of the worst class
should be the consequence. All the positions are filled by young
men freshly imported, and the ladies, generally surrounded by
a crowd of flattermg slave girls, creolize the whole day in a
delectable state of apathy, at sunset perhaps taking a short airing
in the environs. The older dames inveterately adhere to the
kubaya, a loose sort of goAvn or •uTapper sometimes richly
embroidered, but the English and French modes are universal
among the rising generation.
" They form a curious contrast on public occasions, for although
sumptuary laws exist, which prevent more especially ladies from
wearing jewels beyond a certain amount, and appearing abroad
attended by servants exceedmg the number allowed for the
particular rank of their husbands or fathers, yet all classes seem
privileged to undress themselves as they please.
" One evening at a grand ball given at the Harmonie by the
British army officers, on the anniversary of the battle of Waterloo,
an old gentleman in a full suit of black, highly trimmed, and in
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 779
the cut of the last century was seen strutting about the room with
a white night-cap on his head.
" Indeed at dinner in the best companies they do not hesitate
to wear their hats, if there is the least motion in the air, for they
dread nothing so much as sittmg in a current.
" The villas of the councillors of the Indies are distinguished
by having black instead of white statues in their fronts, and about
their gardens. They are generally heavy looking houses, situated
on the Jacatra and Ryswick roads, but have an air of stateliness.
The restored Dutch Government profess to act upon the principles
which have been found successful durmg our possession, but a
circumstance which occurred a short time before our arrival here
evinced strong symptoms of a recurrence to the system of terror.
A body of the natives about 500 in number having had some
dispute with the local authorities at Indramaj^oc, Avhilst making
representation about some hardship were seized and confined in a
house which like the black hole of Calcutta being too small for the
prisoners, they in desperation attempted to break through the
roof, when a body of military having by this time been collected,
they were fired upon, the greater part being killed.
" It is someM^hat remarkable that the Dutch who are at home
very unassuming, plain, and moral sort of people, should have
displayed on so many occasions a ferocious and blood-thirsty
disposition in their colonies.
" On one occasion Marshall Daendels, who found it necessary
to place himself above the usual formalities, is said one day to
have requested the magistrates to demolish their grand church in
Batavia, which was not only in the way of some favourite scheme
he had m view, but its cupola was the only land mark for entermg
the bay, and as such greatly assisted the enemy's (English)
cruizers. The burgomasters ventured to oppose this project ;
in a very short time the church was found to be on fire and the
building thereby being m a great degree consumed and damaged,
the remainder was soon razed to the ground.
" Sir William Keir, ]\Ir. Feudale and ]VIr. Cranssen were still at
Batavia adjusting the final transfer of the colonies with the
commissioners of His Majesty the King of the Netherlands.
" The Dutch squadron was absent at the different islands
resuming possession of them.
" Baron de Capellan, the new governor, is individually a man
of humanity and was extremely solicitous about the preservation
780 JAVA
of his soldiers and personally interfered with the medical staff who
were wedded to old fashioned practices.
" The ship Ccesar, Captain Taylor, with the embassy of Lord
Amherst on board returning to Europe left Batavia on 12th April,
1818, with Sir William Keir and all his staff, and received from
the Dutch authorities every mark of respect due to his rank.
The gay scenes we had experienced for the last few weeks among
our friends at Weltevreden and Batavia which we had enjoyed
with great spirit made us now more susceptible of the dull same-
ness attending our present sky and water scene. Mr. Davidson's
house at Ryswick was a good building, and here an ourang-outang
from Borneo was kept.
" Daendels' great military road carried some hundreds of miles
across the island cost the lives of thousands of Javanese who were
sacrificed to the system of forced services. He appears to have
been little less despotic with the whites, and many stories are told
about him, that he could even make hens lay eggs when he thought
proper."
1823. George Frank Davidson^ left England early in
1823 for Java, to join Messrs. Macquoid, Davidson & Co.
The following is culled from his account of Batavia, Sama-
rang, etc. : —
" Early in the year 1823 I left England quite a youngster, full
of life and spirits, bound for the so-called Grave of Europeans,
Batavia. My passage lasted exactly five months. Well do I
remember the 5th October, 1823, the day on which I first set foot
on the lovely and magnificent island of Java. How bright were
then my prospects, surrounded as I was with a circle of anxious
friends, who were not only able, but willing also, to lend me a
helping hand, and who now alas to a man, gone from me and all
to whom they were dear. I was then prepared — I might say
determined — to be pleased with everything and everybody. At
this distance of time I can scarcely remember what struck me
most forcibly on landing, but I have a vivid recollection of being
perfectly delighted with the drive, in a light airy carriage, drawn
by two spirited little Java poneys, from the wharf to the house
of the friend with whom I was to take up my abode, ^Vhat a
^ See also his book called " Trade and Travel in the Far East."
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 781
joyous place was Batavia in those days, with everybody thriving,
and the whole town alive, and bustling with an active set of
merchants, from all parts of the world. The Dutch Government
at that time pursued a more liberal policy than they have of late
applied ; and instead of monopolizing the produce of the island,
sold it by public auction every month. This plan naturally
attracted purchasers from England, the continent of Europe, and
the U.S. of America, who brought with them good Spanish
dollars to pay for what they purchased, so that silver money was
as plentiful in Netherlands India in those days as copper doits
have since become. The enlightened individual who now *
governs Java and its dependencies is, I have good reason to
think, opposed to the monopolizing system pursued by his
Government : his hands are tied however, and he can only
remonstrate, while the merchants can but pray that his remon-
strances may be duly weighed by his superiors.
" Java exports one million peculs of coffee per annum, one
million peculs of rice, and one million peculs of sugar, besides vast
quantities of tin, pepper, hides, indigo, etc. Were its trade thrown
open to fair competition, as formerly, it is as certain that His
Majesty the King of the Netherlands would be a gainer, as that
his adopting the more liberal system would give satisfaction to
every mercantile man, connected in any way with his East Indian
possessions. The experience of the last there years ought to
have taught His Majesty this lesson ; and we may hope he will
take a warning from the miserable result of his private specula-
tions during that period.
" Batavia is not the unhealthy place it has been usually deemed.
The city itself is certainly bad enough, but no European sleeps a
single night in it out of a twelvemonth.
" From 4 to 5 o'clock every evening the road leading from the
town to the suburbs is thronged with vehicles of all descriptions,
conveying the merchants from their counting-houses to their
country or suburban residences, where they remain until 9 o'clock
the next morning. These country residences are dehghtfully
situated to the south of Batavia, properly so called, extending
inland over many square miles of country. Every one of them
has a garden, called a compound, of considerable extent, well
stocked with plants, shrubs and trees, which serve to give them a
lively and elegant appearance, and to keep them moderately cool
1 1846. This was Mr. Merkus.— D. M. C.
782 JAVA
in the hottest weather. Servants' wages being very low here,
every European of any respectability is enabled to keep up a
sufficient establishment, and to repair to his office in his carriage
or hooded gig, in which he may defy the sun. Many of them,
particularly Dutchmen, have an imprudent practice of driving
in an open carriage, with an umbrella held over their heads by a
native servant, standing on the foot-board behind his master.
" Having resided several years in the suburbs of Batavia, I
have no hesitation in saying, that with common prudence,
eschewing in toto the vile habit of drinking gin and water whenever
one feels thirsty, living generously but carefully, avoiding the
sun's rays by always using a close or hooded carriage, and taking
common precautions against wet feet, and damp clothing, a man
may live — and enjoy life too — in Batavia, as long as he would in
any other part of the world. One great and invaluable advantage
over all our Eastern colonies, Batavia, in common with every
part of Java, possesses m the facilities that exist for travelling
from one part of the island to the other.
[^ " Throughout Java there are excellent roads, and on every
road a post establishment is kept up, so that the traveller has
only to apply to the post-master of Batavia, pointing out the
road he wishes to travel, and to pay his money according to the
number of miles ; he obtains with a passport, an order for four
horses all along his intended line of route, and may perform the
journey at his leisure, the horses, coachmen, etc., being at his
command night or day, till he accomplishes the distance agreed
for. Thus a party going overland from Batavia to Samarang,
a distance of 300 miles, may either perform the journey in three
days^ or extend it to three weeks, should they wish to look about
them, and to halt a day or two at various places as they go along.
In no part of British India is there anything approaching to such
admirable and cheap facilities for travelling. And what an
inestimable blessing they are to the Batavia invalid, who can
thus, in a few hours, be transported, with perfect ease and comfort,
into the cool and delightful mountain regions of Java, where he
may choose his climate, by fixing himself at a height varying
from 1,000 to 7,000 feet above the level of the sea.^ Java from
east to west, from north to south, is a favourite region with me,
1 Evidently a figure of speech, as in 1823, and even now, 1912, to travel
from Batavia to Samarang by coach in three days is an actual impossibility.
— D. M. C.
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 783
and I believe \vith every other Englishman who ever visited it ;
gin and brandy have killed five-sixths of all the Europeans who
have died in Batavia, within the last twenty years ; but with
pleasure I can add that this destructive habit has almost entirely
disappeared, hence the duninished number of deaths, and the
more robust and ruddy appearance of the European inhabitants.
jJThe surroundmg country is both salubrious and beautiful, rising
gradually as you proceed inland, till you reach Buytenzorg,
40 miles S.S.E. of Batavia, where the Governor-General of Nether-
lands India generally resides in a splendid palace, surrounded with
extensive and magnificent gardens. The climate is cool and
pleasant, more particularly in the mornings and evenings, and
the ground is kept moist by daily showers ; for it is a singular
fact, that scarcely a day passes without a shower in this beautiful
neighbourhood.
" Buytenzorg is a favourite resort of the merchants of Batavia,
who take advantage of the facilities for travelling to visit it on
the Saturday afternoon, remauiing the whole of Sunday, and
returnmg to town, and to the renewal of their labours on the
foUowmg morning. The scenery is magnificent, and the view
from the back verandah of the inn is the finest that can be
imagmed. Standing on the steps of this verandah, you have
immediately under your foot an extensive plain, thorough!}'
cultivated, sprmkled with villages, each village being surrounded
with ever-green trees, and the whole almost encircled by a river.
To the left of this valley rises an extensive and picturesque
mountain, cultivated almost to the summit and dotted here and
there with villages and gentlemen's houses.^
" Looking into the valley at early morn, you will see the lazy
buffalo, driven by an equally indolent ploughman, dragging a
Lilliputian plough through the slimy paddy-field, the lazy
Javanese labourer gomg to his work in the field, the native women
reapmg, with the hand only,i ^ind stalk by stalk the ripe paddy in
one field, while those in the next are sowmg the seed, the adjoining
fields being covered with stubble, their crops having been reaped
weeks before.
" Upon the declivity of the mountam is seen the stately coffee
tree, the plantations of which commence at 1,300 feet above the
level of the sea, and proceed up the hill till they reach the height
1 This is not correct. Unseen they have a sharp wooden scythe in the
palm of their hand. — D. M. C.
784 JAVA
of 4,000 feet. Nothing can be more beautiful than a full grown
coffee plantation ; the deep green foliage, the splendid bright red
berry, and the delicious shade afforded by the trees, render these
spots altogether fit for princes ; and princely lives their owners lead.
One is always sure of a hearty welcome from these gentlemen, who
are ever glad to see a stranger. They give him the best horse in the
stable to ride, the best room in the house to occupy, and express
regret when his visit is drawing to a close. I speak from experience,
having put the hospitality of several of them to the test.
"During my first stay at Batavia, from 1823 to 1826, the
celebrated Java war broke out, the so-called rebel army being
headed by a native chief of Djockjokarta named Diepo Nogoro.
Shortly after the first outbreak, the then Governor-General,
Baron van der Capellen, called on all Europeans between the
ages of 16 and 45 to serve in the schuttery or militia. An infantry
and a cavalry corps were formed, and I joined the latter, preferring
a ride in the evening to a walk with a 14 pound musket over my
shoulder. After a probation of pretty tight drilling we became
tolerable soldiers on " nothing a day and finding ourselves,"
and had the good town of Batavia put under our charge, the
regular troops being all sent away to the scene of war.^ As
I do not intend to return to this subject, I may as well mention
here that the war lasted five years, and that it would have lasted
five years longer, had Diepo Nogoro not been taken prisoner — I
fear by treachery. I saw him landed at Batavia in 1829 from
the steamer which had brought him from Samarang. The
Governor's carriage and aides-de-camp were at the wharf to
receive him. In that carriage he was driven to gaol, whence he
was banished, no one knows whither, and he has never since been
heard of. Such is the usual fate of Dutch prisoners of State.
Diepo Nogoro deserved a better fate. He was a gallant soldier,
and fought bravely. Poor fellow ! how his countenance fell —
as well it might — when he saw where the carriage drew up ! He
stopped short on putting his foot on the pavement, evidently
unwilling to enter the gloomy looking pile, cast an eager glance
around, and seeing there was no chance of escape, walked in.
Several gentlemen followed, before the authorities had the door
closed, and saw the fallen chief, with his two wives, consigned
1 See Gillian Maclaine's letter about this cavalry schuttery, which was
almost entirely made up of Englishmen. — D. M. C.
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 785
to two miserable looking rooms. Java has been quite tranquil
ever since.
" The society of Batavia at the time I am referring to was
both choice and gay, and the influence of my good friends
threw me at once into the midst of it. The Dutch and English
inhabitants did not then (nor do they now, 1844) mix together
so much as would in my opinion have been agreeable and mutually
advantageous. A certain jealousy kept the two parties too much
apart. Nevertheless I have been present at many delightful
parties in Dutch families, the pleasures of which were not a
little heightened by the presence of some ten or a dozen charming
Dutch girls. Charming and beautiful they certainly are while
young, but ere they reach thirty, a marvellous change comes
over their appearance ; the fair-haired, blue-eyed, laughing romp
of eighteen has, in that short period of ten or twelve years, become
transformed into a stout, and rather elderly looking matron,
as unlike an English woman of the same age as one can well
fancy. ^Vhen I look back on those gay and pleasant parties,
and think how few of the individuals who composed them are
now alive, the reflection makes me sad. What a different class
its English inhabitants of the present day are from those of
1823 — 1826.1 I may be prejudiced in favour of the former
state of society, but in giving the preference to it, I shall be borne
out by any of the few survivors who knew Batavia at both
periods. From 1823 to 1835 the Governor's parties were thronged
with our country- men, and country-women. Let anyone enter
his Excellency's ball-room nowadaj^s, and he will not meet with
more than one or two English of the old school, and not one of
the new. 2 The causes of this change are obvious. It arises from
the different class of people that now come out from Liverpool,
Manchester, and Glasgow compared with the British merchant
of former times, and from the total deficiency of the most common
civility, on the part of our country-men, towards the many highly
' This was written in 1844, and since then I am afraid the class of English
inhabitants has still further degenerated. This comes, of course, from their
being drawn nowadays almost wholly from Glasgow and Manchester. —
D. M. C.
' Very true. There are none of the old school in Java nowadays. Tlie
class for the most part is an inferior one, but fortunately the Dutch do not
see it, and the Glasgow and Manchester boys of the new school marry into
the best Dutch families. — D. M. C.
J. — VOL. II. K
786 JAVA
respectable, agreeable, and intelligent Dutch families that form
the society oi the place. It is with pain I write this, but, as a
citizen of the world, who has seen a good deal of life, in recording
my sentiments on these matters, I cannot avoid telling the plain
truth as it struck me from personal observations.^
" The vicinity of Batavia affords the most beautiful drives,
and hundreds of vehicles, from the handsome carriage and four
of the member of council, to the humble buggy of the merchant's
clerk, may be seen every evening, from 5 till half-past 6, that
being the coolest and the best time for taking out-of-door
exercise. The roads are excellent, lined on both sides with trees,
which keep them shaded and cool nearly all day. The scene is
altogether gay, and affords a gratifying indication of the wealth
and importance of this fine colony. By 7 o'clock the drives are
deserted, and immediately afterwards Ughts may be seen glittering
in every dwelling in the neighbourhood, while in every second or
third house, the passer-by may observe parties of pleasure
assembling for the evening. The Dutch have adopted the social
plan of exchanging friendly visits in the evening, avoiding our
more formal ones of the morning. At these chance evening
parties, the company are entertained with music and cards,
and other diversions, and should the visitor be too old to join
the young folks in their gayety, he will find one or two of his
own, snugly seated in the far corner of the verandah, where he
is sure to be supplied with a good cigar, and the very best wine.
" These groups are perfect pictures of comfort and content.
" With all his good qualities, John Dutchman is jealous of
John Bull 2 and cannot help showing it, particularly in commercial
matters. 3 , How short-sighted his policy is in this point of view,
it would be no difficult task to prove.
" The pleasantest months of the year in Batavia are June,
July, August, when the sun is to the northward. I have fre-
quently found a blanket necessary at this season ; indeed, the
* I regret I must entirely concur with the above. With one or two
exceptions the present day (1912) Englishmen of Java are poor representa-
tives of our race, and no credit to it, and at times I have been disgusted
with some of them for their want of common civility to the Dutch families.
— D. M. C.
2 I do not agree. — ^D. M. C.
^ I have never noticed this ; if it is so, the Dutchmen I have had to deal
with were too polite to show it, and my experience is one of over twenty
years to G. F. Davidson's three years. — ^D. M. C.
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 787
nights, throughout Java, are generally sufficiently cool to allow
the European to enjoy a refreshing sleep, after which he will find
no difficulty in getting through a hot day. The public health is
generally very good from May till September inclusive. In
April and October strangers, particularly the recently arrived
European, are apt to suiBEer from colds and fever, caused in a
great measure by the breaking up of the monsoon, which takes
place in those months. In November or December, the north-
west monsoon brings on the rains, which certainly then come down
in torrents, and render the city of Batavia a perfect charnel
house for those poor natives and Chinese, who are unfortunately
compelled to remain in it. I have seen it entirely flooded with
wat«r to the depth of four or five feet in some parts. The malaria
occasioned by the deposit of slimy mud, left all over the town
by the water, on its retiring, causes sad havoc among the poorer
Chinese and Malays who reside in the lowest parts of the town,
and inhabit wretched hovels. These floods seldom annoy the
inhabitants of the suburbs, yet I well remember in the season of
1828 a friend of mine lay down on a sofa and went to sleep,
about 8 o'clock in the evening ; at 3 o'clock next morning he
awoke with the water just reaching his couch, much to his surprise
and no small alarm, till, on becoming collected, he bethought
him of the cause. The neighbouring river had risen, from moun-
tain rains, whilst he was asleep, and had completely flooded his
house, to the depth of 18 inches, together with the garden and
neighbourhood.
" I know of no market, east of the Cape of Good Hope, better
supplied with fruit than that of Batavia.^
" Between three and four hundred miles eastward of Batavia,
on the north coast of Java, is the small, neat, old-fashioned
town of Samarang, which when I visited it in 1824 was the
residence of several English merchants ; now there is only a
single one remainmg,^ so completely has monopoly destroyed
mercantile enterprise. The harbour is a safe one in the S.E.
monsoon, but the reverse when the N.E. winds prevail. It is,
however, constantly visited by European shipping, which take
cargoes of coffee, sugar, rice, etc., etc., to aU parts of Europe,
' This is accounted for by the fact that the early Dutch settlers from the
seventeenth century onwards encouraged the natives to grow and sell them
large quantities of fruit, for which they paid good prices. — D. M. 0.
■•' Alexander McNeill, of McNeill & Co.
k2
788 JAVA
Australia, Singapore, and China. The society of Samarang is
neither so extensive nor so attractive as that of Batavia ; it
is, however, a pleasant and healthy place, notwithstanding its
proximity to an extensive swamp. Its safeguard against the
malaria we might naturally'' look for in this situation, is the tide
which flows over the marsh twice a day, and keeps it sweet.
" During the Java war, a small volunteer corps of cavalry was
formed here, the members of which, in their zeal, offered their
services to join a party who were proceeding to Damak (a small
village about 40 miles off), to put down a body of armed rebels.
Poor fellows ! they went out in high spirits, but trusted too much
to their unbroken horses, which took fright, and threw them into
inextricable confusion on hearing the first volley. The sad
consequence of this rash, though gallant day's work was the death
of seven young English gentlemen, all highly respected and
sincerely regretted by their countrymen. They were all personal
friends of my own. I well remember the gloom which the
intelligence cast over the society at Batavia.^ In and about
Samarang may be collected any number of the beautiful Java
poneys, animals unsurpassed for symmetry in any part of the
world. The work they perform is beyond belief. Ten miles an
hour is the common rate of travelling post ; four of them are
generally used for this purpose, and the stages are from seven to
nine miles, according to the nature of the country. When within
half a mUe of the first house where relays are kept, the native
coachman cracks his long, unwieldy whip, which can be heard
at a great distance. At this signal, the grooms harness the four
poneys whose turn for work it is, and by the time your carriage
halts under the shed that crosses the road at every post-house,
the fresh poneys are to be seen coming out of the stable all ready
for the next stage. Your attention is then attracted by a man
with a stout bamboo, some eight feet long, in his hand, full of
water, which he pours over the naves of the wheels to cool them.
By this time the tired poneys are unhooked, the fresh ones put
to, and away rattles the carriage again with its delighted
passengers. I know nothing more exciting and agreeable than a
ramble amongst the mountains of this favoured isle, under the
direction of the post establishment. ^
** From Samarang, early in 1824, I posted with a friend to Solo
* For full particulars see Chapter X,
^ Nor do 1.— D.M. C.
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 789
and Djockjocarta, the ancient seats of the emperors and sultans of
this part of Java. They are now shorn of their splendour, but
they still possess novelty enough to attract a stranger. On our
route we visited some beautiful coffee plantations i and passed
through the pretty and romantic village of Salatiga. We had a
splendid view of the far famed Gunung Merapi, or Fire Mountain,
and, on every side, we saw evidence of the thriving condition of
this magnificent part of Java. At Solo I was so fortunate as to
be present at the then emperor's marriage ; a scene which brought
so painfully to mmd the fallen state of the chiefs of this neighbour-
hood, by its being superintended by the Dutch Resident at the
court. There were three days' feasting, royal salutes from the
imperial guard, Javanese music, and dancing girls in great
numbers, but I found the whole affair very fatiguing.
" Fallen as was the emperor's state at that time, it subsequently
became much more reduced, in consequence of his being found
guilty of being secretly concerned in the late wtir or rebellion.
He has long since followed his friend and coadjutor, Diepo Nogoro.
A tool of the Dutch Government now reigns in his stead, who
cannot even leave his house for twenty-four hours without per-
mission from the Resident at his court.
" Solo is protected by a smaU fort, which is always garrisoned
by European troops, the Government not choosing to trust native
soldiers in that part of the country. For this no one can blame
the Dutch, for the chiefs require looking after, and are apt to
give trouble. While the island was held by the British Government,
a mutiny broke out at Solo among the Bengal sepoys. On its
suppression it was found they had been tampered A^dth by these
chiefs, and that numbers had been gained over to their cause.
Nothing can exceed the hospitality of the Dutch inhabitants of
this part of Java ; their houses are always open to the stranger,
of whom they think too much cannot be made. The Resident's
establishment is a splendid one, and to his Uberahtyand hospitality
I can testify from personal experience. ^ Indeed, our countrymen,
in many parts that I could name, might, with great advantage to
themselves and to travellers in their districts, take lessons from
their Dutch brethren in office. ^ From Solo I went to Djockjocarta
distant forty miles, in a gig.
' These were in all probability '' Ampel " and "Melambong." — D. M. C.
^ The Resident at that time was Henry Macgillavry. — D. M. C.
•"' With this I fully concur. — D. M. C.
790 JAVA
" At Djockjocarta are to be seen many ancient residences of
the Javan chiefs, amongst others, the celebrated craton or palace,
the taking of which in 1812 cost General Gillespie a hard struggle.
It is surrounded with a high wall, which encloses an area of
exactly one square mile. Outside the wall runs a deep, broad
ditch. The place could offer but a feeble resistance against
artillery, in which arm Gillespie was deficient when he attacked
and took it. Another curious building is that in which the
sultans, in days of yore, used to keep their ladies. It is composed
entirely of long narrow passages, with numerous small rooms on
each side, each of which, in the days of their masters' glory, was
the residence according to tradition of a beautiful favourite.
" To prevent the escape of the ladies, or the intrusion of any
gallants, the whole pile is surrounded with a canal, which used to
be filled with alligators. The only entrance was by a subterranean
passage beneath this canal, and which ran under it for its whole
length. When I visited the place in 1824, the canal, the passage,
etc., were all in good order, though the latter was getting damp
from neglect ; a proof that the masons and plasterers of Java, in
old times, must have been very superior workmen.
" Djockjocarta was the birth place of Diepo Nogoro, and the
scene of his earliest warlike movements against the Dutch. So
unexpected and sudden was his first attack, that he caught the
garrison napping, and had them within his grasp, before they
knew he was in the field.
" In the craton, the sultan had in 1824 three noble elephants,
each kept under a separate shed. I went with three visitors to
see these animals, and we passed some time amusing ourselves by
giving them fruit.
" Djockjocarta can hardly be called a town, yet it is more than
a village. The houses of the European inhabitants are much
scattered, and many of them occupy very pretty situations.
" The climate is delicious, and exercise on horseback may be
taken with impunity from 6 to 9 a.m. and from 3 to 7 p.m. It
is not uncommon to see Europeans riding about during the
intervening hours, but this is generally avoided by old residents.
A successful attempt was made here by a countryman in 1823 to
grow indigo. The quantity produced was limited, but the
quality was excellent, and, but for some vexatious regulations of
the Government regarding the residence of foreigners in this part
of Java, which drove the spirited individual alluded to from the
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 791
neighbourhood, I have no doubt he would speedily have realized
a handsome fortune. ^
" Shortly before my arrival at Djockjocarta, a daring house
robbery, by a band of Javanese, took place in the neighbourhood.
Six of the robbers were afterwards caught, tried, convicted,
condemned, and executed a la Javan on the scene of their crune.
They were tied hands and feet to separate stakes, and krissed by
a native executioner, who performed his dreadful office so scientifi-
cally that his victuns died without a groan. The cool indifference
with which five of the unfortunates witnessed the execution of the
first sufferer, and successively received the kris in their own
bosoms, was quite surprising, and shewed with what stoical
composure the Mohammedan fatalist can meet a violent
death.
" The forests of Java are inhabited by the rhinoceros, tiger,
black tiger, leopard, tiger cat, boa-constrictor, and a variety of
animals of milder natures. The elephant is not found in its
wild state in these woods, though numerous in those of the
neighbouring island. I am not aware of any other animal that
may be called dangerous to man in these unrivalled forests, nor
is there much to be apprehended from occasionally coming in
contact with either of those above named, though accidents
happen now and again. I have known a carriage and four attacked
on the main road, between Batavia and Samarang, by a tiger,
and one of the ponies killed by the fierce onset. The boa is harm-
less to man, unless his path is crossed, when a speedy retreat
is advisable. A friend of mine in Samarang once kept one of
these monsters as a pet, and used to let him crawl all over the
garden. It measured exactly 19 feet. While on the subject of
wild animals, I may mention a leopard, that was kept by an
English officer in Samarang, during our occupation of the Dutch
colonies. The animal had its liberty, and used to run all over
the house after its master. One morning after breakfast, the
officer was sitting smoking his hookah, with a book in his right
hand, and the hookah-snake in his left, when he felt a slight pain
in his left hand, and on attempting to raise it, was checked by a
low, angry growl from his pet leopard. On looking down, he
saw the animal had been licking the back of his hand, and had by
degrees drawn a little blood. The leopard would not suffer the
removal of the hand, but continued licking it with great apparent
^ This was no doubt A. Davidson. — D. M. C.
792 JAVA
relish, which did not much please his master, who with great
presence of mind, without attempting again to disturb the pet
in his proceeding, called to his servant to bring him a pistol,
with which he shot the animal dead on the spot. Such pets as
snakes, 19 feet long, and full grown leopards are not to be trifled
with. The largest snake I ever saw was 25 feet long, and 8 inches
in diameter. I have heard of sixty-feet snakes, but cannot
vouch for the truth of the tale. In my enumeration of animals
dangerous to man, I omitted the alligator, which infests every
river and muddy creek in Java, and grows to a large size. At
the mouth of the Batavia river they are very numerous and
dangerous, particularly to Europeans. It strikes one as extra-
ordinary, to see the copper-coloured natives bathing in the river,
within view of a large alligator ; they never seem to give the
animals a thought, or to anticipate injury from his proximity.
Yet were a European to enter the water by the side of the natives,
his minutes in this world would be few.
" I recollect an instance that occurred on the occasion of a
party of troops embarking at Batavia for the eastward, during
the Java war. The men had all gone off with the exception of
three Serjeants, who were to follow in the ship's jolly-boat, which
was waiting for them at the wharf ; two of them stepped into
the boat, but the third in following, missed his footing, and fell
with his leg in the water, and his body over the gunwale of the
boat. In less than an instant, an alligator darted from under
the wharf, and seized the unfortunate man by the leg, while his
companions in the boat laid hold of his shoulder. The poor
fellow called out to his friends, ' Pull, hold on, don't let go,'
but their utmost exertions were unavailing. The alligator proved
the strongest, and carried off his prize. The scene was described
to me by a bystander, who said he could trace the monster's
course all the way down the river, with his victim in his immense
mouth.
" The inhabitants of Java are, generally speaking, a quiet,
tractable race, but withal lazy. The Dutch Government would
never have made the island produce half the quantity it now
yields, of either sugar, coffee, or rice, without a little wholesome
coercion — coercion which seemed somewhat tyrannical at first,
but which has ultimately pleased all parties concerned, and done
wonders for Java. Slavery still exists in Java, and every Dutch
family has its domestic slaves. The law forbids the importation
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 793
of fresh ones, and provides for the good treatment of those now
in bondage.
" The natives of Java are by no means free from the prevalent
Eastern vice, or luxury, of opium smoking, and the Dutch
Government derives an immense revenue from the article. I have
in various parts of the Eastern world seen the evil effects of opium
smoking, but am decidedly of opinion, that those arismg from gin
drinking in England, and from whisky drinking in Ireland, and
Scotland, far exceed them. Let any unprejudiced European
walk through the native towns of Java, Singapore, or China,
and see if he can find a single drunken native. What he will
meet with, are numbers of drunken English, Scotch and Irish
seamen, literally rolling in the gutters, not from opium, but from
rum and other spirits, sent out all the way from England for
the purpose of enabling her worthy sons to exhibit themselves
to Chinese and other nations in this disgraceful light.
" Mintow (Muntok according to the Dutch) is the capital of
the island of Batavia, so long celebrated for tin mines. This
is a poor town and very unhealthy. It is situated on the west
side of the island, and faces the straits of Banca, having the low
swampy shore of Sumatra opposite. When Banca was occupied
in common with the other Dutch colonies by the British, it
proved fatal to nearly the whole of the garrison.
" The once thriving settlement of Bencoolen (or Fort Marl-
borough) which I visited at different times between 1828 and
1830, I found even then to have declined very seriously from its
former prosperity. Previous to its transfer in 1825 to the Dutch,
great exertions were made to render this settlement important
for its exportation of spices of all descriptions, and, so far as
nutmegs, mace, and cloves, those exertions were eminently
successful. Planters and others, however, soon found, that on
the hauling down of the British flag, and the hoisting of the
Dutch, their prospects underwent a very material change, arising
from duties, and other charges laid on the commerce of the place.
Most of the capitalists retired with the British establishment, of
which, indeed, they formed part. A hard struggle was maintained
by those planters who remained behind, but without success,
and the place is now very little more than a station, for a Dutch
assistant Resident, or a small garrison. In my time there was a
convenient covered wharf at Bencoolen, for landing goods, but
not a vestige now remains ; it was originally built by the English,
794 JAVA
and the Dutch have not cared to preserve or replace it. In the
present wretched state of the settlement, indeed, it is of trifling
consequence, since little difficulty can be found by the few
merchants from Java who from time to time visit Bencoolen
in landing the small quantities of goods they may have to
dispose of.
" The climate of Bencoolen is the worst it has been my fortune
to encounter since I left Europe. The natives, however, do not
seem to suffer from it, but seem to be as healthy and long lived
as Asiatics generally. Of the character of these natives I can say
little that is favourable. They are indolent, proud, though poor,
gamblers, vmdictive, and far too ready with the knife, on little
or no provocation ; they are very fond of dress, and not over
scrupulous how they gratify this taste, for which purpose I have
known them have recourse to theft, lying, robbery, and even
murder.
" Had they one single spark of energy in their composition, they
might be a thriving and contented people, possessuig, as they do,
a boundless extent of rich virgin soil, which they are too lazy to
clear and cultivate. The place is over-run with a race of petty
rajahs and other nobles, who are a social pest, being poor, and
yet too proud to strain a nerve to support themselves and their
families. Sir Stamford Raffles succeeded in rousing the ambition
of these men a little, by giving some of them commissions in the
local corps, which gratified their taste for gay attire, and supplied
them with a few hundred rupees per month to keep up a little
state. From my sweeping reproach of the chiefs, I would except
those Badins with whom I have spent many pleasant evenings, and
who really possessed gentleman-like feelings and tastes.
" The transfer of this settlement to the Dutch (in exchange for
Malacca) in 1825, was a severe blow and great disappointment to
all the natives, both high and low. At a meeting of chiefs held
at the Government House, at which English and Dutch authorities
were both present, for the purpose of completing the transfer, the
senior rajah rose to address the assembly, and spoke to the
following effect : — ' Against this transfer of my country I protest.
Who is there possessed of authority to hand me and my country-
men, like so many cattle, over to the Dutch or to any other
power ? If the English are tked of us, let them go away, but I
deny their right to hand us over to the Dutch. When the
English first came here, they asked for, and got a piece of land to
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 795
build warehouses and dwelling houses upon. That piece of land
is still defined by its original stone wall, and is all the English ever
got from us. We were never conquered, and I now tell the English
and Dutch gentlemen here assembled that, had I the power,
as I have the will, I would resist this transfer to the knife. I am,
however, a poor man, have no soldiers to cope with yours, and
must submit. God's will be done.' This was a straight-forward
speech, but it was thrown away upon the callous ears of the
hearers. Delivered in pure Malay, it sounded stronger than in
this translation. The speaker was an old man, with whose power
and win for mischief, the British had good cause to be acquainted.
" The country round Bencoolen is, with the exception of the
spice plantations, covered with a thick forest. The forests
abound with tiger and elephant. The elephant here is of a large
size, and is occasionally caught in snares by the natives, for the
sake of his tusks, which I have seen weighing 120 pounds each.
This huge animal is not dangerous to man, unless his path is
crossed, when particularly, if a single male one, he becomes a
formidable neighbour. He is easily tamed, but the native here
is too indolent to trouble himself with the task. The only one I
ever saw made use of was sent by the King of Acheen to Sir
Stamford Raffles, and was in my time the property of my friend,
Mr. Robert Bogle.
" Bencoolen is occasionally visited by the hill tribes from the
mountains. They come down in bands of 10, 15 and 20 men,
bringing with them gold dust to barter for opium.
" I have frequently heard it said, ' Go where you will, you are
sure to find a rat and a Scotchman.' My having visited Bencoolen
enables me to contradict this aphorism, for there I found abund-
ance of rats, one Englishman, and not a single Scot.^ I must
confess, however, that this is the only place in which I have ever
found the Englishman without the Scot.
" From Bencoolen I proceeded to Padang. Padang, as its
name implies, is situated on a plain, and is a very healthy place a
few feet above the level of the sea.
" It was once in possession of a considerable trade, but this has
diminished.
^ In 1829, when G. F. Davidson last visited Bencoolen, there were many
more than one Englishman, but the rest were inland on the estates. There
were also many Americans, but it is quite possible, and, as G. F. Davidson
says so, probable, that there were no Scotchmen. — D. M. C.
796 JAVA
" When the English ceded Padang to the Dutch in 1818, the
natives of the Mohammedan faith, called Padres, said they would
never submit to their power, and well they have kept their word."
1832. George Windsor Earl visited Java in 1832, and
some of his notes are worth recording : —
" On our arrival in the Dutch schooner Monkey, Captain Pace,
at Batavia roads on 2nd September, we amused ourselves by
examining the ships in the harbour, for the town of Batavia
was nearly concealed from our view by the trees. The majority
of ships were Dutch, but several other flags were flying, amongst
which the Stars and Stripes of the United States were not the
least numerous.
" The English ships, of which there were five or six, did not
appear to advantage when compared with the handsome models
of the Dutch East Indiamen, the finest class of merchant vessels
in the world. On arrival at the Boom or Custom House, a large
building below the town, ^ we landed, and passed into the principal
part of the town, where a number of whitewashed brick houses
chiefly occupied as offices and warehouses by European merchants
were ranged along each bank of the river and fronted by rows of
trees. We landed opposite to a large retail store, belonging to an
Englishman, which I found was the rendezvous of all the English
who have an hour to throw away. A group of merchants and
ships' captains were conversing at the entrance of the store, many
of whom greeted Captain Pace as an old acquaintance. In the
afternoon I accompanied a gentleman to whom I had brought a
letter of introduction, to his house six miles from Batavia. All
the Europeans reside in the country, sleeping in the town for a
single night being sufficient to bring on fever. We left town at
4 o'clock in my friend's buggy drawn by a fast little Javanese
horse. We passed many handsome houses situated in square
enclosures, generally planted with shrubs, having a circular
carriage drive, arrived at my friend's residence at 5 o'clock.
Several neat gaily dressed native servants were hastening to and
fro to the kitchen ; a gardener was chasing a cassowary.
" We sat down to a dinner of fish, flesh and fowl, aided by
curries and stews, and fruits, pme-apples and mangosteins. The
mode of life pursued by the Europeans is rather monotonous, but
is easily supported.
' The shed, etc., still exist.
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 797
" Early rising is generally practised, the time before breakfast
is spent in riding or gardening, according to the taste of the
individual. After a meal at 8 o'clock they repair to their town
offices, returning at 5 o'clock, and a drive round the suburbs, or
an evening at the Harmonie, an establishment formed on the
principle of a large club of London, which the majority of the
European residents, Dutch and foreign, are members.
" On Sunday evenmgs a military band performs in the Kon-
nings Plain, which attracts the residents, who attend in carriages,
or on horseback.
" The community is occasionally enlivened by an amateur
play, or a grand ball given by one of the public functionaries.
The annual races which are always well attended, were established
and are principally supported bj^ the English.
"All the Europeans or Creoles are enrolled in the schuterij or
militia, of which there is an infantry and a cavalry regiment, the
greater part of the English residents being in the latter. The
Dutch ships from Europe seldom penetrate beyond Batavia, and
the produce of the other possessions is brought in Dutch country
ships, a fine class of vessels, for the most part owned, commanded
and officered by British subjects.
" Some of the Dutch families who have been long established
in the island possess large bodies of slaves, who are attached to
their establishments.
" There are a few private Dutch merchants, but the trade
between Java and Holland is principally in the hands of the
Nederlandsch Handel Maat Schappy, or Dutch Commercial
Society, 1 which, like the generality of public companies, is very
detrimental to individual enterprise. Some of the most influential
individuals in Holland are shareholders in the company, and it is
said that the most important personage in the state is deeply
interested in it. Possessed of such advantages, it is not surprising
that the society is enabled to distance all competitors.^
" The British-born subjects at Batavia form the most influential
body of private merchants, and the revenues derived by the
Government from the duties imposed on British manufactures
J Netherlands Trading Company.
2 Extract from a Dutch newspaper of November, 1835 : — " The existence
of the Society of Commerce is an estimable benefit to Holland. This
society has prevented the commerce of our Indian possessions from falling
into the hands of the English and the Americans."
798 JAVA
must materially aid the great expenditure necessary for the
maintenance of its power in the island. The Dutch, however,
cannot have taken this view of the subject, for although the rate
of duties to be levied on British goods has been fixed by treaty,
they have not hesitated to raise them to such an amount as to act
almost as a prohibition.
" I could not learn the exact number of British subjects in
Java, but including those employed in the mercantile navy, it
must exceed two hundred. A portion of these are engaged in
the culture and manufacture of sugar, machinery imported from
England being employed in the works.
" This portion of husbandry is almost exclusively in the hands
of the British and the Chinese. Large tracts of land are held by
the foreigners, who pay a tax on the estimated value of the
property to Government. The extent of land thus possessed is
between four thousand and five thousand square mUes, and of this
nearly two thousand square miles is the property of British
subjects, one thousand two hundred square miles being the
property of a British Company^ of which Sir Charles Forbes is the
principal.
" From the various accounts I had received of Sourabaya, I
expected to find it somewhat different to Batavia, but had no
idea of the dissimilarity being so striking as it proved. An
appearance of gaiety and activity prevails, which would be sought
for in vain in Batavia, and the cheerfulness of the scene exercises
a corresponding influence over the mind. Boats came off as we
anchored with fruits, etc., for sale, prahms and other craft of all
sizes, principally traders from the eastern districts, were passing
and repassing up and down the river, several ships were under-
going repairs, both inside and outside the river, Javanese
carpenters and caulkers working like bees. The town also
presented a more habita,ble and cheerful appearance, there being
several very handsome European villas at its entrance.
" The situation is considered healthy. I took up my residence
at the house of a Belgian, who having more room than he required
was in the habit of letting a part of it to strangers. My mornings
were chiefly spent in visiting the Chinese and native portions of
the town, and my evenings at the house of an English merchant,
whose hospitality rendered his house the rendezvous of all the
conversable part of the European community.
1 These lands were Pamanoekan and Tjiassem.
ACCOUNTS BY TRAVELLERS, 1519 TO 1832 799
" There were several English residents, agents to mercantile
houses at Batavia, and the number of Europeans being small the
English and Dutch did not form separate societies, but maintained
a tolerably friendly footing with each other.
" The qua}'" opposite my residence formed the evening pro-
menade of the European residents, and especially on a Sunday,
presented a very gay appearance. Every European on passing
another, lifted his hat from his head, but without makmg any
inclination of the body.
" Upon occasions in which the promenade was well attended,
these salutations became so numerous as to furnish constant
employment for the right hand, and a stranger finds the necessity
imposed rather irksome. A story is related of an ourang-outang
from Borneo, belonging to one of the Englishmen, sitting in a chair
in front of one of the houses, dressed in European costume
receiving with the greatest gravity the salutes of the gentlemen
en passant. The town of Sourabaya being of small extent,
carriages are only employed by the ladies, but every resident
keeps a saddle horse or two.
" The only annoyance I experienced was from a large lizard
called a tokkay, which disturbed my slumbers, but I could never
find out its station. These lizards pronounce the word tokkay
in a loud distinct tone, and one would certainly imagine the word
proceeded from the lips of a human being.
" The story is told of an American ship commanded by a
Captain Tookey arriving at Samarang, and the captain very
fatigued retired to rest in the evening at the house of his agent.
When on the point of sleeping, he thought he heard someone
calling out Tookey. ' Hullo,' said the captain, a dead silence ;
presently again came the voice Tookey. ' That's my name,'
answered he ; ' if you want me come to my door.' After a short
pa,use he heard his name pronounced again, ' Well,' said he,
' these savages are unnatural chaps altogether ; they come to a
fellow's window and bawl out his name when he wishes to sleep,
however I'll try if I can't spoil the offender's pipe,' and he forth-
with seized a decanter and opened the window, but not a soul was
to be seen. He was just on the point of closing it and returning
to his bed, when he heard his name called out agaui, as he thought
in a jeering manner, and the decanter was dashed to the opposite
direction from which the voice proceeded. The host and two
or three of his friends happened to be enjoying their cigars in an
800 JAVA
adjomiiig apartment, imagined he was talking in his sleep, but
when they heard him rushing about his room, they thought it
high time to interfere ; upon their entrance they found him in a
violent rage, searching for a missile to hurl at the offendeij, and it
was some time before they could pacify him, or persuade him his
conversation had been with a lizard.
" As a residence Sourabaya is generally preferred by Europeans
to Batavia, for not only is the climate better, but provisions and
luxuries are to be procured cheaper. The smallness of the number
of European females in Sourabaya renders the state of morality
rather lax, many of the residents having a Javanese woman at
the head of their establishments. Such superintendents are to
be found in all the other Dutch settlements, but at Batavia the
situation of the individual thus selected is not very apparent, and
a stranger might take up his abode in a mansion at that place for
some time without being aware that anybody was invested with
the authority over its domestic concerns besides the master.
" At Sourabaya, however, appearances are not so much
regarded, and an European may sometimes be seen taking an
evening drive, in the most public places in the same carriage with
his cliere amie.
" The admission of a Javanese housekeeper is defended on
the plea that an European wife is not to be procured, and that if
they have not someone at the head of the establishment who will
take an interest in their affairs, they will be dreadfully plundered.
There are of course a considerable number of half-castes, or as they
are called * liplaps,' who, it has been maliciously said, inherit the
bad qualities of both parents, without the good ones of either.
" A considerable number of Arabs and their descendants are
settled at Sourabaya, while Gressik, a sea-port town, five miles
distant, is almost an Arab colony.
" I accompanied a friend one morning on a visit to Seyed
Hassan, who is supposed to be the richest Arab merchant and
ship-owner in the Island. He is a very superior Arab, and
speaks Dutch and English tolerably fluently.
" A great number of ships are built and repaired at Sourabaya,
and there is one European ship-builder, an Englishman who has
been settled m the country for a considerable period, and is
carrying on a very extensive business. His carpenters number
three or four hundred, and occupy a village adjoining his dock-
yard."
CHAPTER XIII
Antiquities
The antiquities of Java consist of a number of ruins of
temples and of other sacred edifices formerly dedicated to
the religion of the inhabitants, who after first embracing
Brahmanism changed their faith about a.d.450 to Buddhism,
and a thousand years later, more or less under compulsion,
to Mahometanism.
Years before Buddliism was openly practised, Buddhist
priests from the ancient Hindu settlement (later a kingdom)
of Mendang Kamiilan took up their abode in the Dieng moun-
tain, partly, it may be presumed, for safety's sake, and
partly to bury their chiefs in secrecy, and in freedom from
unwelcome inquiries of their fellow-men. The Dieng, we
may take it, therefore, gradually became a sacred city, and
was visited as such so soon as Buddhism became predomi-
nant in the same way as Mahometans of the present day
visit Mecca. It is for this reason that so many temples
were built on the top of the Dieng mountain, the remains
of some of which in fair preservation may still be seen.
These ruins puzzled the experts for years, their number
being so remarkable that for a long time, and down to to-day,
they were thought to be the remains of the last city of the
Buddhists, hurriedly built to receive the faithful fleeing
before the Islamic banner. It is of course not only possible,
but probable, that a great many Buddliists did flee to the
Dieng when the Arabs were winning the day. It is also
very probable that in the Dieng Buddhism still existed
after Mahometanism was predominant everywhere else in
J. — VOL. II. L
802 JAVA
Java. It is therefore fully entitled to be considered as
the last stronghold of the Buddhist religion. The riches
which were once hoarded here are shown by the numerous
beautiful ornaments cast in gold faithfully depicting scenes
from life which are continually being dug up by the
natives.
Long before Buddhism or Brahmanism, or any true
religion was practised, Java went through a Stone age.
The earliest records of this have been found in the Pre-
anger or western end of the island, known as the Sunda
districts. These very earliest inhabitants lived in caves and
have left here and there distinct traces in rough carvings
on the rocks on the southern sea-shore near the river of
Karang bolang and on the river Jolang near the village
Chi-tapen.
Besides these, stone axes and stone spear-heads have been
dug up from time to time when new lands were being opened
for rice or tea plantations.
There must also, as in Europe, have been a Bronze
period, as several bronze hatchets have also been dug up
in West Java.
Nothing, or scarcely anything, is known regarding
Sunda's ancient history.
The next stage is where sacred spots called by the natives
*' Kabuyntans " are found decorated with heavy, ugly, and
clumsy figures of men and animals ; these are thought
to go back to a.d. 400.
The Hindu ruins are found principally in the country
around the present towns of Djockjakarta, Modjokerto,
and Malang. Near the first-mentioned town the world-
famous temples of Boro-Budur and Brambanan are situated ;
while the remains of the old Hindu city of Majapahit, with
its temples, etc., are near Modjokerto.
The temples of Singosarie are near the last-named town
of Malang.
BURO BUDUR.
lU Kii HUDUR.
i
ANTIQUITIES 803
BORO-BUDUK.
The greatest of all these temples is that of the Boro-
Budur ; there is nothing to equal it in Java, or even India,
and it is the finest example of its kind extant. Buddhism,
in fact, has left no such record anywhere else. It is second
in the world only to the great Egyptian Pyramids, but it
is first in being far more costly and beautiful. Moreover,
the amount of human labour expended on the Great Pyra-
mids sinks into insignificance w^hen compared ^\dth that
required to complete this sculptured hill temple in the
interior of Java ; and as the Pyramids surpass the Vihara
in height and area and everlasting monoliths, so do the
Boro-Budur surpass the Egyptian monuments in decorative
elaboration in its three miles of alto and bas reliefs, and in
its hundreds of statues. Ferguson, one of the greatest autho-
rities on Oriental architecture, says its sculptures '* are com-
phcated and refined beyond any examples known in India."
Buddhism, we know, w^as introduced into India about
B.C. 500, superseding the ancient Hindu or'Vedic system.
When its founder died, relics were distributed about India,
and fitting repositories were constructed in which to preserve
them. A reputed tooth found its way to Ceylon a.d. 311.
That the Boro-Budur must have been such a repository is
unquestionable, for it is scarcely possible to imagine that
such a work would ever have been undertaken unless some
great object were in view ; and what greater object could
there have been than a resting-place for some of the
remains of the Buddha ?
It is still a problem when the Boro-Budur was built.
That distinguished Buddhist scholar, Professor Rhys Davids,
has stated liis opinion that this temple was built in the
thirteenth century, while Dr. J. Groneman, the honorary
president of the Archaeological Society of Jogyacarta
(Djockjakarta), considers that it has existed for about
eleven centuries.
l2
804 JAVA
Its artistic value has certainly no equal, and even the
great temple of Angkor in Cambodia can scarcely be com-
pared with the grandeur of its conception and the super-
excellence of the execution, with the beauty and unity of
the whole, and with the harmony of its parts. It may be
assumed from this unity that only one architect devised
its plan, a man whose ideal must have been far above that
of his fellows. Only some strikingly great man could have
created such a design, a design which it took thousands upon
thousands of skilled workmen and trained sculptors, working
through a great many decades, to carry out. That this
wonderful building w^as never actually finished is clear
from unfinished sculptural work found at its base, which
proves the time it must have taken to build, during which
the religion of Buddhism had already undergone a change
and was on the decline in Java.
At a distance the Boro-Budur stands out above every-
thing, being built upon a small hill ; the observer sees a
many-sided pyramid of stone-work, a number of cupolas
and spines, surmounted by an unmistakable dome crowned
with a large spire.
On drawing near, it is seen that the Boro-Budur is square
in plan, having sides about 120 metres long. This square
plan, covering almost the same amount of ground as the
pyramid of Gizeh, is repeated in four galleries, which mount
higher and liigher, being connected by stairs in the centre
of each side.
The galleries have on their outside a balustrade with
sculptures, the inside wall of these galleries containing,
similarly, sculptures. The mathematical precision of it all
must strike even the veriest novice ; it is furthermore
adorned throughout, not a foot, not an inch even, having
been left unworked by the chisel. There are seventy-two
dagobas, resembling gigantic lotus buds, the open lattice-
work of which reveals a life-sized Buddha image. Each
ANTIQUITIES 805
face is turned slightly upwards towards the supreme centre
shrine, a domed and spired dagoba 50 feet high, which at
one time contained an immense full-length image of Buddha.
It was inside here that the small phial or vase filled with
ashes must have rested. To-day no certainty as to this is
possible, as long before the Boro-Budur became the subject
of serious investigations by scientific explorers treasure-
seekers seem to have broken into the main dagoba. In
this way they obtained access to the cella, in which the
huge Buddha image was enthroned. The floor was broken
up and the gi'ound dug up for a depth of several
metres.
In 1842, when a proper survey was made of the head
dagoba, the image had unfortunately sunk into the ground,*
and A^ath the exception of a few metal objects nothing was
found. The fii'st treasure-seekers had taken all there was,
including, no doubt, the ashes, which would have been
enclosed in a golden vase, box, or phial. The sculptured
figures on the lower series, which are now out of sight, are
supposed to have been merely architectural ornaments.
It is possible that they represent some history or legend,
but the supposition is based merely on the fact that their
import has not been elucidated.
These sculptured pictures are ever-varying repetitions
of the same idea, namely, of a man sitting by a scent-
offering or a flower-vase, and a man standing between
two women slaves, attendants, or nymphs. Each pair of
pictures is separated by the isolated figure of a woman
holding a lotus-flower. On the cornice over these images
there were at regular intervals, right over the sitting men,
miniature temples, each containing an image of Buddha,
with the yrabha (glory, or disc of light) behind the head,
sitting on a lotus throne.
The whole number of niches with Buddha images in
' It has now been replaced by Captain van Erp.
806 JAVA
the five enclosing walls reach the remarkable figure of
432. That is to say-
On the lowermost wall
On the second wall .
On the third wall
On the fourth wall .
On the fifth and last wall
4 X 26 = 104
4 X 26 = 104
4 X 22 = 88
4 X 18 = 72
4 X 16 = 64
Total . . . .432
On the first terrace there is a most exquisitely chiselled
set of sculptures, giving a complete series of historical
incidents in the life of Buddha from his birth to his death.
How long it took, once the idea had been planned, to put
it thus into sculpture it is impossible to say ; but one thing
is sure, that it must have occupied generations upon genera-
tions. One of the most remarkable things is that, as
already related, the foundation of such a monument as this
is wrapped in mystery.
In 1886 a Dutch engineer of the name of Yzerman, who
discovered that the temple had in its original plan a different
basement from the one it now has, found one or two panels
with some short inscriptions on them. These he took to
be about eleven centuries old. There is, however, nothing
to prevent their being very much older ; there are absolutely
no other indications, direct or indirect, as to when the temple
was begun or when finished.
The physiognomy of all the faces is distinctly Hindu ;
the type is not to be mistaken. Another remarkable fact
is that the sculptured ships are in design of a great age.
They are the same as one sees in Egyptian sculptures,
with banks of rowers. There are thatched houses on piles ;
in these sculptures women with lotus-flowers on their heads
and the Tree of Knowledge, or sacred ho tree of Gaya.
We see palm-fringed bathing-tanks, seed time, harvest,
ploughing, reaping, bullock-carts, and water-buffaloes ;
ANTIQUITIES
807
there are elephants, denoting royal Indian state-life, and
coracle-like boats, probably emblems of the vessels in
which the first Hindus were rowed to Java, to the peaceful
isles, called sacred by them. The number of the sculptures
amounts to over 2,000, leaving out the 432 dagoba images.
They are distributed as follows : —
On the outside of the outer wall —
At the top .
Lower down
On the inside
On the second wall —
Outside
Inside .
On the third wall —
Outside
Inside .
On the fourth wall-
Outside
Inside .
On the fifth wall, outside
Total .
408 sculptures
160
568
240
192
. 108
. 165
88
. 140
. 72
. 2,141
A slight examination of all these terraces soon proves,
even to the uninitiated, the reality of the history.
The first scenes are a series representing what happened
before the birth of Buddha. The next series shows him
leaving his throne attended by three former saints, to
descend into the world to initiate his great and pure religion.
Next are several images of Buddha's parents — the Sdkya
King, Suddhodana, and his first wife, Maya, who is honoured
as the future mother of the divine son. We then see
Buddha in the shape of an elephant lying on lotus cushions
and descending to his future mother. The descent is
said to have been a dream of Maya. The next series show
Maya travelling, in accordance with the custom of her
country, to her father's house, where she was to await her
confinement. On her travels she stops at a beautiful
808 JAVA
grove, or possibly oasis, called Lumhini ; here you see the
Buddha unexpectedly born out of her side while she was
standing under a tree.
Maya now made seven steps towards the four cardinal
points and towards the zenith, as a token that her son
should hold sway over all the five worlds.
A shower of lotus-flowers falls upon the Buddha, and
lotus plants burst forth into full bloom under his feet at
every step he takes. A glory or crescent behind his head
denotes his heavenly origin. There now follows a series
of groups of the Buddha on his father's knees receiving the
homage of all the high priests and laymen, who acknowledge
his non-earthly origin. The reason he is on his father's knees
is explained by the fact that Maya is supposed to have left
this earth for Paradise seven days after giving birth to the
Buddha.
The Buddha's mastery in sports is indicated by a com-
petition with skilful bowmen, in which he bends a bow
which no one else can, and shoots the arrow through a
row of seven coconut trees. By this feat he is supposed
to have gained the hand of the purest of all the Sakya
maidens, his cousin Yasodhara. This is all clearly depicted,
panel following panel as page follows page in a book.
Other sculptures show how, in spite of his father's precau-
tions, the sorrows and sadness of human life are revealed
to him. Buddha now dreams, and afterwards he decides
to renounce this world with its superficialities and to leave
domestic happiness.
He knows he must tear himself away from his wife, his
child, his father, and prepares himself by a life of deep
seclusion, hardship, penance, prayer, self-renunciation, self-
command, and self-denial for his great and noble self-
imposed task, the salvation of suffering mankind. He sees
a man broken down with old age and a sick man in the agonies
of death ; a corpse shows him the transitoriness of this
ANTIQUITIES 80^
life, and a begging priest tells him of the narrow way in
which life and death can be conquered and peace attained
by the subjection of all passion and carnal appetite, and
by the desire to do good to all men and to assist by teacliing
the wicked. He discusses his final decisions with his father,
who is disappointed. The sleeping watches show that the
discussions last all night.
The next panels indicate that these decisions have been
communicated to his wives. The meditative attitude a&
well as the large shining crescent of light which crowns
the higher seat on which he spends the night among his
sleeping women show how he has been suddenly raised
above ordinary human beings by his self-imposed task.
The next sculpture shows him departing on his horse Kant-
haka ; this is followed by another in which the lotus cushion
carries him in aerial flight, showing once again his heavenly
mission. He is now seen in the humble and lowly dress
of a wanderer.
We then see Buddha in his wanderings learning all he
can, or rather trying to see what can be learned, from
Brahman teachers. He learns nothing, however, his
wisdom being greater than theirs.
In another panel he is visiting Rajagriha, the capital of
Magadha, King Bimhisara with his queen coming out to
meet him and offering him homage and half his kingdom.
Buddha, however, had left all earthly greatness and declined
the offer.
Since his wanderings began he has been followed by
five disciples ; and Buddha is now seen on the side of a
stream striving for more wisdom by self-mortification
and fasting.
In the next panel one sees Sujata, the daughter of the
village chief, nursing the exhausted wanderer and feeding
him to recovery on cow's milk. He now grasps everything
as it were, and his eyes through his divine thoughts and
810 JAVA
wisdom are at last opened. His object has been attained :
he has become " The Buddha," that is, the EnHghtened
One. As the Awakening Light of Heaven he will now
go forth into the world of wickedness to teach the true doc-
trine that men may turn from their evil ways and be yet
saved from sin while there is still time. We see him seated
on rushes under the fig tree, sacred from this time on as
the Tree of Knowledge and Wisdom, the hodhidruma, or
ho tree, going through his last struggle with Satan, who,
being conquered, will leave him for ever. Armies of false
gods and demons from hell are hurled upon him, but they
leave him unscathed. A large disc of light displays the
rising sun in all its splendour, indicating Buddha's increase
of strength.
The sculpture-work now displays Mara, endeavouring
to seduce or subdue him through the charms and wiles
of his lovely daughters, but he has overcome all earthly
passion and weakness, and his life is henceforth devoted to
a life of love, charity, kindness, and thoughtfulness for all
his fellow-creatures.
As a holy and consecrated teacher, highly revered and
worshipped, he sets out for the holy city of Benares. The
last of the series of beautiful sculptures represents the
washing of his corpse.
This is the story of the Boro-Budur. Can it be supposed,
after such a work, that the building of this temple was for
any other purpose than that of the preservation of the vase
of ashes ? Could any other object have called forth such a
display ? The monument itself answers the question.
As stated already, Yzerman found that originally there
was another base ; an examination of the foundations
showed that the original outside wall was too weak for the
weight it had to support. The signs of its weakness must
have soon been apparent to the Hindu architect, who,
however much it must have grieved him, did the best he
ANTIQUITIES 811
could under the circumstances by burying it, together with
160 reHefs, under a reconstruction. This was carried out
with great care, the sculptures being given an envelope of
clay, so that when they were discovered they were found
in an excellent state of preservation. The 160 buried
sculptures, after being photographed, were buried again.
These reliefs were different from the others, inasmuch as
instead of representing historical facts in the life of Buddha
they depicted the life of earthly mortals — feasts, hunting,
scenes, bacchanalia, and representations of fearful punish-
ments.
For centm-ies this temple lay buried, and until 1710
even the Javans did not know of its existence. Eaffles
hearing about it in 1812 sent Colonel Colin Mackenzie,
an officer well acquainted with the antiquities of India,
and Captain George Baker, of the Bengal Service, to survey,
measure, and take drafts of the ruins of this and other
temples.
To unearth this temple two hundred coohes a day were
working for six weeks under English engineers, cutting and
clearing away a riotous luxuriance of tropical bushes and
creepers which had practically grown into and through
the living rock. The tons of earth, moreover, under which
the ruins lay gave them much work, so that it was years
before the temple was entirely uncovered.
To-day, having undergone the careful repairs under
Dutch engineers which were needed in parts, although in
the main the temple was wonderfully well preserved,
this structure is no longer a ruin, but is in a state equal
almost to what it was when fii'st completed, before it had
felt the effects of earthquakes and the devastating influence
of tropical vegetation and of the w^eight of the thousands
of tons of earth under which it lay buried for centuries.
Taking all these facts into consideration the Boro-Budur,
it must be admitted, is a wonderful example of the great
812 JAVA
ta,lent and skill of the Hindu architects, who two thousand
years ago were infinitely more gifted than they are to-day.
This art of sculpture and artistic decoration would appear
to have been lost to the world for ever.
Professor Wallace, in his book on the Malay Archipelago,
says "the beauty and number of the architectural remains
of Java compared with those of Central America, and
perhaps even those of India, the amount of human labour
and skill expended on the Pyramids, sink into insignificance
when compared with that required to complete the Boro-
Budur."
Another writer describes it as "a beautiful sculptured
record of the arts, industries, culture, civilization, and
despotism of the golden age of Hindu rule in Java, when it
was at its height in the sixth century. A record by the
sculptor's chisel in picture. A veritable miracle, and the
wonder of the world."
Brumund calls it " the most remarkable and magnificent
monument Buddhism ever erected " ; whilst Ferguson says :
"it is the highest development of Buddhist art and ritual,
and the culmination of the architectural style which
originating at Barhut b.c. 400 had begun to decay in India
at the time when the colonists were erecting this master-
piece of the ages in the heart of Java."
Chandi Pawon.
Chandi Pawon is quite near the Boro-Budur, but was not
known to exist until a few years ago, being buried in wood
and forest and overgrown with a rich vegetation which
practically smothered it.
It is just behind the kampong of Brojonalan, and when
discovered a gigantic tree, standing 100 feet high, had grown
through and around it, causing great havoc, as can easily
be imagined.
Chandi Pawon shows much in common with its neigh-
ANTIQUITIES 813
bour Chandi Mendut, and being both Buddhistic in carving
and ornamentation they have much the same motives.
The temple is led up to by a small flight of stairs, which,
besides having the Kala Makara ornament, are decorated
with beautiful sculpturing.
In this we see a tree covered by a payong (umbrella) ;
beneath the tree are jewels, and next to them a kneeling
figure with a prabha behind the head, and several other
figures (possibly disciples) standing near.
The external decoration of the temple walls shows the
usual uniformity and symmetrical precision so character-
istic of Hindu art. On some of the panels male figures
(Bodhisatvas) are to be seen ; the upper part of their bodies
is bare, a light garment hides their hips, showing their
rounded bodies, with jewels on their neck, breast, arms,
legs, and hips.
The female figures which are seen at Pawon are charac-
teristic of the rather pecuhar pose of all Javanese women
as they rest on one leg with projecting hip. The propor-
tions of these figures are perfect, bringing out in strong relief
the short upper half of the body with full breast and fine
waist.
With the exception of the jewels, these figures of male
and female Hindus depict faithfully in pose and clothing
the Javanese of the present day at the court of Djock-
jakarta.
Here on all occasions the men are bared to the waist,
whilst the women wear a tightly-drawn sarong round them,
barely concealing their breast, above which swells out an
absolutely bare upper body and shoulders.
On another part of the temple we see the Tree of
Knowledge, w^th male and female angels ; whilst on another
panel is seen a tiger. Most of the images here have dis-
appeared from the niches.
In the chamber inside a large-sized Buddha no doubt
814 JAVA
once rested, but this, like the other figures, has gone, whither
it is impossible to say ; but from the situation of this temple
it cannot have been transported anywhere else. The inside
•walls are not ornamented. The roof is a single one, adorned
with different- sized dagobas, at varying heights.
Although not to be compared with the Mendut or the
Prambanan temples, Pawon is well worth the small trouble
of a visit by anyone who may be at the Boro-Budur.
EuiNS ON THE Plain of Prambanan.
These ruins are quite near the town of Djockjakarta,
being on the boundaries of this and the Soerakarta resi-
dencies. It is generally held that the building of the temples
of Prambanan was the high-water mark of Buddhistic
monumental art. They were begun after the Boro-Budur,
and on old stones bearing Sanscrit ciphers the date given is
about A.D. 750.
The old empire of Mataram was then flourishing, and the
kraton or palace was situated on the spur of the hill dividing
the plains of Sorogedug and Prambanan, the remains here
being called " Kedaton van Katu Boko," ^ after the Mataram
prince of that name.
The ruins here show in every way that they could never
have belonged to any temple of worship. The plateau is
paved with stones of quite gigantic proportions, and there
are still some remains of an encircling wall, with its usual
four gates, a moat, and a bathing-place. Near the moat
are the stones of a lot of small dwelling-houses, such as would
be required for attendants, etc. From sundry discoveries
it is clear the princes were Buddhists, and grottoes in the
neighbourhood suggest a custom still in use among the
sultans of Mataram to-day, namely, a disappearance into
seclusion and solitude for a short time when an important
decision was required.
1 Probably the Bame as Bdka.
ANTIQUITIES 815
It is quite likely that this palace, being situated where it
is, was in point of fact a formidable fortress. Why, there-
fore, such a situation was abandoned, and so completely
(it was lost sight of for centuries), is a question that can only
be answered conjecturally. The palace no doubt existed
centuries before Prambanan was ever thought of. In the
neighbourhood are large quarries of sandstone, which from
their appearance of once having been systematically
worked prove that the foundations of the Prambanan
temples were laid with the stone as a filling.
For no other purpose would it have been required, being
of no use for outside work. From where the palace stood,
the old princes of Mataram had a magnificent view of the
plain and surrounding country.
Chandi Kalasan.
Chandi Kalasan, or Kali Bening, is near the first railway
station of that name, after leaving Djockjakarta travelling
eastward. It was built in a.d. 779, and is one of the noblest
monuments left us by the Hindus in Java. Quite near a
stone was found, on which in " Nagari " character the fol-
lowing was inscribed : " When seven hundred had passed in
the Saka era the prince, in order to do homage to his teacher,
after a wager (?) founded a Tara temple. The village
territory of Kalasa was given to the temple."
The statue of Tara has, however, never been found.
This no doubt led Baker in 1812 to call this chandi a state
reception hall, differing from Mackenzie, who always
maintained it was a temple, which of course is the case.
The plan is square, with a projection on each face, but
the whole is in a condition of utter decay, and unless
speedily taken in hand will soon be no more.
The principal chamber, where the statue of Tara must
have stood, is still to be seen, although the roof is in a
816 JAVA
damaged and ruinous state. One of the projecting parts,
with signs of beautiful sculpturing still visible, is to-day
in fair preservation ; the other three, however, are almost
gone, the stones being used by villagers for making walls
for their " kampongs." The two lateral chapels and the
eastern porch, together with the surrounding terrace and
its flight of four steps, have unfortunately all disappeared.
The roof originally was a high pyramidical structure.
This pyramid was composed of erections rising one on
top of the other with dagobas at the corners resting on
lotus cushions, the top being one large dagoba, of far
greater dimensions than the others, which decreased in
size as the circumference of the rising erections decreased.
When completed it must have been a beautiful piece of
workmanship, although it is said that in its construction
no other tools than a chisel, hammer, water-level, square,
and plumb-line were used. This is quite possible, as the
skill of the Hindu architects was undoubtedly very great.
Although not a single image to-day remains, each of the
niches, which are sculptured with exquisite beauty, con-
tained at one time a figure standing, or more Hkely sitting,
on lotus cushions {padmdsana). The doorway to the temple
was comparatively small and flanked by two pillars, on
the tops of which were two figures supporting on their
raised hands the lintel, a plain stone. On this stone rested
a fine sculptured arch, under the recess of which there was
formerly a figure. Outside the pillars there is a Naga
head, with a widely opened mouth, and an upper lip curling
into an elephant's trunk.
The roof, already described, consisted of three edifices.
On the first rose the second, which was octagonal in shape
and at each side provided with a niche or small temple
for the reception of the Buddha image, which over the
four principal walls was flanked by two panel-shaped
-divisions on each side and surmounted by thi'ee smaller
ANTIQUITIES 817
dagobas, a large dagoba being on the cornice over the
four obHque sides.
The third storey of the roof rose from within the circle
of the dagobas of the second. It was also octagonal,
each side containing the Buddha niche, flanked by two
richly ornamented festooned bands, and likewise surmounted
like the other roofs, with dagobas, a larger one on each
oblique side, and three smaller ones on the principal sides.
Above this (as already said) from inside the dagobas of
the third roof rose the crowning dagoba.
With considerable difficulty Mr. Yzerman and Mr. Ley die
Melville have constructed a drawing from which the original
appearance of this temple can be studied, and if the design
is even only approximately correct, the building, with its
carvings and sculpture-work, must have been a beautiful
specimen of Hindu art, while the roof must have made a
powerful impression on the inhabitants who worshipped
here.
Chandi Kalasan can therefore be classed as one of the
masterpieces of the Hindu remains of Central Java — not-
withstanding that to-day it is a decayed and fast-crumbling
ruin — a work worthy of the founder of a perfect religion.
Chandi Sari.
Chandi Sari, or Chandi Bendah, was built at the same
time as Chandi Kalasan, that is to say, in a.d. 779.
Its purpose, however, was to be a monastery for the
priests or monks who worshipped at Kalasan or took care
of it. The distance between the two was less than three-
quarters of a kilometre.
The building at one time had a second floor, and in this
the monks dwelt. The first floor was used for religious
worship, and the remains of altars upon which statues stood
are still to be seen.
J. — VOL. II. M
818 JAVA
A glance at the plan will show that it was divided into
three separate compartments on each storey. The proof that
the top floor was used as the dwelling-house of the priests
is found from the fact that in the window openings there
are still flanges visible against which wooden shutters
would have been closed ; and such shutters would only be
used if the apartments were used for sleeping in. The win-
dows in the lower floor show holes, which goes to prove that
they had iron or possibly wooden bars.
In the interior it is possible still to see the holes where
the ends of bulky wooden beams were inserted to hold up
the wooden floor of the top storey. The way up to this
was by a stone staircase, slight traces of which are still
discernible.
When complete it was a rather long rectangular building
of dark-grey stone. The entrance was in the middle, and
it had formerly a porch, but this has now quite disappeared.
To the right and left, on each side of the entrance, there are
square windows, flanked by panels with bas-relief images.
Two Nagas are on the side posts of the door ; their heads,
with the usual curled elephants' trunks, are turned out,
and rest upon kneeling elephants ; on each elephant there
is a man. In the opened mouth of the Naga there is a bird.
The chief windows have been beautifully carved and sur-
mounted by some perfect sculpturing.
On the roof in front there were formerly three dagobas
with spires each containing an image. At the back there
are no windows on the ground, only dummies adorned with
bas-reliefs ; on the top floor, at the back, however, there
are three windows, so that it is possible that this floor was
subdivided into six compartments instead of three. All
the windows, sham or otherwise, are flanked by panels with
standing images. The central room on the ground floor
received hght and air only through the entrance. The
inside may therefore have been artificially lighted in some
ANTIQUITIES 819
way, as otherwise there would scarcely have been light
enough. Despite the fact that this building has had to
bear the ravages of time and has passed through numerous
volcanic eruptions of the mountain Merapi and some severe
earthquakes, it is still in very fair state of preservation.
The Hindu architect when building the Chandi Sari,
as with the other Hindu temples, built the walls without
mortar or cement ; nevertheless they are so strong that,
having defied thirteen centuries, they look as if they will
withstand as many more. If there were, as has been
assumed, six dwelling-rooms on the top storey, then, allow-
ing four monks to each one, this cloister or monastery
housed twenty-four priests, which number would have been
sufficient for a day and night service at the Chandi Kalasan.
Chandi Sari was a very richly decorated and sculptured
structure, and reflects glory on its architect.
The Group of Temples near Prambanan.
The Netherlands India Railway has a station of this
name ; it is only half an hour from Djockjakarta. Whether
the temples here are Buddhistic or Brahmanic is a question
about which there is some difference. Those who hold
them to be Brahmanic justify their opinion by the fact
that there is not here a single genuine Buddha image,
but many Brahmanic gods ; while those who hold them
to be Buddhistic point to the sacred ho-trees covered with
parasols and other signs, which would never have occurred
in any Brahmanic temple. Then there are the dagoba-
shaped bells, the posture of the figures, which is that pecuhar
to Buddha images, and numerous other marks, which must
in any case be taken into account even if they do not abso-
lutely prove that the temples are Buddhistic.
These temples were built about a.d. 750 to a.d. 779 one
after the other, and it is reasonable to suppose that they were
m2
820 JAVA
built by Buddhists over the ashes of the kings and princes
of a Buddhistic empire.
Before they were finished, circumstances the nature of
which will never be ascertained stopped short the under-
taking. There must have been some striking and appalling
event to throw this Hindu empire of Middle Java into
confusion. The catastrophe must have been sudden and
overwhelming. At one of these temples the stones that
were being shaped into Nagas were a few years ago still
to be seen ; the labourers had suddenly suspended their
work whilst in the midst of it. On other temples the work
was never completed, while some had scarcely been begun :
all degrees of completion can be seen. The ruins here form
a group of eight chandis ; three are large, three are smaller,
two are still smaller. The three large ones are on the west,
whilst the three smaller ones have been built on the east
side of a spacious square. The two small ones are at the
end of the space between -the two rows. The western
chandis have the entrances facing east ; the eastern ones
look towards the west. Around the terrace at least 156
very small temples were found. Allowing that the larger
temples were built over the remains of the Hindu princes,
then the smaller ones would be for the ashes of lesser
members of the royal family.
Beyond an inscription found on a stone slab with the
words " Kaja-Mataram," proving the existence of a Hindu
empire of that name, absolutely nothing has been found to
show who were buried in all these mausoleums. The three
temples on the west side are polygonal in shape, raised on
high basements, and led up to by rather steep steps. Those
on the east side are quadrangular. The two small chandis,
which are now in ruins, were probably also quadrangular.
Most of the images from these temples have disappeared,
European treasure-seekers, and possibly native ones also,
having ransacked them a century ago. The sculptured panels
ANTIQUITIES 821
that are not mutilated show excellent workmanship and an
exuberance of fancy and execution. The various niches,
which contain three heavenly nymphs standing, or possibly
dancing, with arms interlaced, show considerable skill.
This motive is repeated for some reason or other over
and over again, but the posture of the three Graces is always
a varying one. The great art displayed in the various
reliefs here cannot but excite the admiration even of those
cynics who are " temple-proof " (as I once heard remarked).
The exquisite carving and the sublime beauty of Hindu
sculpture are here in abundant evidence.
We will now give a short description of the three prin-
cipal temples — namely, Siva, Vishnu, and Brahma, called
by some the Chandi Loro Djonggrang (" the shrine of the
maid with the beautiful lips "), in the belief that one of the
images represents Kara Djonggrang, the daughter of the
Ratu Baka, the remains of whose kraton on the hill have
already been described. She was a maid of gentle birth,
but was led astray before her marriage. To-day Javans,
Chinese, half-castes, and even Europeans offer incense and
flowers to Loro Djonggi-ang and ask her goodwill.
Chandi Siva.
Until 1886 the temples on the Prambanan Plain were to
a great extent buried. At this time, however, the Archaeo-
logical Society of Djockjakarta began the work of excava-
tion, which under the able hands of the engineer Yzerman
was carried out on a systematic and thorough plan, and to-
day the glories of these temples are fully exposed to \iev:.
The honorary president of the above society. Dr. J. Grone-
man, has published a book richly illustrated, called " Chandi
Prambanan op Midden Java," in which he does justice to
them.^
' There is an English translation of another of Dr. Yzerman's works
called " Beschryying der Oudheden naby de grens der Eesidenties Soera-
822 JAVA
The Siva temple is the chief temple of this group, but
until 1733 its existence was unknown, when a Dutch
engineer officer happened to rest here on his journey
to Klaten to inspect the place with a view to building a
fort.^ Up the stairs of the temple and before the entrance
on each side there are two Siva figures ; one rests his right
hand on a club and the left on his hip, and is standing on
a lotus throne, with a glory round his head.
The club is an attribute of Kala, that is Siva the Killer,
destroying Time ; but there is a gentle Kala, as generally
conceived by true Buddhists, who considers death to be
no enemy. The images of Kala in the non-Buddhistic
temples of India depict him as a terrible and horrible monster,
with the face of a brute, a large tusked mouth, a collar of
skulls, and several other attributes of the same kind ; none
of these images, however, are found in any of the temples of
Central Java, that is, none with anything more than the
club.
At Singasari, between Lawang and Malang, it is, however,
otherwise, for there the sculptured guards of the non-
Buddhistic Hindu temples were figures of Kala the Terrible,
with all the usual attributes.
The walls of the porch of the Siva temple and the chamber
into which it leads show bas-reliefs of flowers and lotus
rosettes. In the centre of the chamber is a Siva figure
9 feet high. The image has been beautifully cut out of
one block of stone. At the foot of the image are the remains
of the pedestal, in which there was a groove for the sprink-
ling of sweet water as an offering to the gods. The sink
through which the water was carried off is on the left side,
passing out of the head of a ndga, or snake, below, from
karta, en Djogdjakarta," which is also worthy of perusal. The full details
contained in these two books will go far towards filling in the following
slight sketches.
1 The fort was built in 1746.
ANTIQUITIES 823
which it was caught up by true believers into urns as holy
water.
The large Siva image has three eyes ; it has four arms,
and a large disc of light at the back of the head.
The sculptures on the terraces are jewels of exquisite
artistic conception, and when the engineers under Yzerman
gradually unfolded these hidden treasures they gave way
to ecstasies of delight at the ravishing ornamentation
that was daily being brought to light.
One of the series of panels refers to the Rama legend,
as told in the great Indian epic " Ramayana."
The god Narayana is to be recognised by the symbols on
his two hind hands ; he is adorned with a crown of light ;
on the right behind him is his vahana, the sun eagle or holy
bird.
Garuda, represented as a man with a beak, wing and
talons, and Dasaratha, the King of Ayodhya, with his
three wives offer flowers to Narayana. The small breasts
of these women mark their barrenness.
In this connection it is curious to observe that the
Javanese still offer flowers when they ask their gods for a
favour.
In the next panel the king is seen with one of his wives,
whose full breasts mark motherhood.
The following panels, completing a series of twenty-four,
are speaking and life-like reliefs : Visvamitra is depicted
receiving the homage of the king, and the two proceed on
horses to the forests, where Rama kills a she-demon recog-
nisable by her brutish face. Visvamitra is next seen
feeding his birds. The next is the daughter of the King
of Videha being given to the hero who is able to bend Siva's
bow.
The happy couple are next seen returning to their home
and are being met by envoys, who, just like the attendants
of Javan princes of the present day, are carrying princely
824 JAVA
insignia. Games are now indulged in, and shooting with
the bow and arrow is depicted.
The King Dasaratha is again seen conversing with one
of his wives, thus symboHsing the legend of the desire of
the second wife to have the eldest son of the first wife
banished from the court and her own son called to take his
place. The king is next represented as dead through the
washing of the body, just as Buddha's death was depicted.
Another panel shows dancing taking place, symbolic of
a coronation feast. Dasaratha's body is now on the funeral
pile.
The next panel shows the brothers discussing which of
them is to become king. They next defeat the giants of
the forest.
Next Eama, the eldest son, and Lakshmana are in their
hut in the forest together ; the former goes hunting.
Rama is next in the hut by himself with Sita, his wife.
Then Sita is in the hut alone, and the wicked man Ravana,
disguised as a monk, visits her suddenly and drags her
off. Ravana next becomes himself, having ten heads and
twenty armed hands, and flies through the air on a winged
giant to Lanka in Ceylon.
Rama and Lakshmana now search for Sita, and proceed
from one place to another to look for her. Rama next
shoots through seven cocoanut trees. The cocoanuts fall
to the ground and the squirrels are seen eating them.
After a further series Rama is seen crossing the straits
between India and Ceylon, in which he is assisted by an
army of monkeys. He now arrives at the island and marches
to Lanka. Such is the story told by the cliisel of the Hindu
sculpturers.
The Rama legend has also been represented in the Vishnu
and Brahma temples, but the story could never be properly
followed owing to numerous mutilations. While working
here Dr. Yzerman discovered a stone urn, which in addition
ANTIQUITIES 825
to some ashes contained lozenge-shaped gold, silver, and
copper plates, the whole surrounded by a thin copper sheet.
Seven thin gold plates with ancient Javan characters on
them, five small figures cut in gold-leaf, namely, a snake,
a tortoise, a lotus, an ellipse, and an altar pedestal, besides
some spherical gold coins and some small stones, were also
found.
Chandi Vishnu.
The Chandi Vishnu was more or less a copy or repetition
of the Chandi Siva, with the difference, however, that there
is only one interior.
The image in the inner chamber is that of Vishnu, and is
7 feet high. The pedestal is much the same as that of the
Siva image, but with less ornamentation.
Vishnu has a crown, a glory, and four arms, and bears a
chakra, or symbol of the sun, in his upper right hand, and
in the left the wringed conch ; while the lower right hand
rests on a club (the Buddhist Kala) and the left grasps a
triangle.
During the excavations which were carried on here
three smaller Vishnu images were discovered — namely,
Vishnu bearing his w^ife on his left arm in the shape of a
dwarf ; Vishnu as the lion-man ripping open the body of
the demon Hiranya Kasipu, who denies the existence of
the gods ; and Vishnu disguised as a dwarf approaching
the King Bali, who has obtained power in the lower world by
his wonderful penance.
There are some twenty-seven groups of images. Each
group is the modified representation of one and the same idea,
the chief Hindu sculptor who planned all these represen-
tations having evidently the one motive running in liis head.
This is a god as Bodhisatva seated on a throne, between
two women, who stand behind him. These women hold
826 JAVA
a lotus in one hand, and are very like the women in the
Boro-Budur. The women are sometimes taken for nymphs
or attendants, but on account of the crowns they probably
hold a somewhat higher position in the Buddhist system.
The first of the twenty-seven series denotes women with
flowers in the hand and a god with a lotus in his right
hand. There is a dagoba on the flower and the nymphs
are in varying postures. In changing form this subject
continues nine times.
In the tenth group the god has on his left side a bow and
arrow instead of the lotus. The next shows again the
nymphs holding flowers in their right hands.
The following one shows a club in the right hand of the
god, whilst he has in his left hand in the next a staff with a
flag on it, his right clasping the usual lotus.
The fourteenth group once more proves what has already
been said here, namely, that these temples on the Plain of
Prambanan were still being built, occupied, or used as
mausoleums when they had suddenly to be abandoned.
The god in this group is wholly wanting ; the stone, how-
ever, out of which he w^as to have been cut is there. From
this it is apparent that the temples were built first and the
sculptures cut afterwards.
In the next the god again appears, this time in the posture
of one of the Dhyani Buddhas ; the right hand is evidently
watering a flower, but the intention has not been fully
carried out by the sculptor ; his work was cut short. We
next see a god quite finished, but one of the women has only
been roughly hewn, the sculptor having been again cut
off from his work.
One cannot help here pausing to consider the question
when exactly, if these temples were constructed about the
middle of the eighth century, the disaster or calamity
can have occurred which caused this sudden cessation of
the work. If it was at the time of the great rise in the power
ANTIQUITIES 827
of the empire of Majapahit/ there are about 350 years from
the time the first stone was laid to the practical completion
of the sculpturing of these temples. If this is so, and if,
as we know, the Boro-Budur was already in existence in
the seventh or at any rate eighth century, we come to the
question once more, how many years would then have been
required wholly to complete a work like this or to bring it
to the stage where it now is from the time the first stone was
laid ? Nor must the fact be forgotten that the foundations,
as is proved by the earher sculptured 160 bas-reUefs which
he buried under the soil, had twice to be laid. This in
itself would probably have taken up a not inconsiderable
length of time.
To continue after this digression the series of the panels.
The next one is merely a repetition of the last, and this
design continues with sHght variations until we come to
the end of the series.
An earthenware urn was found here filled with some ashes,
a copper leaf, a chakra, a wajia, and some precious stones.
There cannot be any doubt as to what these ashes are.
The extraordinary thing is that never has anything been
found in all these temples, large or small, that would give
even the slightest indication for whom they were erected.
For the Buddhist princes it was evidently sufficient that the
temples were built around their ashes ; but the designation
of the persons for whom they were built does not seem
to have been of any account to them ; this attitude is
symbolic of the insignificance of this life.
Chandi Brahma.
The name of the third chandi is ambiguous ; and here we
see that the steady, sober, and elevated style of the old
1 Majapahit had already existed some time before it became very
powerful.
828 JAVA
building form is undergoing a change. The sculpturing,
however, is very rich, and still remains quite classical,
without any of that decadence which is so apparent in the
monuments of East Java. In fact it may here be said that
the temples of Central Java belonged to the old school until
the end.
The inner chamber in this chandi contained the Brahma
image, which when new was probably somewhat larger than
the Vishnu image. It had four arms and four crowned
faces. During the excavations three statuettes were found?
but soon after they disappeared. They were —
A four-headed Brahma statue with eight arms, in whose
hands were a flower-stalk, a sword hilt, and a lotus-bud ;
the second was a four-headed Brahma image with six arms
holding a sword, an arrow, a shield, and a conch ; and the
third was a four-headed Brahma image with four arms
holding a flower, a trident, a shield, and a conch.
During the same excavations as brought the above
images to hght some gold coins were found, but no urn.
The Chandis on the East Side and the Smaller
Chandis Outside the Terrace.
In the middle chandi, which is the principal of these
smaller temples, is a gigantic humped ox or Indian bull,
as large as life and on a plain pedestal. This served as
Siva's steed, and is an excellent piece of sculpture, both in
conception and execution. The head of the beast is turned
towards the chief temple of the western row, where his
master is enthroned.
Besides the bull there are two small images, each standing
on a car drawn by horses. The one with seven horses is
Silrya, the Sun-god, while Chandra, the Moon-god, is in that
with ten horses.
The northern chandi contained a Siva image with a skull,
ANTIQUITIES 829
a crescent, and the three eyes, one of which was over the
nose.
Of the 157 small chandis there is little to say ; they are
practically ruins, and had been devastated and plundered
by treasure-seekers long before the Dutch Government
ever thought of taking any interest in them. Even up to
twenty years ago any traveller visiting these ruins could
secure small images from the natives for some trifling sum ;
whilst before that, in the days when unhmited labour could
be secured for nothing, Dutch Government officials removed
some of the largest images to the Eesident's gardens in
Djockjakarta, where they are still to be seen, instead of
being removed to some more suitable museum or collection.
Chandi Sewu.
The Chandi Sewu make up probably one of the most
interesting groups of temples in Central Java. Their cir-
cumference is, moreover, far larger than all the others in
these parts. The Javanese call them the " thousand
temples," which will give some idea of their number. The
temples are of Buddhistic origin, and must have been
exceptionally beautiful eleven centuries ago. The principal
temple, which was considerably larger than all the others,
stood on a raised terrace, and w^as enclosed by a wall which
had four gateways in it. In the court around there are
four rows of smaller temples.
The first two rows lie in a square, and number twenty-
eight and forty-four respectively. The entrances to all
these temples were on the side away from the chief temple.
Between the first two rows and between the third and fourth
is a broad court, rectangular in shape, having eighty and
eighty-eight miniature temples, or mausoleums.
The entrances to the first were in the walls facing the
principal temple, while the latter had their entrance
outside.
830
JAVA
The foundations of five more temples of a fair size can
still be seen, which therefore brings the total to —
First row ....
. 28
chandis
Second row ....
. 44
j>
Third row . . . .
. 80
>>
Fourth row ....
. 88
j>
Foundation still visible .
5
5>
1
principal
chandi
Total
. 246
The temples are all in a poor condition — they are ruins
in the strict meaning of the term. The earthquake of
1867, which did such a lot of damage at Djockjakarta,
made itself severely felt amongst these temples. The
English engineer Baker visited them in 1812 and made
drawings of them for Baffles, who was greatly impressed
with this veritable city of the dead.^
There is probably no such cemetery in the world.
There are tw^o great guards to the temples, each cut out
of one piece of stone and facing the other. According to
Professor Groneman they represent Kala, that is, Siva as
the God of Death, or All-consuming Time, to whom the
worshippers of Siva attributed all the horrors of the Indian
Kala. The two colossal temple guards at Singasari, as
already stated, represent this demon.
The balustrade of the main temple is adorned with some
very fine sculpturing : dancing figures, musicians, etc.
What strikes one here, as in all the temples, is the perfect
system for draining off the rains, of which the Hindu
architect had felt the power, and could calculate the pro-
bable effect if they were allowed to remain to filter through
the uncemented blocks. From the raised plateau of the
1 The earliest survey, however, was made by a Dutch engineer, Lieutenant
Cornelius by name, who visited these temples in 1806. Brumund was here
in 1854.
ANTIQUITIES 831
principal temple, for instance, eight gargoyles discharged the
rain-water on to the low-lying terraces of the first and second
row of temples, whence it ran off very easily.
A huge dagoba with a long spire crowned the centre-
piece of these temples, and below and around, as at Kalasan,
there was a vast amount of ornamentation and decoration
in various motives, well showing the skilled handiwork
of the sculptors here. Each of these temples was a perfect
specimen in itself, so that the number of men that must
have been employed at one and the same time on all these
temples must have been enormous ; and although we know
that the population of Java even at this early date must
have been very considerable, a great proportion of the inhabi-
tants for centuries must have been employed upon temple
work. The others attended to their wants by tilling,
sowing, and reaping their rice-fields, a far more thankful
task to these others than it was in their own country,
for the country around Djockjakarta and the Kedoe is
highly fertile.
One of the charms of these temples lies in the fact that
the approach is such a beautiful one ; while the panorama
from here, with the ever-active volcano Merapi on one side
and a magnificent tropical view on the other, shows that
the Hindus in choosing the situation for their mausoleums
had as great an eye for natural beauty as for hygiene.
The latter, it is quite clear, they also considered, for the
districts where these temples have been erected are amongst
the healthiest and driest in Java.
Chandi Lumbung.
Quite near to the Chandi Sewu there is a gi'oup of ruins
which, reminding the Javanese of his rice-sheds, are called
Chandi Lumhung. Further on there is one chandi to which
the Javanese gave the name of Chandi Bubrah. Both of
832 JAVA
them are undoubtedly Buddhistic. This group (Chandi
Lumbung) consists of one principal temple in a square
containing sixteen other temples. The principal temple
has a square plan, with a projection on each side ; on the
east was the gateway. The sixteen temples were also
square with pyramidal roofs, the base having eight sides.
Dagobas and spires there were as usual.
The pyramidal roof of the principal temple doubtless
overtopped those of the smaller temples, lending to the
whole a very imposing appearance.
The entrances to the sixteen temples are all turned towards
the chief temple.
These chandis, like all the others in the plain, were robbed
years ago of their contents by treasure-seekers. A few of
them, however, are still in a fair state of preservation,
and in one the roof adornments are still fairly complete.
What, however, is to be regretted is that not a single
statue of the entire group remains. The object of the
Chandi Lumbung has, therefore, never been positively
ascertained.
Dr. Yzerman says as regards this :
" Knowing as we do that the Buddha occurs in various mudras
with two Bodhisatvas, usually Padmapi and Madjucri, in the last
Buddhistic temples of western India, that in Chandi Mendut we
find a similar representation, that the galleries of Bdrd-Budur, the
roof of Kalasan, the outer temples of Chandi Sewu, and Plaosan
are all adorned with statues of the Dhyani Buddhas, there will be
little rashness in the assumption that they also at one time had
their seat in this temple group, while the remaining places were
occupied by other Bodhisatvas whether accompanied by their
Caktis or not."
Chandi Bubeah.
Chandi Bubrah is larger than the chief temple in the
Lumbung group.
It once had twenty sides with a terrace all round. The
ANTIQUITIES 833
superstructure bore in its niches at one time Dhyani Buddhas,
which prove its purpose, but httle now remains of this
chandi beyond the basement.
The usual treasure-seekers did not fail to ransack and even
excavate here, carrying off, no doubt, the urn and any
valuables there were in it.
Raden Saleh, the well-known Javan painter, has been
accused, being one of the treasure-seekers who was digging
around here in the seventies ; what he may have secured
probably no one knows.
Chandi Plaosan.
About a mile to the north-east of the Chandi Sewu Hes
a heap of ruins which bear the name of Chandi Plaosan.
They are now overgrown with rank grass, and are to be
found in a wood of trees and thick tropical undergrowth.
Owing to the fact that practically all that remains of these
buildings is their foundations, nothing can be definitely
said as to their object ; it is generally supposed, however,
that they were not mausoleums hke the rest of the chandis
on the Prambanan Plain, but, Hke Chandi Sari, were cloisters
or monasteries for the monks to live in with a temple
attached.
A survey of these temples was made by Brumund in
1854, and again by Yzerman in 1886, and this latter inves-
tigation was a sufficiently thorough one to prove that they
are Buddhistic.
The buildings of these temples would appear to have been
divided into three groups, of which the two northern-
most adjoined each other.
The southern is separated from the centre temple by an
open space.
The principal gioup lies in the centre, and a double wall
originally surrounded all the buildings, w^hile inside a wall
probably divided the innermost court in two.
J. — VOL. II. N
834 JAVA
There are also some miniature^ temples here, which were
no doubt built over the ashes of the priests attached to the
temples, who lived in the monasteries.
A path must have led from the open country around the
small chandis to the flight of eight steps leading up to the
porches of the monastery, as there are four temple guards,
or sentinels, smaller in size than those at Chandi Sewu,
but more or less rephcas of them, with a snake in one hand
and a club in the other.
The two principal buildings were rectangular in form,
and were divided into three oblong compartments. Sculp-
tm-es adorn the outside of the walls, reminding one of
those at Kalasan and Chandi Sari : these are standing
Bodhisatvas flanked by high pillars and framed in panels
with festoon-bearing prayer-bells.
The entrance at the top of the stairs was sculptured
with richly cut Naga heads, which are now the worse for
wear. The Garuda head is also observed here, and the
niches, which originally held images, are to be seen in the
walls.
In the southern ruin are two niches with images of Bodhi-
satvas.
At Plaosan we have no doubt a monastery, a temple,
and a cemetery all in one, a combination which is not at
all uncommon in India. Treasure-seekers have proved
very destructive here, and in their anxious endeavours to
find gold and precious jewels destroyed numberless images
and generally caused a lot of needless damage. It is not
unlikely that treasures have been found in various places,
but probably nothing hke what there would have been
found had the Government in earher days had a thorough
and systematic search made under qualified officials who
would at the same time have prevented unique and
* So called on account of their being smaller in size than the others.
ANTIQUITIES 835
exquisitely carved temples from being ruined by thought-
less and ignorant Europeans, whose sole object was gain.
Chandi Sajivan.
Chandi Sajivan, which is only a mile away from the rail-
way station of Prambanan, is a chandi containing only
one chamber.
It was built in the main of white sandstone from the
southern mountains near.
In form it is square, with its entrance facing towards the
w^est.
In each of the side walls was a window, which provided
light.
There is an altar on the back wall, on which originally
stood images. These, however, have been removed.
Between the altar and the windows are niches with
Bodhisatva images in them, which clearly proves that the
temple is Buddhistic.
A Dhyani Buddha Amithaba image was found near
here, which may have once had a resting-place inside the
Chandi Sajivan. It was cut out of a single stone, and
decorated in the usual manner.
This temple is in a ruinous condition.
Chandi Kalongan.
North of Chandi Sajivan lies Chandi Kalongan, which was
visited by the Englishmen Colin Mackenzie and Baker in
1812, who have left illustrations of these ruins behind them,
showing the state they were in during Raffles' time.
Brumund also was here in 1854. The plan of this temple
is square, w^ith a projection on each face.
The basement is adorned with twenty-one panels, which
lack nothing in decorative beauty, having been executed
by perfect sculptors. To the last these sculptors seem
n2
836 JAVA
to have maintained their skill, so that it was no process
of degeneration that caused the sudden abandonment
of the art of sculpturing. This stoppage was so abrupt
and sudden that one is led to pause and consider what
became of these hundreds of thousands of skilled work-
men, who had been trained from boys to carve in stone
and would be fit for nothing else. Signs of a gradual
degeneration would be as stepping-stones to a total extinc-
tion of the art, but of these there is no sign. From perfect
and superb magnificence the work on the temples ceased, as
it were, in a day, and the art of sculpturing was lost by the
Javans for ever.
Of the twenty-one panels, nineteen are illustrations of
well-known fables, as on the basement of the stairs of the
Chandi Mendut.
These fables are taken from the old Indian book of fables,
which found its way to all parts of the Eastern world,
Arabia, Persia, Turkey, and to Greece and Italy, later
spreading into every European country.
You see sculptured the fables of the talkative tortoise,
of the crocodile with the monkey, of the race between the
Garuda and the artful tortoise, and of the Brahman, the
crow, the crab, and the snake. Thepo representations
are faithful and correct and beyond any mistaking.
The main part of this temple is a ruin, but one can still
perceive its adornment and the windows in the sides from
which light was obtained.
Against the back wall are the remains of an altar, on
which there was at one time an image.
Two Bodhisatva statues were found here, which no
doubt originally occupied the niches in the side walls.
The Chandi Kalongan was probably erected about
A.D. 900.
ANTIQUITIES 837
The Dieng.
The plateau of the Dieng is situated between 6,500 and
7,000 feet above the level of the sea, and in olden days was
practically inaccessible. This plateau, which was rich in
temples, was never discovered until the British Eesident
Crawfurd was stationed at Djockjakarta in 1812 and caused
inquiries to be set on foot to ascertain for Raffles particulars
as to all the ruins within and around his district. Captain
Baker w^as sent to survey in 1815, and spent three weeks
here. Dr. Horsfield, the English botanist, who did such
excellent work in Java during the British occupation, also
tried to visit the ruins in 1816, but could not reach them.
So impressed, however, was Raffles by the reports he received
that in his history he writes : —
" Next to the Boro-Budur in' importance, and perhaps still
more interesting, are the extensive ruins which are found on
Gunung Dieng, the supposed residence of the gods and demi-gods
of antiquity. This mountain, from its resemblance to the huU of
a vessel, is also called Gunung Prahu."
There is a road up to the top of this mountain, constructed
in ancient times and having at least 4,000 stone steps in
it, for the pilgrims, w^ho had to climb the face of the moun-
tain to reach their destination. Of this staircase little
now remains, earthquakes being accountable for its destruc-
tion, but what there is, however, still to be seen makes one
to wonder at the infinite trouble and pains the ancient
Hindus brought to bear on everything they undertook in
Java.^ Up to about 1870 all the temples stood in a lake,^
the old Hindu drains, which formed a perfect system,
having from long disuse become choked with rubbish, so
that the plain soon became full of water from the rains.
This lake was known to exist as early as 1864.
> It is said that such a staircase existed on each of the four sides of the
mountain for the use of pilgrims.
» Now drained.
838 JAVA
Owing to their lying so far out of the beaten track, the
temples here have unfortunately been greatly neglected by
the Dutch Government ; consequently the natives and
Chinese have purloined large numbers of the hewn stones
for building their own houses. The Chinese especially, w^ho
have come to the Kedu to plant tobacco, finding them
excellent material for foundations, are great offenders.
There is not much doubt that owing to this whole temples,
the most interesting in Java, have utterly disappeared.
On a rock here the date corresponding to a.d. 1210 is
painted. It was discovered by Dr. Junghuhn, the cele-
brated Dutch botanist.
Other stones discovered give a date equivalent to a.d. 800.
One stone, according to Dr. Brandes,^ is inscribed with the
so-called " Wenggi " character found in West Java, and
extremely old.
Beyond these few records nothing decisive has been
found, but some think that in the Dieng we are dealing
with a settlement dating from the very earliest days of
the Hindu invasion ; and there are numerous reasons for
drawing such a conclusion.
Originally there were certainly not less than forty temples.
To-day there are only eight, besides the foundations of
numerous groups of buildings, which w^ere probably monas-
teries for the housing of the large priesthood that must
have been maintained here and kept up by the pilgrims
w^ho visited the Dieng.
All the remaining temples have the names of heroes
from the epic poem Brata Yiidlia, given in full and described
in detail by Raffles in his history. It is a poem wTitten in
Kawi, and is well worth reading, having been beautifully
conceived and written.
As stated above, there were not less than forty temples
' A brother of Mr. Brandes, late agent of the Agricultural Company of
Central Java (Cultuur Maatscliappij der Vorstenlanden).
ANTIQUITIES 839
on the Dieng plateau. According to Raffles, however,
a minute examination in 1815 by Baker proved that there
were traces of nearly four hundred temples " having broad
and extensive streets running between them at right angles."
Whether there were really so many as this it is now impos-
sible to say, but there is nothing to prevent it ; and Eaffles
was as a rule not the man to make statements in such
matters unless there were good grounds for doing so.
From Raffles' history we also glean the following : —
" Near the summit of one of the hills is a crater of about half
a mile diameter. At no great distance from this crater in a north-
west direction is situated a plain or table land, surrounded on all
sides but one by a ridge of mountains about a thousand feet above
it. At some very remote period it was perhaps itself the crater
of a vast volcano. On its border are the remains of four temples
of stone greatly dilapidated, but manifestly by the effect of some
violent shock or concussion of the earth. The largest of them is
about forty feet square ; the walls are ten feet thick and the
height about thhty-five feet. The only apartment which it
contains is not more than twenty feet square, and has only one
entrance. The roof is arched to a point in the centre, about
twenty feet above the walls, so that the whole building was one
solid mass of masonry, composed of the most durable cut stone,
in blocks of from one to two feet long, and about nine inclies
square. Yet these walls so constructed are rent to the bottom.
It was particularly observable that little or no injury had been
done by vegetation, the climate being unfavourable to the
waringin, whose roots are so destructive to buildings of the lower
regions. The entablatures of these buildings still exhibit specimens
of delicate and very elegant sculpture. Several deep excavations
are observed m the neighbourhood. These it is said were made
by natives in search of gold utensils, images and coins, many of
which have from time to time been dug up here."
From Raffles' account it seems that the lake that was
here in 1864 did not exist in 1815, for although mention is
made of the whole plain being covered with scattered ruins
and large fragments of hewn stone, nothing at all is said
about any water.
840 JAVA
At the present day the Arjuno temples are the most
important and best preserved. The northernmost is the
Chandi Arjuno itself. It is square in form, with a porch
projection facing west. Inside there is a pedestal whereon
an image once stood. In the pedestal is a spout which
carried off the holy water after its use as a sacrifice ; under
the spout can be seen the well which received it. This
water was no doubt a source of considerable gain to the
Hindu priests, if one may judge by the cost of the holy
water obtained at Mecca nowadays. The roof of the Chandi
Arjuno was originally of three storeys ; only two now
remain. In front of this chandi is the small Chandi Semar,
whose purpose is uncertain ; it may possibly have been
used by the priests to live in, or as a store-house for keeping
the temple furniture when not in use.^ There must have
been a season here just as there is at all other places of
pilgrimage. The Chandis Arjuno and Semar were encircled
by one wall.
Southwards from Chandi Arjuno is Chandi Srikandi,^ a
dilapidated building. The panels here show sculptured
representations in very fine rehef of Siva, Brahma, and
Vishnu.
Chandi Srikandi, like Arjuno, had a small sateUite, and
both are encircled by one wall.
Chandi Puntadewo, another temple, is southwards, and
architecturally is certainly the most beautiful of all the
Dieng temples.
From a distance it might be mistaken for Chandi Arjuno,
so like is it, but on drawing nearer one sees that its pro-
portions are much handsomer, and in its original state
it must have been very imposing.
» Temple utensils, the incense, flowers, and sacrificial water.
2 In the wayang Sri Kandi is always represented with a patr^m (a woman's
dagger). In the features of the Eastern theatrical puppet the Javans see
the amazon character.
ANTIQUITIES 841
Chandi Sembodro, the last of these temples, is on another
scale, but in form it is somewhat the same as Chandis
Arjuno and Puntadewo.
It differs, however, in having a projection on each face,
with numerous niches in and around the porch, which
originally contained images.
On the Dieng plateau lived the last of the Hindu famihes
descended from the first Hindus who visited and colonised
Java. Towards the end they had almost all left and mingled
with the natives in the plains. The exact cause of this
abandonment has never been definitely determined, some
thinking that violent volcanic eruptions had made the region
uninhabitable, whilst others maintain that the plateau
was abandoned when the Mahometans broke up the Hindu
armies and the old Hindu religion died out. Both opinions
are equally probable.
That the Dieng temples were chiefly tombs there is
little doubt ; and since living near a town of the dead
even then was not very pleasant, it is supposed, as also on
account of the severe climate, that the plateau was popu-
lated chiefly by the priests and their followers, whose duty
it was to take care of the state tombs and to conduct the
ceremonies at the burial of the ashes of the princes and
their relations. During the pilgrimage season, however,
which would probably be between the months of June and
September, accommodation would have had to be provided
for probably at least ten thousand pilgrims, though no
certainty can be claimed for these figures beyond that the
gigantic and stupendous staircases, great terraces, embank-
ments, and chapels with richest ornamentation far away
from all centres were never constructed for the relations
of the dead princes only. They must, therefore, have been
carefully prepared places for pilgrimage, as at Palenque
and Chichen Itja. Friedrich, an archaeologist and Sanscrit
scholar, who in 1844 enhsted as a soldier in the Netherlands
842 JAVA
Indian army, did a lot of good work in the Dieng, and states
that there is no doubt that the burning of widows took place
here.
Until a few years ago rich treasures in gold, silver, and
bronze were continually being discovered by agriculturists ;
in fact, the natives for years paid as much as 3,000 guilders
a year in such bullion for their taxes, while the value of
the treasures from an antiquarian point of view would
probably have been three or four times as much.
In the Dieng may be seen the tjawat (leg-coverings for
men in the daily dress of the peasants), and in them the
dress of the stone gods of the seventh century may be
recognised.
It is a long piece of cloth, which is worn round the waist
like the sarong, and hangs low down on the left and higher on
the right leg. It is folded in front, the other end being
passed between the legs and then through the belt at the
back. This dress is nowadays considered indecent by the
people in the towns.
As the Dieng is still as isolated as ever, it is not surprising
that old habits and customs from the Hindu period, when
this region was much more frequented than it is now,
are still practised.
Chandi Mendut.
Chandi Mendut is quite close to the confluence of the rivers
Progo and Elo, in the residency of Kedu.
On the other side of the river, and not more than one
and a half miles beyond, is the Boro-Budur, so that the two
temples are generally visited by travellers from Djockja-
karta at the same time.
This temple was discovered by Baffles' engineers in 1812,
and in his history he writes : —
" At no great distance, situated within a few yards of the
ANTIQUITIES 843
confluence of the rivers of the Elo and Progo, are the remains of
several very beautifully executed and interesting temples."
The Chandi Mendut, which during recent years has been
restored by that very clever Dutch engineer Captain T.
van Erp to something like its original state, is a magnificent
and imposing building with a lofty and beautifully con-
structed dagoba- crowned roof.
Ths Dutch do not appear to have known of the existence
of Chandi Mendut until 1834, when a planter laying out
some coffee plantations came across it. It was then bm-ied
under. a mass of earth like the Boro-Budur, which has led
to the suggestion that these temples were purposely buried
by the Hindus when the Mahometans were proselytising
the country.
This suggestion has, however, never been borne out ;
on the contrary, from one or two inscribed stones found,
there is reason to believe that Central Java was suddenly
depopulated and the temples consequently abandoned.
The reason of this, as already stated, it is impossible to
determine, and whether it was disease, famine, or war
we shall probably never know : what is certain is that the
country around these temples was deserted.
Volcanic eruptions had no doubt a considerable effect
on the temples of Mendut and Boro-Budur, and the ashes
of the Merapi probably account for the first deposit and the
collection of earth and tropical vegetation under which they
were hidden for centuries.
When the Government decided on excavations the earth
was raised from a considerable area, which brought to
light the ruins of a second temple, or more probably a
monastery, for the priests to live in.
The huge image of Buddha, Bodhisatva Padmapani, was
found in the principal temple lying on the ground. It
is now, however, in its proper place, and the interior was
put in order under the eye of the late president of the
844 JAVA
Antiquities Committee, Dr. Brandes. The best book on
this temple is that of B. Kersjes and C. den Hamer, entitled
" The Chandi Mendut before its Kestoration."
The Chandi Mendut is square, with a projection on each
side. On the side where the entrance lies the projection
is larger in order to give the sculptor a greater scope for
his talent, which is fully displayed on this jewel of archi-
tecture. No space or part of this temple has been left
unornamented, and it is adorned with rich carvings, which
are certainly not excelled, if they are equalled, by any
of the other temples of Central Java.
The panels on the basement, which has been very soHdly
constructed on flat ground, may be divided into two
groups.
The first consists of entablatures of a floral character,
beautifully conceived and executed.
The second group consists of figures sitting and kneeling ;
their perfection is a marvel, and the way these panels have
been carved, leaving not a single small corner unadorned,
shows that the sculptors who were employed on this temple
were pastmasters in their art.
The balustrade also is a splendid piece of work
adorned with panels on the sides on a perfect sym-
metrical plan.
Amongst these groups of panels can be seen represen-
tations of old and well-known fables. For instance, the
chattering tortoise and the geese can be seen distinctly and
clearly here, the tortoise holding in his jaws a stick, which
is carried by flying geese, while beneath lies the tortoise
who could not hold his tongue, already on the ground, and
the small buffalo-boys (just the same as at the present day)
are already fighting for it.
In another is a panel representing once more the Brahman,
the crab, the crow, and the snake. This illustrates the
well-known fable of the Brahman who became friendly
ANTIQUITIES 845
with a crab, whom he had rescued from a critical position.
The crab witnessed the evil plans of a snake and a crow,
the first-named deciding to kill the Brahman in order to
enable the crow to secure his eyes, which he longs for. The
crab now shows his gratitude to his benefactor, and seeks
a friendship with the crow and snake and promises to
assist in their plans, and to seal the alliance offers to embrace
them, and while doing so bites off the heads of both the crow
and the snake.
In another panel one sees a monkey sitting in wanton
humour, doubtless descriptive of the monkey who had stolen
a mouthful of peas, one of which he dropped, and in his
endeavour to save it lost all.
One sees parrots and other birds, together with leaves
and flowers, ornamenting vacant spaces here and there.
The capella is crowned, as previously mentioned, by a
huge and beautiful dagoba of tremendous size ; leading up
to this, however, are three small roofs in gradually decreasing
size, elegantly decorated and richly adorned with dagobas ;
while the basement of the succeeding roof is carved all
round, being topped again on its outer edge with dagobas
smaller in size and fewer in number.
The interior of the temple of Mendut is the only one in
Java which is still to all intents and purposes intact ; and
no one visiting Java should leave without spending a day
at this jewel of Central Java.
The Dutch Government have spent a considerable sum of
money on repairing it, and it has well repaid them.
From a small inscribed stone which was discovered, the
late Dr. Brandes has given his opinion that Mendut is as
old as the Boro-Budur.
At the Boro-Budur there is a small hotel, which enables
visitors or tourists to spend all the time they wish examining
these temples. It is kept by a pensioned German non-
commissioned officer, and is quite comfortable and clean.
846 JAVA
Chandi Perot.
Chandi Perot is on the volcano Sindoro, in the residency
of Kedu. It is now in ruins, but before it became absolutely
so a survey proved its Sivatic origin, an inscribed stone
found near giving the date corresponding to a.d. 852.
Chandi Perot was formerly very beautiful, and the remains
of some fine carvings on its back walls show great skill.
When the temple was first discovered a large waringin
tree had already claimed it, and during a gale in 1907
demolished its victim. I am afraid that nothing now can
be done with the remains, if they still exist, natives and
Chinese probably having removed quantities of the smooth
hewn stones for building purposes. Still, while the Dutch
Government can make use of such highly talented services
as those of Captain van Erp, everything is possible in the
way of temple repairing.
Chandi Pring Apus.
This temple is situated near Chandi Perot, and, like its
neighbour, is Sivatic.
The old square plan with projections is here repeated.
Adornment and ornamentation, although not overdone, is
very excellent. A huge image occupies the chamber inside,
and from its size leads to the idea that it was constructed
first and the temple afterwards built around it.
The entablatures are splendidly carved, and, although
no fables are represented, some interesting pictures of
parrots and other birds, etc., are depicted.
In one panel a man and woman are seen tenderly
embracing each other.
Some of the decorations are certainly remarkable if
not quite classical, and the temple is deserving of more
notice than it receives.
ANTIQUITIES 847
Chandi Selo Gryo.
The Chandi Selo Gryo is on the volcano Sumbing, which
is only a few miles from Magelang, a military station
in Central Java. In plan it is square and is neatly built.
The interior chamber is empty, the image which no
doubt once rested here having gone.
Various niches at regular intervals contain figures of
Durga, Ganesa, and Siva.
The temple itself has been finished by the architect, but
the sculptors were still at work when they were interrupted.
Chandi Ungarang.
The ruins of the temples built on the volcano Ungarang
near Samarang are neither numerous nor very important.
Baffles in his history writes regarding them as follows : —
" There are found at Ungarang the ruins of several very
beautifully executed temples in stone with numerous dilapidated
figures, and among them several chariots of Suria, or the Sun
God."
This note was made about 1814 ; but, as far as I am
aware, only the remains of two small temples have been
discovered on this mountain, one on the east side and one
on the tea estate Medinie.
In 1833, when Pieter Henry Meyer Timmerman Thyssen,
of the firm of Timmerman and Thyssen, of Samarang, bought
the estate of Soesoekan, or as it is generally called Djati-
kalangan, the whole of the western side of the Ungarang
down to its foot was one dense forest. Each successive
owner, however, began opening up more land and cutting
away more and more of the forest. These were George
Waitz in 1843, Huibert van Gessel in 1847, the Ottenhoff
family in 1863, and later the widow, Mrs. J. H. Ottenhoff,
who was a Miss von Franquemont (one of that large German
family that had been in Java since 1797, but which has now
848 JAVA
died out unless their offspring are in the kampong). About
1877 the cutting down of the forest had already reached the
height of 4,000 feet, where the remains of a Hindu temple
were found crumbling in pieces. Beyond a good half-
dozen Siva and Dunga images, some sacrificial utensils, and
a number of decorative stones used on the corners of tUe roof,
nothing was found. On the same estate, however, at 5,500
feet, there is a square tank with crystal-clear water in it.
Overlooking the tank is a serpent's head and a portion of
its body. This is purely Hindu, and is certainly very old.
Natives when visiting this well, which they do since there
is a small kampong near, always appease the monster by
throwing down an offering of a handful of cooked rice before
drawing water.
When asked why they do so, they merely reply that they
throw down the rice to feed the serpent because it is their
adat (custom), and they are afraid that if they do not do
so they will have bad luck.
It is perhaps irrelevant to observe here that as soon as
the natives have disappeared hungry kampong dogs gi'eedily
swallow the offerings.
On the eastern side of the Ungarang the remains of a
temple show that we have here a more important one than
the former on the western side ; little, however, still remains
of it. There is also here a fairly large water- tank, and as
more and more forest is cut away Hindu remains are con-
tinually coming to light, but it is quite certain that no
very important temple still lies buried on this mountain.
L It may be mentioned here that on every volcano in the
island there once stood a temple dedicated to Siva. Some
still remain in fair condition, but most have crumbled away
during the thousand years they have been buried in the
dense forest. 7
C The position of all these temples proves that the ancient
Hindus were very particular as to the place which they chose
ANTIQUITIES 849
to erect their chandi. All of them without exception
command a splendid and extensive view over the surrounding
country. J
When the priests had finished worshipping their gods,
a service they attended to daily, they worshipped Nature,
and anyone who has visited one of these spots can fully
understand how with such magnificent surroundings their
whole life could be spent up in the mountains in calm and
quiet contemplation.
C At certain periods of the year pilgrims visited these temples
in the mountains and remained a certain timejand during
these occasions the priests were kept very busy, being no
doubt glad when the pilgrimage season was over and they
were able to revert once more to their quiet normal life.
The volcanoes of Java are so to say on one string, being
more or less in a line with each other. On the top of one
volcano you can see its neighbours right and left, and it
has always occurred to me that in ancient days the priests
perhaps had some means of communicating with each other,
either by bonfires or by sun signals, or by both.
Chandi Singa Sari.
The Chandi Singa Sari, between the small towns of
Lawang and Malang, is the most important Hindu temple
still left in this part of Java.
Id construction it is square, with its entrance on the
western side. In height it was probably about 30 feet.
Over the entrance was a large Naga head, and gigantic
Kalas (the Terrible) guarded each side of the porch. A
flight of steps carried one into the large chamber, on one
side of which the altar was built, upon which originally
rested a large image.
The interior is dark, and there are no signs of there ever
having been any natural light let in ; the temple must
J. — VOL. II.
850 JAVA
therefore have been artificially lighted. There is nothing
beautiful here, the carvings and sculpturings being rude
and rough, a clear sign that Hindu art in this part of Java
had begun to degenerate.
There is no mistaking, however, the fact that the temple
at one time, notwithstanding its rude carvings, was an
imposing structure and served its purpose well. Near to
this chandi ^ numerous Siva and Brahma images have been
discovered from time to time. These invariably show a
very high standard of excellence, and would lead one to
imagine that side by side with the degeneration a higher
standard of craftmanship still existed. Singa Sari was
probably built in the eighth or ninth century.
Chandi Panataran.
In the district of Blitar, where once stood a large and
populous Hindu town, there are the remains of a beautiful
and magnificent temple, which if not of the first rank must
be at any rate considered as belonging to the second rank,
and is of interest on account both of its extent and of its
execution. A complete and accurate description would
require too much space for the present book.
Sir Stamford Baffles, whose account is worthy to be read,
visited these Hindu antiquities in 1813 and Dr. Horsfield
in 1815.
The general plan of these ruins indicates the purpose both
of devotion and of habitation. They comprise an extensive
area of oblong form, which was surrounded by an external
wall, of which the foundations may still be traced ; and the
whole was divided into thi'ee compartments.
The principal edifice is situated in the eastern compart-
ment, and was only accessible after passing thi'ee separate
gates, which are all still discernible although much decayed.
They are each guarded, as at Chandi Seivu and Chandi
^ That is, temple.
ANTIQUITIES 851
Singa Sari, by porters resting on their hams, while a knee
is drawn up to support the hand clasping a club.
The principal gate, in ancient times probably the only
entrance, is of huge dimensions and guarded by porters of
gigantic size. This led to the first sub-division of the whole
area. Here are two elevated plains of an oblong form,
confined by walls rising above the surrounding territory,
in all probability the floors of former dwelling-places ; they
are the most interesting objects that now remain.
One of the plains extends to the north-east extremity,
having been in contact with the external wall, as appears
from its situation relative to the gate and to the foundations
that still exist ; it is of great dimensions. The other
inclines more to the middle of this compartment, and is
somewhat smaller in extent.
Both exhibit the appearance of having supported a
building, and are elevated at present about 3 feet above the
level of the surrounding forest, while the same depth is
buried under a layer of vegetable mould, accumulated during
many successive ages and proving a great antiquity.
The sides of the smaller plain are covered with elegant
sculpure in relief, the details of the design of which would
alone require a considerable time to describe.
Four entrances to it are indicated by as many flights of
steps, the sides of which are elegantly decorated, and the
pedestals still remaining at regular intervals along the
edges, having the form of truncated pyramids, appear to
show that it was covered by a roof supported by wooden
pillars, somewhat in the style of the pascebans of the present
Javans.
Similar pedestals are likewise placed in regular order along
the sides of the larger plain, which has the same number of
entrances as the smaller ; those of them at the north and
south are guarded by porters of comparatively small
stature.
o 2
852 JAVA
The second compartment is less extensive than the
western ; a small chandi of excellent workmanship built
of stone here attracts particular notice.
The remains of various buildings, pedestals, and broken
ornaments are also observed, and it is probable that others
are concealed by the forest and mould that cover this com-
partment, which must be considered as the vestibule to
the third or eastern division, containing the principal edifice.
This of all the remains in this area deserves, probably, the
most attention. It is indeed a surprising and wonderful
work ; the labour required in the construction and the art
displayed in the decoration are alike beyond words.
The general base is a large square, but each of the sides
has a projection in the middle, the largest being on the
west, where the ascents are placed, and the outline thus
exhibiting twelve angles.
It belongs to the same class of buildings as that at Sentul,
containing no chamber or vacancy within, but exhibiting
a solid mass, highly decorated at the sides, and affording
places of devotion on the outside.
It consists of three compartments, of successively smaller
dimensions.
Two pairs of steps, one to the north, the other to the
south of the most projecting part of the western side, lead
to the area formed by the lower compartment, the form of
which agrees with the general base.
From the middle of the most projecting part of the western
side of this area a single flight of steps conducts to the second,
and is immediately continued to the third area on the
summit of the whole building.
The second compartment does not agree in form with
the general base, but by means of the diverging of the sides
in a direction opposite to the most projecting parts of the
lower area it furnishes in the west a plain before the steps,
and in the north, the south, and the east extensive areas
n
BUKO BL'I>UK.
BAS-RKLIEF FROM THK TKMPLE OK BKAMHANAN.
ANTIQUITIES 853
or squares, which were probably intended for particular
worship.
By the form of the second compartment the second area
is likewise modified, but to demonstrate this a plan would
be required ; and I shall only add that the upper area
was a regular square, but, as appears from the remains of
various foundations, subdivided into partitions. Here the
figure of Brahma as the recha with four faces is placed
alone, and is of superlatively beautiful workmanship and
finish.
In 1815 Dr. Horsfield discovered among ruins near here
in the district of Srangat a stone with a Kawi inscription
which mentions a hero of Javan romance, Panji Makarta
Pati, as the reigning prince of the kingdom of Janggala,
and his princess, by whom the neighbouring temples were
constructed.
Jonathan Rigg, another Englishman, visited these ruins
in May, 1848, and wrote an account of them.
Temple Caves.
As in India so in Java there are found temple caves,
although those in the latter can in no way be compared
to those in the former.
Firstly, the size of the Java cave temples is very insig-
nificant beside the enormous ones in India.
In the Bagelen residency four of the caves have been
discovered, and in Kediri one.
The latter was surveyed by Dr. Horsfield in 1815 at
the request of Raffles. The following is his interesting
account : —
" The cave of Sela-mangleng is situated about two miles in a
western direction from the capital, at the foot of the hill Klotok,
an appendage to the large mountain of Wilis ; it consists of four
small apartments cut into the solid rock, composing the hill, on a
very gentle eminence. The apartments are adjoining to each
other, forming a regular series, which stretches from north to
854 JAVA
south. The two middle apartments, which are the largest, have
each an entrance from without, while those at the extremity
communicate by an interior door, each with the apartment next
to it. They differ but little in size. The form is square or
oblong ; the largest is less than twenty feet in length.
" The walls of the two principal apartments are covered with
sculpture, and various platforms and projections indicate the
place of devotion or penance. Several rechas now arranged in
the avenue leading to the cave, as well as the sculpture covering
the walls of the apartments within, are handsomely worked, but
the external sculpture of the rock is coarse and the steps by which
one ascends, which are cut out of the same general mass of rock,
appear to have been made intentionally rude. Several niches
for rechas, lamps, etc., are cut in various parts of the walls. A
lingam, several reservoirs of water, and other figures are arranged
on the vestibule.
"Of an inscription of the external rock, one regular line,
stretching from the door of the outer apartments to the northern
extremity of the rock, is still discernible, but many of the
characters are probably too much effaced to afford an explana-
tion."
This description by Dr. Horsfield is a faithful one.
These cave temples are clearly not Buddhistic, but
Brahmanic, and probably date back to a period before the
introduction of the former religion into Java.
From an artistic or architectural point of view their value
is not very great ; but it is of considerable importance and
interest to know that this form of worship existed in Java.
The strange part is, however, that the temple caves in
India were Buddhistic, while in Java they were Brahmanic
or belonged to a closely allied creed.
Coins.
Wherever excavations were made around the Hindu
temples coins were almost invariably discovered.
These were mostly brass and copper and bore allegorical
representations on them. A square hole was generally
ANTIQUITIES 855
pierced through them, no doubt for the convenience of
stringing them together, just as is done in China to-day
with the copper coin called cash. Some of these coins
were probably struck locally ; their execution is rude,
and not what one would have expected from a cultured
people.
The dates of these coins — or the supposed dates, for there
is nothing on them to show it — are various. There are
coins whose date is supposed to be a.d. 850, others whose
date may be a.d. 900, a.d. 1000 or a.d. 1200, and so on.
The earliest of these were in use by the inhabitants of
ancient Mataram when worship at the temples of Boro-
Budur, Mendut, Prambanan, and elsewhere in Central Java
was carried on.
The richest harvest of coins has been found near the ruins
of the old burnt-brick city of Majapahit. Here the Chinese
money dug up proves that the current coinage of the realm
was not of local mintage, but Chinese, imported in junks
and placed on the market in a regular manner so that its
value should never decline.
Collectors of Chinese coins have observed that the most
complete sets of ancient pieces have been discovered in
Java, and not in China.^ A collection of coins is to be seen
in the museum of the Batavia Society of Arts and Sciences,
where also can be seen at the same time a rich display of
Hindu archaeological remains.
Closing Remarks.
In the arts, sciences, and letters of ancient Java there is
a most extraordinary similarity to those of Egypt, ancient
Greece, Persia, Babylon, and south Central America.
In Central America, for instance, and in Peru there once
existed a race which built temples in high mountains of
^ During the restoration of the temples Boro-Budur and Chandi Mendcet
in 1909 numerous Chinese coins were discovered buried in the dagobas.
856 JAVA
an architectural design like those in Java in the Dieng.^ If
this is a mere coincidence, it is the only one of its kind in
the world. Again, the statues and images of the gods of
Bali, especially in the pecuHarity of the faces having beaks
instead of noses, are similar to the images of ancient Babylon.
To trace, however, all these coincidences and to follow up
the links which most certainly exist between all the countries
mentioned and Java would be outside the scope of the
present book ; and I shall consider myself fortunate if
my EngHsh readers in Java will be satisfied with my modest
endeavours to explain to them and trace the history of
a country for which, with its people, Javan and Dutch,
I myself have had and always will have an unbounded
affection, respect and regard.
' From Adi aeng, gradually converted into dih yang, which meana in
Sanscrit " wonderful."
CHAPTER XIV
The Fruits of Java
Java has an abundance of fruits, several of which are
indigenous to the island. The following is a description
of them : —
1. Pine-apple {Bromelia Ananas). — This fruit, which is
known to the natives as ananas, grows to a moderate
size, but is never so large as a fully-grown ripe West Indian
pine-apple. It flourishes, too, wild, so that in Batavia a
dozen can sometimes be had for a shilling. The fruit is
juicy and well-flavoured.
2. Orange {Citrus Aurantium) , known to the Javans by
the name otjeroek. It was originally brought from China,
and two kinds were planted, the jeroek jina and jeroek
japan. Both are sweet and juicy, but can in no way be
compared with the Jaffa orange.
The orange in Java flourishes best in the eastern districts,
especially near Bangil, and it is here that the greatest
quantities are grown. This can be accounted for by the
fact that the Chinese settled here in large numbers about
three hundred years ago, at a place called Yortan.
The peel of the Java orange is green, not yellow.
3. Puvielo ^ {Citrus Decumana). — This is a fruit that
goes by the name of shaddock in the West Indies, and belongs
to the family of the Aurantiacece, which includes the orange,
the citron, the lemon, and the lime. There are two or
three kinds of this fruit procurable in Java ; they are well
flavoured, but not particularly juicy. The best comes
from the Cheribon district, and has a pinkish-coloured
* Or pommelo, pompelmoose.
858 JAVA
pulp. All the others have a sickly yellow pulp, and the
lighter they are in colour the poorer the flavour. The flower
of this fruit grows in clusters, and is similar to the orange
blossom, but is much larger and of a more penetrating
perfume.
4. Lemon {Citrus Medico^). — This fruit is scarce, but the
want is compensated for by an ample supply of limes.
5. Lime {Citrus Acida). — This grows all over Java, and
has a flavour entirely its own. By the Dutch it is greatly
esteemed and is used plentifully.
6. Mango {Mangifera Indica). — There are several kinds
of mangoes in Java, the best kind being grown near Cheribon,
where the soil seems to be particularly well adapted for
the growing of fruit trees. Java cannot, however, claim
to have a mango at all equal to the delicious fruit grown in
China and Brazil, for although outwardly there does not
appear to be much to choose between them all, in flavour
the latter are far superior. This inferiority is generally
assigned to the climate being rather too damp.
The particular kind that is in most esteem among the
Javans is the mmiga wangee, but having a particularly heavy,
penetrating flavour and perfume it is often objected to by
Europeans.
On the other hand, the manga dodol, manga oehie, and the
manga oedang, while preferred by Europeans, do not find
much favour with the natives. Some of the species of
the mango are renowned for furnishing a juice of which
valuable varnishes are made, especially the celebrated
China and Japan lacquers ; others, again, contain a poison
so volatile that the natives are positively afraid to go near
the tree.
7. Banana {Musa). — Of this fruit there are innumerable
varieties, but only four are in demand, namely, the pisang
1 Or Citrus Limonum ; the Java lemon is also said to be Cirus
Javanica.
THE FRUITS OF JAVA 859^
anibon, the pisang radja, the pisang soesoe, and the pisang
rose.
All these have a pleasant soft flavour, and are particu-
larly agieeable and wholesome fruits. The quantity con-
sumed in Java of this fruit is marvellous, and the demand
at times almost exceeds the supply. It is, however, a
fruit w^hich will grow anywhere and very quickly, so that the
price always remains incredibly cheap.
The Javans have various ways of eating bananas ; soma
they fry in cocoanut-oil, others they boil, making cakes of
them.
One kind of banana, called the pisang hatu or the pisang
hidjie, on account of its being full of seeds, is used by the
natives as a medicine against fevers. It is said to be very
efficacious. A Javan legend says that this banana, which
is rather sweet, was once more delicious than all the other
species, but that it degenerated owing to the malice of an
evil spirit, who to avenge himself on a native pangeran who
was a lover of this particular kind filled its pulp with the
seeds of the kapok tree (a sort of cotton tree), to which its
seeds are as a matter of fact very like.
There is also the pisang maas {Musa Paradisiaca) , so
called on account of its golden colour. The leaves of this
kind are used daily by the natives to wrap up the provisions
which they buy at the market. The fibres of the trunk
of this tree serve to make a supple kind of rope, which is
used by the natives for the rigging of their coast boats.
8. Grape (Vitis Vinifera). — This fruit was at one time
grown very extensively in the eastern districts. A fear,
however, on the part of the Dutch that the cultivation of
the vine in Java might interfere injuriously with their
wine trade at the Cape of Good Hope led them to discourage
it in every way possible, and the cultivation of this fruit
died a natural death.
9. Tamarind {Tamarindus Indica). — The tamarind tree
860 JAVA
is a large one in Java, as well known as the stately jattie-
tree, or the royal and noble waringin ; once a year it is
laden with fruit.
In flavour this fruit is neither sweet nor acid, but a
delicious indescribable something between the two. The
natives consume it in large quantities and make from it an
excellent syrup, which is drunk with water. As a preserve
there is nothing to equal it. Strange to say, however,
the fruit is scarcely known in Europe.
10. Melon {Cucumis Melo). — As in all Eastern countries,
melons are plentiful. The Europeans, however, leave them
severely alone, and during cholera epidemics they are for-
bidden to be sold at the markets.
11. Pumpkins (Cucurhita Pepo). — This fruit is also very
plentiful, and is generally taken away by sea-faring folk in
large quantities on account of its keeping fresh for a longer
period than other fruits. Like the melon, however, the
Europeans in Java do not eat it.
12. Guava {Psidium). — This fruit makes a particularly
succulent jelly, and its flavour in Java, while possibly not
equal to that of its brother in the West Indies, is never-
theless very delightful.
13. Mangosteen {Garcinia Mangostana}) . — This is the
queen of Eastern fruits and the most renowned of them all.
In size the fruit is about the same as an ordinary English
apple, and it is of a deep-red wine colour ; on the top of the
shell is a figure of five or six small triangles, which are joined
together in a circle, and at the bottom are several hollow
green leaves, which are the remains of the blossom.
To eat the fruit the shell must first be taken off ; it is rather
thick, but a diagonal cutting with a knife pierces it very
easily and discloses a beautiful deep crushed-strawberry-
coloured pulpy rind inside. Inside this, again, are found
five, six, or seven (now and again, but only seldom, four)
1 Of the family of the Clusiacew, all of whose species are tropical.
THE FRUITS OF JAVA 861
partitions of a pure snow-white colour, lying side by side
in circular order, making a ball ; these are eaten.
The flavour of the " mangies " is one of those happy
mediums between the tart and the sweet ; the one balances
and corrects the other, so that the result is a perfect one.
^ The fruit is very wholesome, but unfortunately is only
procurable once a year for about one month or so.
Vinegar is made of the mangosteen, and its rind is used
in decoctions against various diseases. The natives use it
also to mix with their dyes ; it is said to render them more
lasting.
14. Jamboe {Eugenia Malaccensis) . — This fruit is of a
bright scarlet colour, and is oval in shape. The largest,
which are as a rule the best, are not much bigger than an
ordinary English apple. The jamboe is pleasant and coohng,
although there is not much flavour about it. Boiled down,
an excellent jelly can be made from it.
15. Jamhoe Ayer. — This is a species of the genus Eugenia.
Of this fruit there are two sorts of a similar bell-shape,
but differing in colour, one being pinkish and the other
pure snow-white. In size they somewhat exceed a large
cherry, while in taste they can claim neither flavour nor
sweetness. The fruit contains in fact nothing but a watery
juice, which is slightly acidulated.
16. Jamboe Ayerhege {Eugenia Jamhos). — This species
of jamboe has more perfume than taste. It might be a
conserve of roses in flavour, while the scent could be the
fresh fragrance of this flower.
17. Jamboe Bol or Jamboe Soesoo {Jambosa Domestica). —
This is the species of jamboe most preferred by the Javans,
who consume it in large quantities before it is even ripe.
18. Pomegranate {Punica Granatum). — There is nothing
to choose between this fruit as found in Java and as found
in Europe, any discussion of it is therefore unnecessary.
19. Durian {Durio Zibethinus). — This tree is the largest
862 JAVA
of all the fruit-bearing trees in Java, probably in the world,
and is one of the remarkable family of the Sterculiacece.
Professor Wallace calls it " the king and emperor of
fruits."
Linschote in 1599 said, " Its flavour surpasses all the other
fruits of the world."
In shape the durian resembles a small melon, but the
skin is covered with sharp conical spines, whence its name,
for dure in Malay signifies " prickle." When it is ripe it
divides longitudinally into seven or eight compartments,
each of which contains six or seven nuts not quite so large
as chestnuts, which are covered with a substance which
in colour and consistence very much resembles cream.
This is the part that is eaten, and the natives indulge in
it very freely. The first impression of the fruit to most
Europeans is one of great aversion, on account of its repulsive
smell. Those, however, whose noses are able to stand the
offensive odour delight in it, and speak of it in terms as
high-flown as Professor Wallace.
The pulp of the durian resembles a mixture of cream-
custard, sugar, and onions. It is a strong stimulant. The
blossoms of the durian tree grow in large clusters.
20. Nanka Wolanda {Anona Muricata). — The nanka,
belonging to the family of the Anonacece, is indigenous to
the tropics. It is sometimes called Sursdk. In appearance
it is somewhat like a durian, although its colour is different.
In size it is about the same as a melon, and is oblong-shaped.
In some districts it grows, however, to a greater size.
The Dutchman Ehumphius relates that he has seen it so
large that a man could not easily lift it. This may be so,
but I do not know any one that has seen one so large.
The very largest known has never been more than twice the
size of a melon. The white pulp of this fruit has a strong
aromatic taste, but it is one of the most highly-esteemed
fruits in Java. A custard is sometimes made of it, and,
COLOSSAL FIGURE IN THE RUINS OF CHANDI SEWU.
THE FRUITS OF JAVA 863
taken blindfold, one could be easily led to imagine it was
strawberries and cream mashed up together.
21. Rambutan {Nephelium Lappaceum). — The rambutan
is rather like a chestnut with the husk, and, like this, is
covered with small soft and pliable points of a dark-red
colour. Under the skin, which is thin, is the white glistening
pulp of the fruit. Inside this pulp is a soft stone. The
edible part is therefore small, but its slightly acid flavour
makes it particularly agreeable to some people.
22. Boeiva Bidarra (Rhamnus Jujuha). — This is a round
yellow fruit about the size of a gooseberry. In flavour it
is like an apple, but it has the astringency of a crab-apple.
23. Tjampedak {Artocarpus Polyphema : Bread Fruit). —
This fruit tree belongs to the order of the Artocarpece.
The fruit is full of seeds, but is very succulent. In shape
and appearance it is something like the durian, and, like
this fruit, has an overpowering smell, so strong, in fact,
as sometimes to cause fainting. Inside, the pulp, which
surrounds a number of nuts similar to those of the durian,
is very plentiful, and a meal can almost be made out of
one fruit.
It may be interesting to observe that the famous upas
{Antiaris Toxicaria), whose poisonous character is so well
known, belongs to the same order ; and to this order also
belongs the cow-tree or palo de vaca (Mimusops Elata) of
South America, which yields an abundance of rich, whole-
some milk.
24. Numnum, or Namnam {Cynometra Caidiflora). —
This resembles a kidney in shape, and is about 3 inches
long, the outside being very rough. It is seldom eaten
raw, being usually fried in oil to make fritters, of which the
natives are fond.
25. The Catappa {Terminalia Catappa). — This is almost
unknown.
26. The Canare {Canarium Covimune). — This is a nut
864 JAVA
with kernels somewhat resembhng the ordinary almond.
The shells are very hard to break, which prevents it being
regularly sold, the demand being very limited.
27. Madja (Limonia). — In this fruit, under a hard,
brittle shell, there is a light acid pulp, which cannot be eaten
without sugar. It is seldom eaten by Europeans, the flavour
even with sugar being more or less unpleasant.
28. Suntul (Trichilia). — A fruit resembling the Madja.
Within a thick skin it contains kernels like those of the
mangosteen ; the taste is acid and astringent.
29. Salak {Zalacca Edulis). — Sometimes called " the
forbidden fruit." This species belongs to the Palmacece
family, of which Lindley remarks that it is without doubt
the most interesting in the vegetable kingdom, as well on
account of the majestic aspect of the lowering stems of
its members, crowned with fohage still more gigantic, as
of the character of grandeur which they impress upon the
landscape, of their immense value to mankind as affording
nourishment, clothing, and numerous objects of economical
importance, and of the prodigious development of their
reproductive organs. They are natives of the Torrid Zone,
inhabiting either side of the Equator ; they seldom range
beyond 40° north and south.
The salak is the fruit of a prickly palm bush. It is about
the size of a very large walnut, and is covered with scales
like those of a lizard. Underneath the scales are two or
three yellow kernels, in flavour somewhat resembling a
strawberry.
30. Blimhing {Averrlioa Bilimhi),^ Blimhing Bessi {Aver-
rJioa Caramhola), and Cheremie {Averrhoa Acida). — These
are three species of the same genus, all belonging to the
order of Oxalidece. All three, although differing in shape,
have more or less the same extremely acid flavour ; the
hlimbing hessi is if anything slightly sweeter than the others.
' Or BUmbingum Teres.
I..
*^ ",i9ir
1*
C\i;VI\(iS AT 15L'K() BUDUK.
THE FRUITS OF JAVA 865
On account of their acidity, the Averrhoa Bilimbi and
Averrhoa Acida are generally pickled, when they are quite
pleasant-tasting.
31. Jamhlang {Syzygium Jamholana). — A small dark blue-
olack fruit like a badly-shaped plum. It is very acid,
but when quite ripe has the taste of grapes. The wood of
this tree is frequently used for building purposes ; it is
said that the bark is used for tanning the nets of fishermen,
and that the inhabitants of the Philippine Islands chew the
leaves when they cannot get tobacco.
32. Papaya {Carica Papaya). — This is certainly one of the
best fruits in Java. It is as large as a melon, and is some-
times green and sometimes yellow, and, like the melon,
has a delicious juicy pulp of an excellent flavour. On
account of the large quantity of pepsine it contains, it
is recommended to persons who suffer from indigestion.
Another species of the genus, the Carica Digitata, contains
a deadly poison, and is as much dreaded by the natives
of Brazil as the pohon upas by the Javans.
33. Lohie Lohie. — This is a fruit with an acidulated
taste, about the size of a small plum.
34. Caucassan, or Doekoe (Lansium Domesticum). — The
doekoe is much esteemed by some. Its colour is a sickly
yellow and its size a large marble. The skin is very thin ;
it covers a pulp like tha> of the rambutan, which, like this
fruit, contains a kernel or stone.
Near Batavia and Meester Cornelis great quantities are
grown, which always meet with a ready sale.
35. Boewa Nonna (Anona Reticulata).^
36. Cerekiah, or Serikaya {Anona Squamosa^). — The trees
of these two fruits, belonging to the order Anonacece, give
a beautiful shade, and the Chinese like planting them in
their gardens for that purpose.
^ " Custard-apple."
^ " Sweet-sop " ; called " custard-apple " by Europeans in India.
J. — VOL. II. P
866 JAVA
There are many seeds in these fruits, and neither has a
particularly agreeable taste.
37. Bonie, or Wonie. — This fruit resembles the ordinary
English currant, and in its various stages is green, yellow,
red, and blue-black.
38. The Sawoe Manilla. — This fruit has during the last
few years been much more appreciated than it was formerly.
In appearance it might be mistaken for an ordinary potato.
Except for a skin as thin as that of a potato, the whole
fruit can be eaten. In flavour it is soft, being neither
too sweet nor too acid.
39. In the mountains Strawberries are grown ; although
never attaining the size of those in Europe, they are never-
theless very good indeed.
40. Moendoe (Xanthochymus Dulcis). — This is a fruit
just like an apple ; it is fleshy, succulent, syncarpous,
and many-seeded, and is of a bright orange colour.
41. Tjoklaad, or Cacao {Theobroma Cacao). — The colour
of the fruit is a beautiful one just as it is ripe. The rind is
very thick and hard, requiring some force to break it.
Inside there are cells containing twenty or thirty kernels
which is the cacao as it is sold.
42. Kechape. — A fruit which in taste resembles a poor
peach. It has a thick skin, and contains kernels exactly
like those of the mangosteen.
43. There are other fruits one never sees or hears spoken
of — the Kinkit, Boewa Atap, Kellor, Ganderia, Moringa,
and the Soccum. The latter is of the same kind as the
bread-fruit in the South Sea Islands, but rather inferior.
The quantity of fruit eaten in Java by both Europeans
and natives is prodigious ; but owing to the abundance
grown, the fruit bill, however large the family, barely reaches
a pound sterling a month. For the same quantity of even
common fruits in London certainly thirty pounds a month
would have to be paid.
L^
THE FRUITS OF JAVA 867
If I were a traveller in Java, and wished to taste all the
fruits I could within a short space of time, I would choose
the following : — Mangosteen, pumelo (with the pink pulp),
mangoe dodol, rambutan, sawoe manilla, nanka wolanda,
papaya, pisang radja, tamarind, and, if my olfactory
nerves could stand it, the durian.
p2
CHAPTER XV
The Flora op Java
The flora of Java is, as might be expected, an exceed-
ingly extensive one, and to do it proper justice, even
on the scale of this small work, would require a trained
botanist.
It is not, however, the intention of the author to attempt
a scientific article, or give anything like a complete account
of the flora, but merely to make some passing general
remarks and enumerate a few of the most beautiful flower-
ing trees and shrubs of the sweet-smelHng flowers which
most abound.
The forests of Java clothe the land from the savannahs
to a height of 7,500 feet ; above this the mountain tops are
covered with tropical alpine flora.
The forests contain about 6,000 plant species, which
grow mingled together. Of these 6,000 fully 1,500 reach
a height of over 20 feet, a large number reach 50 to 75 feet,
some reach 100 feet, while there are several which rise to
150 and even 180 feet.
These latter, the giants of the forest, are surrounded and
covered with thickly-growing creepers, forming, as it were,
a forest above the forest ; this is especially the case when
several of these giants grow near to each other.
The Waringin tree at the Hotel des Indes at Batavia,
conspicuous to every arrival, gives in size and circumference
some idea of what the giants of the forest attain to. I
suppose, however, that 120 feet is all one can give to this
tree.
The rapidity with which the vegetation of Java grows can
VRTOlUA RKGIAS IX THE BOTANICAL tiAKDKNS AT BUITKXZOIUi.
THE FLORA OF JAVA 869
be seen if one leaves a plantation for a few years ; the ground
becomes overgrown with a thick impenetrable jungle, and
trees of 20, 30, even 40 feet come up in two or three years.
As an example, a Eucalyptus tree planted from a seed in
1874 at the gymnasium for boys and girls at Batavia
attained a height of 45 feet by 1877.
Another example of extraordinarily quick growth is
given by the Alhizzia tree, of which there are several
hundreds, perhaps thousands, on the Oenarang mountain.
A tree of this species after being sown reached about 20
feet within one year, a height of 75 feet within six years,
100 feet within nine years, and 132 feet within seventeen
years. These figures are based on an of&cial Government
measurement.
The king of the West Java forests is the Rasamala
{Alti7igia Excelsa), whose trunk, shooting into the air as
straight as a pillar, does not throw out a single branch until
it reaches a height of 90 to 100 feet. It eventually attains
to 160 or 180 feet before it has done growing.
The Poespa is another tree which rises to 130 feet ; in
the thickness of its trunk, however, it generally surpasses
the Basamala.
Among the beautiful flowers the Rhododendron Java-
nicuni takes a prominent place with its great violet
and orange blossoms. There are, too, the pink and
white blossoms of the Melastoma, Ardisia, Impatiens {I.
Balsamina, '* balsamine"), the numerous white flowers of
various Sauraya species, the glittering white and orange
shields of the Ixora and Pavetta, while shrubs such as
those of the Strobilanthes genus impart a typical character
to the forests, so that their absence when it occurs is
noticeable.
The forests are full of orchids growing from the cross
branches of the trees. Orchids or orchidaceous plants
also occur amongst the ground plants, and some of them.
870 JAVA
such as Phajus (attaining a height of about 5 J feet), with
its large blossoms, Calanthe and Spathoglottis, are most
conspicuous.
The Bafflesia Arnoldi is another flower, the largest in
the world, which must be mentioned. It was discovered
by Raffles and Arnold in 1818 when travelling through
Sumatra. In Java it is only to be found on the island
of Noesa-Kembangan. This flower measures across the
extremities of the petals 36 inches, and the nectarium is
9 inches across, and as many deep, being able, it is estimated,
to hold a gallon and a half of water. The weight of the
flower is 15 lbs. The Sumatran name of this extraordinary
flower is Petimun Sikinlili, or Devil's sini (betel-box).
It is a parasite on the lower stems and roots of the Cissus
Angustifolia of Box. It appears at first in the form of a
small round knob, which gradually increases in size. The
bud is invested with numerous membranaceous sheaths,
which surround it in successive layers and expand as the
bud enlarges, until at length they form a sort of cup round
its base.
The inside of the cup is of an intense purple and dark
yellow, with soft flexible spines ; towards the mouth it
is marked with spots of the finest white, which contrast
strongly with the purple of the surrounding substance.
The petals are brick-red.
The flower soon after expansion gives out a smell of decay-
ing animal matter. The fruit never bursts, but the whole
plant gradually rots away and the seeds mix with the
putrid mass.
Raffles, who was in ecstasy over the discovery of this
flower, in writing to the Duchess of Somerset (the grand-
mother of the present Duke), describes it as the most
magnificent flower in the world.
At the markets or passars there are sold daily the petals
of at least half a dozen strong sweet-smelhng flowers.
1 -
THE FLORA OF JAVA 871
A cent (one-fifth of a penny) will buy a whole handful.
These are some of them : —
The Tjempaka {Michelia Champaca). — This flower comes
from a tree which grows as large as an apple-tree, and con-
sists of fifteen long narrow petals, which give it the appear-
ance of being double.
Its colour is yellow and much deeper than that of the
English jonquil, to which it has some resemblance in smell.
The Kananga (Uvaria Cananga). — This is a green flower
not resembling in the slightest any tree or plant in Europe.
It has more the appearance of a bunch of leaves than of a
flower. Its perfume, although singular, is very agreeable.
The Melattie {Nyctanthes Sambac). — This is well known
in English houses by the name of " Arabian jessamine."
It grows in Java in abundance, and its fragrance, like that
of most Eastern flowers, whilst exquisitely gratifying, has
not that overpowering perfume which distinguishes some
of the same sorts in Europe.
The Komhang Karacnassi (not much known) and Komhang
Tonquin (Pergularia Odoratissima) are small flowers resem-
bling each other in shape and smell. They are highly
fragrant, but unlike any English flower.
The Bonga Tanjong {Mimusops Elengi). — This flower is
shaped like a star with seven or eight rays, and is about
half an inch in diameter. It is of a yellowish colour, and
has a soft agreeable scent.
The Sundal Malem {Polianthes Tuherosa). — This flower is
the same as the English *' tube rose " ; the Malay name
for this signifies " intriguer of the night."
There are other numerous beautiful trees or shrubs
which must also be taken notice of : —
The Kayoe Poering (Codiceum Variegatum). — A shrub
with a long green leaf with bright yellow veins running down
its length. The family to which this belongs, the Euphor-
biacece, possess very important medicinal properties.
872 JAVA
The Amherstia Nohilis. — This tree was brought to Java
in 1851 from Calcutta by a grand-uncle of the author, the
Governor- General Eochussen. Scarcely anything can be
more strikingly brilliant than these most beautiful scarlet
flowers, diversified by yellow spots. The celebrated botanist
Wallich gave this flower its name in honour of the Countess
Amherst and her daughter, Lady Sarah.
The Cehwor Meera (Tradescantia Discolor). — A plant
which probably originated from America. It has long spiral
coriaceous leaves shooting out from its base, deep mauve
on the outside and bright green inside. It has a peculiar
shaped flower which rises from the centre on a stalk, the
top being crowned by a sort of highwayman's hat with two
little white flowers rising out of it.
The HonjeJi Lakka {Elettaria Speciosa). — A herbaceous
ornamental plant with a large bright red flower rising on a
stalk from the centre.
The Tallas Sahrang {Caladium Bicolor). — As the Latin
name denotes, the large leaf is green, with a bright-red
centrepiece.
The Kisokka {Saraca Declinata). — A leguminous plant,
which is highly ornamental. It grows in abundance on the
mountain called Salak in West Java. The flower is a
brilliant yellow and forms huge clusters covering the tree ;
from each cluster a long bean of a light mauve colour is
thrown off ; this is the legume.
The Hantap {Sterculia Nohilis). — A beautiful shrub, which
catches the eye on account of the brilliancy of its scarlet
flower. The flower yields large black seeds, which the
natives eat like nuts.
The Bay em Meera (Amarantiis Tricolor). — A herbaceous
plant with a brilhant display of deep-red leaves. It thiives
in dry, sandy, and barren spots. It is a native of Japan
and China.
The Tjarlang Poetih (Spathiphyllopsis Minahassce) . — This
THE FLORA OF JAVA 873
plant was discovered by Teysmann, of the botanical gardens
at Buitenzorg, when touring in the Molucca Islands off
Minahassa. The dazzling whiteness of this lily is very
striking against the large green leaf. It now grows almost
wild all over Java.
The Kayoe Meera {Poinsettia PulcJierrima). — This beautiful
red flower is a native of Mexico. It grows in the hedges in
Middle Java and is very attractive.
The Plossoh {Butea Frondosa). — This is a tree which
grows to a good height. The flowers are a fiery red and,
standing out from the sides of a forest-clad mountain,
look very fine.
Dr. Junghuhn, in his well-known book (the best and most
thorough of its kind existent), says this tree must rank
foremost among the physiognomonic plants.
The Boengoer [Lager sir cemia Begince). — Just before the
rainy monsoon this tree bursts into all its splendour with its
magnificent light-lilac bunches of flowers, hiding, as it were,
the green leaves which endeavour here and there to pro-
trude.
Immense forests of this tree, beautiful in the extreme,
abound on the east coast of Sumatra, especially in the
neighbourhood of Palembang. It is a native of South
America.
The Flamboyant {Poinciana Begia). — This tree comes from
Madagascar and is magnificent when in full bloom. It
stands very high, and has a striking effect when it bursts
suddenly into bloom, becoming a mass of fiery crimson or
flame colour, whence its name. It is in full bloom once a
year only, just before the rains.
The heat of the climate of Java is so great that no flowers
exhale their perfumes during the day, but do so as soon as
night comes on and the dew falls ; the quiet and peace of
the nights in the tropics outside the towns amongst all that
is natural cannot be described. In a lover of nature it
874 JAVA
arouses a feeling of satisfaction and thankfulness to the
Creator for His great gifts to mankind.
The shores of Java are protected by a girdle of forest which
is alternately washed and left dry by the ocean. This is
composed of one kind of tree, the mangrove. The mangrove
belongs to the family of the Rhizophoracece, all of which are
marvellously adapted to maintaining themselves in what-
ever peculiar place of abode they may happen to be. Their
trunks do not touch the mud, sand or slush, but are carried
by supporting air roots, which radiate from the trunk on
all sides, repeatedly branch off forkwise, and hold the tree
fast anchored in the soft mud. In time these mangrove
or tidal forests become beach forests.
There are about fifty species of climbing plants in Java,
the most beautiful of which is of course the Bougainvillea,
called after the French navigator, who discovered it on
one of the Pacific Islands w^hen making his voyage round
the world in 1766. The flowers of this creeper are either a
brilliant light lilac or deep red, blue, and lilac mixed,
there being two closely-allied species.
As regards the Orchidece, or orchids, in the wild and
impenetrable forests and jungles, where the deer, wild pig,
and tiger roam, there are orchids in any number to gladden
the eye of the botanist. How many different kinds or species
there are I am not aware, but of the very commonest sorts
there are at least fifteen to twenty. From the indiscrimi-
nate way, however, in which they have of late years been
taken by the natives, who hawk them round in some places
in a basket containing perhaps twenty, thirty, or fifty,
at 1 to 5 cents apiece, I am afraid they must be becoming
scarcer.
TJIBEUKKUM WATKRFALL. SOKKABOEMI.
CHAPTER XVI
The Fauna of Java.
The animal kingdom, while worthy of attention, has a
great deal in common with other countries in the East;
and there is no animal of importance that is not found
elsewhere.
Quadrupeds. — As to useful or domestic quadrupeds,
it may be mentioned that neither the elephant, the
rhinoceros, nor the camel exists to-day in Java.
Elephant. — The first-named, however, was found until
about 1650. It was of the Ceylon species and very small.
At the time of the empire of Majapahit a number were
kept in captivity, and were trained for carrying the
maharajah on state occasions.
Seeing that elephants are found in Sumatra at the pre-
sent day in great numbers, there is nothing extraordinary
in their having once been found in Java.
Rhinoceros. — The rhinoceros (B. sondaicus), which once
roamed wild in the island, has within the last five years
been exterminated by hunters.
Horse. — While neither the mule nor the ass is found,
there is a strong, fleet, and well-made horse, w^hich is
imported into Java from the island of Bima and Sum-
bawa. Its height never exceeds 13 hands.
Buffalo. — The karbau, or water-buffalo, constitutes an
important article of food amongst the natives, 300,000
roughly being slaughtered yearly. It is an importation
from the Coromandel coast, having been brought to Java
by the Hindus. For ploughing the rice plantations it
is indispensable, and no doubt it was with this object that
it was brought here.
876 JAVA
The buffalo supplies a rich and wholesome milk, in which
the natives delight. Its ways, however, are strange, for
while whole herds are managed by small native boys of
seven or eight years, at the sight of a European it becomes
offensively inclined, but is quite tractable again at the voice
of its small keeper.
This beast has a peculiarly weak cry for an animal of
its size ; the tone is sharp and very unlike the lomng of
European oxen.
Its pet luxury consists in wallowing in a muddy pool^
which it forms for itself in any spot convenient during
the rainy season. Here it thoroughly enjoys itself, dex-
terously throwing the water and slime with its horn over
its back and sides when there is not sufficient depth to
cover it.
Its blood is of a very high temperature, w^hich may render
these frequent baths necessary for the beast's health ;
and the mud which forms a crust on its body preserves it
to a certain extent from the attacks of insects, which are
attracted to its body in countless numbers, so much so that
the Javans commiserating the animal frequently light fires
for it in the evening in order to smoke its enemies away.
The buffalo, although a stupid animal, has sagacity
enough w^hen these fires are lighted to lie down toleew^ard
of them.
Cow. — The cow, or sapi as the natives call it, is also an
importation, having been brought in about two thousand
years ago from Madagascar.
It still has the large hump, but has degenerated from want
of rich pasture.
Sheep. — Sheep do not thrive ; they are an importation
from Bengal.
Goat. — The goat is a native, there being the kambing
utan in a wild state. The species here have a great deal of
the gazelle in appearance. They are generally about 3 feet
THE FAUNA OF JAVA 877
in height and 4 feet in length. The horns are about half
a foot in length and turned back.
Hog. — The hog is still plentiful in Java in a wild state.
There are many species of it, one of the most singular
being that in the eastern extremity of the island called
babi rusa, or hog-deer, with tusks resembling horns, which
turn back with a long curl until they reach the head some-
where near the eyes. Whether there is such a species any-
where else in the world is doubtful. The demand for
pork is great amongst the Chinese, who prefer it to any
other kind of flesh.
Cat. — The cat is domesticated, but is also to be found
in a wild state in the island.
Tiger. — Among beasts of prey the tiger comes foremost.
There are numerous kinds : the machan loreng {Felis
Tigris), machan-g6gor, machan- tutul, which is a black
leopard, machan-k6mbang, and machan-kuw^uk, which is
the tiger-cat.
The largest tigers are found near Blitar and the forests
around. It is nearly equal in size to the Bengal tiger,
and is very ferocious.
Jackal. — The jackal, or wild dog, is also found. There are
several species, which, to give them their native names,
are called asu wawar, asu ajag, and asu kiki.
Wild Ox. — The wild ox, or, as it is called, the banteng
(Bos sondaicus or Bibos sondaicus), is gradually dying out,
and is very scarce. It is a very fine beast and gives good
sport. It abounded formerly near Batang, where the
estate called Siloewok Sawangan in the Pekalongan
Residency^ is, but now this animal is only to be found in
the south of the Preanger.
Stag. — The stag is still in a wild state, as likewise the
deer ; numbers of the latter are caught and tamed, some
' This estate is still in parts a wild forest, where deer and pig abound.
As a proof that banteng formerly existed here, I give a copy of a letter
belonging to the late Mr. Edward Watson, one of the original partners of
878 JAVA
being fattened for food. The cost of a good-sized deer
alive is about £5 sterling.
Bears. — Bears only exist in Sumatra, where they are
generally small and black and chmb cocoanut-trees with
ease to devour the tender part or cabbage.
Musk Cat. — An animal called rase, very like a cat in
appearance and size, runs wild, feeding on fowls and birds.
In a certain part of its body is a sort of sack, which contains
musk or " dedes."
Otter. — There is another animal in Java which has been
sometimes called an otter. The Javans call it " beran-
gan." In measurement it is about 60 inches long, standing
about 28 inches high, and with a bushy tail about 35 inches
long, and front teeth 2J inches long.
Its head is small and rather tortoise-hke, and it has
short ears and long moustaches like a seal's. Its bushy
skin when dry is like sealskin, and it is so thick that a
slash with a knife has little effect on it. It is a ferocious
animal, with calm and deliberate actions, and attacks a
human being without hesitation if there is any need for
doing so. On land it lives on birds and fowl of all kinds,
but robs hen-roosts for preference, eating as many as a
dozen or so during a night. It is very difficult to catch.
If discovered in a tree, it rolls itself into a round ball, and
drops like a stone to the ground, bounding off instantly
into a thicket. It is, however, in the water that the animal
is in its element. The colour of its skin is black. It must
not at all be confused with the ordinary otter, as sometimes
happens ; it is called by this name only for convenience.
Monkeys. — The varieties of the monkey tribe are innumer-
Maclaine, Watson & Co., which I have been privileged to read. It runs as
follows : —
" Samarang, 21st December, 1831.
" My dear Watson, — I returned Monday from our shooting excursion
which was a very pleasant one. We shot 12 bantengs.
" Yours truly,
"J. McNeill."
THE FAUNA OF JAVA 879
able. Among them may be mentioned the muniet, karra,
brusiamang {simia gibhon of Buffon), and lutong. The
orang-utan, or " wild man," does not exist here, unless
this term applies non-specifically to a monkey which walks
occasionally erect, and bears some resemblance to the
human figure, in which case there are numbers in Java.
Some years ago a German professor stated he had un-
earthed the bones of the missing link in Java. This state-
ment was based on portions of an elongated human skull,
discovered many feet below the earth.
If the bones are what they were said to be, Java must
have been inhabited thousands of years ago, before the
great cataclysm occurred which separated Sumatra, Java,
and Australia from the continent of Asia.
Forcwpine. — The porcupine exists in Java, but it is
quite a small species.
Sloth. — The sloth or loris {Nycticehus tardigradus) , much
smaller than, but similar to, the South American species,
has also now and again been seen.^
Squirrel. — The light-brown squirrel is common. It is
called tupei.
Hedgehog. — The hedgehog is also a native of Java. The
inhabitants call it peng goling, which means " the animal
which rolls itself up."
Bats. — Of bats there is an unexampled variety. The
churi-churi is the smallest species, and is called burong
tikus, or the " mouse-bird." Next to this come the
kalalawar and the kalambit, and there is the kaluwang
{Pteropus edulis), which is of considerable size.
They hang by thousands in trees, but prefer the inside
of the roof of a godown or store-house which is Httle used.
After they have occupied such a place for a few years, the
ground is inches thick with a rich nitrogenous manure of
some value ; and nothing will induce the bats to quit this
1 The author has seen both these animals.
«80 JAVA
place, even to firing into them and killing numbers, but the
entire removal of the tiles of the roof.
FlyiTig Squirrels (Galeopithecus volans), which by means
of a membrane extending from the fore-legs to those behind
are enabled to take short flights, are also common.
Reptiles. — The cayman of the Dutch, the buaya of the
Malays, corresponding to what the English know as the
alligator {Crocodilus hiporcatus of Cuvier), swarms in most
of the rivers, and growing to a very large size does a great
deal of mischief. It resembles the crocodile of Egypt
xather than that of the Ganges or the American alHgator.
Small Alligator. — Next to the crocodile is the bewak of
ihe Malays or menyawak of the Javanese. This never
exceeds 7 feet in length and is sometimes less. The eggs
of this animal, as well as those of the crocodile, are eaten by
the natives, and the fat is collected for medical purposes.
Iguana. — The iguana is another animal of the lizard kind
about 3 feet in length ; it is quite harmless except to
poultry, of which it is uncommonly fond.
Gecko. — The toke is a gecko lizard about 10 inches long.
It frequents houses, living under the roof, and only coming
•out when the lights are lit to feed on the numerous insects
w^hich, attracted by the light from the open, settle upon the
walls. Every now and again it makes a noise descriptive
of its name.
ChicJiak. — Between this and the small house-lizard called
the chichak are many gradations in size, chiefly of the
grass-lizard kind, which is smooth and glossy. The chi-
chak is from 7 inches downwards, and is the largest reptile
that can w^alk in an inverted position. It will run along
the ceiling of a room and in that position seize a cockroach
with the utmost facility. This it is enabled to do through
the pecuHar structure of its feet, which stick as if glued
to the smoothest surface. Sometimes, however, on spring-
ing too eagerly at a fly it loses its hold and drops to the
THE FAUNA OF JAVA 881
floor, and on such an occasion it frequently recovers itself
with the loss of its tail. This is done without any apparent
pain to the animal, and certainly without any loss of blood.
Within a little time the member begins to renew itself,
and eventually is quite restored.
Chichaks are produced from eggs the size of the wren's,
of which the female carries two at a time, one in the lower
and one in the upper part of the abdomen on opposite
sides. This animal is always cold to the touch, and yet the
transparency of its body enables one to see that its blood
has a brisk circulation.
Chameleon. — The chameleon, with its tail, is about 1 J feet
long. The colour is green with brown spots. In the woods
it is green, not from the reflection of the leaves, but because
this is its natural colour. When caught it immediately
turns bro^Ti, the effect of fear or anger, as men become pale
or red. If left then undisturbed, its back soon resumes a
deep green, whilst its belly becomes a yellow green, the tail
remaining brown. It feeds on flies and grasshoppers.
Frogs. — With animals of the frog kind (kodok) the swamps
and pools everywhere teem, and their noise upon the
approach of rain is tremendous. They furnish a prey to
the snakes in Java, as elsewhere.
Snakes. — The cobra di capello, or hooded snake, does not
exist, and the largest of the boa kind is the ular sdwah
which certainly grows to 15 feet, and I have been credibly
informed even to 20 feet. One of 15 feet was killed in a
hen-house, where it was devouring the poultry.
There are numerous other varieties, for instance the ular
Idnang, which is very much dreaded by the natives as
poisonous. The Javanese say it ascends trees and suspends
itself by the end of its tail and seizes small animals as they
pass below. Then there are the ular sdivah mdchan, which
is so prettily variegated, and the ular Idmpe, found near the
mouths of rivers and swarming in some districts.
J. — VOL. II. Q
882 JAVA
This snake is dreaded by the natives as causing death
w ithin twenty-four hours.
There is also the ular kadut.
The remarkable stories which now and again come to us
regarding the snakes in Sumatra seem incredible ; never-
theless, the natives adhere to them. There is a snake, they
say, which not only swallows deer, but even the largest
buffaloes, and an assistant Eesident once told me that
travelling through Sumatra he stopped at a village to rest ;
here he found an old native crying, and on asking the reason
he was told that he (the native) had arrived too late to
prevent his child of about four or five years being swallowed
by a snake.
The stories told are almost beyond belief, but I cannot
declare them to be false.
The ular garang, or sea snake, is coated with scales, both
on the belly and on the tail. The head is about one-third
of the body ; behind it is the smallest part of the body,
which increases in bulk towards the tail, which resembles
that of the eel.
Turtle. — Two varieties of the turtle, the penyu and penyu
kombang, frequent the Java seas. Both are captured for
their shell, which is made into spoons, combs, etc. They
are excellent eating.
Tortoise. — There is a land tortoise called kiiro-kuro,
which is very abundantly found in some districts. The
natives eat it, but I fancy it is dangerous.
Fishes. — The grampus whale (belonging to the Delphi-
nidcB) is well known to fishermen by the names of . pawus
and gajah mina, but I know of no one who has ever seen it
in the Java sea, nor have I ever heard of one being thrown
up on shore.
The dugong, a sea animal with two large pectoral fins,
was called by the early Dutch voyagers " sea-cow." Owing
to this fish having a kind of shaggy hair on its head, and the
STREKT SKLLERS. JAVA.
H>H MAKKKT, SAMAKAM
THE FAUNA OF JAVA 883
mammae of the female being prominent under the pectus,
sailors in olden days carried to Europe all sorts of tales
about the mermaids in the tropical seas.
Of the fish in daily use by the natives, which are abun-
dant, and some of which are excellent eating, there are 34
species in the various rivers, 16 in the sea, and 7 found in
stagnant waters. The traveller Valentyn enumerates 500
uncommon kinds of fish found in the waters of the Eastern
Islands.
A few of the Java fish may be mentioned here : —
The shark, or hiyu {Squalus) ; skate, or ikan pari {Raid) ;
ikan mua (Murcena) ; ikan chanak {Gymnotus) ; ikan gajah
{Cepola) ; ikan karang {Chcetodon). There are also the ikan
krapo, which is a kind of sea-perch, or rock-cod ; ikan
marrang, commonly called " leather-fish," and very pala-
table ; jinnihin, like a carp ; bawal, or pomfret, not at all
bad eating ; balanak, jumpul, and marra, three fish of the
mullet kind {Mugil) ; ikan lidah, a kind of sole ; ikan
bandeng, a kind of mackerel, but with more fine bones ;
ikan kakap, similar to the English cod or the Chinese samli ;
ikan summa, a river fish resembling the salmon ; ringkis, like
the trout and noted for the size of its roe ; ikan bada, rather
like whitebait ; and ikan terbang, or flying-fish (Exoccetus).
The goerami {Osphromenus) is also a fresh-water fish that
must not be forgotten. People who can afford it keep it
in tanks on their establishments.
The little sea-horse {Syngnathus hippocampus) is com-
monly found in the seas.
Birds. — The variety of bu'ds in Java is very considerable,
consisting of over 270 species, and the following hst con-
tains but a very small part. To take first the domestic
fowls or poultry : there are the common fowl, ayam ; the
bebek, or ordinary duck; the muscovy duck; pigeons
of various species ; the goose, w^hich is common on
every establishment ; and the turkey, which is easily
Q 2
884 JAVA
procui'able, but, costing about 5s., is not an article of
daily use.
The largest bird found around here is the cassowary,
which is found on the island of Ceram.
The peacock, or merak (Pavo), is very common in large
forests, especially in some districts.
The pheasant is unknown in Java, but in Sumatra there
is a species of uncommon magnificence and beauty, the
argusiuna, or argus-pheasant. The plumage of this bird is
possibly the richest of all the feathered race, without any
gaudiness. It is difficult to keep it alive for any length of
time in captivity.
Among the birds of prey the eagle does not find a place ;
but there are the vulture {Coracias), the kite, or alang (Falco),
and the carrion-crow, or gadak {Corvus).
There are several species of the woodpecker and the owl.
The kingfisher (Alcedo) is frequently seen in marshy
ground ; it is called by the natives the boerong buaya, or
" alligator bird."
The bird of paradise (boerong supan), one of the most
beautiful of all birds, is found in the Molucca Islands and
New Guinea, and nowhere else in the world. The name was
given them by the Portuguese in the fifteenth century.
There is also the rhinoceros-bird or hornbill {Buceros),
so called from the little horn which extends half-way down
the upper mandible of its large beak and then turns up.
Of the stork kind there are several species, some of fair
height and otherwise curious. They frequent the rice-
fields in the rainy season. There is the heron (Ardea),
the snipe (Scolopax), the coot or water-hen (Fulica), and the
plover {Charadrius) .
The cassowary has already been mentioned.
Sportsmen now and again meet with quail {Coturnix), but
they must be very scarce.
Of small birds there are the starling {Stum us) ; the
A
THE FAUNA OF JAVA 885
swallow (Hirundo), one species of which builds the edible
nests which are prized so highly by the Chinese, and a
description of which will be given later on ; and the mino,
or beo, a black bird with yellow gills, which has the faculty
of imitating human speech to greater perfection than any
other bird.
The Java sparrow, a grey bird with red beak, is of course
common. I have been told there is a white species, but
have never seen it.
The teal, or belibi, is also common, but for some reason
seldom eaten.
Of the parrot kind only two, the betet, a little green bird,
and the selindit, are found in Java ; but in the Moluccas
there are a number of varieties of all the colours of the
rainbow.
Insects. — Java swarms with insects, and I do not suppose
that there is anywhere in the world where a greater variety
is to be found. To do more, however, than mention a few
would seem to be superfluous. There are the cockroach
or chingkarek (Blatta) ; the cricket or lebah taun {Gryllus) ;
the bee {Apis), whose honey and wax are collected in very
considerable quantities in the forest ; the kambang, an insect
belonging to the bee family, that bores in timber ; the sumut
or ant (Formica), which is in multitudes both outside and
inside the houses, and a large red ant, which bites badly and
frequents kapok trees, where it makes large nests. There
are also the sumut poetih ; the termite or white ant {Termes),
whose destructive qualities are such that it will eat up
or destroy the woodwork of a vacant house in a very
few years ; the scorpion (Scorpio), the sting of which is
highly inflammatory and painful, but not dangerous ;
and the sipasan, or centipede (Scolopendra) , which bites
venomously.
Further there are the lalat, or common fly (Musca),
and the alintah, or water-leech (Hirudo), which in some
886 JAVA
rivers will be found clinging to one's body in a minute or
two by the dozen.
The suala tripan, or sea-slug {Holothuria), may here be
mentioned. By some it is called beche-de-mer, and as an
article of food is in great demand by the Chinese, and is
exported to that country.
Silkworms were introduced into Java early in the
eighteenth century by the Dutch or Chinese ; but nothing
seems to have come of the venture, and hardly any informa-
tion is to be found about its results.
Of butterflies, of which there must be hundreds of varieties,
the atlas is the largest ; its chrysalis affords a coarse silk.
I shall only add the walang-sangit to this list ; this is
an insect which is destructive to the rice while in the ear.
Formerly it is said to have destroyed the growth of whole
districts in some years and to have caused partial scarcity.
The natives attempt to extirpate it by burning the chaff in
their fields ; it has a very unpleasant odour about it.^
Pearls. — The pearl fisheries of the East Indian Archi-
pelago are of no recent growth and form an important
industry.
Ferdinand Magellan, when he made his celebrated
voyage, called on the King of Borneo in 1521, who, he relates,
" was the proud possessor of two pearles as it were henne
egges, and so round that on a plaine table they would not
stand firmly." It is impossible to say what part of Borneo
Magellan touched at, but it was probably in the north,
as he describes the city as being of " 3,000 houses and very
populous, the natives being tall, subtle, armed with bowes,
javelins pointed with iron forkes, quivers with venomed
dartes, which poyson to death where they drawe bloud."
• Professor A. E. Wallace writes regarding the " Relations of Java Fauna
to the Asiatic Continent " in his " Island Life " ; and also regarding
the relation of Java and Borneo in "The Geographical Distribution of
Animals," Vol. I.
""^.^
THE FAUNA OF JAVA 887
He further goes on to say they were " all Mahumetans and
will die sooner than taste of lard, neither keepe they any
swine. They have many wives, wittie, warie in trading,
bolde and couragious. In the midst of their prawes stood
a table with silver vessels for their bettele and arecca
which they usually are chewing."
All this is sufficient to prove that pearl-fishing was going
on in the north of Borneo in the sixteenth century and that
the trade was a profitable one.
In 1596 Jan Huygen van Linschoten mentions the pearl
fisheries off Borneo ; and Fernan Mendez Pinto in 1545
tells us of those that had been carried on for a great length
of time off the west coast of Sumatra between Poeloe
Tiguos and Poeloe Quenan, and that the pearls were always
sold to merchants who came from the Eed Sea.
In 1661 the " Dagh Kegister van het Casteel Batavia "
(" The Day-Register of the Castle of Batavia ") mentions
that the industry in these waters was a very considerable
one.
At this time pearl-fishing was quite common round the
coast of Batavia and of the islands in the neighbourhood.
Valentyn in his book states that at the Aroe Islands as
many as seventy to eighty large ships at a time were sent
out to search for pearl ; and the business was conducted on
a large scale in the same w^ay as was being done in Ceylon.
The people of a Chinese village at Poeloe Weh used to
live on the profits of pearl-fishing, the shell being sold to
Singapore at 30fl. a picul. They also sent some of it to
China, where it found a ready market, the powdered shell,
or the inside thereof, forming an important ingredient in
the Chinese pharmacopoeia. At the beginning of the
eighteenth century the natives of the coast desahs began
searching for pearl in the " Kinderzee " and off the coast by
Tjilatjap. The industry in fact was so profitable that at
one time it was carried on all over the archipelago.
888 JAVA
Naturally this was observed by the eagle eye of the
East India Company, for the Governor-General, Zwarde-
croon, in 1721 put a surtax of 10 per cent, of the profits on
the industry, the profits being probably assessed by the
Company itself.
Prices had now reached 80fl. and lOOfl. a picul. The
best quahty of pearl-shell came from the coasts of Tidore
and Ternate, and these secured the top price.
From the Aroe Islands fisheries the following figures have
been obtained which will give some idea of the production
placed on the market : —
About 1857
. . 3,500 piculs of pearl-shell every season
„ 1887 ..
.. 1,330
„ 1892 . .
.. 1,700
„ 1894
.. 2,300
,, 1895
893 „ ,, ,,
This is sufficient to show the importance of the trade,
which to-day is still going on under proper regulation and
management.
In 1881 the Sultan of Batjan gave a concession to the
** Batjan-Maatschappij " to fish in his waters ; and in 1896
the *' Nederlandsch Indische Paarlschelpvisschery " (the
Netherlands India Pearl-shell Fishing Company) was formed,
having a fleet of one schooner and seven luggers, and holding
the right to work in the neighbourhood of the Aroe Islands
and all around that part of the archipelago.
In 1898 another company was established at Macassar
called the " Visschery Maatschappij Djoempandang," which
had a fleet of one schooner and ten luggers, with the right
to fish in the valuable waters around the Timor Archipelago.
In ancient times these were considered almost the best of all
the waters in this part of the world for pearl-shell.
At Macassar there are regular European dealers in this
product who buy it all up and ship it to Singapore or
THE FAUNA OF JAVA 889
Europe. The pearls find their way to London, Hamburg,
and Amsterdam, and sometimes the catches prove very
valuable.
In the islands of the Moluccas pearls of good colour and
size can be now and again purchased for a quarter of the
price one would have to pay for them in Europe.
CHAPTER XVII
The Minerals of Java
Gold. — Gold was not only known to exist, but was also
worked in Sumatra and the island of Nias in very ancient
times. Research has proved that the neglected diggings
found by the Portuguese at the end of the fifteenth century
were worked centuries before the Christian era.
The eminent Dutch Professor Kern has given weighty
reasons for holding that Sumatra was the gold island
{Suivarnadwipa) of the Kath'dserit sagara, and there is much
reason for supposing that it was from here that King
Solomon drew his gold for the temple.
In more recent times (a.d. 600) the Persians had a colony
in West Sumatra, and at the same time, if not before, a
colony of Arabs was also there.
It is not unlikely that a number of both these nations
were driven from their land when Alexander the Great
destroyed the Persian army about B.C. 300, but of this there
is no proof.
Until some twenty years ago (1895) there were only native
workings in the archipelago, and the large gold mines had
been abandoned, as with the primitive means at the disposal
of the natives the cuttings on the surface had become
exhausted and they were unable to work at a lower level.
The Chinese, too, worked in West Borneo, washing out the
gold as they did in the early days in California, and they
won good returns. Through mere primitive washing, which
was slow and tedious, the Chinese of West Borneo in 1848
managed to extract officially l,348,810fl. worth of gold,
or more than £100,000 sterling, while at the same time from
THE INIINERALS OF JAVA 891
the eastern district they took out 60,280fl., or £5,000.
Between the years 1875 and 1880 the official figures were
never less than £100,000 a year.
The word " official " is especially used, as the Dutch
Government had every reason for supposing that the actual
extractions of gold were very much greater.
The Chinese, of course, apart from the tax on every penny-
weight of gold, had sounder reasons for not allowing the
enormous productions to become known. A number of
them had had relatives who had been at California during the
time of the rush, and they knew very ^yell what was in store
for them if the Europeans came their w^ay.
The first European mining concern in Netherlands India
was the Ban Pin San ; this was in West Borneo. Being,
however, badly managed from the first, it came to grief for
want of capital.
In 1895 the Netherlands India Mynbouw Maatschappij
and the Mynbouw Maatschappij Martapoera were formed.
The first-named had a concession in the island of Celebes
and the latter in Borneo. The shares, however, of both,
after touching a high point, dropped to nothing. It was the
old story of mismanagement and want of knowledge.
That there is gold, however, and in large quantities, on
both these concessions is unquestionable, and in the former,
I have been assured, nuggets up to 66 grains were found.
The former company has been re-formed and is now
worked under the name of " Paleleh," but on account of
the smallness of the capital insufficient gold is extracted, a
mere £5,000 worth being secured monthly, which barely
pays expenses.
Between 1897 and 1900 about fort}^ companies were
started with an aggregate capital of close on a million
pounds sterling. These were all in Borneo, Sumatra, and
Celebes.
The mining engineers were almost exclusively English
892
JAVA
and knew their business, but the directors of the concerns
were mostly pettifogging Dutch import houses, who had up
to this time been deahng in cotton goods and such hke.
The result was only what might have been expected, and
instead of the archipelago becoming a second Witwatersrand
the public before many years received a shock from which
it has never recovered. Gold-mining, which had become an
industry, received a set-back, and a reaction set in.
Capital for even hon&fide concerns was difficult to procure,
and the vitality which had always been so apparent in Java
where money was concerned seemed to have ceased.
Prominent, however, from these times stand out the gold
mines worked and managed by that splendid German
house Erdmann and Sielcken. During the dark days when
the gold industry was at its lowest and criticisms of a
disagreeable nature were being levelled at the directors of
all the gold companies, this firm plodded on, and has to-day
mines under its management of which they can reasonably
feel proud. There is no other firm in Java that could have
done for the mining industry of the East Indies what
Erdmann and Sielcken have done, and they deserve
unbounded credit for having carried their obligations and
their intentions successfully through. Their principal mines
are : —
Mine.
Capital,
(florins).
Where situate.
Redjang Lebong .
Ketahoen
Simau ....
2,500,000
2,600,000
1,875,000
Sumatra
»>
At the Eedjang Lebong mine traces are being continually
met with of very ancient trenches and galleries. The work-
ing, however, it is clear, was conducted in a very primitive
way. The richest ore was apparently sought out first and
•lAVAN LADV.
THE ^MINERALS OF JAVA 893
bruised in pans until it became small. The gold must have
then been separated from the gravel by washing.
Redjang Lebong is quite near the town of Benkoelen, of
which Raffles was lieutenant-governor for about twelve
years. Had it been discovered in those days, the
chances are that Sumatra would now have belonged to
England.
In early days the way to the mine was over steep moun-
tains and through the densest jungle, but a road has at
last been made on which motor cars can run, and the dis-
tance, which previously took three weeks to go over, now
takes three days.
Since 1903 Redjang Lebong has regularly declared a
dividend. These are the figures : —
1903 . . . . 20 per cent. 1908 . . , . 100 per cent.
1904 .. .. 22-9 „ 1909 .. .. 85
1905 .. .. 32 „ 1910 .. ..90
1906 .. .. 52-5 „ 1911 .. ..50
1907 .. .. 71 „ 1912 .. ..25
Ketahoen paid, as to first dividend, 16 per cent, to the
ordinary and 25 per cent, to the preference shareholders.
Since these times this mine has somewhat declined and
poorer ore has had to be worked through.
Simau, which is the latest of the three, may be safely
expected from the good assays to pay very good divi-
dends. In 1912 it declared its first dividend of 20 per
cent.
The centres of gold mining are the residency of Ben-
koelen, in Sumatra, Borneo, and the Celebes.
In Sumatra the gold occurs in three ways : firstly, in
quartz lodes, in the old shales, and in granite ; secondly,
in quartz lodes, which are connected with Post-Tertiary
andesites, rhyolites, and other eruptive rock? ; thirdh^
as the alluvial or river gold.
894 JAVA
The mines of Eedjang Lebong, Ketahoen, and Simau
all have ores belonging to the second group.
In the Celebes the mines of " Paleleh " (late of the Nether-
lands India Mynbouw Maatschappij) and " Totok " are
the last of all the companies started that are still working.
The results of the first-named have already been mentioned,
and as regards the latter, gold may be said to be plentiful
enough there, if only the mine were better furnished with a
greater capital. This mine was also worked in ancient
times, underground galleries being now and again met with.
There was no plan, however, and they ran in all directions.
Sometimes their height was fairly considerable, sometimes
only a few feet. Sometimes the galleries were horizontal,
at others nearly vertical ; some ended at 10 metres, others
reached 80 metres. All the side walls are covered with the
pow^der of burnt and slaked lime. Wood was apparently
piled up against the walls and set alight, and by the heat
that was produced the lime became calcined, and it was after-
wards slaked by water. This process converted the hard
rock into a soft mass, from which the quartz could easily
be worked out with pickaxes, or by whatever means the
inhabitants had at their disposal. In this manner did
the ancients work their gold mines.
There is no doubt that Sumatra and the Celebes are rich
in gold ; when the time comes for the Borneo mines to be
opened up and properly worked they will probably be found
the richest of all.
In the neighbourhood of Martapoera gold has been worked
by the natives in their primitive way for seven centuries,
and the assays are incredibly fine. The country is, however,
difficult to travel in and transport is very expensive ;
had this not been so the gold mine of " Kahayang," for
which a concession w^as granted some years ago, would
no doubt have long since paid shareholders handsome
dividends.
THE MINERALS OF JAVA
895
The output of gold in 1911 from the five largest mines in
Netherlands India was as follows : —
£ stlg.
Redjang Lebong (Sumatra) . . . . . . 353,750
Ketahoen
Simau
Paleleh (Celebes)
Totok
Total
67,250
108,000
76,650
56,650
£662,300
Previous to this the total output was as follows : —
£ stlg. £ stlg.
. . 392,326 1909 . . . . 630,335
1906
1907
1908
487,829
609,657
1909
1910
723,077
Silver. — Silver and gold invariably occur together in
the East Indies. In some mines it is in the proportion of
7 to 1, in others only 2 to 1, but on the average 3 to 1.
Below is given a table showing the quantity and value of
the gold and silver productions for 1900 to 1907 taken from
official figures ; this will give some idea of the rate at which
this industry is increasing : —
Year
Gold.
SUver.
Quantity.
Value.
Quantity.
Value.
1900
1901
1902
1903
1904
1905
1906
1907
kigs.
745
1,213
1,388
2,131
1,940
2,339
2,619
3,160
fl.
1,195,000
2,014,000
2,202,000
3,365,000
3,200,000
3,827,000
4,117,000
5,056,000
klgs.
5,762
7,730
8,422
11,135
fl.
270,000
348,000
454,000
550,000
Tin. — Tin {kassiteros, stagnum, later stannum) was know^n
in Egypt, Persia, India, China, and Peru several thousand
years ago. In the oldest records, and even in the Old
«96 JAVA
Testament, mention is made of it. In articles dug up
from the " bronze period " tin has been frequently dis-
covered.
As to what is the actual meaning of kassiteros there is
some doubt/ but it is supposed that stagnum or stannum
comes from the Celtic word " stean," and originally meant
work-ore.
In the time of Herodotus the British Islands were known
as the Cassiterides, or Tin Islands, and tin must have been
imported from there into Europe overland before the sea
way by Gibraltar was known.
Tin in the Dutch East Indies was first discovered by the
Dutch at Banka in 1709, 1710, or 1711.
This metal is found not only at Banka, but also at Billiton
and Singkep, the three largest islands among a group (in all
of which tin exists) which forms, as it were, a prolongation of
the Malay Peninsula beyond Singapore.
These islands are built up of old shales, but the age
of them is unknown owing to a complete absence of
fossils.
The mining of the tin ore is carried on in all three islands
in the same way — that is to say, it is farmed out to
Chinese " kongsies " or associations (under the supervision
of a European staff), who work at fixed prices settled in
advance.
In Banka the Government carry on the mining them-
selves, but at Billiton and Singkep it is done by com-
panies, the Billiton Company and the Singkep Tin Mining
Company.
The first company received their charter on condition
that they returned five-eighths of their profit to the Govern-
ment, while the latter works under a contract made with
the Sultan of Lingga.
It is noteworthy that Raffles secured the two islands of
1 See Chapter I.
THE MINERALS OF JAVA
897
Banka and Billiton for England by treaty with the Sultan
of Palembang, but they were ceded by the British to
Holland in 1819, after repeated conferences on the subject
between the plenipotentiaries of the two countries. The
Dutch knew what they were worth, the Enghsh did not.
The tin from BiUiton is sold by public auction at Batavia ;
Messrs. Maintz & Co., a French firm, are generally the largest
buyers, after whom comes the " International Trading
Company," of Rotterdam. The Banka tin is sent to
Amsterdam and Rotterdam, whilst that from Singkep finds
a ready market at Singapore.
The value of the tin may roughly be said to be about
fl.93'50 the picul, and the industry is a very important
one for the Dutch Treasury.
Tin has been found, too, in Flores, where, according to
the natives, it is in far greater quantities than in Banka
and Billiton. It is also to be found on the west coast of
Sumatra and at Siak.
Table showing Output op Tm.
Year.
Banca.
Billiton.
Singkep.
Total.
piculs
piculs
piculs
piculs
Up to 1896 .
6,734,136
1,560,581
49,887
8,344,604
1897 .
163,541
89,046
10,931
263,518
1898
192,973
93,603
11,144
297,720
1899
185,974
79,572
9,533
275,079
1900
202,728
80,203
12,989
295,920
1901
171,134
74,812
9,978
255,924
1902
171,214
76,234
7,254
254,702
1903
185,692
64,266
4,618
254,576
1904
148,987
71,707
6,007
226,701
1905
145,298
67,386
7,488
220,172
1906
190,031
62,310
6,715
259,056
1907
191,930
67,024
6,619
265,573
1908
203,990
66,491
6,441
277,111
1909 .
184,826
36,316
7,972
229,114
16-47 picula = 1 ton.
J. — ^VOL. II.
B
898
JAVA
Value of the Tin Industry.
XT
Net yield of Tin
Shareoff in Profit of
m X 1 Tk tf i
Year.
in Banka.
Billiton Company.
Total Profit.
1897 .
fl.
2,983,000
fl.
643,000
fl.
3,626,000
1898 .
4,919,000
1,752,000
6,671.000
1899 .
12,887,000
1,752,000
14,639,000
1900 .
14,148,000
3,166,000
17,314,000
1901 .
9,643,000
2,693,000
12,336,000
1902 .
9,593,000
2,699,000
12,292,000
1903 .
11,375,000
2,358,000
13,734,000
1904 .
9,346,000
2,278,000
11,624,000
1905 .
10,483,000
4,137,000
14,620,000
1906 .
17,611,000
2,963,000
20,574,000
1907 .
15,301,000
1,437,000
16,738,000
1908 .
19,029,000»
1,400,000'
20,429,0001
1909 .
17,240,0001
800,000'
18,040,0001
Coal. — As early as 1829 coal was discovered in the
residencies of Benkoelen and Bantam, and in 1846 Govern-
ment began working one of the mines at Martapoera, in
West Borneo ; but this was soon left in favour of another,
which appeared better, at Pengaron, where in 1849 a tunnel-
mine was opened, which they called the '* Oranje Nassau "
mine.
In 1886 the important coalfields at OembiHen, near Padang,
in Sumatra, were discovered by the mining engineer W. H.
de Greve.
About 1900 several mines were being worked in various
places in the archipelago by private concerns who had
received concessions from Government.
Up to now the coal found, according to the great authority
Dr. E. D. M. Verbeek, all belongs to the Tertiary period.
The coal-seams are sometimes very thick and extensive.
The quality of the coal varies. Some of it can be favourably
compared with other good qualities, while there is some that
burns itself almost immediately away like chaff.
It is from the old Tertiary beds, that is the Eocene strata,
that the best kinds are procured ; while in the upper
1 Approximate.
THE MINERALS OF JAVA 899
Tertiary deposits, although fairly thick lignite seams are met
with, the coal is of poorer quality.
The coalfields at Bantam, called the Bajah coalfields,
have never been worked up till now, owing, no doubt, to the
discovery of the Oembilien fields.
These latter fields are near the Singkarah Lake, and are
connected with Padang and its harbour, Emmahaven,
by a very good railway, w^hich runs through some grand
country, circling a large mountain which lies between
Padang and Oembilien.
Dr. Verbeek has divided the Oembihen fields into three
divisions and estimated the quantity of coal in each as
follows : —
(1) The Parambahan coalfield . . 20,000,000 tons
(2) The Singaloet „ . . 80,000,000 „
(3) (a) The coalfields south of the
river Pamoeatan . . . . —
(6) The Soegar coalfield . . . . —
(c) The Soengei Doerian coalfield 93,000,000 „
{d) The coalfields west of Loera
Gedang 4,000,000 „
Total 197,000,000 „
The coal here found is of very fair quahty. It is shining-
black, clean-looking, and quite different to the various
Indian sorts. Its burning quahties are good, and it pro-
duces but slight ash (O? per cent.), and has a specific gravity
of 1-23 to 1-25.
The assay of sulphur is also very satisfactory, being onlj'"
0-35 to 0-60 per cent.
The calorific effect is 7,000 to 7,400 thermal units.
The coal from the Oembilien mines ignites easily, w^ith a
bright flame, does not cake, and gives off httle smoke or soot.
There are other Sumatra coalfields. At Indragiri the
Tjinako Steenkolen Maatschappy holds a concession, but
the output so far has been nothing to speak of ; near
r2
1900
JAVA
Palembang the Exploratie Syndicaat Lematang has a con-
cession which they have been working since 1896, but the
output does not amount to a thousand tons a year ; in this
district, however, coal is very plentiful.
Besides the foregoing in Sumatra, coalfields have been
found at Tapan (near Padang) ; at Atjeh, at the Bay of
Tapanoelie (formerly called Tappanooly) ; in the Lampong
districts ; and, as already mentioned, at Benkoelen.
Borneo, as every one knows, is rich in coal ; in fact, it may
be at once said here that nearly every mineral known finds
a place in this island. The Poeloe Laoet Mining Company
turns out of their concession about 100,000 tons per annum,
and the two concessions " Louise " and " Mathilde," belong-
ing to the Netherlands India Industrial and Trading
Company, are doing well.
Coal has also been found at Assahan, near Pengaron, and,
as we know, at Martapoera. Here there were up till 1859
two mines being worked, a Government one called " Delft "
and a private one called '* Julia Hermina." In this year,
however, the Dyaks in the district murdered the entire
staff and destroyed all the plant, and it has never been
considered desirable to reopen here.
At Nanggoelan, near Djockjakarta, a seam 1 metre thick
has been found, and at Sedan, near Kembang, the Sedan
Mining and Industrial Company holds a concession to work
coal.
Output from the Oembilien Coal Mines.
Year.
Number of Tons.
Year.
Number of Tons.
1892
1,758
1901
198,074
1893
46,075
1902
180,702
1894
72,452
1903
201,292
1895
107,942
1904
207,280
1896
126,284
1905
221,416
1897
142,850
1906
277,097
1898
149,434
1907
300,999
1899
181,325
1908
314,065
1900
196,206
1909
325,000
RESIDENCY ROAD. .TOC'K.JAKAK 1 A.
(;()VKKN.\1EXT OFKR'ES AT WATKRLUd PLAIN, HATAVIA. (bUILT DLKlNi
THE ENGLISH TIME.)
THE MINERALS OF JAVA 901
Petroleum. — Petroleum, or, as it is called by the Javans,
vimjak tanah (the Malay for " oil of the earth "), was spoken
of as existing in the Dutch East Indies in 1623 by the traveller
Jan Huyghen van Linschoten, who wrote in the itinerary of
his voyage as follows regarding Sumatra : " Het heeft
eener vuiighen Swevelbergh en de affirmeren datter een
Fonteyn is die louter en enckel Balsem vloeyt," which,
literally translated, means that Sumatra " has various
sulphur mountains, and, it is stated, springs from which
pure and simple balsam flows."
This is the first mention made which can in any way be
considered to refer to petroleum.
In 1863 while Junghuhn (the Dutch scientist) was
travelhng in Sumatra he came across springs of petroleum
in the residency of Benkoelen, near Ipo, between Moko-
Moko and the town of Benkoelen, and on his return to
Holland he advised the Minister for the Colonies to have a
survey made here and in Cheribon.
Just before this in the same year the residencies of
Samarang, Sourabaya, Palembang and the island of Madura
were pointed out by De Groot, the chief of the Mining
Department at Batavia, as the places w^here oil was to be
found.
In the first-named residency he indicated the neighbour-
hood of Poerwodadi and Goeboek, and also the Kendal
district, by Limbangan, Selokaton, and Pelantoengan. In
the Sourabaya residency no particular spots were indicated ;
but in Madura the districts of Pamekasan and Sumenap were
indicated, while Bali Boekit and the neighbourhood of the
river Lalang were stated to be the most likely places
where the oil would be found in Palembang. On the
strength of this advice P. Bleeker and W. R. van Hoevell
in 1866 endeavoured to start a company to bore for
petroleum.
In a circular they issued they represented East Java as
902 JAVA
containing the richest fields, and asked the public for the
moderate sum of 100,000fl. to start working.
Unfortunately the public had no confidence in the
venture, so the scheme fell through.
In 1865 J. S. G. Gramberg made it pubhc that oil was to
be found near Palembang in the district of Lematang Ilir
and in the district of Benakat south of Moera Enim.
In 1873 the Government gave orders for the Cheribon
district to be surveyed for oil, and some boring was done at
Madja by a private concern, but there were no results, only
" pockets " being found here and there. The same was the
case in 1875, when the residency of Sourabaya was surveyed.
Nothing further to speak of was now done until 1887,
when an energetic, clever, and far-seeing mining engineer
called A. Stoop secured a concession to search for oil, and
under the name of a company called ** De Dordtsche Maats-
chappij tot Opsporing en Exploiteeren van Petroleum-
bronnen op Java " (The Dordtsche Company for Searching
for and Exploiting Petroleum Springs in Java) he started
work, striking oil quite near Sourabaya on a piece of ground
bordered by the Sourabaya, Porrong, and KaH-Mas rivers
in 1890. Stoop (a man of no very great pretensions socially
or otherwise) found himself, so to say, instantly a millionaire,
and an industry was opened which has developed into one
of the most important in the country.
In the same year another company was formed, called "De
Koninklyke Nederlandsche Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van
Petroleumbronnen in Nederlandsch Indie " (The Eoyal
Dutch Company for Working Petroleum Springs in Nether-
lands India), frequently called for short " De Koninklyke"
(The Eoyal).
This company together with Stoop's have proved the most
successful of all those started ; and with the control of a
large capital b}^ them not only has the Java oil been made
to compete successfully with both American and Russian
THE MINERALS OF JAVA 90S
rivals, but the two companies have placed their products
over the whole of Asia and even in Europe.
In 1897 Stoop turned his old company into a new one
called "De Dordtsche Petroleum Industrie Maatschappij,"
and new concessions w^ere applied for.
The principal petroleum fields have been actually
found in the residencies of Sourabaya and Rembang in
Java, in Palembang and Atjeh in Sumatra, and at Kotei
in Borneo. The statements made earlier by the mining
engineer De Groot were therefore proved to be entirely
correct.
Petroleum is generally found in late Miocene strata, and
its occurrence is another confirmation of the anticlinal
theory of Hofer and others. The petroleum springs of Java
and Madura have been worked from the first with Dutch
capital, but the oilfields at Balik Pappan, in the district of
Kotei, in Borneo, w^ere originally worked by the Shell
Transport and Trading Company, of which the chief director
was Sir Marcus Samuel, of London. This company started
in August, 1899, with British capital and was highly
successful, but the whole concern was nevertheless sold to
the " Koninklyke," or " Royal Dutch," in 1908 for reasons
never, I believe, publicly stated.
Shafts are generally sunk on the Canadian principle,
but the washing method of boring is also now and again
employed.
As regards the chemical and physical properties of the oils
of the Dutch Indies, it may be said that they partly agree
with the Russian and partly with the Pennsylvania oil.
The oils of Java and Sumatra possess a low specific gravity
and high contents of benzine and lamp oil ; on the other
hand, the oil of Borneo is heavy and contains a great
percentage of residue. Besides lamp oil, benzine, gasoline,
lubricating oil, vaseline, parafiin, and asphalt are obtained
from the crude petroleum.
904
JAVA
At Wonwkromo and Tjepoe the " Dordtsche " has large
refineries, while the " Koninklyke " has similar large
establishments at Balik Pappan, Pangkalan Brandan, and
Bajoeng Lentjir.
At Tandjong Priok, Batavia, and Sourabaya there are
large tanks for holding the residue which is supplied on a
large scale as fuel to the steamers which call there.
These tanks formerly belonged to the Shell Transport and
Trading Company, whose business in Java was managed by
the old house of Pitcairn, Syme & Co. ; they now, however,
belong to the " Koninklyke."
In 1909 there were no less than sixty-one companies in
the East Indies holding concessions from Government to
bore and work for oil.
To show how the discovery of oil in Java has affected the
Eussian and American trade it need only be shown what the
imports were before the local petroleum was sold.
Imports in 1889 : —
j Devoes brand
. 1,422,623 cases
American
J Chester „
] SteUa
426,628 „
190,659 „
( Comet „
49,006 „
Russian .
. 1,114,139 „
Total
3,203,055
In 1902 (after the local oil was on the market) : —
, . ( Devoes 813,898 cases
American -^ ^. ,
Tiger 1 —
Russian
33,100
Total
846,998
' The previous year there had been 2,465 cases of this oil imported. It
was of poorer quality than Devoes, and therefore sold cheaper, so that it
could compete with the local oils. It was, however, found altogether too
poor.
THE MINERALS OF JAVA
905
Production of Petroleum (in Cases) from the
" Dordtsche Petroleum Maatschappij."
Year.
Number of Cases.
Year.
Number of Cases.
1899
8,000
1899
1,642,780
1890
27,760
1900
1,649,129
1891
79,179
1901
1,664,284
1892
247,839
1902
1,535,127
1893
276,062
1903
1,702,222
1894
452,728
1904
1,990,605
1895
779,239
1905
2,005,899
1896
1,206,105
1906
1,994,664
1897
1,494,976
1907
2,083,522
1898
1,490,338
1908
2,139,493
Production of Local Petroleum.
Year.
1903
1904
1905
1906
Number of Tons.
870,000
1,049,000
1,200,000
1,300,000
Year.
1907
1908
1909
Number of Tons.
1,328,000
1,255,000
1,300,000
Yearly Production of Petroleum by the various
Centres (in round numbers).
Name of Concession.
Name of District.
Tons.
Panolan . . . . | Rembang ....
25,000
Tjinawoen
!
48,000
XII. Desahs .
1 Sourabaya .
15,000
Made
20,000
Moera Enim
Palembang
112,000
Karang Ringin
14,000
Bandjarsari
21,000
Babat I.
15,000
Soeban Djerigi
105,000
Lematang
25,000
Telaga Said .
East Coast of Sumatra
10,000
Boeloe Telang .
>> •)
135,000
Peureula
Atjeh
230,000
Moera
South East Borneo
80,000
Tarakan I. and II.
»>
30,000
906 JAVA
Diamonds. — Diamonds are found in the districts of Marta-
poera and Pontianak, in Borneo. Before the arrival of the
Europeans in the East Indies, it is said they were fairly
plentiful, and there is no reason for doubting the statements.
In fact it is generally admitted that at the end of the
eighteenth century one million guilders' worth of diamonds
were being found yearly. The quality of the diamonds is
good, and if a proper exploration was made it is generally
expected that they would be found in handsomely paying
quantities.
The difficulty, however, in the Dutch East Indies is the
question of capital, and until the English or Americans open
their purses things will go on much as they are doing at the
present moment and large industries remain undeveloped.
The largest diamond found in recent times was at
Goenoeng Law^ak, Martapoera ; it weighed 77 carats. It is
said, however, that the natives have found still bigger ones ;
but these would of course be hidden away by the native
princes, in case jealous eyes might covet them.
Platinum. — Platinum is found at Martapoera, in Borneo,
and there is no doubt that large quantities are obtainable.
The same old complaint, however, of want of capital
prevents this industry from being worked properly. Nowa-
days the natives extract the metal in small quantities.
Copper. — Copper is to be found all over the archipelago.
In Java it occurs in the Preanger districts, but it is at
Madioen that the greatest quantities are found.
In Sumatra, in the valley of Paninghan, on the west coast,
it is said to be plentiful.
The island of Timor was known to the ancients as being
very rich in copper, but no attempt appears ever to have been
made to work it.
This mineral is also to be found near Gorontalo, in the
island of Celebes, as also in Banca.
In Western Borneo massive copper occurs in alluvial soil,
THE MINERALS OF JAVA 907
which at the same time contains gold. At the gold mine
of *' Soemalata " the gold ore was for some time melted in
furnaces, yielding a quantity of copper ; the results, how-
ever, were not altogether satisfactory, so this method was
stopped.
Although the mineral exists everywhere, it seems to be
nowhere in very large quantities ; as no regular mining,
however, has ever been undertaken, this statement cannot
be made with perfect certainty.
Sulphur. — Where there are volcanoes there are also
sulphur and sulphur springs to be found.
On the Papandayan volcano, near Garoet, in the Pre-
anger, there is a very good establishment where various
mineral baths can be taken ; these baths are frequented by
those suffering from rheumatism and by dyspeptics. The
air, too, around there is so pure that it might be also recom-
mended for consumptives.
Sulphur itself in massive form is worked by the natives
in the various craters, but the industry is of no importance.
Marble. — Marble of the Tertiary age is to be found in
the islands of Timor and Sumatra, but of too soft a quality
to be of any use in building.
It is also to be found in the residency of Kediri.
A concession granted at Wadjak has been worked, and
by Belgian and Dutch experts the marble has been stated
to be hard and firm and quite equal to the best qualities
of Italian, Belgian, and French marble. This is the more
strange as it belongs also to the Tertiary period.
The concession worked here by the company called
" De Wadjak Mynontginning Maatschappij van Toeloeng
Agoong " (The Wadjak Mine- working Company of Toeloeng
Agoong) was granted to R. D. van Rietschoten in 1890 for
seventy-five years. The production in 1896 was about
50 cubic metres, and, according to an estimate roughly
made and based on Italian calculations, there is enough
908 JAVA
marble at Wadjak for eighteen thousand years, allowing-
even the generous quantity of 60,000 cubic metres a year
to be taken away.
Manganese Ores. — These are known to exist in boundless
quantities in Sumatra, Banca, and Java, but various con-
cessions granted have never been energetically worked.
H. W. van Dalfsen, who now lives at Bandoeng and is a
member of the Municipal Council there, held a concession for
some years in the residency of Djokjakarta. His shipments
annually to Liverpool amounted to at least 12,000 tons, but
they were stopped suddenly, probably for the usual reason.
It is said that the sands on the south coast of Java,
washed by the Indian Ocean, are rich in all sorts of ores.
They appear, however, all to have been given out in con-
cessions ; but so far no work has been started on them.
Lead Ores. — These ores are to be found in the islands of
Flores, Lombok, Ceram, Sumatra, and Borneo, but chiefly
in the last two.
In Borneo there has been a company working for some
years, *' De Mynbouw Maatschappij Boekit Pondok " (The
Boekit Pondok Mining Company) ; it has not, however,
been very successful, want of capital being the chief reason
for this.
Iodine. — Springs of iodine have been found in the resi-
dency of Sourabaya. In 1907, 28,600 kilogrammes of iodine
of copper were obtained ; in 1908, 45,800, and in 1909
about 50,000.
Other Minerals. — Amongst other minerals which are
abundant may be mentioned flint, chalcedony, hyalite,
common jasper, jasper agate, obsidian, and porphyry.
The existence of mercury in the low lands of Demak has
been proved, but it is only distributed in minute particles
throughout the clayej^ ground of the sawalis bounding one of
the principal rivers of that district, so that it has never been
considered that there are indications of a mine being there.
CHAPTER XVIII
The Industries of Java
Sugar. — When sugar was first grown in Java is a question
•easier to ask than to answer.
We know from the Greeks that the sugar-cane was grow-
ing luxuriantly on the banks of the Ganges in B.C. 327,
and it is also known to have been thriving in China as
early as b.c. 250.
It has been stated that the sugar-cane {Saccharum offici-
narum), which most probably was imported from India or
China, was growing in Java in the year a.d. 1, but upon
what grounds the statement is based I fail to see. That a
very early date, however, has to be given to the introduc-
tion of its culture into Java is certain, but the exact deter-
mination of this date has not yet been made.
Already in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the Chinese
were doing a sugar trade in Java, and when the Dutch
arrived in 1600 the culture of the article was passing out
of the hands of the native planters into those of their more
experienced Mongolian friends. The sugar in these early
days was, as might be expected, of a very poor kind, resem-
bling a cake of dirty-looking, black-brown sand ; it was,
moreover, not only made from cane, but expressed from
various species of palms as well. The consumption of it,
however, was fully equal to the supply, which probably
amounted in Jacatra to some 4,000 to 5,000 piculs.
In 1602 the energetic Chinese had not only several sugar-
mills — primitive, no doubt, but still fulfilling their purpose —
at Jacatra, but arak factories also.
After the firm establishment of the Dutch power at
910 JAVA
Jacatra in 1619, the East India Company decided to take the
industry under its care, and gave out land on loan to Chinese
and their own countrymen to plant with cane, the sugar of
which was to be delivered to the company at a fixed price.
By 1650 the Company had 20 mills in working near Batavia,
and owing to the fairly favourable terms given and the con-
sideration shown by the Company to the planters, the
number by 1710 had risen to 130. Sugar planting, more-
over, in the island had become more general, for fabricks at
this time were opened in Bantam, Japara, Cheribon, and
East Java.
In writing of the history of the sugar industry of Java
one can divide it practically into four periods.
Firstly, from 1619 to 1830 — the industry under a state
of compulsory delivery of the sugar to the Dutch East
India Company (or, when it ceased, to the Dutch East
India Government).
Secondly, 1830 to 1879 — the culture system in force
most of the time, by which the natives were forced to grow
cane and to deliver it to the fabricks, in return for a nominal
price fixed by Government, which included cost of trans-
port and a sum of 54 cents paid for every picul of sugar
(which had to be returned to the local officials) ; the sugar
delivered to Government at a fixed price, which could be
raised or lowered as it suited them.
Thirdly, 1879 to 1890— gradual taking over of the
industry from the hands of the Government by free
planters.
Fourthly, 1890 to 1892 — the industry entirely free to
sell its sugar in the open market, and all Government
control as to compulsory deliveries and other vexatious
regulations at an end.
Such, then, is the general outline of the sugar industry
in Java.
A memorandum made by some private individual at
a'(iAl!-tA.\K FIELD.
NATIVE STKEKT UESTAUUANT. JAVA.
THE INDUSTRIES OF JAVA 911
Batavia in 1710 is interesting and noteworthy and reads
as follows : —
" Sugar is by far the chief produce of the province of Jacatra,
and although Cheribon, on the north-east coast of Java, annually
produces considerable quantities of it, they cannot rival Jacatra
in this respect ; and no wonder, for the culture of it was early
cherished by the higher powers in Jacatra, The cultivators of
the sugar-cane enjoy many exemptions of pecuniary imposts,
and they have been encouraged by every means, not only by the
Government of Batavia, but likewise by positive orders from the
Chamber of Seventeen-in Holland, under date 20th of June,
1710."
Notwithstanding till this and the " positive orders,"
the sugar-mills, for reasohig.-^ easily assignable, began to
decrease, so that by December, 1750, their number had
fallen to 77, of w^hich only 66 were in a condition to work.
These were at Batavia, but there were still seven working at
Bantam, 80 at Cheribon and 13 in East Java, or say 105
altogether.
This decrease was probably due to the old East India
Company endeavouring to squeeze out more than a due
profit and thus, as usual, choking the trade. But it may,
however, in part have been due to a year of over-production,
and thereby with diminished profits. In any case, we know
that each of these factories was now limited to making 300
piculs of sugar. Before this they were probably making
on an average 850 piculs each. The first productions can
therefore be reliably given : —
Total.
1650 . . 20 sugar mills making 350 piculs each . . 7,000
1710 .. 131 „ „ 350 „ „ .. 45,850
1745 ..65 „ „ 300 „ „ .. 19,500
1750 ..77 „ „ 300 „ „ .. 23,100
The first refinery, or so-called refinery, w^as erected in
1750.
In 1757 the number of mills again increased to about
^12 JAVA
82 ; this was probably due to the Company becoming a
Httle less arbitrary. But by 1779 the number had once
more fallen to 55, and of these 24 now belonged to Euro-
,peans.
The only mill remaining to-day from these times is
Kedawong (Kawisredjo), in the residency of Pasoeroean,
which was erected in 1780. It is owned by Mr. N. M.
Lebret. The administrator is Mr. T. C. M. Hanegraat.
All these mills now produced about 80,000 piculs per
annum.
When the Governor-General Jacob Mossel came to Batavia
he wrote a brochure entitled '* Observations on the Sugar
Works in the Neighbourhood of Batavia," dated the 31st
December, 1750. It reads as follows :
*' His Excellency Governor-General Mossel has made a calcu-
tion what profit these 77 ^ sugar mills in the province of Jacatra
might annually yield to their proprietors or lessees ; he reckons
that a yearly quantity of ten million pounds weight of sugar
might be produced by them, which he took at 4 rix Rix d.
dollars per picul, is 320,000
and an equal quantity of molasses, from which after-
wards either an inferior sugar is made or arrack
distilled at 1 rix dollar per picul 80,000
Together .. .. 400,000."
This sum is equal to upwards of £87,000 sterling, or nearly
£1,200 for each sugar mill.
A short account of the sugar industry in these days —
the middle of the eighteenth century — may be interesting
io some to show how things have since changed.
The sugar-cane was planted between September and
April, and stood twelve to fifteen months in the ground
1 This was at Batavia, so together with 7 at Bantam, 8 at Oheribon,
and 13 in East Java, we reach 105, as in our statement above of the
sugar mills working.
THE INDUSTRIES OF JAVA 913
before it was cut, the length of period depending on the
poorness or richness of the soil. If the soil was rich and
adaptable to the cultivation of sugar the cane was cut
four times, but if the ground was poor it was cut less often,
whilst in some it was only cut once.
The sugar works at Batavia were not so well or so solidly
constructed as those in the West Indies at this period.
The cane was bruised between two rollers, which it had
to pass through twice before all the juice was expressed.
The sugar mills, however, at the West Indies in 1750 had
three rollers, so that the quantity of cane that could be
pressed per day was double that which could be treated in
Java. On the other hand, more power was required for
working these rollers, as we see from the fact that in Java
one buffalo, or at tlie most two, could work the mill, while
in the West Indies relays of four horses at a time were
required.
The juice was twice boiled and afterwards put into large
pots, upon which a layer of clay, diluted with water and
kneaded into paste, was laid, and it continued in this
state for about twenty days. During this time the clay was
once or twice renewed, and by this operation the sugar
acquired a tolerable degree of whiteness. It was then set
in the drying place, which was a shed covered with atap
(thatch), where it remained until it was perfectly dry;
when the sugar-mill was in good working condition and
there was no want of coolies or of buffaloes, about 15,000
canes were bruised every twenty-four hours. These yielded
from ten to eleven pots, each containing 50 lbs. weight of
sugar of the first and second qualities, 12 lbs. of the third,
and from 16 to 20 lbs. of molasses.
The Governor- General Mossel calculated that all the canes
which the 67 sugar mills annually consumed covered 4,600
morgen, 9,200 acres of land, adding to which the same
quantity of land for pasture ground for the buffaloes and
J. — VOL. II. s
914 JAVA
10,000 morgen for wood for fuel, the whole extent of ground,
he concluded, wanted for the prosecution of the manu-
facture of sugar, with the said number of mills, would but
amount to 20,000 morgen, or 40,000 acres, which was " but
a small part of the province of Jacatra north of the
mountains."
The first quality of the sugar thus manufactured differed
only from the second and third through its greater whiteness.
The first sort was exported to Europe, the second was
sent to the west of British India, and the third, which was
the brownest, to Japan. There was still another sort which
was " very brown " " and much less dry " ; it was called
" dispens sugar," because it was delivered by the dispensiers
or purveyors from the provision warehouses of the Company
to be used on board of their ships.
In 1778 14,700 piculs of sugar, the production of Jacatra,
were sold in Holland at 4 stivers per pound.
The regulation of the production by the Company at
Batavia continued, one may say, until the arrival of Daendels
in 1808, by which time, as we know, the Dutch East India
Company had uttered its last gasp, notwithstanding all its
monopoHes, squeezes, careful management, and continued
inquiries and examinations by high-placed officials from
Europe.
In 1777 the production was ordered by the Company to
be fixed at 64,000 piculs, in 1779 at 80,000 piculs, in 1784 at
84,000 piculs, and in 1808 Daendels demanded 95,000 piculs,
but he did not get them. These productions, owing to a
constantly increasing demand, had at last become more or
less compulsory, each mill being obliged to deliver a certain
quantity to the Company at any price the latter liked to
name, and care was taken to keep this price always very
much on the right side. In consideration of this compulsory
delivery the Company granted advances to the Chinese and
European cultivators to enable them to work their mills.
THE INDUSTRIES OF JAVA 915
By this arrangement the monopoly might be considered
complete.
Owing to the various restrictions and practical monopoly,
the cultivation and manufacture of sugar was never prose-
cuted with vigour, nor suitably encouraged as it might have
been, at Jacatra.
Now and again various plans for improvement were
suggested, but owing to the narrowed unhealthy principles
upon which the old Dutch East India Company worked
nothing ever came of them.
The last plan before the Company went into bankruptcy
was presented to the Governor-General Van der Parra in the
year 1774 by the Resident of Japara, Van der Beke. This
contained several very good proposals, but, like its prede-
cessors, it was never taken any notice of.
At this time it seems no encouragement was given at
Batavia for the importation of sugar from other parts of
Java, even when the demand called for it. On the contrary,
private merchants w^ho were now springing up were obliged
to pay an import duty of 1 rupee a picul, which was felt so
heavily that the object of the Company was attained and no
sugar entered the port of Batavia.
It w^ould seem that this duty was laid expressly with the
object of favouring the subsidised sugar-mills in the Jacatra
and Preanger provinces, since it would discourage the
manufacture of sugar in other parts of Java — from which
there was no direct communication with Europe — and would
therefore give no outlet for the consumption other than
local. It is said that this was the reason why no trouble was
taken to make the " Java sugar " ^ equal in quality to that of
Jacatra, the latter being much more substantial and better
granulated. In 1789 the Fabrick Klampok was erected in
the Banjoemas, being the first in this district. The o^^^lers
of these are now the Netherlands Trading Company, whilst
the administrator is Mr. W. A. Knipers.
' That is, the sugar not manufactured in Batavia.
s2
916 JAVA
Between 1808 and 1811 Daendels stopped the com-
pulsory deliveries and made an end to all advances.
Both measm'es, as may readily be imagined, had a most
injurious effect, especially where the industry was so
completely manacled and regulated by the Company,
whose first interests were their ovra and the industry itself
only came after.
This sudden stoppage of a system which had been going
on for so long, while in principle correct, was a serious blow
— the industry had long ago fallen into a condition of moral
decay — and few, if any, cared to risk any capital in it. The
result can therefore be imagined when the advances were
suddenly stopped and those outstanding suddenly with-
drawn. To nearly all the sugar-mills then working this
meant bankruptcy, and of the fifty-five that then existed
near Batavia not one is working to-day.
In 1826 under du Bus de Gisignies, the commissioner-
general, the advance system was once more re-established,
but under entirely different conditions. The advances were
given to help an industry which it was confidently expected
would repay the Government for having assisted it in its
infancy, and were therefore made economic reasons.
The result was soon apparent, for the production rose
from 19,795 piculs in 1826 to 108,640 piculs in 1830.
It seemed as if the industry was at last likely to run a
regular and normal course, and it is probable that it would
have done so had not the Governor-General Van den Bosch,
introduced his great '* culture system," which brought the
interference of the Government once more into importance.
Under these new arrangements thirty contract sugar-mills
opened.^
By 1833 20,000 bouws, or not quite 40,000 acres, were
under cultivation for sugar, and the production had risen to
266,109 piculs.
* See note 1 1 at the end of this account of the sugar-industry.
THE INDUSTRIES OF JAVA 917
The cultivation in Japara, which was as old as any in
Java, but which for several years had struggled under
adverse circumstances and indifferent Chinese management,
now revived and the Fabricks Besito, Klaling, Langsee,
Pakkies, Petjangaan (1835) and Taudjong Modjo sprung up
(1837) presently on the sites of the old plantations.
These fabricks in early days were all financed or managed
by McNeill & Co., of Samarang.
The new system had its good and its bad points, but there
were more of the latter. For while the Government gave
a decided impulse to the industry by a fairly liberal scale of
advances, it took away with one hand what it had given
with the other, for the selling price of the compulsory
dehveries w^as artificially forced down by Government
regulations. This w^as especially the case at the beginning
of the new system in 1830. In a year or two, however,
the Government, seeing its poHcy was suicidal, decided to
grant new concessions to those who w^ould supply the
sugar by tender to the Government. The concessions, on
the other hand, were given to the highest tenderer. We
see the result of this by the number of fabricks (as mentioned)
opened in 1832.^
The tenderers were mostly Englishmen, and for Tjomal,
for instance, Kobert Addison and Gillian Maclaine^ tendered,
the former securing the concession by a difference of a
few hundred guilders only.
The system, however, more and more showed its evils.
Percentages were paid on profits to state officials and local
native chiefs alike, who calculated on a private income from
this source. A forced reduction in the price paid to the
growers of the cane meant a consequent decrease of profit,
which caused further pressure to be put on an already willing
1 In 1838 there were 58 fabricks working by water-power and 10 still
using buffalo -power.
^ John Macneill put in the tender at Pekalongan.
918 JAVA
and yielding population, and the difference was squeezed
out of their hard-earned wage.
Despite, however, these various disadvantages and the
continual disputes with the Government on one side, the
local officials on the other, everything might have gone well
and eventually order out of chaos have evolved, if only
any reliance could have been put on the actions of the
central Government, which never seemed to know what
line they wished to follow.
Sometimes their pohcy was a strictly fiscal one, at others
ultra-fiscal ; sometimes they threw unbearable burdens on
the population, and then they would go to the opposite
extreme and be over-humane.
As a case in point, the new model contract (already
mentioned) which Government brought out in 1836, and
under which the population were no longer forced to sow
the cane, cut it and transport it (the latter free of cost)
to the fabricks on Government's account, was altered in
1838, 1839, 1841, 1846, 1847, and 1851.
This new model contract was certainly a step in the right
direction, as the administrators of the fabricks were now
free to manage everything themselves from the planting
of the bibit to the dehvery of the sugar.
The restrictions, however, were still so great that there
were needed a great many more concessions before the
cultivation assumed a healthy tone. Opposing interests
among the planters and the Government, due for the most
part to a false and unjust economic basis, had still to be
conciliated.
In 1854 and in 1863 the Government made some important
alterations in the regulations for compulsory deliveries,
but it was not until 1870 that it w^as fully realised that
matters could not continue in the way they were going
without ruining the industry. The Government, there-
fore, decided, after long consideration of the matter, to
NATIVK B.^.I//-SELLKR IN .lAVA.
NATIVE CIGARKTTE-SELLERS IN JAVA.
THE INDUSTRIES OF JAVA 919
change the culture system and leave the planter or producer
independent from every Government restriction. This was
a very important measure, but an impossible one to carry
out at one stroke. The new law promulgated in 1870
provided that from 1879 one-thirteenth of the land planted
by contract for the Government should be given up each
year. It was therefore not until 1892 that the cultivation
system finally disappeared.
In 1879 35 fabricks on private lands were working,
whilst there were 30 on Government ground ; besides this
40 fabricks were already at work as entirely free under-
takings under the provisions of the new Act of 1870.
The industry was at last estabhshed on a healthy basis,
and notwithstanding the crisis of 1884, which brought down
the price of sugar to nearly half of what it previously had
been and caused temporary financial embarrassment to some
of the fabricks, it has progressed regularly. The best
lands, which had up to now been reserved for the factories
of the cultivation system, at last became free, which gave
a powerful impetus to private initiative, and capital began
to be sunk freely in the culture now that it was felt that
Government was seriously intent on supporting and
strengthening it. The banking and credit system developed,
so that manufacturers were enabled to raise the means for
ordering new and up-to-date machinery and thus to place
their fabricks on the strongest basis for competition in
the world's supply. Engineering firms, such as George
Fletcher & Co., of Derby, and others, sent out their repre-
sentatives to Java — to give technical advice.
In 1877 — 79 the average production was about 60 to
70 piculs a bouw, although there were some fabricks which
did not make more than 40 piculs. On the other hand,
there were one or two which made as much as 100 piculs a
bouw.
When we consider that in 1839 the production was only
920 JAVA
20 piculs a bouw, progi^ess during the forty years had cer-
tainly taken place, but not as much as was needed.
In 1850 Mr. J. M. Gonsalves began his trials with the
black Cheribon cane, and in 1853 centrifugals were intro-
duced (the first being at the sugar fabrick at Waroe),
which were a great improvement on the old system for
separating the stroop from the granulated sugar. By
1856 54 of the 95 contract fabricks were using vacuum
pans, which is certainly curious, seeing that the first vacuum
pan reached Java in 1836, or twenty years earlier, being
imported by one of the Etty's and going to Sembul.
If we compare this slow progress with the rapid progress
made after 1879, we see distinctly the result of emancipation
from the clutches of the Government.
This development was marvellous, and there was a general
feeling of increased strength and power which caused every-
thing to move quickly in a way quite unusual where Dutch
planters, producers, or associations are concerned. In a
word the great stability of the culture was felt, and this
created unbounded confidence and caused a rush for shares
in sugar fabricks or any concern connected with them. The
following list of events after the new law was promulgated
is a proof of the above remarks : —
1782. According to Humbolt black cane, i.e., Cheribon cane,
brought to the French islands from Java.
1835. Planting in Bantam and Rembang given up.
1850. J. Gonsalves plants Cheribon canes.
1873. The first double evaporating plant introduced by
Baron Sloet at the sugar fabrick of Poerwodadie.
1875. The first triple evaporating plant introduced.
1876. The carbonating installation brought in by Mr. Aver-
beck.
1877. 857 steam boilers being used in the fabricks. Mr.
Millard introduced the Reynoso^ system, which did away with
the older boiling system.
' Called after Don Alvaro Reynoso, a professor in Cuba.
THE INDUSTRIES OF JAVA 921
1878. 943 steam boilers being used.
1879. The free culture increases by leaps and bounds.
1886. The proposals made by Jonkheen van der Wyck in
1860 to establish experimental stations at last carried out by
the opening of two, one at Samarang and the other at Kagok,
Pekalongan.
1887. Experimental station established at Pasoeroean.
1889. First sugar congress at Samarang and establishment of
a syndicate, which, under Mr. S. Jacob, IVL*. J. W. Ramaer, and
S. C. van Musschenbroek, has proved such a great support to
the sugar producers.
Up to the present day the progress, as already stated, had
been regular and well maintained, only two events happening
to menace temporarily the industry : these were the sugar
crisis already referred to in 1884 and the sereh disease. Of
the former it may be observed that the price, which before
1884 was 14 — 15 fl., suddenly dropped to 10 fl., and continued
to drop until 1902, the price this year touching the
unparalleled figure of 4*50 fl. for American assortment (or
what generally goes by the name of muscovadoes).
The alarm amongst planters was great, for it appeared
to them that a bottomless market threatened destruction.
The evil, however, was more or less rectified by the Brussels
Convention of 1904, which caused the price to rise to 5 fl.
and 5-50 fl. and eventually in 1905 to 8 fl., while even 9 fl.
was paid for the whole crops of Kremboong ^ and Toelangen^
In this year the well-known French sugar speculators
Crozier and Jaluzot made the huge operations in an
endeavour to corner the market, which ended in their
failure for untold millions. This again brought progress
down with a run. Since this time, however, the market has
kept on a more or less even basis, prices ranging roughly
from 7 fl. to 8 fl. for American, with an increasing price for
Channel assortment — that is, Nos. 16 to 20, Dutch standard,
and superior, or white sugar.
» These sugar-mills belonged to Mr. E. Kose.
922 JAVA
The crisis, however, had its good side, in that it showed
planters the necessity for manufacturing their sugar at the
cheapest possible figure. The lesson was well learnt, and
the results have been successful.
With regard to the second catastrophe, if such it may
be termed, it may be said that on the sereh disease
fii'st showing its head in the Cheribon district in 1883
no really serious attention was paid to it by other
than local manufacturers. The disease, however, soon
assumed greater proportions, spreading from the west of
Java to the east, and threatened to destroy the whole
industry.
Eadical measures were necessary, and these having
proved beneficial, it may reasonably be held that the
misfortune, which carried heavy pecuniary losses, has really
proved of considerable advantage to the cultivation in
general, for the sugar-cane which has been shown to be a
carrier of contagion is scientifically treated and more care
is taken in the selection of the hihit (cuttings) ; this has
eradicated the disease from Java.
In 1896 the first actual reciprocity between fabrick and
fabrick came about, and the proper incentive was given by
producers themselves to the industry, being viewed as a
whole instead of on an individualistic basis ; the result of
this has been far greater than might even have been
expected, and the recording in collective statements of the
results of the chemical analytic control has proved of
immense value. In 1898 there was a revolution in the
conditions under which the sugar was sold, and the intro-
duction of arbitration upon the polarisation of the sugar
was first initiated.
Amongst those in the foremost rank of men who have
assisted towards the improvement of Java's most important
industry must be mentioned Soltwedel (who died in
December, 1889), H. C. Prinsen Geerhngs, Wilhelm Kruger,
THE INDUSTRIES OF JAVA 923
F. C. Went, Van Breda de Haan, and J. J. Hazewinckel,
besides one or two others.
NOTES.
1. Sugar Factories in Java on the Arrival of the Dutch
AT Jacatra (before the establishment of the East India
Company).
Place.
Year.
Number of Factories.
Jacatra .
1596 .
2 or 3
2. Sugar Production in Java.
Before the Dutch East India Company's Rule.
Jacatra Factories.
Year 1596 + 1,000—2,000 piculs
Dutch East India Company's Period.
Jacatra Factories.
Year 1602 ± 3,000 piculs
Batavia Factories.
Year 1650 7,000 piculs
Batavia and Preanger Factories.
Year 1710 . . 45,850 piculs Year 1777 . . 64,000 piculs
„ 1745 .. 19,500 ,, „ 1779 .. 80,000 „
„ 1750 .. 23,100 „ „ 1784 .. 84,000 „
Java a Crown Colony of Holland.
Batavia and Preanger Factories.
Year 1800 ± 16,000 piculs
„ 1808 ± 10,000 „
Java Factories altogether.
Year 1808 95,000 piculs
Java under the British.
Java Factories altogether.
Year 1811 + 13,000 ^ piculs
1 According to John Crawfurd, Resident of Jogya Kerta, 1811 — 12.
924
JAVA
Java.
Year 1816
+ 60,000 piculs 1
3. Sugar Factories in Java dttring the Dutch East
India Company's Period.
Place.
Year.
Number of Factoiies.
Jacatra .....
1602
4 or 5
>> ....
1619
6 or 7
Batavia ....
1650
20
Batavia and Preanger
1710
131 )
Bantam ....
>>
7
Cheribon .
ft
8
.161
Japara
>»
2
East Java
ft
13
Batavia and Preanger
1745
66^
7
Bantam .
99
Cheribon .
„
8 S 95
Japara
>>
2
East Java
13 J
Batavia and Preanger
1750
77 1
7
Bantam .
99
Cheribon
»>
8 V107
Japara
»»
East Java
M
13 J
Batavia and Preanger
1757
1^1"^
Otber places
»>
Batavia and Preanger
1779
m ^0
Other places
>>
Sugar Factories in Java during the Period when it
HAS BEEN A CrOWN COLONY OF HOLLAND.
Year.
Number of
Factories.
Year.
Number of
Factories.
1830
1838
1856
1868
1879
1893
1896
1899
30
68
95
97
106
192
187
102
1902
1905
1908
1909
1910
1911
1912
179
175
178
181
184
188
190
J According to Sir Stamford Eaffles.
2 Of which 24 belonged to Europeans, 26 to Chinese, and 5 to the East
India Company.
THE INDUSTRIES OF JAVA
925
5. Sugar Production in Java Since 1817.
Java Mills.
Year.
Piculs.
Year. j Piculs.
1817
14,000
1825.
17,000
1818
17,000
1826.
19,795
1819
15,000
1830.
108,640
1820
14,000
1856.
422,531
1821
15,000
1860.
± 500,000
1822
15,000
1865.
± 750,000
1823
15,500
1870.
± 1,000,000
1824
16,000
i
(Since
the Emancipat
ion of the Factories.)
Year.
Tons.
Year.
Tons.
1875
193,6341
1894.
484,260
1876
237,870
1895.
537,690
1877
245,814
1896.
490,061
1878
224,689
1897.
548,611
1879
233,362
1898.
683,032
1880
218,179
1899.
730,842
1881
279,707
1900.
710,150
1882
292,005
1901 .
766,238
1883
324,764
1 1902.
848,263
1884
394,247
i 1903.
883,020
1886
380,046
1 1904.
1,064,935
1886
356,022
1905.
1,028,357
1887
375,784
1906.
1,046,691
1888
355,334
\ 1907.
1,210,167
1889
332,997
1 1908.
1,241,885
1890
399,999
i 1909.
1,248,094
1891
406,000
1910.
1,278,420
1892
422,000
1911.
1,406,372
1893
479,660
6. List Showing Free Owners of Sugar Fabricks in
Japara in 1842—1843.
Date of Government Resolution.
Name of Owner.
20tli December, 1842 .
26th „ „ . .
»» »» >> • •
2nd February, 1843
M. A. van Amstel
P. E. Savard
H. J. Xetscher
J. G. Frederiksz
G. P. E. Vroom
0. H. Frederiksz
The fabricks in Japara were Trangkil, Klaling, Petjangaan,
Pakkies, Taudjong Modjo, Langsee.
1 1,252,812 piculs.
926
JAVA
7. Statement Showing the Quantity of Sugar which
Government Contracted for in the Residency of
sourabaya in 1832.
Name of
Manufacturer.
Number of
Piculs con-
tracted to
deliver.
Number of
Piculs
actually
delivered.
Number of
Piculs
too short.
Amount in
Guilders too
short in
Advances.
J. E. Banck .
M. von Franquemont
Han Kok Tie .
Notto di Poero
Soemo di Werio
30,000
1,000
2,500
2,000
3,000
8,848i
343i
2,500
2,000
1,270
21,151i
656J
1,730
fl. 95,559-53
2,873-63
11,756-25
Total
38,500
14,962
23,538
fl. 110,189-41
8. Area of Sugar Planted
IN Java (Acres).
1907.
1908,
1909.
1910.
1911.
280,479
289,744
301,134
324,607
335,968
Production per Acre (Tons).
1907.
1908.
1909.
1910.
1911.
4-31
4-28
413
3-94
418
9. Exports of Sugar from Java for
THE Years
1909—1911.
Country.
1909.
1910.
1911.
Tons.
Tons.
Tons.
British India
339,707
445,466
437,162
Port Said (for orders)
184,493
154,744
413,215
China .....
213,544
229,911
161,838
Japan .....
96,503
112,199
61,376
United Kingdom (direct)
4,789
67,430
55,718
Continent of Europe
22,126
33,004
26,083
British Columbia .
11,977
30,146
24,821
Egypt
19,699
13,000
18,400
United States (direct) .
8,758
36,817
7,938
Australia ....
81,769
23,171
6,228
Other countries
19,914
13,231
61,332
Total
1,003,279
1,159,119
1,274,111
KAXD.TKN'i; i;u]iSTI I'ANtiAUA.N AUU'ATI liKUI. i^LIKUTKXANT-COLOXKL UN THK ISTAKF.)
THE INDUSTRIES OF JAVA
927
The following are particulars of chartered tonnage employed
in carrying sugar, etc., during the years 1909 — 1911 : —
—
1909.
1910.
1911.
Steam .
Sailing
Total
Tonnaze.
1,299,253
6,469
Tonnaste.
1,458,877
10,998
Tonnage.
1,493,188
3,394
1,305,722
1,469,875
1,496,582
The following figures show the different flags which have
shared the sugar-carrying trade during those three years : —
1909.
1910.
1911.
Tonnage.
Tonnage.
Tonnage.
British. ....
576,771
712,824
758,032
Dutch
495,348
540,272
C 555,791
German ....
166,632
145,214
142,233
Japanese ....
38,907
45,818
19,239
Norwegian ....
11,112
7,619
16,712
Swedish ....
4,649
5,831
1,181
10. Translation of an Article ^ regarding the Action of
AN Englishman which had a great Influence on
THE Sugar Industry of the Island of Java.
The First Steam Kettles for the Sugar Manufacturers in Java.
" The English sugar fabricant Charles Etty, who was in the
district of Probolingo, Residency Bezukie, informed the Govern-
ment that he was willing at his own cost to make trials with
steam kettles similar to what were being used in English colonies,
as he was sure that the quality of the sugar would be greatly
improved thereby, provided the Government would advance
him 20,000 fl. for the purchase of same. He anticipated, more-
over, that the quality would be such as to do entirely away with
the necessity of the sugar having to be further refined. With
reference hereto the Government, by a resolution dated
20th October, 1834, informed Charles Etty that if he was quite
» See " Bijdragen tot de Kennis van het Landelyk Stelsel of Java," by
Deventer.
928 JAVA
willing to order the kettles for himself from Europe that a
temporary loan would be granted him, returnable in two years
in sugar. In May,. 1836, the steam kettles only arrived on the
East Coast of Java for Charles Etty, accompanied by an English
engineer." ^
1j. Van den Bosch's Culture System and the Contracts
UNDER IT.
The contracts were granted as follows : —
William Dennison, Cheribon district.
Tau KiemLien (Captain Chinaman, Cheribon), Cheribon district
<sugar estate called Tjiledoek, which later on J. M. Gonsalves
bought).
Tan Teang Thay (Chinese merchant at Cheribon), Cheribon
district.
Tan Hong Yan (Captain Chinaman, Samarang), Pekalingan
district.
Alexander Loudon (formerly in British Govt. Service, Java),
Pekalingan : sugar estate called Doro.
Robert Addison, Pekalingan.
Thomas B. Hofland, Probolingo.
Charles Etty, Probolingo, sugar estate called Oembul.
Donald Maclennan, Probolingo, sugar estate called Oembul.
C. Vos, ditto.
De Bregaea, ditto.
Han So Kiein, ditto.
Oei King Hong, ditto.
Han Swie Hien, ditto.
Kwee Yong Hoo, ditto.
Kwee Ing Hiang, ditto.
B. F. W. Fisscher, Tegal.
H. Van den Bosch, ditto.
Peter Jessen, ditto.
J. E. Banck (merchant at Sourabaya), Sourabaya.
Felix Hall, Samarang, sugar fabrick Poegoe.
Tan Hong Yan (Captain Chinaman, Samarang), Samarang,
Serondal.
Tjoa Tjau Sing, Japara.
Tan Keen Goean, ditto.
Oei King Tjan, ditto.
* Probably Booth by name.
THE INDUSTRIES OF JAVA 929
Sie Jiem, Japara.
Tau Tian Lioe, ditto.
Oei Tong Hai, ditto.
Sie Toe, ditto.
Sie Ing Goan, ditto.
Banjoepoetih was already working in 1829. The following
fabricks which still exist were opened in 1830 : —
Gending, Padjarakan, Gayam, Phaeton, Oembul, and Wino-
langen. These last two fabricks were erected by Captain Charles
Etty, who was joined in 1832 by his brother, Matthew Walter
Etty, and in 1834 by his son, Charles Etty.
In 1831 several more fabricks were opened, but only Mingiran
remains to-day. In 1832 a number more were erected ; of these
there remain to-day Winongan, Soekoredjo, Toelangan, Djombang,
Poerwodadie and Sindanglaut, Pleret, which was erected in
1832 by the Englishman John Davidson, became later the
property of Dr. Heyn, W. K. van der Eb, and Assistant-Resident
Jonkheer H. A. C. Smissaert through their respective wives,
who were all daughters of John Davidson.
Tjomal, which was one of the contract fabricks, was erected
by Robert Addison, a brother of George Augustus Addison,
Assistant-Secretary to the British Government from 1811 to
1815. Under the superintendence of S. C. van Musschenbroek it
proved itself to be one of the best sugar fabricks in Java.
The old sugar fabrick of Poegoe, which was the original of
the Kendal fabricks, was started on a small and primitive scale
about 1825 by an Englishman named Felix Hall, who came from
Singapore and hired ground here. He built himself in 1828
a large and costly house of wood on the Singapore plan, but in
1835 made everything over to Alexander Loudon. The former
now went to Batavia and opened a merchant's house there called
Hall & Co. in 1835, which he closed again in 1838. One of his
sons later became the original owner of the tea estate Tjiwangie,
in the Preanger, and another became shipping clerk in the house
of Maclaine and Watson, where he served for thirty-five years
up to 1890 ; he then lived at Soekaboemi until his death in
1899.
Prosper Hippolyte Andre van den Broek was certainly one
of the most remarkable men who have come to Java within
recent times. A Frenchman by birth, he was the son of a school-
master, for which calling he was also intended, when he was sent
J. — ^VOL. II. T
930 JAVA
to Algiers at the time of the war in some position in the commis-
sariat department. Later, on the advice of the Minister for
the Colonies at Paris, he sailed for Java. This must have been
somewhere about 1830 — 1832. He was a man of fine presence
and manners and great enterprise, and soon procured employment
in Java, some say in Government service, as assistant inspector
of sugar fabricks. Be this as it may, during a tour he came
to Kendal, where he afterwards settled.
It was not long before P. H. A. van den Broek's credit was
large and his income princely, although the fabricks were not
paying (in fact never paid until 1905). He went yearly for the
winter to the South of France or to Italy, and on one of these
trips he bought with his Java credit the small estate of Brenan,
the name of which he assumed, being known thereafter as " van
den Broek de Brenan."
He died about 1890, with a share (which he left to his children)
of one third in three sugar fabricks (see below). On the 10th
February, 1851, he had married Sophia Josephina Regina Le Leu.
P. H. A. van den Broek was known as one of the most popular,
liberal, and large-hearted gentlemen that ever came to Java,
and he was fortunate in having good friends to support him.
The first of his name and family to come to Java was Pieter van
den Broek, who arrived about 1770 and became an " onder
koopman " or junior merchant in the East India Company in
1774. P. H. A. van den Broek had four sons — Jean, Edward,
Charles, and Francis.
Jean was employed in Maclaine, Watson & Co. from 1887 until
1897, when he became a broker in the Batavia firm of Dunlop
and Kolff. He married a Miss Miesegaes, daughter of one of the
partners of Maclaine, Watson & Co., and died in 1912.
Edward was until 1905 administrator of the " Gemoe " sugar
fabrick. He then went to a sugar mill in Egypt.
Francis (now dead) was for some years administrator of
" Poegoe " and afterwards superintendent of the Kendal mills.
Charles lived in Holland, and is now dead.
The Kendal sugar mills, under Edward van den Broek, J. C.
Soeters, J. Nassau, and H. Sayers, have become among the most
successful in Java.
The well-known Captain van den Broek of Batavia, the owner
of a sailing ship, was said to be a younger brother of the foregoing
Prosper Hippolyte Andre. The story goes that on his last trip
^^^ w^ #^ ^k
PANAMA HAT-MAKING.
MAKERS OF BATIK STAMPS.
THE INDUSTRIES OF JAVA 931
to Japan, at the end of the thirties, he married a Japanese lady
from Nagasaki, With her he lived at Batavia until the end of
his days. Two of the captain's children became well known in
Java, a son called Simon, who did a small insurance business at
Sourabaya, and a daughter who married that very highly respected
gentleman Jean Pierre Jannette Walen, who was born on the
19th May, 1831. J. P. J. Walen came to Java in 1854 to the
Netherlands Trading Company, but left this in 1858 to join
Tiedman and van Kerchem, in which firm his elder brother,
Daniel, was also partner. Daniel Walen left Java in February,
1875. The firm of Tiedman and van Kerchem was opened on
the 1st January, 1853. J. P. J. Walen holds the orders of the
Netherlands Lion and Oranje Nassau.
Of the Kendal mills, of which P. H. A. van den Broek became
the owner later, Poegoe was the first started by Felix Hall, an
Englishman, who borrowed money from the Government and built
himself a fabrick.
Tjipiring was erected by C. J. Daendels, the Samarang mer-
chant, in 1833, and Gemoe by van Heel in 1835. In 1835 — 1836
Poegoe and Gemoe were owned by Alexander Loudon, De Sturler,
and Verbeek. In 1840 P. H. A. van den Broek was the owner of
Tjipiring and shortly afterwards bought Poegoe and Gemoe as
well. Before leaving the fabrick of Tjipiring the wife of C. J.
Daendels scratched her name with a diamond on a window
pane. It is still to be seen : Marie Daendels, 1840.
Karang Soewoeng was the first Cheribon mill to open, dating
back to 1830. It was started by an Englishman named William
Dennison, who came to Java in 1815.
After practising for three or four years as a doctor at Batavia
he went to Cheribon and began planting sugar-cane.
He remained in Java until 1840 and retired with a fair fortune.
Besito was started in 1853 by Jhr. Lawick van Pabst, who
sold it to Jhr. H. A. C. Smissaert in 1839 for 207,000 fl.
The largest fabricks in Java nowadays are Djatiroto and
Poerworedjo.
Coffee. — Whilst there is still a doubt as to when the sugar-
cane was planted for the first time in Java, there certainly
is none as regards coffee ; when the Dutch arrived in the
island under Houtman in 1596 it was entirely unknown.
T 2
932 JAVA
The coffee plant seems to have been indigenous to Kaffa,
a district in the south of Abyssinia, whence it gradually
spread to Persia and Arabia. The first Dutchman to
discover the shrub was a certain Pieter van den Broecke,
who visited Mocha in 1616. In the beginning of the seven-
teenth century coffee plants were brought from Mocha to
the coast of Malabar, and the Dutch commander or governor
there, Adriaan van Ommen, had these planted out success-
fully. In 1696 van Ommen received pressing instructions
from the Burgermaster of Amsterdam, Nicholaas Witsen,
to send some of the young plants to Java, which was done
in the same year. On their arrival these were planted out
on the estate of Kedawoeng close to Tangerang, some five
miles from Batavia, and the property and country seat of
the Governor-General, Willem van Outshoorn. By a curious
coincidence, therefore, the oldest sugar estate and the first
coffee estate bear one and the same name, Kedawoeng.
The coffee plants on van Outshoorn's estate were just
beginning to flourish when a flood destroyed them all.
A second shipment of plants from Malabar in 1700 proved
more successful, and Governor- General Joan van Hoorn,
when he came into office in 1704, immediately did all he
could to push on and assist the industry by encouraging all
planters to go in for coffee in preference to pepper.
Young shrubs were soon growing on the lands of Bidara
Tjina, Cornells, Palmerah, Kampong Melayoe, and on the
estate of Soekaboemi near Batavia (which once belonged to
M. C. Kirkpatrick, of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank,
and after him to a merchant named Malcolm Bean.^
Quite close to this last-named estate was Soedimarah,
which also early in the eighteenth century was planted with
coffee trees.^
1 The house there was called Balmoral Lodge.
2 This estate was bought in 1833 by Captain William Purvis, who came
to Java in 1816, and was from 1820 to 1824 in the service of the mercantile
house at Batavia called Van der Kaa, Haste & Co., being master of their
THE INDUSTRIES OF JAVA 933
In 1706 the first shipment of coffee grown in the neigh-
bourhood of Batavia, together with one small plant, was
sent by way of a compliment to the directors of the Dutch
East India Company at Amsterdam.
The shipment was a trifling one — only a few pounds ; and
the small plant, which was nursed all the way home like a
baby, was of no intrinsic value, but was the beginning of one
of the greatest industries Java ever had.
It might also be interesting to observe that to this one
small plant, cultivated and multiplied in the Botanical
Gardens of Amsterdam, South America and the West
ship trading in the Eastern Seas, and called the Baron van der CapeUen.
(In 1824 this vessel was bought by the Batavia firm of Westermann de
Nys & Co., by whom it was enlarged, and ran between coast ports until
1833.) In 1825 Captain Purvis went to Padang, and in 1827 he bought a
cutter of about 60 tons, which he called the Padang, and ran her to the
adjacent islands (under command of R. Willborn) and back for pepper.
He soon began to make money, and in 1829 had sufficient to purchase a
brig of about 160 tons which he called the Norfolk. He placed her in
charge of Captain J. Golbie. Purvis was now doing a good merchant's
business with profit. In 1832 or 1833 he returned to Batavia and bought
the estate of Soedimara., where he is said to have died and was buried. One
son carried on the Padang business, and another looked after the estate
and lived there until about 1869, when he left for Europe. He returned,
however, to Java in 1889, and died at Batavia in 1890 or 1891. He was
buried, I believe, at the Tanah Abang Cemetery, and was the last male
representative of the family. In 1890 Mr. Purvis had still two daughters
living, one of whom married a man residing on one of the small Pacific
islands, the other was also married and lived in London. This estate is
now owned by Mrs. Lorrain, the wife of the late manager of the Borneo
Company of Batavia. It came into her possession through her husband
taking over the mortgages. Years before this, owing to coffee prices
dropping, the estate had been in the hands of the banks.
It is at present managed by Denis Mulder, a brother to Mrs. Lorrain, and
Mr. Ramage, the present manager of tlie Borneo Company of Batavia. I
understand he is the son of J. Mulder, who came to Batavia in 1824, or
else of Professor G. J. Mulder, unless they are one and the same person.
There was a Purvis in Singapore in 1822, who, according to one source,
was a brother of William.
Towards the end of the eighteenth century Buitenzorg, Pondok Gedeh,
Soekaboemi, Djasinga, Roempien, and Bandoeng (which was owned by a
Dutchman called C. Swaluwe) were planted with coffee. There were many
others planted besides the foregoing.
934 JAVA
Indies owe all the wealth ^Yhich they have obtained through
the growing of coffee.
The results of this one small plant had, however, greater
and further-reaching consequences, for it was South America,
by its enormous supplies of Brazilian coffees thrown on the
markets of the world, which eventually ruined all the
planters of Java and practically annihilated the trade here.
The first consignment of coffee made by the Dutch East
India Company to Amsterdam was made in 1711, and a bill
of lading was signed for 894 lbs. weight. This was sold for
the equivalent of about Is. 9^. per pound at public auction.
The price was very satisfactory, as it was considerably
above the invoice value, even with the addition of the
charges, which no doubt were exorbitantly high. The
directors of the Company therefore wrote a letter to the
Governor-General Abraham van Kiebeeck expressing their
gratification at the shipment and urged upon him the
necessity of forcing on the shipments of coffee by vigorous
planting. No greater incentive to the Company w^as
necessary than a sight of the account sale, and the wishes of
the board of directors were immediately complied with.
Coffee by now was not only being planted around Jacatra,
but also in the Preanger and Cheribon.
The native regents had had contracts forced on them to
deliver certain quantities of coffee each year to the Company,
and were more or less left free with regard to the cultivation
of the plant ; only that to safeguard its interests, and to
make fairly sure of the coffee coming in, the Company
insisted on the regents seeing that their people grew coffee
and kept their gardens in a clean and proper state, sending
inspectors round once a year at plucking time to see if their
instructions were being carried out, and woe betide the
v^Tetched regent and his people if this was not being done !
It was only in the Preanger districts, where no doubt the
Dutch quickly saw the tractability of a peaceful, calm and
THE INDUSTRIES OF JAVA 935
loving race, living in a climate incomparable throughout the
world, that more stringent instructions were brought into
force. The regents had received the orders that each tjatjar ^
had to plant, keep and look after three hundred trees, which
number was increased gradually until it reached one
thousand for each.
In 1729 Governor- General Diederik Durven issued a
" heslnit " (order in council) by which "each tjatjar must
plant ten trees more."
It is thus that the coffee burden was originally laid on the
inhabitants of Java ; and it was made infinitely heavier by
the fact that however hard the native might work, he was
paid no more than an actual living wage by his regent, who
received payment himself for all the coffee delivered to the
Company, and for his trouble in supervision, etc., deducted
his ovm. portion.
The result was that after the Company had first squeezed
all they could by fictitious weights, and the regent had his
commission, there frequently remained nothing over for the
poor planter.
As might be expected from all this planting, the time came
when there was too much of it, and prices fell. Artificial
means had therefore to be found to keep them up, and the
production had to be limited. This rigid monopoly was
kept up until the arrival of Daendels in 1808, when the
cultivation of coffee received great encouragement all over
Java. The measures of this great man — for such he
certainly was despite his faults — gave a tremendous impetus
to the industry, and Europeans flocked to Soeracarta and
Djockjakarta to hire plantations from the pangerans who
had already commenced planting coffee a few years before
and were now prepared to hire out their lands to Europeans,
from whom they were more sure of getting their money than
from the penurious native planter. At the end of the
^ A tjatjar ia a family, calculated to consist of six persons.
936 JAVA
chapter on the " Towns of Java " two lists are given which
will show the great number of Europeans who hired estates
from the native princes.
There is no sadder tale than that of the forced coffee
culture in the Preanger. A Government of colonial mono-
poHsts, eager only for profit and absolutely indifferent as to
how it was derived, sometimes subjected the natives to
distresses and privations too terrible to recite. Many
perished by famine owing to the heavy demands made upon
them by the officials of the East India Company, being
deprived of the time needed for planting their rice. Numbers
fled to the uttermost ends of the Preanger into the mountain
tops, and even into the Banjoemas, where they eked out a
miserable existence. During all this time the Company's
representative was calculated by Eafifles to have been
receiving an income one way and the other of from 80,000
to 100,000 dollars (say £25,000) a year, at the expense of
the authorities hj whom he was employed and of the natives
whom he oppressed and squeezed. Daendels rectified this
when he arrived.
From some old manuscripts I have taken the following : —
** A fourth production of the island is coffee, the plantations
of it are peculiarly confined to the provinces of Cheribon and
Jacatra. The tree coffea which produces this berry was intro-
duced into Java by the Dutch, who greatly encouraged the
cultivation of it among the Javanese.
"It is so much multiplied that in 1768 Jacatra furnished
4,465,500 lbs. (roughly 32,830 piculs) weight to the Company,
who paid 4 rix dollars per picul, being equal to about 14s. 5d.
sterling per cwt."
Another old manuscript gives the following informa-
tion : —
" Coffee is likewise a product yielding much profit to Java,
and great advantage to the Company. The cultivation of it is
performed in the same manner as in the West India Islands.
Jacatra and Cheribon are the two districts where it is most
THE INDUSTRIES OF JAVA 937
vigorously prosecuted, though the article is equally grown on
the north-eastern coast. Java, where it is not indigenous, is
indebted for this production to the Governor-Greneral who
procured the coffee plant from Mocha, and after paying a very
high price for what was first produced, 15 rix dollars per picul,
he continued to encourage the cultivation of it by all means
in his power. His endeavours were so well seconded by his
successors that in the year 1753, 1,200,000 lbs. weight of coffee
(roughly 8,823 piculs) were furnished by Cheribon at the rate of
^TOTHj stivers per pound, and full as much from Jacatra and the
Preanger lands at ^ stivers per pound ; and in the sequel that
quantity grew so large, that in the year 1768 the quantity of
4,465,000 lbs. weight of coffee was delivered to the Company from
Jacatra and the Preanger lands at the reduced rate of 4 rix dollars
per picul of 125 lbs. : 145. 5d. per cwt. ; although the native culti-
vator must deliver 160 lbs. for a picul, which excess in the weight
is an emolument partly accruing to the commissary of inland
affairs, and partly to the administrators in the warehouses.
" But the reason why Jacatra appears to furnish so large a
proportion of coffee is that a considerable quantity of this
produce, which is grown in the parts of the province of Cheribon
nearest to Jacatra, come down through the last mentioned
country to Batavia : the income of the commissary for inland
affairs is hereby greatly enhanced, and it is pretended that it is
more convenient to the natives."
During Daendels' term of office the cultivation of coffee
was by order of the Government increased by the natives
tliroughout Java by at least forty-five to fifty millions of
trees. At the same time, the cultivation and the conditions
of the industry were entirely reorganised. Contracts were
still, however, made with the regents, but in far more favour-
able terms than before, under the East India Company.
When Sir Stamford Raffles became Governor of Java in
1811, one of the first things he did was to declare the
cultivation of coffee free in common with that of all other
products in Bantam, Cheribon, and all the eastern districts,
while arrangements were made for extending the same
provision throughout the Batavia and Preanger residencies.
938 JAVA
Raffles, however, to assist the regents of the Preanger and
others, agreed that, until a sufficient number of mercantile
houses existed at Batavia, the Government should still
buy all the free coffee and store it in their godowns or
store-houses at the different centres, namely, Buitenzorg,
Tji Kan, Karang-Sambang, and Indramayre.
Another action of Raffles' was that during the British occu-
pation it was decided for the first time to free the Govern-
ment from all the difficulties and annoyances arising from the
working and controlling of their gardens by leasing them for
a period of not less than three years to the highest bidders.
During the British occupation also eleven milHons more
of young shrubs were planted out in new gardens.
After the restoration of Java to Holland, the system
initiated by Raffles of leasing the Government coffee gardens
was greatly extended, and a not inconsiderable number were
handed over to the desahs (native villages) at prices varying
from one- third to one-half of the crop, payable either in
money or in coffee, according to circumstances. The balance
of the crops belonged to the cultivators, who could sell it to
Government or others as best suited them. A further
assistance was given in that advances from the Government
treasury could always be secured when required on the
growing or blossoming crop.
Sometimes it happened that a desah did not wish to renew
the lease, in which case the Government again became the
cultivators of the garden.
The industry was now in a flourishing condition, every-
thing was working smoothly, and the cultivation grew.
This state of affairs only continued, however, so long as
prices remained sufficiently high, for as soon as Government
lowered these prices and prohibited the establishment of
private stores in the interior, through which last measure
the sale of the products by the natives to the private
merchants (who happened to be during 1812 — 1830 for the
THE INDUSTRIES OF JAVA 939
great part British and American) was placed at a great
disadvantage, the flourishing time of the industry came to
an end. The aversion of the desalts to renewing their leases
in 1823 was only overcome by Government issuing a direct
order, so that the cultivation of coffee was free in name only.
In 1829 a commission was appointed to inquire into the
reason why the native population objected to planting coffee
under these changed conditions, and Pieter Merkus, w^ho
was later on Governor-General from 1841 to 1844, but at
this time was a member of the Eaad of India (Council of
Netherlands East India) searched fully into the matter.
After a long and thorough examination he was forced to
arrive, much to the chagrin of the Governor- General and his
Government, at the conclusion that the native population
did not object and never had objected to the planting of
coiTee, but did not like being forced to it and being then
insufficiently paid for their labour. The old tactics of the
Dutch East India Company were in fact in a modified and
less evident manner still being employed.
On the 8th August, 1832, as a result of Merkus's inves-
tigations, a new " besluit " (order in council) was issued
which stated that the crops of all the coffee trees which were
not cultivated on behalf of the Government, but which were
subject to the payment of the land tax, with the exception
of those from private estates, had to be delivered and sold
to the Government, who agreed to pay for them the full
market price, less two-fifths for the land tax, cost of trans-
port and freight to Holland. It was decided also that the
market price should be fixed yearly by the Netherlands
Trading Company.
It was through this " hesluit " that the Netherlands
Indian Government monopoly of coffee with forced delivery
was firmly established.
When Governor-General Sloet van de Beele was in office
from 1861 to 1866 a decree was issued abolishing all forced
940 JAVA
cultivation for Government except those of coffee and sugar.
In the latter case, as we know, this system was abolished in
1890 — 1892, still leaving, therefore, coffee.
It is a strange thing, but the Dutch have never been able
to tear themselves away from old ingrained ideas and customs.
In ordinary matters a more intelligent and highly educated
race does not exist, while in all commercial matters they
show narrowness and a desire to squeeze out more profit
than there is actually to be got, even to the extent some-
times of killing the goose that lays the golden egg. This
is the more perceptible w^hen one comes to examine their
methods, which are frequently antiquated and out of date,
and although in the management of sugar estates and such
like success has crowned their efforts, it has not been so much
because of their efforts as on account of the great prosperity
Java enjoys from its rich soil, and that because a few among
the Dutch had a broader experience, which has benefited
the whole country.
Thus we still see to the present day the remains of the old
Government monopoly, which is dying hard.
From the figures below it will be observed that while the
Government tenaciously cling to their old estates, there is
a greatly decreasing income from this source.
A negligent and in some cases inferior local official is the
only caretaker for these estates, and unless immediate steps
are taken by placing over them technically fitted men (ad-
ministrators of adjoining private estates, for instance) they
will gradually die out, which in the main they are already
fast doing.
These estates are looked after by the Department of
Agriculture, but, clever and eminently experienced as the
chief of the department is, I fear this is not sufficient.
The loss of income to the Netherlands Indian Government,
were their estates to cease producing, would be a serious one.
Until 1875 Coffea Arahica was practically the only variety
THE INDUSTRIES OF JAVA 941
cultivated in Netherlands India. The shrubs grew at any
height up to 4,000 feet, but seemed to thrive best when
between 1,500 and 3,000 feet.
In 1875 a new species called Cojjea Liherica was intro-
duced from Liberia, on the West Coast of Africa. This
variety from the level of the sea up to 1,500 feet has more or
less entirely replaced the Goffea Arahica. Cojjea robusta,
too, is now being tried with favourable results.
Until one has reached an altitude of 2,500 or 3,000 feet all
the coffee trees require shade in order to enable them to
develop properly.
The dadap-tree (Eryihrina hypaphorus) , the albiccia
(Alhizzia stijmlata and Alhizzia moluccana) are amongst those
which are principally used for that purpose.
The coffee industry has, of course, fallen considerably in
recent years, and it no longer receives the attention that it
did even fifteen years ago. This is due to the huge crops of
Santos and elsewhere in Brazil having brought down prices
to nearly a half of what they formerly were.
At the same time properly managed estates can still make
fairly satisfactory profits.
It may be observed that the entire production can be
considered as being exported.
Coffee was first planted in Sumatra and Celebes in 1818.
List of Private Coffee Estates, 1910—1911.
West Java.
Residency of Bantam . , , . , . . . 6
Residency of Batavia :
Buitenzorg 20\ ^q
Krawang 3/
Residency of Preanger :
Soekaboemi ., ., ,. ., 17^
Bandoeng . , . , . . . . . . 10 j
Tjandjore 51"
Limbangan . . . . . . . , 2/
34
Total .. .. 62
942
JAVA
Central Java.
Residency of Samarang
„ Soerakarta
„ Kedoe . .
„ Pekalongan
Madioen
Total
24
26
2
9
3
64
East Java.
Residency of Sourabaya
,, Kediri . .
,, Pasoeroean
„ Probolingo
Bezoekie
Total
Grand total
5
52
62
12
39
170
296
Income feom Government Estates.
Year.
Pounds sterling.
Guilders
(Dutch currency).
1903
698,789
8,385,589
Actual result
1904
682,907
8,194,881
>> »»
1905
631,684
7,580,210
>» »»
1906
319,055
3,828,663
>> >»
1907
489,747
5,876,964
Estimated result
1908
285,541
3,426,493
>> >»
1909
243,464
2,921,564
»> f>
1910
240,000
2,870,000
>> >»
THE INDUSTRIES OF JAVA
943
Production of Government Coffee, showing Rise and Fall.
Production of
Production of
Year.
Government
Crops. Java,
Year.
Government
Crops, Java,
in Piculs.
in PicuLs.
1827
399,5571
1870
~i ■
986,034
1828
416,171
1871
445,550
1829
281,661
1872
986,000
1830
288,742
1873
773,900
1831
299,086
1874
1,032,000
1832
314,173
1875
493.400
1833
366,100
1876
1,266,200
1834
431,700
1877
875,400
1835
358,000
1878
853,000
1836
575,606
1879
1,267,167
1837
588,582
1880
558,280
1838
538,800
1881
1,007,613
1839
905,200
1882
1,024,868
1840
688,700
1883
1,072,492
1841
853,300
1884
1,011,787
1842
951,000
1885
499,909
1843
1,023,100
1886
816,932
1844
948,800
1887
254,491
1845
631,800
1888
564,600
1846
872,000
1889
583,458
1847
766,000
1890
95,800
1848
853,100
1891
382,518
1849
455,200
1892
692,696
1850
966,100
1893
68,999
1851
1,061,000
1894
363,927
1852
873,166
1895
319,955
1853
682,953
1896
264,880
1854
1,065,100
1897
134,064
1865
1,146,300
1898
80,000
1856
749,800
1899
118,000
1857
893,800
1900
208,427
1858
895,200
1901
108,834
1859
734,600 1
1902
220,572
1860
987,600 1
1903
297,100
1861
895,667
1904
65,158
1862
658,100
1905
57,931
1863
1,112,304
1906
169,422
1864
433,200 1
1907
43,857
1865
941,100 '
1908
82,135
1866
1,087,400
1909
22,340
1867
880,700
1910
38,145
1868
588,616
1911
21,440
1869
962,800
1
^ 1 ton = 16-47 piculs.
944
JAVA
Prodfction of Coffee from Privately-owned
Estates.
Year.
Tons.
Year.
Tons.
1891
21,250
1902
25,299
1892
21,286
1903
22,980
1893
9,700
1904
15,311
1894
25,000
1905
21,395
1895
20,000
1906
17,078
1896
18,000
1907
8,570
1897
26,400
1908
13,751
1898
22,100
1909
11,296
1899
15,000
1910
11,076
1900
20,255
1911
10,380
1901
17,806
Tea. — Tea, which by the Chinese is called Theh and by
the Japanese Tsjaa, became known to the former in a.d. 350.
A legend, however, of a priest called Darma, a son of
Kasinwo, an Indian king who had migTated to China, says
it was discovered in the year 519. This Darma is described
as a holy and religious person, a sort of pope in the Indies
and the twenty-eighth successor to the holy see after Saka,
the founder of Eastern paganism, and born b.c. 1028.
Darma, after a long and weary journey, is said to have fallen
asleep, and on waking refreshed himself with the leaves of
the plant that grew before him (whether fresh or boiled
the legend does not say) and thereby found out their virtue.
In Guigon's work called " Le The " a statement is made
that Confucius (b.c. 500) in one of his works refers to tea
as known at the time of Noah.
On the other hand. Wells Williams, a missionary, who
later on became secretary of the American Legation at
Pekin, in a book he wrote in 1857 called " The Middle
Kingdom," which claimed some notoriety, states that tea
was first introduced into China in the year a.d. 350, as stated
above.
Tea was exported from China to all the neighbouring
THE INDUSTRIES OF JAVA 945
countries as early as a.d. 800, but when it was for the first
time brought to Java I have not been able to trace.
That a trade, however, was done in the article as early as
1667 by the Dutch East India Company is proved by the fact
that a shipment was made then to Holland for the first time.
The quantity of the invoice was 5,108 lbs., and it was
taxed at 1 fl. per lb. On its arrival the directors of the East
India Company had not the slightest idea of its purpose,
and did not know what to do with this very strange and
peculiar-looking dried-up leaf. This shipment was not,
however, grown in Java, but belonged to a parcel imported
into Java by a Chinese merchant.
The first mention there is of tea being grown in Java is
by Dr. Valentyn, the great Dutch historian, who in 1691
visited the garden of the Governor-General J. Champhins
(died 1695), which was situated outside the Niewpoort
(Newgate) at Batavia. Here he saw " allerlei zeldzame
gewasschen, jonge thee boomkens nit China als aalbessen
boomkens," which translated means : " There were all
kinds of rare plants, young tea shrubs from China about as
large as currant trees."
From this it is pretty sure that no attempt — anyhow on
the part of the East India Company — had been made in
earnest up to this date to plant this shi'ub in Java, otherwise
we may take it that Valentyn would have said so.
In a letter from the directors in Holland to the Company,
dated the 15th March, 1728, mention is made of the great
profits being made by Europeans in China from the trade
in tea, and it is suggested that an attempt should be made
to plant the shi*ub in Java.
This letter was answered in December of the same year
to the effect that a special endeavour would be made to
follow their wishes, and that a prize would be offered by
the Company for the first pound of tea plucked and manu-
factured in Java.
J. — VOL. II. U
946 JAVA
The matter seems, however, for the time to have died a
natm-al death, and during the Company's rule no further
effort was made to carry out the suggestions of the directors.
This was no doubt due to the difficulties of obtaining
tea seed and the skilled men to prepare it when plucked.
During the time of the English in Java no mention is
even made of tea, and up to 1822 no further steps were taken
to start its culture.
In 1820 the Government, which had taken into its employ
as inspector of agriculture a French botanist, Diard (who
from 1819 to 1820, together with another Frenchman,
Duvaucel, had been in Baffles' employ at Bencoolen),
suddenly decided not to confine itself any longer to the
industries only of coffee, sugar, indigo, and rice, but to
undertake " kapas " ^ and other cultures. Diard, who had
a salary attached to his position of SOOfl. a month (£500 a
year), now took into his service to assist him a half-caste
from British India called Maurevert, who received a salary
of 200fl. a month (£200 a year).
It seems that in 1822, 1823 and 1824 tea seeds were
ordered by Diard from China, but each time the shipments
arrived spoilt.
In 1825 Diard drew up some special instructions regarding
the treatment of tea seeds on their journey, but these do
not appear to have been followed.
Shortly after the English had annexed Assam, and Major
Bobert Bruce in 1825 had discovered the tea plant growing
wild there, the British Government decided at once to start
tea-growing in India by importing j^oung plants from China.
The idea then occurred to a certain Dr. von Siebold, a Dutch-
man, who was in Japan, to send tea seeds to Java. It
seems that he had an open order to send rare or useful plants
to Java when he could secure them.
Siebold was physician to the Dutch agent at Nagasaki,
^ Java cotton.
THE INDUSTRIES OF JAVA 947
and the shipment of seeds he made on his own initiative in
1826 was planted out successfully in the Botanical Gardens
at Buitenzorg towards the end of this year. A small portion ,
however, was sent to Limbangaii, near Garoet, and planted
there by the English horticulturist Kent.
By July, 1827, there were about 1,500 tea plants at
Buitenzorg and Limbangan in splendid condition.
Thus was the industry estabHshed in Java.
On the 27th September, 1827, the expert tea-taster of
the Netherlands Trading Company, Amsterdam, J. J. L. L.
Jacobson, arrived at Batavia, and began immediately to
take an active part in tea-growing. The same year the
Trading Company sent him to Canton with a salary of
10,000fl. a year, and du Bus de Gisignies, the commissioner-
general in Java, invited him to make a study of the planting
and preparation of tea.
Between 1828 and 1833 he made repeated trips backwards
and forwards to Canton, always bringing back with him tea
seeds or tea plants, which were planted in various parts of
the Preanger.
On his return voyage in 1832 he brought with him one
experienced Chinese tea-planter, four tea-preparers, and
seven workmen. This he did because it was at last clearly
recognised that no one in charge of the plantations knew
anything about the manufacture of tea, nor was there a
single Chinaman in the island who could even prepare a
pound.
The industry began now to make strides, and in 1835
16,434 lbs. of dry tea were produced by the various
plantations, and by 1841 this had increased to 208,659 lbs.
These productions continued to grow up till 1859, when
2,065,496 lbs. were produced.
After this for a number of years a steady decrease is to be
seen. The reasons for tliis are not difficult to find. When
in 1833 the Government opened their plantations, as is usual
u2
948 JAVA
with a new culture, special care was taken of them, and
accounts were scrupulously kept ; by 1859, however, the
estates under the direction of the Government proved to
be less and less profitable owing to the slovenly way they
were looked after and the increasing cost of the management.
Government inspectors sent to the various estates to find
out the cause of this could discover nothing to complain of.
This, indeed, is no surprising thing, for they were from the
time they arrived to their departure treated so royally that
they had no opportunity to find out. In the end, like the
other cultures the Government undertook, the tea monopoly
was given up.
All the plantations were now farmed out as private
enterprises, the last Government plantation, Djatinangor,
and Tji Kadjan being leased out in 1865.
This state of affairs lasted until 1870, when by a new
" hesluit " the Government let out lands on a lease of
seventy-five years against an indemnification, varying from
Ifl. to 5fl. a bouw, say Is. to 55. an acre.
From this time onwards the tea trade has gone steadily
forward, until to-day it is a factor in the world's
supply.
The Assam variety, Thea Assamica, is that one most in
cultivation in Java, having practically replaced the China
sort, or Thea CJiinensis.
The first Assam hybrid reached Java in 1878. Later
pure seeds were imported from Assam, Jaipur, Bazaloni,
and Manipur, which flourished in Java, and the production
to the bouw increased sensibly.
The flavour of Java tea, which seems more to depend ou
altitude than local conditions or soil, etc., whilst lacking
the strength of the Indian teas or the softness of some of the
China " chops," is delicately fine, and a purer or more
wholesome tea is not to be found anj^where.
In the preparation the most perfect methods are employed.
THE INDUSTRIES OF JAVA 949
whilst the hygienic handling of it leaves nothing to be
desired.
Dates in the History of Tea in Java.
1822. First tea seeds arrive from China mouldy and dead.
1826, Tea seeds from Japan arrive and planted at Buitenzorg
and Garoet.
1828. Seeds planted at Wanajasa and Tjisoeroepan.
1829. Jacobson, who arrived in Java 1827, goes to Canton
and returns with tea-planters from China to Java. Failure of
tea-planting at Salatiga. — Java tea exhibited at Batavia.
1830. First tea factory at Wanajasa (Krawang).
1832. Jacobson appointed " inspector of tea." — Diard plants
tea at Tjitjeroek. — Tea planted at Bodjonegara.
1834. Tea-planting started at Cheribon, Pekalongan, and
Banjoemas. Beginning of the trade in tea.
1835. Tjioemboeloeit and Radja Mendala started, also Tegal
and Bagelen.
1836. Tji-Kadjan.
1837. Beginning of tea-planting at Samarang, Japara,
Sourabaya and Besoeki Kadoe.
1840. Tea-planting begun at Djati Nangor. — Three factories
started at Tji Kadjan.
1841. The Chinaman A, Hoei starts at Bagelen,
1842. Contract made with P. G. Stuten (Buitenzorg) and
J. D. Peters (Krawang Sinaga).
1843. Contracts made with T. Reigers (Bantam), L. Weber
(Bogoli), Tan Soei Tiong (Preanger), A. J. C. Steenstra Toussaint
(Preanger), W. A. Baron Baud (Preanger), L. M. H. Kulen Kamp
Lemmers (Cheribon), H. J. van Daalen (Cheribon), and J. T.
Helmrich (Sourabaya).
1844. Contracts with E, Grandisson (Bantam), G. P. Servatius
(Preanger), J. M. Beer (Samarang), and G. L. J. van der Hucht
(Parakan Salak : joint contractor). — Withdrawal of contracts
from Besoeki and Madioen. — S. D. SchifE appointed Inspector of
Tea.
1845. Contract with Hugh Hope Loudon (Preanger).
1846. Arrangement regarding Tji Kopo with A. J. D. Steenstra
Toussaint and G. L. J. van der Hucht.
950
JAVA
1848. Withdrawal of Government from tea-planting in Peka-
longan and Banjoemas. — Jacobson returns to Holland. — J. G.
Otten becomes administrator of Meester Cornelis. — Export duty
on tea to Holland in Dutch ships given up.
1857. H. Hope Loudon sells Tji Kadjang to Jonkheer A.
Gevers.
1861.
1862.
1863.
ment.
Tji Kadjang bought by Baron W. A. Baud.
Parakan Salak given in hire by Government.
Tjioemboeloeit and Sinagar given in hire by Govern-
LiST SHOWING Number of Tea Shrubs Planted in
1842, AND WHERE.
Name of Residency.
Bantam
Preanger
Krawang
Cheribon
Tegal
Pekalongan
Samarang
Shrubs.
200,000
3,000,000
800,000
1,376,000
921,000
600,000
785,000
Name of Residency.
Sour ab ay a
Bezoeki
Madioen .
Kadu
Bagelen )
Wanosobo )
Banjoemas
Shrubs.
200,000
216,000
288,000
800,000
2,546,000
1,560,000
Tea Debtors to Government.
Due to Government
for Gardens and
Buildings.
Due to
Government foe
Advance of
Capital.
Mr. W. A. Baron Baud
B. B. Crone .
Hugh Hope Loudon.
G. L. J. van der Hucht
G. P. Servatius
E. Grandisson
H. J. van Daalen
J. M. Beer
fl.
5,090.12
4,310.26
61,875
4,472.89
30,000
4,583.40
6,666.80
17,500
fl.
31,250
Nothing
21,458.40
31,250
32,500
62,500
55,833.40
45,000
;t.\mi'IN(> t i.oth;-
a\J\J,\j\nj II — ■=
THE INDUSTRIES OF JAVA
951
"i? .
.d d
S d
OS o
®0h
fS
.3 d
6
>
<
o o o o
05 Ci C5 00
For 1st, 2nd,
3rd, and 4th
Quality.
90 (before
1845, 100)
90
90
160
80
80
40
Number
of
Amster-
dam
Pounds
in 1846.
19,500
10,660
7,490
8,643
CO
Ci
Number of
Tiee Shrubs
in 1846.
360,000
550,000
400,000
2,050,000
o
o
o
o
so"
Number
of
Bouws.
o o o o
C*5
Length
of
Contract.
May, 1842,
to
May, 1857.
1845 to
1852
1844 to
1859
Not
stated
i
o
P. C. Stuten, pen-
sioned major.
Li Engli (before
Schrant).
J. D. Steenstra Tous-
saint, late town
doctor at Sama-
rang, and G. L. J.
van der Hucht,
late ship's captain
(formerly P. C.
Stuten).
J. D. Peters (pen-
sioned lieutenant-
colonel).
to
(1) Pondok Gedee
(Buitenzorg).
(2) do.
(3) Tji Koppo
(Buitenzorg).
(4) Pamanookan
(Krawang).
952
JAVA
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THE INDUSTRIES OF JAVA
95B
Production during the Period of the Government
Monopoly.
Year.
lbs.
Year.
lbs.
1835
16,433
1853
1,317,668
1841
208,659
1854
1,547,668
1842
324,758
1855
1,480,576
1843
415,021
1856
1,890,322
1844
649,210
1857
1,735,630
1845
814,161
1858
2,060,104
1846
927,957
1859
2,065,496
1847
913,634
1860
2,010,630
1848
940,306
1861
1,947,289
1849
961,081
1862
1,610,714
1850
825,021
1863
1,272,232
1851
967,238
1864
790,655
1852
1,050,495
Tea Exports.
Country.
1908.
1909.
1910.
1911.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
Netherlands
20,059,252
20,357,000
18,804,300
22,649,400
United Kingdom
12,629,117
12,285,360
13,074,800
15,501,500
Russia
1,294,546
1,337,350
106,500
2,005,300
Singapore (by tran-
shipment to Russia
or China)
2,061,162
970,880
3,973,700
3,237,600
Australia
335,095
701,080
2,229,800
5,578,600
Canada and America .
—
—
193,400
403,800
Other countries
200,364
997,330
2,256,700
—
Total
36,579,536
36,679,000
40,639,200
50,518,500
Tobacco.- — The use of tobacco for smoking was discovered
by the Indians in America, although it has been said that
the Chinese knew of it long before 1492.
This may be, but in Japan it was not known until between
1573 and 1591, when the Portuguese introduced it into
Japan together with the pepper plant.
It was not introduced into England until 1586, when Sir
Walter Kaleigh had some tobacco brought from Virginia,
954 JAVA
where he had seen the Indians smoking it. The craving for
the drug, hke all things new, spread, and in 1612 an English-
man, John Eolfe, went to Virginia as a tobacco-planter,
and Virginia and Carolina were soon known as the two
tobacco comitries. In 1619, 20,000 lbs. were exported to
England, and in 1620, 900,000 lbs.
There were still, however, some attempts to stop smoking,
and James I. of England set himself against it.
Amongst the laws of Jacatra the following is found in
this relation : —
" Reglement voor die van de groote taeffel binnen t ' casteel
Batavia van 3 Nov. 1640 werd verboden dat ook niemant aldaer
taback sal mogen drincken noch by daege, nochte by nachte."
The translation of which is that no one may drink tobacco
by day or night.
Tobacco belongs to the family Solanacece and the group
Nicotianince.
In Java and Sumatra the same plant Nicotiana rustica
is found, but the difference in the climate and soil are
such that the plant in Java is infinitely inferior to that in
Sumatra, and as a cigar wrapper the Sumatra leaf has
attained to the highest rank in the market.
The Sumatra tobacco has a thin silky-looking leaf of
excellent colour and quality, which despite all that the
planters in Java have tried they have never been able to
equal, far less surpass. Java tobacco planters have had,
therefore, to content themselves with a lower range of prices.
On the other hand, Java tobacco has, notwithstanding its
inability to rival the Sumatra plant, taken a very prominent
place in the European market, and, being less expensive to
prepare and maintaining a uniform quality, has procured
prices yielding magnificent profits to the planters, the result
being that exports have largely grown.
The seed of the Sumatra tobacco came originally from
THE INDUSTRIES OF JAVA 955
Java, but the planting there is done by Chinese cooKes
imported from Amoy and Swatow, who are more inteUigent
than the Malay coolies employed in Java ; this may also
have something to do with the quality.
The value of the Sumatra and Java tobacco crop is about
eight millions sterling yearly, and it is all shipped to Amster-
dam and Eotterdam, where it is sold for cash to the highest
bidders.
There are six large tobacco companies in Sumatra, one
of which, the United Langkat Plantation Company, Limited,
is English, with a capital of £225,438 and an area of
23,344 bouws.
The largest company there is the Deli Maatschappij,
which has a capital of £667,000 and an area of 108,021
bouws.
Cinchona. — The history of cinchona carries us back no
further than 1638, and as far as Java is concerned only to
1854.
The story goes that in 1638 the Countess del Chinchon,
wife of the Viceroy of Peru, was lying dangerously ill in
the palace of Lima with a fever which would not leave her,
and that the Spanish doctor as a last resource dosed her
with a powder made from Peruvian bark, which was given
him by the magistrate of the district of Loxa, Don Juan Lopez
de Canizares, who maintained that he himself had been
cured from fever by this remedy. It seems that the virtue
of this bark was well known in the Kina districts to the
ancient Incas, although it was charily used and almost
feared as a poison, doubtless on account of its action on
weak hearts.
The countess became speedily well after a dose or two
of the " bitter powder," and on her return to Spain took a
quantity of it with her, thus introducing it into Europe.
Her advertisement, if such we may call it, was of such
effect that the demand far exceeded the supply, and although
V
956 JAVA
the Spaniards sent out repeated demands to Peru to ship
it to Spain in large quantities, their wishes could not be
fulfilled.
From time to time, however, shipments were made, but
they decreased in quantity rapidly, and in 1847 journeys
of ten or even twelve days had to be made into the wild
jungle to search for it.
It had already long become apparent to the medical
celebrities of the early nineteenth century that unless means
were taken to reproduce cinchona the source of its supply
would soon become exhausted, a possibility looked upon
with some dread.
In 1818 Dr. Ainslie (no doubt he who was Resident of
Djockjakarta during the English time, 1815) was one of
the first to suggest that an attempt should be made to
plant cinchona in India and the East Indies ; and Dr.
J. Forbes Boyle in 1839 brought the matter again before
the authorities. There, however, it rested. A few years
later Dr. Falconer reopened the matter once more with the
British Government, but it was not until 1852 that it was
at last induced to write to the British consuls in South
America requesting them to ship with as little delay as
possible both seeds and plants.
As far as Java is concerned a Dutch doctor, Blume by
name, proposed in 1829 that it should be planted at once in
the island, but no notice was apparently taken of his sugges-
tion until the medical world was again aroused in 1849 by
the English botanists Weddell and Karsten's accounts
published far and wide of the destruction of the kina
forests in South America by cinchona-hunters.
At this time quinine had become the only known remedy
for fever.
The seeds collected by Weddell in South America were
first sent to Professor Houlet, of the Botanical Gardens at
Paris, and from here a few were sent to Hardy at Hammah
THE INDUSTRIES OF JAVA 957
in Algeria. The latter were already growing well, when a
sirocco killed them all. Seeds w^ere also sent by Weddell
to London, and in 1853 six plants were sent from here to
Calcutta, but the sea air killed them on the way.
In 1852 the Dutch Government sent Dr. Hasskarl to
South America for seeds, but he had considerable difficulty
in getting any, and it was not until the very end of 1854 that
he arrived at Batavia with seeds and 500 young plants.
These were planted out at Tjibodas, on the mountain of
Gedeh. This was the first step towards an industry which
has become quite an important one in Java.
To go back, however, a little. In 1848 a certain Charles
Ledger, seeing an opportunity of making money for himself,
began travelling in the wilds of South America in search of
the famed Peruvian bark. He spent fifteen years in the
dense jungles, and the records of these expeditions, in which
many lives were unfortunately lost, make a romance
among romances, and no better reading is to be found
than Markham's and Ledger's accounts of them.
In 1865 Charles Ledger handed over a large quantity of
seed to his brother George for sale, and this on the 17th
October was handed over to the Dutch minister of the
colonies and sent to Java. It seems that George Ledger's
intention had been to sell them to Sir William Hooker,
of Kew Gardens, or to Clements Markham, but the former
had died and the latter gone to India.
The shipment was an important one, and was on arrival
immediately planted in the nm'series of the Botanical
Gardens at Buitenzorg.
Near Bandoeng there is still a plantation cultivated from
these original seeds. It is from this plantation that all
the kina trees of Java have sprung.
By 1886 the area on private account had reached
nearly 40,000 bouws, and the number of trees 30,000,000,
of which about 14,000,000 were of the Cinchona Succirubra
958 JAVA
species, while the area of the land planted by Government
was about 3,500 bouws, or 1,778 acres. The statistics of
the Government estates were then as follows : —
Plants in the Nurseries.
Number. j Number.
C. Ledgeriana . 1,433,000 | C. Succiruhra . 675,000
Plants in the Open.
Number
C. Ledgeriana . 826,700
C. Calisaya and
C. Haskarliana . 56,000
Number.
C. Lancifolia . 8,000
C. Officinalis. . 225,000
C. Succirv^ra and
C. Caloptera . 573,000
The export was 1,833,028 lbs. Since then the industry-
has made great strides, although in 1893 — 1894 a number
of estates ceased cultivation of cinchona on account of
its no longer being remunerative. This had come about
through the production having become greatly in excess
of the consumption.
The Java planters in the main, and especially those
that were able to pass through the crisis, benefited, however,
by this in the long run ; it weeded out a great number of
plantations the world over, and thus brought the consump-
tion more into agreement with the supply.
In 1886 the export was 1,833,028 lbs., in 1909 it was
17,639,849 lbs., and this notwithstanding the large increase
in the export of the sulphate of quinine. Privately-sown
cinchona is increasing slowly but surely, but the amount of
Government-sown cinchona is decreasing.
In 1896 the cinchona of Java was about two-thirds of
the world's supply. Up to this time the entire export
had been shipped regularly to Holland, where it was sold
at public auction. The large quinine manufactories, mostly
I HINKSK /.•.l.l//->Ki, 1,1.1,
SUUAJt-CAXK KIKLI>.
THE INDUSTRIES OF JAVA 959
situated in Germany, supplied themselves with the raw
material in the Dutch market, and needless to say a combine
kept prices at such a low level as to render the cultivation
of cinchona, even in Java where labom- is so cheap, un-
profitable. Moreover, what made these low prices the
more objectionable was the fact that planters knew that
large dividends had been made from these quinine factories,
a part of which should rightly have found its way into
their own pockets.
In order to counterbalance the influence of this ring,
planters in Java decided to establish a manufactory of their
own for quinine.
The Bandoeng Quinine Factory was established at Ban-
doeng in 1896 with a capital of 700,000fl., and is now making
over one million ounces a year.
The bark which is there treated comes alike from Govern-
ment and from private estates, and there is no difference
in the price paid.
The quinine so manufactured is the finest in the world,
and its treatment from the time the bark is received at
the factory until it is packed and shipped is everything
that even the most fastidious could ^sish.
The owner (or practical owner) of the company is Mr.
C. W. Baron van Heeckeren, who is the director of the
Samarangsche Administratie Maatschappij (Samarang
Administration Company), in whose hands the management
of the quinine factory now is, with S. Camphuis as technical
director at Bandoeng.
From a financial point of view the company has been
successful. All the old machinery has been renewed and the
factory is quite up to date, being the largest establishment
of its kind in the world.
Dividends have been paid as follows : — In 1907, 9 per
cent. ; in 1908, 10 per cent. ; in 1909, 10 per cent. ;
in 1910, 10 per cent. ; in 1911, 10 per cent.
^60 JAVA
Exports of sulphate of quinine in 1898 (the date of the
fii-st of&cial exports) were 468,800 ozs., but in 1909 they
had akeady reached 1,244,800 ozs., in 1910 1,533,200 ozs.,
and in 1911 2,665,300 ozs.
Pepper. — This article of produce (the Piper nigrum, of
the family of Piperacece) from almost time immemorial was
exported from Bantam and the coast of Sumatra in small
prahoes (Hghters) to Malacca, from whence it was brought in
vessels of 20 or 30 tons burden to Point de Galle (the ancient
city of Tarshish). From Galle it was conveyed by way of
Egypt to Kome, where there was a ready market for it.
In the time of Pliny it was quite common, although dear,
and the greatness of Venice is due to its early pepper trade
with the East Indies.
It was the desire to visit these pepper countries, which
no doubt were wrapped up in fabulous tales, that caused
the Italians Marco Polo in 1290 and Nicolo Conti in 1449
to make their long journeys through the East.
The pepper trade continued through Malacca and Galle
until the direct trade w^as introduced by the Portuguese
in 1498 ; and it was this trade that w^as mainly responsible
for the rush of Portuguese, EngHsh, Dutch, Spanish, and
French to the East. The same aim of monopoly was in
the minds of them all.
The magnitude of the trade in pepper can be gauged w^hen
it is borne in mind that even as late as 1720 it amounted to
30 per cent, of the whole of the Dutch East India Company's
business in the East.
This is not to be wondered at w^hen one takes into
account the fact that for centuries it had been the custom
at Bantam for every inhabitant, man or woman, as soon
as he or she reached the age of 16 years, to become re-
sponsible for 500 lines of pepper. What the length of
these lines w^as — how many bushes each denoted — does
not appear.
THE INDUSTRIES OF JAVA 961
The following is an old account of pepper in the seven-
teenth century : —
" This spice is produced from a plant of the vine kind, which
twmes its tendrils round poles or trees like ivy or hops.
" The pepper-corns grow in bunches close to each other.
They are first green, but afterwards turn black. When dried
they are separated from the dust, and partly from the outward
membranous coat, by means of a kind of winnow called a harp
and then laid up in the warehouses of Bantam.
" This winnow or harp is an oblong frame with a bottom of
iron wire closely twisted so that the pepper-corns cannot pass
through it ; this is set sloping, and the ungarbled pepper rolling
along it frees itself from most of its impurities. The empire of
Bantam with its dependencies at Lampon [Lampong] yield
amiually to the Dutch East India Company more than six
millions of pounds of this spice. This pepper is esteemed the
next best to that which comes from the coast of Malabar. That
from Palembang, of which a very considerable quantity is
deUvered to the Company as well as that of Borneo, is of a much
inferior quality. The price for which the King of Bantam is
obliged to sell all the pepper produced in his dominions is fixed
at six rix dollars or fourteen gilders, and eight stivers per picul
of one hunched and twenty five pounds, nearly two pence half-
penny per pound.
" It has been the opinion of many that the white pepper is
the fruit of a plant distinct from what which produces the black :
this, however, is not the case ; they are both the same production,
but the white is manufactured by being laid in lime, which takes
off its outer coat, and renders it whitish. This is done before the
pepper is perfectly dry."
The account goes on to say :
" Turmeric [i.e., Curcuma], long pepper [i.e., Piper longum],
and cubebs [i.e.. Piper cubeba] are also productions of Java,
but the collection and exportation of these two articles is not
of great importance. The last is most in demand by the Indians
at Surat."
The great unst ability of market prices has ruined the
pepper industry, and from being, as we saw above, the
J. — VOL. II. X
962
JAVA
most important industry in Java, it has dwindled down to
being a side article dealt in by the few.
Exports of Pepper from Java (Dutch East India
Company's Period).
Year.
From Bantam.
Year.
From Bantam.
1687 .
1688—1722
1723 .
1724 .
1725 .
piculs.
25,000
27,000 *
39,000
57,000
33,000
1726—1774.
1781 .
1782 .
1783—1787.
piculs.
35,000 *
33,000
13,500
16,500 *
* Yearly average.
As a fine, the Sultan of Bantam in 1751 was forced to deliver
37,500 piculs to the Dutch East India Company. ^ In 1778,
500,000 lbs. were sold in Holland at 17 stivers. In 1796, after
a slight flicker the trade came to an end entirely, owing to the
plantations being destroyed by the Sultan.
The trade in Sumatra now passed entirely into the hands of
the English and Americans.
Receipts of Pepper at Batavia and the Island of
Onrust.
(From
an Old
Menaorandum).
From.
Year.
Kind.
Quan^^ty.
Bantam and Lampong
Borneo .....
Palembang ....
West Coast of Sumatra .
Province of Jacatra
1776—1777 1
do. I
do.
do.
do.
Black
White
Black
WMte
Black
do.
do.
lb.3.
3,714,000
15,000
1,117,375
16,250
497,507
1,119,436
1,900
Ruhher. — Rubber is an industry of, comparatively speak-
ing, recent date in the East. Before 1875 it w^as unknown
1 I saw tliis in an old book.
THE INDUSTRIES OF JAVA 963
in Ceylon, and six years ago it was not seriously thought of
in Java.
It was only in 1876 that 2,000 seedlings of Hevea Brasili-
ensis were dispatched from Kew Gardens in the steamship
Duke of Devonshire to Peradeniya, in Ceylon. These seed-
lings had been raised from seeds collected by Mr. H. A.
Wickham, who in the sixties succeeded in finding 70,000
in the Cirangalo of the Rio Tapajos.
Mr. Wickham, who was an Englishman, had been engaged
for some years in Brazil, and on laying his views before the
India Office whilst on leave in Europe was commissioned by
the Government to secure some seeds. On his return to
Brazil, and whilst he was working there in 1876 on his
estate, it appears that an English steamship, the Amazonas
(of the Inman Line), Captain Murra}^ arrived on the
Amazon. It happened to be just about the time when the
Hevea Brasiliensis was ripening, and the idea suddenly
occurred to him that this chance of carrying out the wishes
of the India Office and supplying it with seeds for India was
a good one. Mr. Wickham, who was a man of action, has
described for future generations what he did on this occa-
sion. The following is a precis in his own words : —
" Then occurred one of those chances such as a man has to
take on the top-tide or lose for ever. The startling news came down
the river that our fine ship the Amazonas had been abandoned
and left on the Captain's hands after having been stripped by
the two gentleman supercargoes (our late hospitable enter-
tainers), and that without so much as a stick of cargo for return
voyage to Liverpool. I determined to plunge for it. I knew
that Captain Murray must be in a fix, so I wrote to him boldly
chartering the ship on behalf of the Government of India, and
I appointed to meet him at the junction of the Tapajos and
Amazon rivers by a certain date. There was no time to lose.
Working with as many Tapiijo Indians as I could get together
at short notice, I daily ranged the forest, and packed on our
backs in Indian pannier baskets as heavy loads of seeds as we
could march down under."
x2
964 JAVA
The steamer was met, and sailed down to Para, where her
papers were duly comitersigned by the EngHsh Consul,
Mr. Green.
With the precious seeds on board she now crossed the
Atlantic, arriving in England in June.
The seeds were immediately planted out, and shortly
afterwards the young seedlings which had thriven were
dispatched to Ceylon and Burma.
Seeds from Ceylon were sent to Buitenzorg in 1887, but
1904 is generally considered to be the date when the culture
took serious dimensions in Java. In this year about
8,000 bouws were planted with rubber in Java and Sumatra.
Most of the estates are planted with the Hevea Brasiliensis,
but a good many also with the indigenous rubber tree, Ficus
elastica (Rambong). This tree gi'ows to enormous dimen-
sions, and appears to thrive far better than the Hevea, but
its size militates against it, very few finding room to the
houw. In the long run, however, in Java and Sumatra, it
may be that the " Ficus " will prove the better of the two.
All the Government officials advised planting the indigenous
tree rather than the imported Brazilian.
Java and Sumatra are ideal lands for rubber, climate,
humidity, rainfall, and temperature being all in its favour.
The monthly rainfall in West Java varies from 200 to 300
millimetres in the dry months to 800 in the rainy months,
the yearly average being about 4,500 millimetres. In East
Java it is less.
The average humidity is about 80, and the temperature
is equable through the small range of 87° Fahrenlieit to
90° or 91°.
The high temperature and abundant rainfall combined
are sufficient to account for the heavy vegetation, a vegeta-
tion so rich and luxuriant that no country in the world, with
the exception perhaps of some portions of South America,
can equal it.
THE INDUSTRIES OF JAVA 965
The home of the Hevea Brasiliensis is Brazil,^ that of the
Ficus elastica Java. Given the conditions in Java, can
there be any doubt that the rubber industry here is bound
to be a success ? There is, moreover, a further factor that
raises Java in this relation above all other countries.
In the Malay States and in Ceylon there is one unending
complaint of the want of labour, a want that will grow
with time rather than lessen, and in fact will sooner
or later prove a serious menace to the industry in these
countries.
In Java no such thing is possible, as there is a population
of willing labourers amounting to over 32,000,000, and this
in an area hardly greater than England, Scotland and Wales.
Owing, moreover, to the supply of labour being so plentiful,
the pay is ridiculously small, and there is no comparison
between what is paid in Java and what is paid in Ceylon
and the Malay States.
Coolies in Java are paid about 4:d. to 5d. a day at
most, according to the district where they may happen
to be.
For this sum they will work from sunrise to sunset, with
a small break in the middle of the day when the heat is at
its greatest, and wholly under the supervision of a native
mandoer or headman (whose pay is about 6^. a day), carrying
out the work as ordered by the European or controller in
charge in an unexampled manner.
Taking all these factors into consideration, it is scarcely
to be wondered at if planters are optimistic, for not only are
prospects m this part of the world now gratifying, but the
outlook is far rosier than most imagine.
To mention more than a few of the rubber companies of
Netherlands India would be impossible ; for whilst only a
limited number are publicly advertised, there are not less
' ^Miose tropical climate is very similar to that of Java.
966
JAVA
than a hundred estates in Java with rubber planted on them,
though not specially called rubber estates owing to the fact
that for the time they are relying for their dividends upon
their tea, coffee, or cocoa productions.
The acreage under rubber cultivation in Java, in 1912 was
as follows : —
Residency.
Number of
Estates. .
Cuitivated
Bouws.
Bantam
11
3,067
Batavia
13
3,709
Preanger
13
6,386
Cheribon
4
1,550
Tegal
1
100
Samarang .
16
3,406
Soerabaya .
3
692
Pasoeroean
41
11,700
Bezoekie
25
8,753
Banjoemas .
8
3,162
Kediri
12
2,925
Soerakartu .
10
3,580
Total
49,030 1
' Equal to, say, 85,000 acres. Of the above 25,550 bouws (44,712 acres)
are Hevea. In addition, there are the Government plantations, comprising
19,170 acres of Bambong, 2,400 acres Hevea (together with 800 acres at
Tjipetir and 130 acres of Castilloa). Altogether in Java there are about
108,000 acres of rubber, of which approximately 47,000 acres are Hevea
Brasiliensis.
Hevea
Ficus
Castilloa, Manihot
47,000 acres.
30,000 „
31,000 „
Total
108,000
If to this one adds 80,000 acres of Hevea for Sumatra, we have for the
three islands of Borneo, Java, and Sumatra a total of 140,000 acres of Hevea,
or 200,000 acres of rubber of all kinds.
English companies operating in Sumatra own approximately 35,668 acres
of Para rubber and 75 acres of Ficus elastica, and it may be assumed they
possess about half the total acreage under Para rubber in that country.
The activity is mainly in the residencies of Serdang, Langkat, and Assalian.
FIXK AKT WKAVKi;:-
MAKINc; PANAMA HATS.
THE INDUSTRIES OF JAVA
967
Nearly all these estates are producing rubber of a superior
quality.
Exports from Java during 1910 amounted to 156,700 lbs.,
in 1911 to 982,600 lbs.
List of some of the Rubber Estates in Nether-
lands India.
{Founded up to 1909 and oivned by British Companies.)
Date of
Number
Issue
Value.
Nam-^ of Company.
Forma-
tion.
Capital.
of
Shares.
Anglo -Sumatra Rubber Co., Ltd.
1907
£
90,000
90,000
£
1
Nirmala Co., Ltd. ....
1909
180,000
180,000 1 1»
Bandar Sumatra Rubber Co., Ltd.
1909
100,000
100,000 ! 1
Bandjarsarie Rubber Co., Ltd. .
1908
50,000
50,000
1
Borneo Rubber and Trading Co., Ltd. .
1906
130,000
130,000
I
British Sumatra Rubber Estates, Ltd.
1908
130,000
130,000
1
Glen Beroie Rubber Co., Ltd.
1908
35,000
35,000
1
Hevea Rubber Co., Ltd. .
—
fl.
200,000
2,000
fl.
100
Java Rubber Plantations, Ltd. .
1907
£
35,000
35,000
£
Java Rubber and Produce Co., Ltd.
1906
50,000
50,000
Java United Plantations, Ltd. .
1909
200,000
200,000
KaU Selogiri Syndicate, Ltd.
1907
25,000
25,000
Langkat Sumatra and Rubber Co., Ltd.
1908
75,000
75,000
Sabang Rubber Estates, Ltd.
1909
65,000
65,000
Sergon Co., Ltd. ....
1907
22,000
22,000
Serdang Central Plantations, Ltd.
1909
60,000
60,000
Simo Rubber Estates, Ltd.
1907
35,000
35.000
Simpang Sumatra Rubber Co., Ltd. .
1909
60,000
60,000
Sumatra Consolidated Rubber Estates,
Ltd
1909
75,000
75,000
Sumatra Deli Rubber Estates, Ltd.
1907
240,000
240,000
Sumatra Para Rubber Plantations, Ltd.
1907
100,000
100,000
Sumatra Proprietary Rubber Planta-
tions, Ltd. .....
1909
100,000
100,000
Siongei Kara Rubber Estates, Ltd.
1909
56,000
56,000
Taudjong Rubber Co., Ltd.
1907
100,000
100,000
United Langkat Plantations Co., Ltd. .
1889
450,000
450,000
United Serdang Rubber Plantations,
Ltd
1907
200,000
200,000
United Sumatra Rubber Estates, Ltd. .
1908
1
85,000
85,000
(See also Tjiliwoeng Java Plantations, Ltd., in next list.)
» Only 130,000 shares issued ; 21,635 acres.
968
JAVA
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972 JAVA
Kapok. — There are not many people who have heard of
Kapok, yet as an article of commerce in Java it is important
and the industry employs thousands of natives.
The kapok or randoe tree {Eriodendron anfractuosum) ,
from the family Malvacece, is indigenous to South America,
but how or when it came to Java is a riddle.
Kapok is an article used for filling mattresses, and in
Holland, Australia, and New Zealand nothing else is used
nowadays. Its soft flexible and downy character makes it
for such purposes infinitely preferable to anything else of
its kind.
The article was first exported from Samarang to Holland
about 1869—1870 by the firm of Macneill & Co., and since
then the export has assumed large figures, 100,000 bales
being shipped yearly.
A third of this quantity, or, roughly, 30,000 bales, finds
its way to Holland, another 30,000 bales go to Austraha
and New Zealand, about 15,000 bales go over the Pacific
to America, and the rest is divided between Singapore and
the neighbouring ports.
The largest and finest kapok estate in Java is Siloewok
Sawangan, between Pekalongan and Samarang. Here about
6,000 piculs, or 12,000 bales, are harvested yearly. The
quality also is superior, and a higher price is usually paid
for it than for other sorts.
Most of the kapok is grown in the Japara district, but
important amounts are also to be secured in the eastern
districts.
Among the finest sorts of kapok in the East Indies is that
which comes from the island of Madura, but the quantity
is unfortunately not large.
Kapok is an article with a great future before it, and
when the conservatism of the English manufacturers of
mattresses, bolsters, pillows, sofas, etc., can be broken
down and proper trials are made with this product, the
THE INDUSTRIES OF JAVA 973
export from Java will eventually become double what it
is now.
Kapok Seeds. — Of some interest in the kapok trade is the
by-product, kapok seeds. These seeds come out of the same
pod as the kapok, and until some ten years ago were thrown
away. Since then they have been for the most part
exported to the various oil-making factories at Marseilles
and Liverpool, which press out a crude sort of oil from
them.
The trade, however, is not entirely dependent on these
two outlets, as there are oil factories in the island which
are always open to pay good prices for the article when
Europe is unable to do so. These concerns, owned by
Chinese, after extracting the oil, sell the residue in the form
of a sort of beancake to the sugar estates, which make good
use of it as manure, containing as it does 4 per cent, of nitro-
gen. This, of course, does not compare with the Bengal
beancake, which contains 7 per cent, of nitrogen, so that a
lower price is paid for the Java cake.
Cocoa. — The cocoa tree {Theohroma cacao) is indigenous
to the forests of Central America, and was cultivated most
likely before the European era by the ancient Mexicans, a
Mongolian race which found its way to Mexico probably by
the Behring Straits before the channel which now divides
America from Asia existed.
In more recent times there are numerous legends and
accounts of ceremonial occasions associated with cacao in
Mexico. These are related by Quatzalcault, Montezuma
Herrera (the conqueror of Mexico), Koziere, Gallais,
Humboldt, and several others.
According to Herrera, who is the first European to write
about " cacao " or " cocoa," the fruits were highly prized
by the Mexicans, and only the lords and bravest warriors
had the right to eat them.
It was considered a royal fruit, and they called the tree
974 JAVA
cacao-quahintl, whence its name to-day. The seeds were
used together with maize and sugar.
In trading they served as money, each seed having its
value, according to its size and quahty.
The bitterness was overcome when it was eaten by an
admixture of sundry spices, such as vaniha or cinnamon.
It was sometimes compounded into a sort of chocolate,
and in this form probably became known to the early
Spaniards, who introduced it into Spain, Italy, and France.
By 1727 the cocoa-tree was planted in most of the West
Indian Islands — St. Lucia, St. Kitt's, Nevis, Bahamas,
Surinam, Montserrat, Trinidad, Grenada, Jamaica, Dominica
and St. Vincent.
According to a memorandum which I have read, Theo-
hroma cacao was introduced into the East Indies as early as
the seventeenth century.
The area under cultivation ^ in Java is, roughly speaking,
10,000 bouws. There are about 500 trees to a bouw, so that
the number of trees existing in Java cannot be less than
five million.
The cultivation of cocoa in Java has never fulfilled the
great expectations which were once formed about it. It is
very sensible to climate and soil and will not grow every-
where. Its aptitude also for contracting diseases which
cause the fruit to rot before it is ripe has caused such severe
losses that planters have sometimes become disgusted, and
have uprooted and discarded the cocoa tree altogether from
their estates.
Several planters have, moreover, been ruined by the
1 One of the finest cocoa estates in Java is Djatiroengoe, the owner of
which, Mr. Henry McGillavry, has made a name in the cocoa industry
through a hybrid which is planted on all the estates, having been first
cultivated by him. Ihis goes by the name of " Djatiroengoe cacao."
Tlogo, near, is owned by the Lorch family, whose progenitor in Java,
Captain L. F. C. Lorch, came to the island in 1816, and of whom i^articulars
are given in Chapter XL The administrator of this estate is Mr. Sudkamp
THE INDUSTRIES OF JAVA 975
lielopeltis- destroying their entire crops. Notwithstanding
all this, however, good prices have caused the exports to
grow. The export statistics are curious reading, and are
illustrative of the vicissitudes of planting ; although
nowadays means have been at last found to counter-
act this pest, unless particular care is yearly taken to
guard against it the lielopeltis will assuredly attack the
trees.
Maize. — The cultivation of maize {Zea mays), or djagoeng
of the natives, can scarcely be looked upon as an industry,
although it is true that in some parts of Java, particularly
in one or two of the mountainous districts, it has completely
taken the place of rice. The article is said to have been
introduced by the Hindus a.d. 372 (see Chronological
Tables).
Maize grows so easily and requires so little, if any, atten-
tion, that it commends itself to the inhabitants, who soon
get used to its flavour, which is entirely different to that
of rice.
The seed is put into the ground and left ; the soil and
climate do the rest. The maize cobs when ripe are quickly
gleaned, and the nourishing stalks supply an excellent food
for the cattle. When the cobs have been demolished,
without any further tilling or ploughing of the ground the
seed is again sown ; the same routine occurs as before within
a few months. Unlike rice, maize requires very little
watering, although on properly drained gi'ound it can stand
a good deal of rain.
Cotton. — Cotton (Gossyjpium herhaceum) is grown in only
one or two districts in Java. When it was introduced I
have not found, but it was before the Dutch came to Java.
It is to be seen in Demak and Grobogon (both in the
residency of Samarang).
In the early days of the East India Company the article
seems to have been of more importance than it is now.
976 JAVA
Here is an account of it in 1769 : —
" Cotton yarn is an important object of trade which Java
furnishes to the Company. It is spun by the Javanese from the
cotton produced in great plenty in the interior parts. The
province of Jacatra yielded in the year 1768 no more than
133 piculs, or 16,225 pounds, which was 1875 pounds less than
ought to have been delivered by the Indians, according to the
quota imposed upon them, but this deficiency was occasioned
by a season of uncommon drought, by which the cotton crop
had been materially injured."
"It is cultivated in almost every part of the island by the
natives. The kingdom of Bantam, however, is excepted, where
little of it is found, so that the yarn which is spun of it in the
province of Cheribon and other parts yields a considerable
degree of gain on being clandestinely imported into Bantam.
*' The Company, to whom the greater part of it is delivered, pay
for it, according to its qualities, 45, 35, 24, and less rix dollars
per picul of 125 pounds, equal to the respective rates of ll^d.,
IS^d., and 9-f:^d. sterling per pound. Jacatra and the Preanger
lands furnished in the year 1753 the quantity of about 200 piouls
or 25,000 pounds of cotton yarn, and (as mentioned) in 1768 only
133 piculs. The greater part of the cotton yarn is sent to Holland.
" Attempts have been made to introduce the manufacture of
cotton cloths as an article of trade for the Company and to
supersede part of their large importations of the article from
Hindostan, but hitherto with very little success."
In 1778 cotton yarn, " the production of the colony of
Jaccatra," was sold in Holland to the value of 20,000fl.
I have never come across any statistics of cotton pro-
duction, and I doubt if there have ever been any published.
The consumption is purely local, and the natives employ
it lor weaving cloths for themselves, from which durable
jackets, etc., are made.
Rice. — The oldest record of rice {Oryza sativa) is from
B.C. 2800, when the Chinese Emperor Chi Nung performed
a ceremony, which was done yearly, of planting some rice
plants with his own hands.
In India, contrary to expectations, no mention is made
THE INDUSTRIES OF JAVA 977
of rice in the ancient vedas until b.c. 1000, but it by no
means follows that it was not known before this.
As to Java, philological investigations have conclusively
been able to prove that the oldest aboriginal inhabitants
cultivated rice in irrigated fields divided into terraces
centuries before the Christian era.
Tradition and legend carried down from this period
states that the rice industry was originally introduced by
the Hindus, but there is naturally some doubt as to this,
for, as stated in Chapter L, all the technical terms employed
in the culture are other than Sanscrit, unlike what is
found in the case of the various Hindu introductions into
Java. It might have been introduced by the Malays, but
they came to Java too late. It is more likely, therefore,
to have been introduced by some race who had learnt it
from the Chinese. What race, therefore, could this be but
an Indonesian one ?
In any case the Hindu dominion in Java cannot have had
anything but a favourable influence on the cultivation of
rice, and the old patriarchal desah (village) ownership of
tracts, which were divided amongst the tjatjars (families),
who again subdivided them individually, was a powerful
factor working towards the solidarity of the community,
which had thus one common interest.
This communal o^^Tlership was certainly introduced from
India, being the counterpart of the old tribal customs of
the ancient Aryans, by which the owners of the soil were the
lords of the land.
The curious thing about rice is that, as we have said, of
all the names belonging to it (there is one for every state
of it) not a single one can be traced to a Sanscritic origin
such as would have been expected had the Hindus intro-
duced it.
For instance, it is padi, pari, or pare when it is growing
in the saivahs (rice-fields) ; gaba when the first husk is
J. — VOL. II. Y
978 JAVA
removed ; husked it becomes hras ; charroop, when cleaned
for boihng, and nasi when boiled. The grain of the year
before is called oossay and the rice sprouts before trans-
plantation hunnee. None of these terms belong to the
Sanscrit.
Eice was brought to Europe shortly after Alexander the
Great made his descent into India in B.C. 327, but neither
in the Old Testament nor in the New is the w^ord for it
found ; in the Talmud here and there mention is made
of it.
Theophrastus speaks of rice under the name of oryze or
oryza, and after this it is repeatedly met with in Greek and
Roman literature. At the time of the birth of Christ it
had already become an important article of commerce in
the Roman Empire.
The result of traditions, which have become an integral
part in the life of the Javanese, is such that from the laws
of their ancestors they will allow no departure.
Rice culture has here become a sort of superstition, and
the ancient law of the Hindus that each desah and each
tjatjar must plant so much is, whenever possible, rigidly
adhered to. The Javanese say it is their duty to grow rice,
even though under certain conditions it might be of greater
advantage to them to grow some other plant. It is just
the same in the Pacific islands, where the natives are under
moral obligations to plant ten cocoanut trees each before
they die.
The rice-fields are tilled as in the days of the Hindus
and the implements are the same, and this notwithstanding
that the Dutch officials have for years endeavoured to
bring in a more rational method, which would enable the
Javans to harvest larger crops and make the work easier.
No demonstrations, no advice, and no instructions have
the slightest effect upon the conservatism of this race,
who maintain that for so many thousand years the present
THE INDUSTRIES OF JAVA 979
system has been in vogue, and that so far it has done well.
Why, therefore, they ask, should it not continue to be well,
and what proof is there that the new methods in the long
run will prove more efficient ? To alter these ancient customs
would entail, therefore, such a gigantic task, besides possibly
— nay, probably — causing a rising amongst the inhabitants,
that the Dutch after ripe consideration have decided to
leave well alone.
The harvests on the whole are not bad, even in the poorest
districts, whilst in the richest — the Kedoe, for instance —
three crops yearly are in the ground. Where, indeed, in
the world is there such a soil ?
Here the Javan " puts into the soil " what he wishes to
grow in his own primitive way, and Dame Nature does the
rest. In many instances he tills not, nor even sows, yet
his food-plant grows and tlirives.
Manuring or maintaining and nourishing the soil may be
unknown, and yet the plants flourish.
The result of all this is that what with the climate and the
soil the Javan is a born husbandman.
In the days of the old Dutch East India Company the
following account is given of rice; it might have been wTitten
to-day, or it could have been written B.C. 1000, for every-
thing was the same then as now : —
" Oryza or rice is the second product of Java,^ and is collected
in large quantities, especially in the empire of Java proper.
It grows chiefly in fenny ground. After it has been sown and has
shot up above two or three hand breadths above the ground, it
is transplanted by little bundles of six or more plants, in rows ;
then by damming up the many rivulets which abound in this
country, the rice is inundated in the rainy season, and kept under
water till the stalks have attained sufficient strength, when the
land is drained by opening the dams, and it is soon dried by the
great heat of the sun.
1 Really it was the first, but the East India Company, not having pene-
trated yet into the interior of Java, was not aware of this.
Y 2
980 JAVA
" At the time of the rice harvest the fields have much the same
appearance as our wheat and barley fields, and afiord an equally
rich scene of golden uniformity. The sickle is not used in reaping
rice, but instead of it a small knife, with which the stalk is cut
about a foot under the ear, this is done one by one, and they are
then bound into sheaves, the tenth of which is the reward of the
mower. Java has been called the granary of the East, on account
of the immense quantity of rice which it produces ; the other
islands in this neighbourhood yield little or none, except Celebes,
where enough is grown to provide Amboyna with this staff of life."
Rice is sown everywhere in Java ; there is not a district
without it. It is the staff of life, and is to the Javans
what wheat is to us. If the rice crop failed, there would be
a famine to-morrow. Enough, however, cannot nowadays
be grown for the huge population, and shiploads have there-
fore to be imported yearly.
The higher grades of rice, such as that which comes from
the crack estates of " Indramayoe West " and " Kandan-
ghaner," are sold for the European market, where the
demand for such qualities at handsome prices is invariably
found.
Indigo. — From very ancient times the use of indigo
(Indigofera tinctoria) was known in Asia, and in the days
when Rome was at her height it was imported under the
name of pigmentum indicum. It was introduced into Java
by the Hindus, and was spoken of by Marco Polo when he
visited Java in the thirteenth century as " endego." From
this it is possible tliat the name " indigo " arose. In Tamil
he indigo plant goes by the name of averie, the dye by that of
neelum. In Sanscrit the indigo plant is called vishashodami
and the dye nili or nilini, which means " dark blue," and
from this the Portuguese made " anil " and the English
" aniline."
Among the Malays the indigo plant is called taroem, among
the Javans torn ; whilst the dye among both goes by the
Sanscrit word nila, or nili.
THE INDirSTRIES OF JAVA 981
Indigo was imported into Holland already in the six-
teenth century ; the import was probably from British
India.
From Holland the art of indigo dyeing spread to England,
France and Germany. Up to this time in all these countries
" woad " or " weede " {Isatis tinctoria) had been in common
use. This was known in the days of the Picts and Scots,
and old history tells us how the Romans found the ancient
Britons painted with " woad." It was a dye extracted
from leaves.
At the time of Queen Elizabeth an attempt was made to
introduce indigo into England, but she endeavoured to
prevent it, in which attitude she was followed by the
Regensburger Ryksdag, of Germany, in 1594. In France
a law was passed in 1609 that anyone caught using indigo
should be punished by death. To such an extent, indeed,
did the agitation against indigo proceed that the dyers of
Neurenberg had yearly to take an oath that they would
only use *' woad " when dyeing.
Indigo was called the " devil's dye."
By 1631 a change, however, had taken place, and the
Dutch East India Company was able to place three shiploads
of a value of half a million guilders.
In 1737 the use of indigo in France was permitted.
The following is a short account of indigo during the
Company's time : —
" Indigo, although not an original production of Java, has
been cultivated with tolerable success since the Company has
been established at Jacatra, insomuch that whereas formerly
that article was obliged to be sent for from the empire of the Great
Mogul, and special firmans were obtained with some difficulty
for that purpose, that trade has now been abandoned in Hindostan,
and instead of being purchasers, the Company have been able
to be sellers of a considerable quantity of the article. The
Company pay for the first quality thirty stivers per pound and
in proportion for the second and third qualities ; the indigo is
982 JAVA
sorted upon its delivery at Batavia by a person specially appointed
for that purpose.
" In the year 1768 Jacatra furnished 2,875 pounds of indigo,
though the inhabitants have been assessed at the quantity of
6,125 pounds."
Owing to the manufacture of the synthetic article, indigo-
growing is diminishing every year, the land being turned
into tobacco or sugar plantations.
There is still a fair quantity used locally by the native
dyeing industry, but there is no future for this plant, and its
cultivation in Java will soon be reduced to a minimum.
From an export of 2,260,804 lbs. in 1886, which rose to
3,310,417 lbs. in 1891, the export has dropped to 218,383 lbs.
CHAPTER XIX
Miscellaneous
Part I
Inhabitants: — Complexion — Manners — Marriages — Titles and Rank —
Dwellings — Native Palaces — Furniture — Dress — Meals — Fermented
Liquors — Siri or Betel — Opium. Religion — Lontjar Leaves and
Hindu Records — The Arabian Nights. Language. Poetry. Music.
Painting. Arithmetic. Astronomy. Architecture and Sculpture.
Games. Sports. Festivals. Amusements and Entertainments.
Dancing. Ceremonies of the Court — Regalia — Processions — ^Pomp.
Inhabitants. — The inhabitants of Java at the present
day seem more or less to owe their origin to the same stock
as do the inhabitants of most of the islands in the East
Indian Archipelago with the exception of New Guinea.
This is borne out by the striking likenesses in person,
feature, language, and customs which prevail, all denoting in
an unmistakable way that the original population, whatever
its source, was one stock, notwithstanding the special
peculiarities which now and again distinguish the different
nations and communities into which it is at present dis-
tributed. Such peculiarities are due entirely to long
separation, local circumstances, the intercourse with foreign
traders, and to emigrants and settlers from almost all
quarters of the globe. This race is commonly called Malay,
and the stocks which formed it are Tartar and Hindu.
At what period these elements mixed and spread their
numerous and wide-spreading branches over the neighbour-
ing countries it is difficult to state ; but there is no doubt
that the Malay Peninsula was populated by Hindus, who
had penetrated as far east as Cochin China and ruled over
984 JAVA
great empires in Cambodja several hundred years before
the Christian era.
The Malay race now resembles very closely the population
one meets with between Siam and Manchuria, and it is
astonishing how very like the Chinese traders in Java who
adopt the local costume are to the Malays ; they can hardly
be distinguished from them, especially when the pigtail is
cut off. On the other hand, numbers of natives in Java, if
closely studied, have a physiognomy closely resembling that
of the Chinese. The Malay people may be distinguished by
a short, rather squat, robust, fleshy build, and by features
entirely different from those of a European. The face is
somewhat lozenge-shaped, the forehead and chin being
sharpened, while the cheek bones are decidedly broad. The
eyebrows, or superciHary ridges, project very little, and the
eyes are narrowish and placed rather obHquely in the head,
the outward corners being the highest. The nose is small,
but has not, hke the negro, the appearance of being flattened,
and the apertures of the nostrils, which in the European are
linear and parallel, in the Malay are nearly circular and
divergent, for, the septum narium being much thicker
towards the face, they are entirely out of the parallel. The
mouth is in general well shaped ; the hair is harsh, lank,
and deep black.
In general, however, the inhabitants of Java are some-
what darker than the tribes of the neighbouring islands,
especially the inhabitants of the middle and eastern districts,
who have more delicate features and bear a distinct impres-
sion of Indian colonisation, and a deeper admixture of Hindu
blood, than in those of the western or Sunda districts.^
1 It seems almost as if another race were growing up in Java, namely, a
Dutch-Malay type, for the numbers of mixed parentage are increasing
yearly. The line of demarcation is very strongly drawn in the British
colonies between full-blooded Europeans and half-castes, but not so in the
Dutch East Indies. This is a mistake for which the Dutch wiD probably
suffer one day. Every chUd lawfully acknowledged by a Dutchman has
A CLUB-HOUSE IN JAVA.
C()M()l;i>lA ( LLIi, KATAVIA. (^THK FIKST MILITARY (LIB UK .lAVA.
MISCELLANEOUS 985
Complexion. — In complexion the Javans, as well as the
other Eastern islanders, may be considered rather as a
yellow than as a copper-coloured or black race. Their
standard of beauty in this respect is a virgin-gold colour,
except in some districts in the mountainous parts of the
country, where a ruddier tinge is occasioned by a harsher
and colder climate. They lack, however, that degree of
red requisite to give them a copper hue. Even those that
live in the highest districts in the Dieng or Tenger Mountains
do not obtain the deep hue of the Negro or Hindu, or the
clear bloom of the European.
In Middle Java around Matarem the natives or real
Javans are distinctly happy, good-looking and more
regular-featured, while their complexions are generally far
clearer than their relations in other parts of the island.
This is of course what might be expected, seeing that
this was the seat of Hinduism for nearly fifteen hundred
years.
Manners. — The manners of the Javans are easy, courteous,
and respectful, even to timidity, thus denoting high birth.
They have a great sense of propriety, and are never rude or
abrupt.
In their deportment they are pliant and graceful, the
people of position and refinement carrying with them an
air of fashion, and receiving the gaze of the curious with-
out being at all disconcerted. In their utterance they
are circumspect and slow, pondering over what they say
before speaking, though they are by no means de-
ficient in animation when this is called for.
In Middle Java especially, where the courts of the native
princes are, the politeness and courtesy of the inhabitants
are very noteworthy. The countenance is mild, placid,
as full and complete righta as a Dutchman, and even if the child is not
legally acknowledged it makes no difference to him. Important Govern-
ment positions nowadays are sometimes held by these half-castes.
986 JAVA
open and thoughtful, and easily expresses respect, gaiety,
earnestness, indifference, anxiety, or bashfulness.
Marriages. — Marriage among the Malays is a matter of
light importance, and separations take place on the slightest
grounds, while new connections are formed with equal
frivolity and caprice ; but in whatever light morality may
view this practice, and however detrimental it would be
to a population in a different state of society by leaving
the children of the marriage so dissolved to neglect and want,
it has no such consequences in Java.
Considering the age at which marriages are contracted,
the choice of the parties cannot be always expected to be
considerate or judicious. It may be observed, also, that
the women, although they do not appear old at twenty,
certainly lose that influence over their husbands which
depends upon their beauty and personal attractions sooner
than they do in colder climates.
In addition to this, there is little if any moral restraints
among any class of the community, and the religious maxims
and the indulgences practised by the Mahometan priest-
hood in regulating matrimonial sanctions have no tendency
to produce constancy or to repress inclination, even allowing
that such were possible in a tropical country with an
enervating climate such as Java. Dissolutions of marriage
are therefore of daily occurrence, and are obtained, one might
say, without any grounds, but as children are always valu-
able, and as there is scarcely any trouble in rearing or
providing for them, no change of mate in either party,
however often it may occur, leads to their abandonment or
neglect. Indeed, the ease of supporting the children,
which renders the practice less detrimental to an increase
of population, may be one of the principal reasons why it
is generally followed and so little checked.
No professed prostitution nor promiscuous intercourse
is the consequence of this weakness of the nuptial tie. The
MISCELLAXEOUS 987
tie is rather brittle than loose ; it is easily dissolved, but
while it remains it generally, although not always, ensures
fidelity.
Owing to the ease of obtaining matrimonial separations
which allows a successive change of wives, the desire of
possessing more than one at a time is not as a rule found in
Java among the lower inhabitants. Polygamy is of course
permitted, as in all other Mahometan countries, by religion
and law, and all the sovereigns, princes and regents of the
country practise it. The sultans are allowed four wives,
the regents two, but besides this they may, according to
custom, keep as many concubines as they please, and they
all of them have harems of ten to fifty comely young maidens
who are constantly replaced as soon as their looks begin to
fade or their lord begins to weary of them. In these harems
young half-caste girls — that is to say, of a Dutch father
and a native mother — are frequently taken up and on the
whole generally well treated. It also happens that the
Chinese now and again present the sultan or prince, as the
case may be, with a young Chinese girl brought down with
considerable care from China and remarkable for her beauty.
In return for this some benefit or other is expected to be
granted to those of their race who are locally situated.
Care, however, is taken beforehand to inquire whether such
a gift is welcome, which it usually is.^
, The number of children born from these marriages or
connections is extraordinary, and is said frequently to
reach well over a hundred, and has even been known to
exceed two hundred, the father in all cases of any such
marriage being undoubtedly the same. One of the regents
of Tuban was the father of certainly sixty-eight, and another
one hundred and twenty.
This appropriation of numerous women as wives or
1 The late Pangeran Adipati (the Crown Prince) of Jokjakerta'a second
wife was Chinese.
988 JAVA
concubines is partly the result of the political power of
the native authorities over the lower classes.
Formerly, in Bantam, polygamy is said to have been
almost a blessing, there being, according to an old report,
ten women to one man. One might be almost led to con-
clude that here was a case particularly favourable to poly-
gamy, and that such an institution was an arrangement by
Nature intended for the multiplication of the species rather
than an abuse contributing to lessen it.
It is, however, still a question whether this report is
entirely correct.
Titles. — The sovereign, who is nowadays called either
Susuhunan (Susunan, Sunan) or Sultan, is the fountain of
honour, the source of all distinction and the highest dignity
in the land.
His family are called Pangerans (Princes) and his queens
Eatus. The heir apparent, commonly called the Crown
Prince, is the Pangeran Adipate and the prime minister is
Raden Adipati. Governors of provinces, called by the
Dutch Regents, are styled Bopatis, Tumungungs or
Angabeis, and rank as nobility.
All the inferior chiefs, including those termed Radens,
Mantris, Demangs, Luras, and others, except the heads of
villages, termed Kuwus, Bukuls, Pating'gis (who are elected
by the common people out of their own number for the
performance of specific duties), may be considered as
petite nohlesse.
In judicial affairs the Jaksa is the chief (although the
Panghulu or High Priest is actually higher in rank), and
his assistant is called Paliwara and the officers of his
court Kerta. These titles date to the days of Majapahit,
if not further back.
On the establishment of the Mahometan religion, in
Anno Javan 1400, a new gradation of rank and order of
titles was introduced by the Sultan of Demak as follows : —
MISCELLANEOUS 989
The sovereign, instead of being called Eatu/ as in the
Hindu time, took the name of Susuhunan or Sultan, and
the queen was called Ratu. The title of Panambahan was
conferred as the highest in rank next to the sovereign and
above the princes of the blood, who were now termed
Pangeran or Pangeran Aria. The princesses born of the
queen were termed Ratu, and the daughters of concubines
Raden Ayu. The sons of the princes w^ere called Raden
Mas until they were married, when they were termed Raden
only ; their daughters before marriage were called Raden
Ajeng, and after marriage Raden Ayu.
When a Bopati, or governor of a province, is appointed
he is furnished with a piagam ^ or letters patent, fixing his
rank and the assignment of lands conferred upon him ;
also with a bawat or stick, similar to that of the payung,
or umbrella, in length about 8 feet, with which it is his
duty to measure the sawah or rice-fields.
When a chief of the rank of Mantri is appointed, he is
furnished with a kris-handle and with a mat, which is
intended to be carried behind him when he moves about,
as well for use as to show his rank.
Bank. — The gradations of rank among the Javans is
marked by the dress and by the manner of putting on the
kris, but a more definite line is drawn by the payung or
umbrella, which is subject to the following regulation,
handed down from time immemorial : —
1. The sovereign alone is entitled to the golden payung.^
2. The ratu, or queen, and the members of the royal
family to the yellow payung.
3. The family of the ratu and the family of the sovereign
by his concubines to the white payung.
1 Sometimes also Datu, Raja, Maharaja, Bitara.
2 Sometimes called piagem.
3 It was assumed by the European Governor (Resident) or his repre-
sentative, until Governor- General van Heutz in 1907 put an end to this
practice.
10
990 JAVA
4. The bopatis and tumung'gungs to the green payung,
edged and mounted with gold.
5. The ang'ebais, rang'gas, mantris, etc., to the red
payung.
6. The heads of villages and other petty officers to the
dark payung.
The full titles of the susuhunan are — Paku Buvana,^
Senapati Ingalaga,^ Ngabdoerrahman,^ Sajidin,* Panata-
gama,^ and of his rightful wives, Ratu ^ with the honorary
name of Kantjana' or Kant j ana Woengoe,® Mas,® Bendara,
Sepoeh," Anem,^^ Madu Retna,^^ Ageng.^*
The full titles of the sultan are — Amangku Buvana,^^
Senapati Ingalaga,^ Ngabdoerrahman,^ Sajidin,* Panata-
gama,^ Kalipatoellah.^®
It will be seen that the titles of both the susuhunan and
the sultan are nearly the same, although according to the
former, not only is that of susuhunan slightly above that of
sultan, but Paku Buvana is also greater than Amangku
Buvana ; nor does the addition of Kalipatoellah to the
latter improve the position. The sultan, however, thinks
otherwise ; hence there is a rivalry.
* *' Axis of the Universe."
2 " The Commander-in-Chief."
^ Really, Abd-ar-Rahman (Arabic), meaning " Servant of the Merciful,"
that is, of Allah.
* Really, Shah-i-din (Persian), " Head of Religion."
' " Regulator of Religion."
6 According to Javan history the first wife who bore the title of Ratu
was Ratu Kalinjamat, the daughter of the third Sultan of Demak.
7 "Gold."
8 " Mauve Gold." These two titles (7) and (8) stand on a much higher
plane than the following.
9 " Gold."
'0 "Mistress."
" " The Old."
" " The Young."
18 The Sanscrit for Madhu, " honey," and Ratna, " jewel."
» " The Great."
16 " The Person who has the Axis of the World on his Knees."
16 Really, Chalifat Allah (Arabic), meaning " Representative of Allah."
THK MILITARY AND CIVIL HOSPITAL AT T.JILATJAP.
THK CROWN PRINCE Ol' .lUCKJAKARlA I.N PKoCKSSION WITH THK ASSl.STANT-RKSIDKNT.
MISCELLANEOUS 991
Sometimes the first wife of the susuhunan is called Ratu
Paku Buvana, but the first wife of the sultan is never
called Ratu Amangku Buvana, but Ratu Sultan. The
wives of the regents or bopatis are called Raden Ajoe or
Ayu.
I may here remark that the whole population of Java and
Madura, from the susuhunan and the sultan down to the
lowest, is given in quite a remarkable manner to etiquette
and personal politeness and courtesy towards rank. This
characteristic is not only to be seen in the higher ranks,
but also in the lower, unlike what one finds in Europe or
America among the people of the lower classes. In a word,
one has to do in Java with a people of extremely high rank
and derived from a very high-bred race. Of course, in
the coast ports, where the natives have been brought more
in contact with Europeans, their manners have suffered
slightly, and they have become rather more free when
dealing with European civilians.
Dwellings. — The cottage or hut of the common man
costs at its first construction from 2 to 6 rupees, say, 35.
to 10s., and is built on the ground. The sides or walls are
made of bambus, flattened and plaited together, and the
roof is either thatched with long gi'ass, \\ath the leaves of
the nipa, or with a kind of bambu sirap. The form and size
of these cottages, as well as the materials employed, depend
of course to a certain extent on the circumstance of the
individual, and whilst in some cases plaster of a sort adorns
the inner walls in order to keep out wind and weather,
the construction is so slight as scarcely to be a protection
against either. In the eastern districts, where a greater
scarcity is felt of the requisite materials than in the western,
wood is more frequently used than bambu, and the interior
as well as the front verandah are raised 2 feet from the
ground.
Windows are never made, not being necessary. The
992 JAVA
light is admitted by the door alone. This deficiency is
not an inconvenience in a cHmate where all domestic opera-
tions can be and are performed in the open air, and where
shade from the sun rather than shelter from the weather,
except during the rainy season, is required.
The w^omen perform their usual occupation of spinning
or weaving in the front of their houses, where they are
protected from the rays of a vertical sun by an extended
projection of the pitch of the roof. Their household duties
are also slight, and mainly consist in boiling rice and having
the daily dried fish and chillies ready for their master
when he returns from his agricultural labours, which last
generally from 7 in the morning until mid- day.
The houses of the regents are distinctly more imposing
in appearance, and are built mainly of wood or bricks
and plaster, and contain generally six or seven rooms,
besides out-quarters for the attendants. In front there is
usually a covered assembly hall, broad and capacious in
size, with supports and beams of thick wood, called the
mendopo or bangsal, that is, meeting-place.
Such a habitation costs roughly about £1,000, but if
the political importance of the regent happens to be rather
great, it may cost as much as seven or eight times that
amount. The floorings of these buildings at the present
time are as a rule made of elegant European tiles, and
it is not an uncommon thing, to please some fad of a
regent, or in return for valuable and confidential service
on some special occasion, for the Dutch Government to
show their appreciation by giving a special new flooring
in some more expensive pattern than the one hitherto
in use.
The Chinese live either in wooden shanties, like the
common natives, or in brick buildings, according to their
means. The elders or rich ones among them, however —
and there are many — live in magnificent palatial mansions.
MISCELLANEOUS 993
which have cost from £10,000 to £20,000, and in a few
instances considerably more.^
Native Palaces. — The dweUing or palace of the sultan or
susuhunan is distinguished by the names Kadaton or Kraton,
being contractions, the former probably from Ka-datu-nan
and the latter from Ka-ratu-nan, " the place of the Datu
or Eatu " (prince). Those of the regents or bopatis are
styled Dalam.
The kraton, or palace of the prince, is an extensive square,
surrounded by one or more high walls, without which there
is a moat or deep ditch. In the front is a large open square
sometimes covered with grass, called the alim alun. On the
walls of the kraton, which are several feet thick and there-
fore can be considered as the rampart of a citadel, are
cannon, and inside are numerous spaces divided up by thick
walls forming squares and compartments, each having its
own particular designation and answering some specific
purpose existing in bygone ages.
Separate quarters are assigned within these walls to the
royal family, and to all those who may be considered by
birth or otherwise as attached to the person of the sovereign,
or to that of the princes.
In the centre of the alun alun are always two waringen
trees, which have been considered as a mark or sign of the
royal residence from the time of the Hindu colonisation.
1 One of the many mansions of the rich Samarang Chinese merchant
Major Oei Tiong Ham at Gegadjie (his daughter Angelina married the
Englishman B. Caulfield Stoker, late manager of Messrs. Burt, Myrtle &
Co., Java, but now living in London, and working at the head of his father-
in-law's business) is said to have cost not less than £40,000, but this probably
included the laying out of magnificent and wonderful pleasure -gardens »
such as one reads of in Marco Polo's travels. The palace, however, of the
Captain Chinaman of Pasoeroean, the owner of the sugar fabrick Pleret
(formerly in the possession of the Smissaert, van der Eb, and Heyn
families), is estimated to have cost the equivalent of at least £50,000
to £60,000 sterling, and may actually have cost very much more. The
floorings, galleries, terraces, etc., throughout are of the most superb white
marble.
J. — VOL. II. Z
994 JAVA
On one side of the alun alun the Mahometan mosque
invariably stands.
The alun alun and waringen trees are also customary
wherever there is a regent or nobleman residing. They are
not limited to sovereigns only, and are a sign of nobility.
The alun alun, I suppose, corresponds to our village gi'een,
being the place where the community congregate on high
days or public holidays, that is, rehgious festival days in
the Mahometan calendar.
Furniture. — The furniture of the huts of the lower orders
is very simple, and consists of but few articles. Their bed,
as with the Sumatrans, is a fine mat with a number of pillows,
and has generally some part in coloui'ed cloths extended
over the head in the form of a canopy. They use neither
tables nor chairs, but their meals are served up on large
brass or wooden waiters, with smaller vessels of brass or
chinaware for the different kinds of food. They sit cross-
legged, and, in common with other Mahometans, only use the
right hand at their meals. They usually take up their food
between the fingers and thumb and throw it into the mouth.
In the dwellings of the higher classes the articles of
furniture are more numerous and expensive. Kaised beds,
with many pillows piled one above the other, and mats and
carpets are common in all ; and many of the rooms of the
chiefs are furnished with looking-glasses, chairs, tables, etc.
Most of these were at first introduced for the accommodation
of European visitors, but are now gi'adually becoming
luxuries, in which the chiefs take delight, and being the
luxuries of the present generation they will be the necessities
of the next.
They are very partial to illuminations, and, on days of
festivity, ornament the gardens by their dwellings with
much taste and design by working the young shoots of the
coconut, the bambu, and various flowers in festoons and
other contrivances.
MISCELLANEOUS 995
The canopy over the table, bed, or other place selected
for any particular purpose is universal.
This canopy is generally of chintz, which in olden days
came from Western India.
In all the provinces the chiefs have rooms fitted up in the
European style for the accommodation of the officers of
Government, and none of them hesitates to sit down at
table with his visitor and join in the entertainment.
Dress. — The natives of Java are in general better clothed
than those of India. In the mountainous districts warm
clothing is indispensable. Formerly they were clothed from
the produce of their own soil and labour, but in more recent
times they have "willingly taken their dress, or the material
to make it, from foreign countries, and the looms of Man-
chester are kept busy for them. Previous to the introduction
of Dutch and English products, blue cloth and chintzes
were extensive articles of import from Bengal, even to the
days almost of Majapahit, when a trade was carried on with
the Coromandel coast by small vessels of 15, 20, or 30 tons.
The chiefs consume considerable quantities of broadcloths,
velvet, and other fabrics in the jackets, pantaloons, and other
articles of dress they now wear.
Although the general character of the native costume is
preserved, the tendency is to adopt many of the more
convenient parts of the European dress. Under the
institutions of the country a particular kind of dress is
assigned to each rank, and there are some patterns of cloth
the use of which is prohibited, except to the royal family.
These sumptuary laws have become, however, more or less
obsolete.
There are also distinctions of rank expressed by the
different modes of wearing the ki-is.
The principal article of dress common to all classes in the
archipelago is the sarong, which has been described as not
milike a Scotchman's plaid in appearance, being a piece of
z 2
996 JAVA
doth with allegorical designs on it about 6 or 8 feet long
and 3 or 4 feet wide sewed together at the ends, forming, as
some writers have described it, a wide sack without a bottom
or top. The sarong is either worn slung over the shoulders
as a sash or tucked round the waist and descending to the
ankles, so as to enclose the legs like a petticoat.
The patterns in use among the Malays and Bugis are
universally tartan, but besides these the Javans pride
themselves on a great variety of others, the common people
only wearing the tartan pattern, while others prefer the
Java hatek or painted cloths. On occasions of state they
wear instead of a sarong a cloth termed dodot, which is made
either of cotton or silk, but generally of the latter, and is
much larger. This is worn in the same way, but from its
size and the manner of its being tucked up it falls in a kind
of drapery which is peculiar to Java.
The men of the lowest class generally wear a pair of coarse
short drawers reaching towards the knee, with the sarong
or jarit (worn as the ordinary clothing of the country, which
differs from the foregoing sarong in not being united at the
ends) folded round the waist and descending below the knees
like a short petticoat. This cloth sarong is, however,
tucked up when the labourer is at work, but loosened and
allowed to descend to its full length in the presence of and
before addressing a superior.
It is fastened round the waist by a narrow waistband or
belt called a sabuh.
Some Javans also wear a jacket called kalamhi, rather like
what is known as the Eton jacket without its point at the
back. Especially is this the case with the native attendants
on Europeans and in Government or mercantile offices.
A handkerchief is always folded round the head. With
the Malays this handkerchief is generally of the tartan
pattern, but among the Javans it is of the batak cloth, and
put on more in the manner of a turban than is the handker-
RESIDENT S HOUSE, PEKALONGAN.
'sT. #«jm:&>.-
ASSISTAXT-KKSIDK.NT S HOLSK Al TULAT.IAl'.
MISCELLANEOUS 997
chief oE a Malay, the crown of the head being covered with
it and the ends tucked in. The kris, except in the case of
the Javans, is less worn nowadays than formerly, but when
worn it is suspended at the back half above and half below
the waist, at an angle of 45 degrees.
The women wear the sarong tucked round their loins, but
folded somewhat differently from that worn by the men.
The waistband or girdle by which it is fastened they term
udat.
Eound the body, passing barely above the breasts, close
under the arms and descending to the waistband, is rolled
a tight body cloth termed kemhan.^ The women wear
nothing on their heads, although the belles sometimes carry
a sweet-smelling flower in their hair, a camellia perhaps, or
something equally pungent.
A man's dress costs him 5 or 6 rupees at the most (105.),
and a woman's only slightly more.
The children ot the lower orders go naked until near the
age of puberty, which is earlier in the tropics than elsewhere.
In the com*t or full dress the shoulders, arms, and body
down to the waist are entirely bare. This is of course only
in the case of the men, the women having only the shoulders,
arms, and a portion of the body bare, the kemban being
rigidly drawn tight over the breasts as low as possible
without actually showing them.
The higher orders and the regents nowadays assume
European clothes when moving in public, consisting of
white drill pantaloons and a closed-up patrol jacket of the
same material. The sultan and susuhunan on state occasions
frequently adorn themselves in the Dutch general's uniform,
and wear the medals and orders they have earned for good
conduct.
Since the loss of the Makota, or golden cro^via of Majapahit,
the principal diamond of which has sometimes been said to
* Nowadays this is hardly in use outside the kraton.
998 JAVA
have been as large as a pigeon's egg, both the susuhunan
and sultan on public occasions, when they have to meet the
European authorities without the reception being a state
one, wear a velvet hat or cap of a particular fashion some-
what differing at each court. That of the susuhunan
resembles what is called the Madura hat in consequence of
its being still worn by the Madura family, and that of the
sultan has a golden garuda ^ affixed at the back and two
wings of gold extending from behind the ears.
They both wear breeches, stockings, shoes and buckles
after the European fashion.
The jamang or golden plate, which was worn over the
forehead, as well as a variety of golden ornaments worn
round the neck and arms, which formerly made up the most
splendid part of the costume, are now disused except at
marriages, when an endeavour is made to exhibit the ancient
costume of the country in all its brilliant gorgeousness and
uniqueness.
The following picture of a Javan beauty, taken from one
of the most popular poems of the country, will serve to
place before the reader the standard of female elegance and
perfection in the island, and to convey an accurate idea of
the personal decorations on nuptial occasions and in dances.
It will at the same time afford a representation of what may
be considered to have formed the full dress of a female of
distinction before the introduction of Mahometanism.
The extravagant genius of Eastern poetry can paint such
fantastic images as none other can. The poem strangely
reminds one of the " Songs of Solomon," so much so that
either of the compositions might be ascribed to the author
of the other.
" Her face was fair and bright as the moon, and it expressed
all that was lovely.
" The beauty of Raden Putri far excelled even that of the
> The ancient mythological sacred bird of the Hindus of Java.
MISCELLANEOUS 999
widadari Dewi Rati : she shone bright even in the dark, and
she was without defect or blemish.
" So clear and striking was her brightness, that it flashed to
the sky as she was gazed at : the lustre of the sun was even
dimmed in her presence, for she seemed to have stolen from him
his refulgence.
" So much did she excel in beauty, that it is impossible to
describe it.
" Her shape and form were nothing wanting, and her hair when
loosened hung down to her feet, waving in dark curls : the short
front hairs were turned with regularity as a fringe, her forehead
resembling the chendana stone.
" Her eyebrows were like two leaves of the imbo tree ; the
outer angle of the eye acute, and slightly extended : the ball of
the eye full, and the upper eyelash slightly curling upwards.
" Tears seemed floating in her eye, but started not.
" Her nose was sharp, and pointed : her teeth black as the
kombang : her lips the colour of the newly-cut mangustin shell.
" Her teeth regular and brilliant ; her cheeks in shape like the
fruit of the duren : the lower part of the cheek slightly protruding.
" Her ears in beauty like the gianti flowers, and her neck like
unto the young and graceful gadung leaf.
•" Her shoulders even, like the balance of golden scales, her
chest open and full, her breasts like ivory, perfectly round and
inclining to each other.
" Her arms ductile as a bow, her fingers long and pliant, and
tapering like thorns of the forest.
" Her nails like pearls, her skin bright yellow, her waist formed
like the patram, when drawn from its sheath ; her hips as the
reversed limas leaf.
" Like unto the puduk flower when hanging down its head, was
the shape of her leg ; her foot flat with the ground ; her gait gentle
and majestic like that of the elephant.
" Thus beautiful in person she was clothed with a chindi
patola of a green colour, fastened round the waist with a golden
hilut or cestus : her outer garment being of the mega mendung,
dark clouded pattern.
" Her kemban [upper garment] was of the pattern jing'gomosi
edged with lace of gold : on her finger she wore a ring, the produc-
tion of the sea, and her ear-rings were of the pattern noto brongto.
" On the front of the ear -studs were displayed the beauties of
1000 JAVA
the segara munchar pattern [emeralds encircled by rubies and
diamonds], and she bound up her hair in the first fashion, fastening
it with the glung [knot] bobokoran, and decorating it with the
green champaka flower, and also with the gambir, melati and
minor flowers, and in the centre of it she fixed a golden pin, with
a red jewel on the top, and a golden flower ornamented with
emeralds.
" Her necklace was composed of seven kinds of precious stones,
and most brilliant to behold ; and she was highly perfumed,
without it being possible to discover from whence the scent
was produced.^
" Her jamang [tiara or head ornament] was the fashion sodo
saler and richly chased, her bracelets were of the pattern glang-
kana, and suited the jamang.
" Thus was the beauty of her person heightened and adorned
by the splendour of her dress."
Meals. — The Javans have two meals in the day, one just
before noon and one between 7 and 8 o'clock in the evening.
The former, which is the principal meal, corresponds with
the European dinner, and is called mangan-awan, or " day
meal " ; the latter is termed mangan wenge, or " evening
meal." They have no regular meal corresponding with the
European breakfast ; but those who go abroad early in the
morning usually partake of a basin of coffee and some rice
cakes before they leave their homes, or purchase something
of the kind at one of the numerous warongs (stalls) which
line the public roads and are to the common people as so
many coffee or eating-houses would be to the European.
Kice, coffee, cakes, boiled rice, soups, ready-dressed meats
and vegetables are at all times exposed in these warongs.
Wliat is thus taken by the Javans in the morning to break
their fast is considered as a "svhet only and is termed sarap.
The Javans eat their meals off the ground. A mat kept
for the purpose is laid on the floor (which, when the meal is
over, is again carefully rolled up, with the same regularity
Women in the East used sometimes to drink strong-smelling scents,
•which exuded later on from the pores of their body.
MISCELLANEOUS 1001
as the tablecloth in Europe), and a plate of rice being served
up to each person present, the whole family or party sit down
to partake of the meal in a social manner.
A principal dish, containing the sambel, jangan, or other
more highly seasoned preparation, is then handed round or
placed in the centre of the company, from which each person
adds what he thinks proper to the allowance of rice before
him.
Water is the principal and almost exclusive beverage,
and, among people of condition, it is invariably boiled first
and generally drunk warm. Some are in the habit of flavour-
ing the water with cinnamon and other spices, but tea
when it can be procured is drmik by all classes at intervals
during the day.
There are no natives in Java who cannot obtain their kati
or 1 J lbs. of rice a day, with perhaps a little dried fish, salt,
and leaves. Where rice is less abmidant its place is supplied
by maize or Indian corn, or from the variety of beans which
are cultivated. Even should a family from one cause or
another be driven into the woods, they would still be able
to obtain a bare subsistence from the numerous nutritious
roots, shoots, and leaves with which the forests abound.
Famine is therefore practically unknown ; and although
now and again partial failures of the rice crop may occur, it
is seldom so extensive as to be generally felt by the whole
community.
Fermented Liquors. — Generally speaking the Javans and
Malays are sober peoples. Two kinds of fermented liquor
are, however, prepared by the Javans called hadek and
hrom, the former from rice, the latter almost exclusively
from ketan or glutinous rice.
Arrack is prepared by the Chinese, who drink of it on
occasions of festivals and at parties.
Siri or Betel. — The chewing of betel-leaf (siri) and the
areka-nut (pinang), as well as of tobacco (tambako) and
1002 JAVA
gambir, is common to all classes. The siri and pinang are
used much in the same manner as by the natives of India.
These stimulants are considered nearly as essential to
comfort as salt is among Europeans.
The commonest labourer contrives to procure at least
tobacco and generally siri, and if he cannot afford a siri-
box, a small supply will be usually found in the corner of
his handkerchief. Every petty chief and his wife have
their siri-box, that of the man being termed epoh and that
of the woman chepuri. As in the case of the Sultan of
Jogjakerta, these siri-boxes are sometimes of solid gold
and bejewelled with rare workmanship ; they are then
considered as family heirlooms. Cardamoms and cloves
make up part of the articles in the siri-box of a person of
condition and quality.
Opium. — The use of opium has struck in certain districts
rather deeply into the habits of the natives, but not nearly
so much as might have been expected ; and although its
effects are generally held to degrade the character, enervate
the energies, and influence the morals, it is seldom one meets
in Java with a native who has reached such a stage. The
Chinese, however, freely use opium, and among them
various degrees of deterioration from its malignant influence
may be found.
Opium is either eaten in its crude state as manta or
smoked as chandu.
Religion, I. — The rehgion professed by the inhabitants
of the country is Mahometanism, but this is accompanied
by many superstitions, beliefs, and observances coming
from the religion of their idolatrous ancestors. In the
inland districts the natives have no abstract ideas on religion,
and can indeed form no ideas but such as arise immediately
from the gross observations of their senses. The tenets,
however, of Mahomet are in general strictly observed,
sometimes indeed the native not knowing the reason why.
THK HOUSE OF THE PUBLIC NOTARY OF HEMBANO, WITH THE NOTAKV,
JHK. .T. W. H. SMISSAERT, STANDING IN THE FRONT.
CLUB AT I'ASOEROEAN.
MISCELLANEOUS 1003
The mosques or places of prayer are dispersed all over
the country, and there is no town of any importance what-
ever that has not one. They are mostly built of wood, and
have neither outward show nor interior ornament to
recommend them to the curiosity of strangers. Near
Cheribon are still to be seen the remains, fairly preserved,
of a very handsome mausoleum, with the mosque belonging
to it, erected by the first Susuhmian of Cheribon five hundred
years ago. In the interior, and formerly outside, stand
various old China blue vases and plates, presented to the
Mahometan prince by the captain Chinaman whose daughter
was taken into his harem. A junk-load of such blue was
presented, in token, it is said, of high consideration, but
more likely with a view to securing greater favour for him-
self and his countrymen.
This mosque and mausoleum may rank among the most
cmious and magnificent of Mahometan antiquities in Java.
It is called Astana, or the Palace of the Susuhunan Gunung
Jati (" Monarch of the Mountain Djati Trees ").
It is a vast semicircular space or amphitheatre, seemingly
cut out of a rock, " the mountain of the djati trees," and
divided into five areas or courts, each rising above the other
and communicating vrith. one another by steps.
The front is guarded by a row of pahsadoes ; beyond
these is a wall about 5 feet high, faced with httle white and
painted Chinese tiles, in the middle of which seven steps
lead up to the first court, the largest and broadest of the
five. It is 100 feet in front ; on the wall are ranged nine
superb and inconceivably large china vases with flowers ;
two large trees grow on the left of this area. Another
wall exactly similar to the first divides this from the second
court ; at the foot of this wall stand, or did stand, on the
right hand seven and on the left six large and beautiful
china vases with flowers. The ascent to the second court
is by five steps ; and upon the wall are placed, on each side,
1004 JAVA
four similar large china vases ; eight trees are planted in
this court. The vases are so disposed that each one stands'
between two trees, except on the left side, where the irregu-
larity is observable of two trees standing together. In
this court are the remains of the handsome Javan houses
intended for the reception of the princes or great men who
might come upon a pilgrimage to this sacred place. Four
china vases with flowers are also placed in the upper part
of this court at the foot of the third wall.
A neatly-paved path leads quite across the second court
to the entrance of the third, which is through a handsome
gate and up four steps ; but this court, which is much
smaller than the other two and is guarded by a similar wall,
has nothing in it. No Christians are allowed to go higher
than this place, although the Governor- General Daendels
forcibly penetrated as far as the fifth and even the last
court. There is no wall before the fourth, but merely an
ascent by five steps cut in the rock ; here is a magnificent
Moorish temple or mosque, with three roofs one above the
other, all decreasing in size upwards ; and the area is
planted with trees on each side of the mosque. The ascent
from this to the last and smallest of the courts is probably
likewise by steps, but they are hidden by the mosque and
trees in the fourth. This farthest and most elevated area
seems to be only eight or nine paces broad on each side,
but it runs some way back in a semicircular shape ; in it
is seen only the tomb itself of the holy man. This, by
reason of the great height and distance, cannot be accurately
described ; it seems, however, to be a handsome and lofty
structure, with a large arched gate and some pretence to a
profusion of gilding.
It is necessary to observe that the whole is formed on a
slope, so that each court has a considerable acclivity
before reaching the entrance of the next ; this renders the
site of the tomb very elevated. The entrances are all
MISCELLANEOUS 1005
closed by small railed trees. The tomb and the buildings
appertaining to it are kept in very indifferent repair and are
falling fast to ruin.
Before the introduction of Mahometansim and the con-
struction of these mosques, the Javans worshipped at the
stone temples erected all over the island by the Hindus,
and a priesthood was maintained with an elaborate system
and on an unheard-of scale. There is perhaps no place in
the world more suitable than this land of perfect perpetual
summer for a priesthood to assume dimensions out of all
proportion to the need. The delight of the genial climate
to themselves — for they all lived in the mountains or cool
districts — and the superb beauty of the country, with its
thirty-five volcanoes dedicated by them to the god Siva,
must have induced them to coerce the Hindu rulers in
Hindustan into sending pilgrims and colonists to reside
here and build temples. Their hold on the people must
also have been great, for they kept away (being in a
bounteous country and soil) the evil effects of famine and
drought so frequent in their own land ; but in the end,
from Middle Java, with all their supernatural power, they
did not keep away disease, which was possibly an impor-
tation.
The Hindu priesthood of Java must at one time have
counted many thousands, and it is these men, who were for
the most part exceedingly clever, whom present generations
have to thank for the poems and literature of various kinds
which they have left behind them.
Lontar Leaves and Hindu Records. — These literary
remains were written on lontar leaf, the leaf of the lontar
palm. It is soaked in water for two weeks, after which it
is dried ; the leaf is then folded in two and is written upon
on both sides with a sharp pointed knife, that is to say
the characters are scratched on the leaf ; in order to make the
writing more distinct, the leaf is sprinkled over with the
1006 JAVA
dust obtained from the kemiri fruit, burnt and reduced to
powder.
Leaves thus treated are never eaten by insects, and last
several hundreds of years. When the leaf was getting old,
the priest copied the records before destroying them. In
later years, however, when Buddhism was beginning to
decay in Java, the lontar records were not duplicated ;
thus the greater part of the extremely valuable ancient
literature of Java, which contained a fund of information
about early times, was lost.
In Bali there are still among the Hindu priests books
full of lontar leaves held together by a piece of twine run
through a hole in each leaf and then fastened to two little
pieces of wood on the outer sides to keep the whole firmly
together.
Arabian Nights. — Most of the three higher castes in this
island, as well as the well-to-do Sudra tribe, are acquainted
with the Kawi or Sanscrit literature, and Wajang, or
theatrical performances, have not a little to do with this.
There are also frequent readings and songs from the fasci-
nating Kawi legends ; and it is said that the famous
" Thousand-and-One Nights " was written in no other
place than in this very island.
That they are not of Arabian origin, but a translation
from an Indian work, has been conclusively proved by
the researches made by von Schlegel, and the " Tantri-
Kamendaka," ^ which is written in pure Kawi, teems with
^ Here we also have the account of a prince Praboe Sri dara Patra,
who at the height of his power, and surrounded by grandeur, still failed
to find any gratification excepting in women, and every day he insisted
upon having a fresh and beautiful girl brought to him. To save her father,
Patih Bande S'warya, who had incurred the prince's anger by being unable
after some years to find him any fresh victims, Dijah Tantri, his lovely
daughter, offered to go and share the prince's bed herself. 'When he began
to overwhelm her with caresses, she was clever enough to free herself from
his amorous embraces and coaxed him into listening to a short tale. She
Bucceeded in so fascinating him that he could think of nothing else, and at
MISCELLANEOUS 1007
moral fables which remind one at every turn of the stories
out of the " Thousand-and-One Nights." It is worth
noticing, too, that just at that period numbers of Arabian
missionaries were making constant voyages to the Indian
Archipelago. Balinese literature is rich in works in Kawi
of great value on matters historical, philosophical, judicial,
religious, poetical, and humorous ; in fact to a great degree
it may be considered as the product of the old Buddhist
priesthood of Java, which fled to Bali five hundred years
ago before the Mahometan whirlwind had stripped their
religion of all its beauty, elegance, and pomp.
That in this hurried flight thousands of lontar records
must have been lost it is hardly necessary to observe, but it
is also likely that thousands were also lost when the entire
populace of Middle Java deserted the Brambanan, Boro-
Budur, Tjandi Mendut, and other temples, as it were, in a
single night. Such importable and unnecessary accessories
as archives would naturally be left behind. These when
rediscovered, if they ever were, would through age have
become valueless.
Religion, II. — Buddhism is an idolatrous worship of
gods ; at the same time it is a religion with more in it than
is generally thought, and its tenets or creed are in themselves
faultless.
It is the chief religion in Asia beyond the Ganges, and in
China, Japan and Ceylon, and originated with Gautama
Siddartha, the Sakya Muni Siva, generally termed Buddha
or *' the Enlightened," a prince of Kapahvastu, in Central
India, who is said to have been born b.c. 623 and to have
died B.C. 543. This prince is said about b.c. 594 to have
last lie fell asleep out of sheer weariness. Thus it was the next night, when
the prince conceded to her the privilege to continue her story, and so was
it a third and fourth and so on, till at last all her charming tales (which are
contained in the manuscript), her beauty, and her cleverness made her so
indispensable to the prince that he was quite cured of any desire ever to see
any one else.
1008 JAVA
become disgusted with the behaviour of the Brahmins/
whose loathsome w^ays he abhorred. He therefore retired
from the world, and then came forth anew and preached
liis rehgion ; this enjoined strict morahty, and forbade
killing, stealing, adultery, lying, drunkenness, and every
shade of those vices, whilst he declared charity or love
to be the source of all virtues. The broad outline of
Buddha's teaching is more easy for comprehension in the
four following dogmas : —
1. Existence is sorrow.
2. Desire for existence is the cause of sorrow.
3. The cessation of sorrow is effected by the eradication
of desire.
4. The way of hving which leads to the extinction of
sorrow is the practice of the right faith, right resolve,
right speech, right action, right effort, right recollected-
ness, right meditation according to the example of
Buddha.
This is the religion that penetrated the whole of India and
the East Indies in the tenth century, as recorded in the
ancient Vedas, or sacred books of the Hindus written in
^anscrit.^
Buddhism at one time in Java may have inclined slightly
towards Jainism, which is an offshoot of Brahminism,
differing in that it recognises a divine personal Euler of all,
and so politically leaning towards Buddhism. Its followers
beheve, however, that the world has been in existence from
all eternity, not having been created, and that it will last
for ever.^
^ Brahmins derive their name from Bramah, one of the three beings whom,
according to the theology, God created, and with whose assistance he founded
the world.
"^ " Veda " means knowledge. The earliest Veda is said to be B.C. 600,
although an ancient work of the Brahmins, the " Manava Dharma Sastra,"
^was compiled in B.C. 1300 from works of still greater antiquity.
* The Jains are a Hindu religious sect living in India at the present day.
MISCELLANEOUS 1009
No doubt the Javans were ripe for the Mahometan
reHgion when it came, and probably had long ago expressed
in silence the prayer of the great Mexican sovereign Neza-
hualcoyotl, as recorded by the Spanish historian ^ : —
" Truly the gods which I adore, idols of stone and wood,
speak not nor feel ; neither could they fashion the beauty of
the heavens, the sun, the moon, and the stars, nor yet the earth,
and the streams, the trees, and the plants which beautify it.
Some powerful, hidden and unknown God must be the creator
of the universe, and He alone can console me in my affliction, or
still the bitter anguish of this heart."
Language. — The extensive prevalence of the Java
language and its connection with the languages of continental
Lidia were not overlooked by those intelligent Europeans
who visited these islands at an early period. We find
Valentyn ^ quoting the authority of Flacourt, who pubhshed
his work in 1661, and of the Portuguese Joao de Barros
for conclusions with regard to the extent of Javan commerce
in remote ages, drawn from the resemblance traced between
the languages of Java and those of Madagascar and Ambon.
The Javans, this author observes,
*' must doubtless have visited Coromandel and Malabar, for the
high, or court, language is, in three parts out of four, derived from
the Sanscrit or Brahminical language. Many Malabar words
also enter into the composition, and it is besides composed in a
great measure from the Dekan, which is the ancient language
of India, in the same manner as the Sanscrit is the sacred
language."
The native populations of Java, Madura and Bali are
most intimately connected with each other in every respect,
they use exactly the same written character, and it appears
that one generic language prevails throughout these islands.
Of this generic language, however, there are four dialects,
1 See Prescott'a " Mexico."
a Volume IV., Book II., Chapter L
J. — VOL. 11. A A
1010 JAVA
differing so materially from each other as to be generally
considered separate languages. It is, however, rather by an
admixture of other languages than by mere difference of
dialect that they are distinguished.
These dialects or languages are the Sunda, spoken by the
inhabitants of the mountainous districts of Java west of
Tegal ; the Jawa or Javan, which is the general language
of Java east of Cheribon and throughout the districts lying
on the north coast of the island ; the Madura and the Bali,
being the dialects or languages belonging to these islands
respectively.
How far these dialects or languages are radically the same
and justify the opinion that one generic language prevails
through this area may be seen by an inspection of the
vocabularies given in Sir Stamford Eaffles' " History of
Java." The Lampung language is also there added on
account of the nearness of that part of Sumatra to Java and
of the intimate political connection which at all times has
subsisted between these peoples, and in order to enable the
reader to compare all these languages with the principal
language of the archipelago the Malayan language is taken
into account.
Such words only are given as are used in conversation and
in ordinary epistolary composition ; but the inhabitants
of these islands also have a classical language altogether
distinct from the ordinary language of the country ; this is
to them what the Sanscrit is to the Pracrit language of
Hindustan, and what the Pali is to the Burman and
Siamese.
This language is termed Kawi.-^ A comparison between
the vocabularies of the Sanscrit, the Pali, and the Kawi
languages will show conclusively how nearly they are
allied and that all three are from one common or generic
language.
^ The term " Kawi " is borrowed from the Sanscrit.
MISCELLANEOUS 1011
In Kawi nine out of ten words are Sanscrit or of Sanscrit
origin.^
Unlike the Malayan, the Javan language owes nothing to
the Arabic, except perhaps a few terms introduced in later
years connected with government, religion, and science,
which have been admitted together with the religion and
laws of Mahomet. In general, however, the language as
well as the ancient institutions of the country have been
little affected by the conversion. The Javan language was
abundantly copious before the introduction of Arabic
literature, and had few or no deficiencies to be supplied.
This is a token of an antiquity greater than is generally
acknowledged, and of a high state of civilisation which can
only have been the result of long ages.
The Javan language illustrates in some degree the present
character of the people. It is rich and refined ; it abounds
in synonyms and nice distinctions ; it is varied and easily
made to bend and suit itself to every occasion ; it is in a
high degree expressive of great powder or servility ; it is
melodious and very pleasant to the ear ; in fact, the general
character of this language is in every way indicative of an
early advanced state of civilisation, wliich had already
reached maturity at a time when most people imagine it was
but beginning.
In the ordinary Malayan language used in Java numerous
Portuguese words are to be met with. These are mostly
for every-day articles of food, etc., introduced into Java by
the first Portuguese. The Malayan language used in Java
is divided into an aristocratic dialect and a popular dialect.
The former is used by the native officials and regents amongst
' If the civilisation of the present-day Javans was derived, as it un-
doubtedly was, from an earlier system, so, it may be observed, is their
language. Kawi, or old Javan, is derived from Sanscrit, and how long it
took to transform this into Kawi is difficult even to surmise. It must,
however, have taken many centuries. Stones inscribed in the Kawi
language as old as a.d. 400 have been found in the archipelago.
AA 2
1012 JAVA
themselves, and the latter by the coolie or working classes.
In the commercial circles the popular dialect is used when
speaking to servants.
The Javan alphabet is derived from the Devanag'ari.^
Poetry. — Among the numerous literary and poetical
compositions left behind by the old Hindu Priests in the
Kawi language is the Brata Yudha, or " Holy War," or
rather the " War of Woe," a very celebrated epic poem,
composed, some say, by Puseda, a learned Pandita, in the
year 1079. Others, however, maintain it was composed in
706 of the Javan era (a.d. 781), while the empire of Mendang
Kamulan was at the height of its glory, and the temples of
Brambanan were served by a number of clever men, several
of whom were capable of composing such a production.
The Javans say that the scene of the exploits which this
poem records was laid in Java and Madura. There are
numberless other productions, all worthy of attention, but
requiring a special knowledge of the language of the country
and of the customs of the people to fully appreciate.
Music. — The Javan musical instruments are numerous and
peculiar, being generally unlike those found in other countries.
The oldest of all is the angklung, a rude instrument
made of bambu. This instrument is formed of five
or nine tubes of bambu, cut at the end after the
manner of the barrels of an organ. These, which are of
graudated lengths from about 20 to 8 inches, are placed in
a frame, in such a manner as to move to a certain extent
from their position and to vibrate on the frame being shaken.
A troop of from ten to fifty mountaineers, each with an
angklung and accompanied by one or two others with a small
drum played with the open hand, as in Hindustan, now and
again performs on occasions of festivity in the western part
1 Devanag'ari means literally ''town-script of the gods." Tliese
characters are those most widely understood by Hindu scholars, and
those in which Sanscrit works are usually printed, unless they are printed
in Eoman letters, as sometimes occurs.
MISCELLANEOUS 1013
of the island, and the sound is pecuHar but rather pleasing,
although quite unlike that of any other instrument. Accord-
ing to the Javans this instrument is of great antiquity, and
was discovered by the accidental admission of air into a
bambu tube used for carrying water, ^ which was left hanging
on a tree, the angklung being the first improvement upon
this iEolian music.
The principal instruments among the Javans are those
which make up the gamelan. There are several varieties of
gamelan ; the most perfect of all is, however, the gamelan
salindro. There is also the gamelan pelog, the instruments
of which are larger and louder than the others. The bonang
or kromo has usually fourteen notes. The gamelans pelog
and bonang are the ones employed in wayang performances.
One gamelan is called mang'gang, from its resembling the
croaking of frogs. The gamelan srunen is used in processions
of state and in war, being properly speaking the martial
music of the country, in which, besides the ordinary instru-
ments, a particular gong and trumpets of peculiarly weird
and strange tone are introduced, rather reminding one of the
Chinese cylindrical trumpets, which are supposed to be simi-
lar to the trumpets used when the Israelites marched round
the city of Jericho and the walls are stated to have fallen.
Outside all comparison with any of the other gamelans,
not including the gamelan salindro, which is the finest which
can be used by any ordinary person, is the gamelan sekaten,
which resembles the pelog, except that the instruments are
still larger and louder.
This beautiful set of instruments is restricted to the use of
the sovereign, and seldom played except on great occasions,
such as during the eight days of the festival of Mulut, or at
the wedding of the Pangeran, Adipati and the like.
The gamelan belonging to the Sultan of Jockjakarta is
of great antiquity, and the sounds of the instruments have
' Still a common method of carrying water.
1014 JAVA
become mellow through age. To hear a performance on
these rare occasions is worth a great deal, and once heard,
the tones continually reverberate in the head, and one's
remembrance of them is delightful and pleasing. In the
early days in Java when the monarch was displeased or
failed to find any gratification in anything else, it is said he
was generally brought round by the soothing and stately
sounds of the gamelan.
The annexed plate will afford a better idea of the form of
the instruments composing a gamelan set.
Most of the gamelan instruments resemble the staccato
or harmonica, and the sound is produced by the stroke of a
hammer, which must be manipulated in a certain way to
enable the correct tone to be played.
To such a scientific pitch has this risen among the Javans,
that the art of playing each particular instrument, especially
in the case of the musicians for the gamelans of the sovereign,
is taught from father to son, and handed down in certain
families.
The gong is usually 3 feet in diameter. In the gender the
plates are thin metal, and suspended by strings. The
bonang, kenong and ketok are metal, and are suspended by
tightened cords to favour the vibration. The kecher,
shown on the plate, corresponds with the cymbal. The
hammers with which the larger instruments are struck are
wound round at the end with cloth in order to soften the
sound. The drum is struck, as in Hindustan, with the open
hand and fingers only. The chatempung is a stringed instru-
ment with from ten to fifteen wires, which are sounded with
the finger after the manner of the Welsh harp.
The gambang kayu has wooden plates sixteen or seventeen
in number ; the gambang gangsa, of which there are several
in each band, has metal plates.
All these instruments make up the gamelan band. The
person who leads this band performs upon the rebab, an
MISCELLANEOUS 1015
instrument which, having a neck and two strings pitched
by pegs, is capable of producing perfect intonation and a
variety of sounds, thi'ough the strings being shortened by
the pressure of the finger. This bandmaster receives from
500 to 1,200 rupees a year.
The Javans do not commit their music to writing, but never-
theless have a selection of more than a hundred national
airs, which have been preserved for centuries, by ear alone.
The cost of a complete gamelan is from 3,000 to 6,000
guilders (£250 to £500) new, but there are several that have
cost considerably more, while such gamelans as are possessed
by the Sultan of Jockjakarta or the Susuhunan of Surakerta
are absolutely priceless.
Raffles, when he returned to England in 1816, took with
him a native of Java, called Raden Rana Dipura, who could
play several of the gamelan instruments, and performed
before an eminent composer several of the Java national
melodies ; these were all found strangely to resemble the
oldest music of Scotland, the distinctive character of both
as well as of the Indian music in general being determined
by the want of the fourth and seventh of the key and of all
the semitones.
This remarakble coincidence ^ is also to be noticed in the
Grecian music, which fact strangely conforms with the
idea that the ancient inhabitants of Java and of Greece
have something in common.^
The Javans have a string instrument called trawangsa,
not at all unlike a guitar, which is played whilst some old
bard recites the traditions of the great empires of Pajajaran
and Majapahit. There is also a wind instrument in the
nature of a flute, but some feet in length, with a proportionate
diameter ; it is sometimes introduced in the gamelans, but
this is not usual in Java, though in Bali it is general.
' It can scarcely be actual coincidence.
^ There was a race of people in Greece called Javan.
1016
JAVA
Painting. — There is a tradition among the Javans that
the art of painting and drawing was once successfully
cultivated by them, and a period is assigned to its loss. At
the present day, however, there are no signs that any
proficiency in this art Avas ever attained by them, and the
efforts of their painters do not show any great genius. In
the second half of the nineteenth century a well-known
Javan painter settled at Batavia called Raden Saleh, who
showed signs of wonderful talent, but he was an exception
and stood more or less alone.
There is every reason to suppose, however — their eye
being correct, their hand steady and having a sense of
beauty and effect — that with due encouragement the
Javans would not be found less ingenious than other nations
in a similar state of civilisation.
Arithmetic. — The Javans compute without putting
down figures in writing, and in this process, although slow,
they are wonderfully correct. The common people, from
an entire ignorance of arithmetic, use stones or grains of
rice to assist them. Unlike the Chinese the Javans have no
method for calculations peculiar to themselves.
Astronomy. — The little astronomy the Javans know at
the present day and the terms employed indicate that the
system they once learned, and possibly scientifically excelled
in, was derived from the continent of India.
The seasons are determined by them in reference to
some ancient system, which they no longer understand
perfectly. The days of the week are expressed by Hindu
terms. Thus : —
Hindu.
Javan,
Sunday .
Row! .
. Diti
Monday
Soma
. Soma
Tuesday
Mangala
. Ang'gara
Wednesday .
Budha
Budha
Thursday
Vrihaspati .
. Raspati
Friday .
Sukra
Sukra
Saturday
Sani .
Sanischara
MISCELLANEOUS 1017
The Arabic terms are employed to express the months.
Architecture and Sculpture. — The magnificent
temples still to be seen in Java in a more or less perfect
state bear witness to the high degree of perfection in
architecture and sculpture which once existed in the
island.
The art of sculpture is now entirely forgotten, and nothing
greater is undertaken by the Javans of the present day
than the building of the kratons for their sovereigns or the
dalams for their bopatis.
Games. — The Javans play several games of skill, among
which are the following : —
1. Chatur (chess). The pieces are named the ratu, or
king ; the pateh, or minister, corresponding with the queen ;
two prahu or vessels, corresponding with castles ; two
mantri, corresponding with bishops ; two jaran, or horses,
corresponding with knights ; and the bidak, or pawns.
These are arranged on the board as in the English game,
except that the kings are placed on the left hand of the
queens, opposite to the adversary's queen.
2. Dandaman (draughts) is very much like the Indian
game, although it has more pieces. As in chess, the Javans
are very skilful in this game.
3. Machanan is a game in which the two principal pieces
represent tigers,^ one led b}^ each party, and there are twenty-
three pieces representing cows. The tiger which destroys
the greatest number of cows is accounted the winner.
4. Malwigan is played with eighteen pieces on squares.
The object to be attained is to surround your adversary's
pieces.
5. Telaga Tari. This is said to be the most ancient of
all the Javan games. Three or four people play it, and it
consists in guessing the number of beans enclosed within
the hand. The beans in the hand are taken from a small
I Machan means tiger.
1018 JAVA
heap lying on the ground, the exact number of which is
known. With hghtning rapidity the guesser glances at the
ground and immediately replies, being, if an adept, more
often right than wrong. The one who guesses right most
often is accounted the winner.
6. Dadu (dice). This game was introduced by the
Chinese, and is frequently played.
7. Card-playing is fairly common among certain classes,
but is not a national game, having been brought into the
country by the Chinese.
8. Layang 'an (kites) . The flying of kites at certain periods
of the year is very commonly practised by the Javans, who
excel at it ; but they have not reached the stage that is
general among the Japanese kite-fliers.
9. Keplek is a kind of pitch-and-toss played by the coolie
or porter class, with four whitened farthings marked on one
side.
Sports. — In Bali and in certain districts of the west and
south coast of Java the stag and wild buffalo (banteng) are
hunted by the bopatis, who invariably succeed in securing
good bags. The stag is pursued on horseback with dogs,
and is killed with a spear, or if only wounded, dispatched
with a cutlass or klewang.
When a hunt is organised the inhabitants, who are
passionately addicted to it, join their chief, and employ
the best horses they can procure for the purpose.
The wild buffalo is hunted on foot and dispatched by
European arms of precision ; in former days it was secured
by the aid of the bow and arrow, and the sinews of the back
legs were cut with heavy klewangs at the first opportunity
to retard its progress.
A favourite form of diversion formerly among the Javans
was the watang (tilts and tournaments), which was now and
again exhibited on the alun alun in front of the kraton or
palace.
MISCELLANEOUS 1019
The trappings and housings of the horses were extremely
rich, and the riders performed their feats with considerable
skill.
The favourite diversion of the Javan sovereigns is combats
between wild beasts. When a tiger and a buffalo are to
fight for the amusement of the court they are brought upon
the field of combat in large cases.
The field is surrounded by a body of Javans four deep
with levelled pikes, in order that, if the animals endeavour
to break through, they may be killed immediately ; this,
however, is not so easily done, and many of these poor
wretches are torn in pieces or dreadfully wounded by the
enraged animals.
When everything is in readiness the cage of the buffalo
is first opened at the top and his back is rubbed with certain
leaves, which have the singular property of occasioning an
intolerable degree of pain, and from the use to which they
are put have been called buffalo leaves by Europeans ; by
the Javans they are called kamadu. They sting like nettles,
but much more violently, and so as to cause an inflammation
on the skin. On every vein they have sharp pointed
prickles, which are transparent and contain a fluid that
occasions the irritation.
Thurnberg says it is a species of nettle before unknown,
to which he has given the name of Urtica stimulans.
The door of the cage is then opened and fire is thrown to
make the beast leave it, which he does generally by running
out backwards.
As soon as the tiger perceives the buffalo he springs upon
him ; his huge opponent stands awaiting him, with his horns
upon the ground ; if the buffalo succeeds in catching and
throwing him into the air and the tiger recovers from his
fall, he generally loses every wish to renew the combat, but
if the tiger succeeds in avoiding this attempt by the buffalo,
he springs upon him and, seizing him in the neck or other
1020 JAVA
parts, tears his flesh from his bones. In most cases, however,
the buffalo has the better of it.
The Javans who have to perform the dangerous office of
making these animals leave their cages may not, when they
have done so, notwithstanding that they are in great
danger of being torn to pieces by the enraged beasts, leave
the open space before they have saluted their sovereign
several times and his majesty has given them a signal to
depart, which he delays until the very last moment. They
then retire slowly — for they are not permitted to walk fast
— to the circle and mingle with the other Javans.
Until the arrival of the English, and possibly even for
some time afterwards, criminals condemned to death were
made to fight tigers. In such cases the man was rubbed
with borri, or turmeric, and had a yellow piece of cloth
round him ; a kris was then given to him, and he was
conducted to the field of combat.
The tiger, who had for a long time been kept fasting, fell
upon the man with the greatest fury, and generally struck
him down at once with his paw ; now and again, however,
the wretch was fortunate enough to wound the animal
sufficiently to make it quit him. The sovereign would then
order him to attack the tiger, and the man frequently
succeeded in killing his ferocious antagonist. It availed
him nothing, however, for he still by command of the sultan
suffered death.
An officer in the old East India Company's service, who
had long been stationed at the courts of the Javan emperors,
once witnessed a most extraordinary occurrence of this kind.
A Javan who had been condemned to be torn in pieces by
tigers, and for that purpose had been thrown down from the
top into a large cage in which several were confined, fortu-
nately fell exactly upon the largest and fiercest of them,
across whose back he sat astride, without the animal doing
him any harm — on the contrary, it appeared intimidated —
MISCELLANEOUS 1021
while the others, awed by the unusual posture and appearance
which he made, dared not attempt to destroy him. He
could not however, avoid the punishment of death to wliich
he had been condemned, for the sultan commanded liim to
be shot dead in the cage, an order that was immediately
carried out.
Although the bare relation of the facts excites certain
feelings of horror in the mind of the reader, it must be
observed that the concourse of spectators, of which a good
proportion are Europeans, which are drawn together to
witness a combat can no more stamp the general character of
the people with barbarity than the crowds which formerly
were always present to witness public executions in Europe.
Bull-fighting is another so-called sport practised among
the people of Madura. It is, however, unUke the bull-
fighting of Spain, for neither men nor horses are emploj'ed,
but the bulls are directed against one another.
Ravi and hog fight. A fight betw^een these two animals
is not uncommon in some parts of the island, being displayed
on the alun alun before an extensive ring formed from the
population. A small stand is raised on one corner of the
space to which the ram can retreat when in danger, and from
whence he can take advantage of a favourable moment to
attack his antagonist. Now and again dogs are let in to
assist in the amusements, which makes the fight a sort of
rough-and-tumble.
Spearing the tiger, or rampog, is a favourite and national
spectacle still to be seen at the old Hindu settlement of
Blitar.
The manner of catching these animals is a very simple one.
A tethered goat is killed and let to be partially eaten, the
remainder of the carcase being left as bait ; for it is a known
fact that the tiger will always return again when hungry
to the meal he has left unfinished. The trap is a simple
contrivance, but answers the purpose remarkably well,
1022 JAVA
perhaps better than many more elaborate and expensive
ones.
The ground chosen is hollowed out for a length of 10 or
15 feet and a width of about a yard. On the two sides
are posts firmly planted close to each other, the roof, which
is convex, consisting of poles tied like those of a raft. At
one end is an opening, at the other a cage, almost impervious
to light, in which a kid or bleating lamb is confined for the
night. The opening or entrance shuts with a heavy sliding
door, attached by a rope to the end of a ponderous beam.
This beam rests on the top of a pole, and its opposite end
is kept down by a large stone connected with a spring in the
interior of the trap, which is no sooner touched than the
weight flies up, causing the door to fall and preventing the
exit of the intruder. In this trap the animal is kept
some time until the rampog, whenever this is to be held.
There are special men who not only have the reputation of
being experts in tiger-trapping, but are supposed by the
Javans themselves to possess some particular and pecuHar
charm inherited from their parents, or given to them for
a special purpose in this world.
That it is a fact that these men do possess some gift out
of the ordinary is clear to anyone who has attended a
rampog.
When the amusement is about to begin a large concourse
of Javans collect upon the alun alun and a hollow square of
spearmen four deep is formed, in the centre of which are
placed the tigers in the small separate cages, or rather traps,
which have the appearance when lying on the ground of
elongated coffins.
Two or three of the tiger experts stand near the cages,
and at a given signal from the bopati, or regent, place
plaited leaves in front of the cage to supply the place of the
wooden door. These leaves are then at another signal set
fire to and the door drawn up. Then the men, still waiting
MISCELLANEOUS 1023^
for a signal from the regent, retreat, bowing at a slow and
dangerous pace to the sounds of the gamelan. As the tiger
feels the fire, he rushes out and is received by the spearmen
on their weapons. When he has made several such rushes-
on the spears, the regent directs the experts to dispatch the
animal, which has grown weary and w^eak through its
numerous spear-wounds.
This the men do with great coolness and intrepidity,,
never failing to pierce their animal. It is of course not
unheard of for the tiger to escape, but this seldom happens,
and when it does someone is severely punished.
When one tiger has been dispatched, the next in turn is
let loose until they are all finished, unless, as it now and
again happens, there are so many that the regent grows
weary before they have all been accounted for, in which case
the poor brutes are killed in their traps.
Cock-fighting (aduh jagu) is the commonest of all the
Javan diversions, and even when these animals are not kept
for the purpose, several large and well-bred cocks under
spacious cages, or rather baskets, are constantly found-
arranged at certain distances around their compounds.
When a fight takes place considerable bets are laid on the
result.
It is probable that the Javans have adopted this amuse-
ment from the Chinese, although there are some authorities
who consider it likely that the Chinese themselves carried it
to their country after seeing it in Java.
On the establishment of the British power, cock-fighting
and gaming were of&cially (but only officially) prohibited.
Previous to this it was a productive source of revenue ta
the Dutch.
Quail-fighti7ig (aduhgemar) is now not nearly so prevalent
as formerly. This is not uninteresting and furnishes soma
diversion.
Cricket-figJiting (aduh jangkrik). The common people
1024 JAVA
frequently watch a pre-arranged fight between two crickets
and bet upon the issue.
These Httle insects are confined in small bambu cages,
and afford some amusement.
Festivals. — The Javans have three kinds of festivals or
feasts — the greheg,^ or religious festivals ; the hanchaki or
nealamati, so called from the Arabic salamat (blessing) held
on the celebration of a birth, marriage or circumcision, and
distorted by the Javans into the term " salamatan " ; and
the sedekah, appointed in honour of the dead and for the
celebration of their memory.
Amusements and Entertainments. — The Javans have
two kinds of dramatic entertainments — the topeng, wherein
the characters are represented by men, who, except when
performing before the sovereign, wear masks, and the
ivayang, in which they are represented by shadows.
The subject of the topeng is generally the adventures of
the great Javan hero Panji, whilst the wayangs, or scenic
shadows, are generally descriptive of the earliest history of
the island down to the destruction of the famous Hindu
empire of Majapahit. The periods of history are dis-
tinguished by the terms wayang purwa, wayang gedog, and
wayang klitik.
Dancing. — The Javans excel, according to Eastern ideas,
in dancing ; it consists in graceful attitudes of the body,
slow movement of the arms, the twisting of the legs, and a
distinct motion of the head, abdomen, hands and fingers.
Of the dancing girls who exhibit at public entertainments,
the first in rank and the most skilful in their profession
are the young princesses or concubines of the sovereigns
and hereditary crown princes. They alone are allowed to
perform the sWimpi, a figure- dance distinguished by an
unusual degree of grace and decorum.
The dancers are decorated according to the ancient
^ Sometimes spelt " garebeg."
MISCELLANEOUS 1025
costume of the country, and nearly all in the same manner
as a Javan bride. The tapih, or petticoat, is of silk of
different colours, often green, stamped with golden flowers,
and hanging in the most graceful manner, a part of it falling
between the feet and serving as a short train, which in the
course of the dance is frequently thrown aside by a quicker
motion of the foot. The udat, or waistband, is of the
chindi pattern, and on these occasions the 'mer or cestus
is worn, composed of plates of gold highly ornamented with
diamonds at the clasp in front. The body is enclosed in a
kind of corset (pemakak) passing above the breasts and
under the arms, and confining the waist in the very narrowest
possible limits. The ends of the sembong or sash fall
gracefully on each side on the back of the hip and reach the
ground. Sometimes, indeed, this graceful appendage to the
dress is brought from the back to a point between the breasts,
whence, being fastened in a rosette, the ends flow towards
the ground in front of the person, the usual bending attitude
during the dance causing them to hang away from the rest
of the apparel. The triple necklace, richly-chased armlets,
bracelets, and tiara are of gold studded with precious
stones, and the hair is gracefully ornamented with buds
of white and sweet-scented flowers. On the fingers they
generally display brilliant rings, and the face, neck, shoulders,
arms and breasts, which remain uncovered, are tinged by a
delicate shade of yellow powder. The music is slow, and
the performance is on the gamelan salendro ; verses from
the romances of Panji, descriptive of the attire and beauty
of the wives and concubines of that hero, are chanted as a
prelude to the entertainment and during its performance.
When the s'rimpi perform they glide forth from their
chambers across the courts into the centre of the gilded
audience-hall, led by two elderly matrons, who are their
caretakers, teachers and their admonishers if the sultan
desires their punishment. These old women, after having
J. — VOL. II. B B
1026 JAVA
as it were introduced them, crawl away out of sight, and the
s'rimpi sit on the marble floor before the sovereign, all
exactly in the same position, with their legs tucked under
them and motionless. At a signal to begin, given by one of
the princes, they slowly close their hands to the sound of the
music, and, raising them to the forehead, bend in reverential
awe, and, gradually extending their arms and swaying in
exact unison with each other from side to side, assume an
erect posture.
The dancers are in age from ten to fourteen ; when
they reach the latter age, they are generally replaced
by a younger girl, who has meantime been in training
for some years. The birth of a child puts an end to their
performances at once and removes them from the pro-
fession.
They are the choicest beauties of Java, selected for the
royal bed.
Throughout the whole performance their eyes are directed
modestly to the ground, and their body and limbs are by
slow movements thrown into every graceful attitude that
the most flexible form is capable of. In the figures of the
dance they occasionally approach and recede from each
other, and sometimes cross to the opposite side.
It frequently happens that the delicate corset by falling
too low exposes more of the body than is correct. On such
occasion one of the trusty matrons always in attendance
and watching with piercing glances for any slight mistakes,
raises it again without interrupting the dance or embarrassing
the movements of the dancer.
At the conclusion of the dance the dancers gradually
place themselves on the ground in the same manner as
before its beginning, and after closing their hands and raising
them to their forehead in token of respect, remain seated
with a downcast look and captivating modesty, until the
signal is given to the matrons to relieve them by others,
MISCELLANEOUS 1027
when they again gUde into the same apartment from which
they came.
The bedaya, who perform a figure dance by eight persons,
are in some respect to the nobles what the s'rimpi are to the
sovereign. They are dressed nearly in the same manner as
the s'rimpi, though not so richly or expensively.
The common dancing girls of the country are called rong'
geng, and are of easy virtue, so much so that the title,
rong'geng and prostitute are synonymous.
They make a profession of their art, and hire themselves
to perform privately or in public to Javans, Chinese, or
Europeans for a certain fee arranged beforehand with one
of the male members of the troupe, who knows their price.
The party travel within circumscribed limits from town to
town or village to village, performing everywhere as they
go along, sometimes without engagement, and collecting
payment from each onlooker, who perhaps gives a cent or
two.
There are also posture-dances for men ; among these are
the gavihuh, with a shield on one arm, and the niutra, with
a bow and arrow. The men are naked to the waist and
covered with yellow powder. They contort their body into
all sorts of postures to the sound of the gamelan.
Ceremonies of the Court. — A stranger cannot fail to
be struck with the extreme deference and respect towards
their superiors which characterises the Javans — a respect
denoting, if anything does, the antiquity of the race and the
culture reached in ancient times. Respect for rank, for
experience, for parents and old age, are the great features
of their character, clearly proving that the tenets prescribed
by the Christian Bible are knowingly or unknowingly not
lost upon them.
The excess, however, to which deference towards rank is
carried deserves more particular remark, whether we con-
sider it as illustrative of the nature of the government and
B B 2
1028 JAVA
the quiet and orderly disposition of the people or endeavour
to trace in the early periods of their history the causes which
may have contributed to the existing constitution of society
among them.
The respect shown towards higher rank in Java is such
that no individual, whatever his condition, can stand in the
presence of a superior, neither can he address him in the same
language in which he is spoken to. Not even the heir-
apparent or the members of the royal family can stand in
the presence of the sovereign, and the same restriction
applies to the family of each subordinate chief.
Were this mark of respect confined to the royal family
alone, it might perhaps find a parallel in other Eastern
countries where it is usual for the subject to prostrate him-
self before the sovereign ; but in Java the nature of the
government is such that each delegated authority exacts
the same marks of obeisance, so that from the common
labourer upwards no one dares to stand in the presence of a
superior. Thus when a native chief moves abroad it is usual
for all the people of inferior rank among whom he passes
to lower their bodies to the ground till they actually sit on
their heels and to remain in this posture until he is gone by.
The same rule is observed within doors, and instead of an
assembly rising on the entrance of a great man as in Europe,
it sinks to the ground, and remains so during his presence.
This humiliating posture is called " dodok," and may be
rendered in English by the term " squatting." The practice
IS submitted to with the utmost cheerfulness by the people ;
it is considered a very ancient custom, and respected
accordingly.^
Having thus seen the nature and extent of the general
deference paid to a superior in Java, the reader will be
1 This is the ancient and patriarchal respect to their chief, which dates
from the time of the Hindu rule, when the people acknowledged their ruler
as their only intermediary with the celestial power.
MISCELLANEOUS 1029
prepared in some degree for the still further humiliations
which are expected from a subject on public occasions.
No one approaches his sovereign or immediate chief,
no child approaches his father, without sumbah (that is
obeisance), closing his hands and raising them to his forehead
in token of respect. On public or festival days it is usual
for the inferior chiefs not, as in Europe, to kiss the hand, but
to kiss the knee, the instep, or the sole of the foot, according
to the relative distance of rank between the parties.
Regalia. — The royal seat is a large stool or bench of gold,
with a velvet cushion ; it is called " dampar," and attends
the sovereign wherever he may go.
Among the regalia (upachara), which are always carried
in procession when the sovereign moves abroad and are
arranged behind him while seated on the dampar, are the
following golden figures : — The hasti or gaja (of an elephant),
the harda walika or nanagan (of a snake), the jajawen
santing (of a bull), the sangsam (of a deer), and the sawung
galing (of a cock) ; each is of a size to be borne in the hand.
These, with the kutuk and chapuri for tobacco and siri, the
pakachohan, or golden spitting pot, and a variety of golden
salvers, bowls, etc., distinguished by their respective names
and for various purposes, have descended as pusakas, or
heir-looms, in the royal family, and are esteemed with the
highest degree of veneration.
Processions. — Formerly, when the sultan or susuhunan
moved abroad in state, he was attended by numerous
spearmen (wahos), the duty of eight of whom was to attend
the figures of the sacred elephant and bull, etc., near which
were also led four horses, highly caparisoned. The royal
payung or state umbrella was carried in front of the procession
on these occasions, on which, too, were invariably carried
four trunks or boxes (brokoh), each borne by two men,
containing the clothes of the sovereign, caparison for his
horses, his personal arms, implements, provisions, and in
1030 JAVA
short everything reqmred for an establishment. This rule
was also observed whenever the sovereign moved out of the
palace. His mat (lante) was likewise borne in procession,
together \^ith two saddle-horses for his use when necessary.
On more ordinary occasions nowadays, however, the
wahos and all the other paraphernalia do not attend the
sovereign, but he is accompanied when abroad by a con-
siderable body of native cavalry (consisting of headmen)
and, since the arrival of the Europeans, by a body of life
guards. The sovereign, instead of riding, moreover, drives
in a highly-caparisoned carriage and four, with a brilHantly
liveried European coachman and footmen ; it is in appear-
ance much like the Lord Mayor of London's carriage on the
9th of November, but far more gorgeous. The payung is of
course always present.
Pomp. — The ceremonies and state of the native courts
have lost much of their true character from the admission
of European customs introduced by the Dutch after the
Javan war in 1825.
Salutes are regulated after the European style, and the
Javans have availed themselves of many European customs
to render the ceremonies more striking. Thus both the
Busuhunan and sultan are furnished with large gilt carriages,
after the fashion, so to speak, of that used by the Lord Mayor
of London. The adat (custom) is that when the sovereign
drinks wine with the Dutch Governor-General, the rest of
the company are offered white wine while they alone drink
red, and a flourish of trumpets sounds as the glasses approach
their lips. This same custom is followed when two bopatis
sup together, they being supplied with the red wine and the
rest with the white, and this adat goes the whole way down
the roll of chieftains.
The chiefs of provinces, and the petty chiefs in their
gradation below them, keep up as much of the form and
ceremony of the chief court as is consistent with their
MISCELLANEOUS 1031
relative rank and means ; and in their turn exact from
their vassals the same degree of respect which the sovereign
exacts from them.
It may be observed that few people in this world are
more attached to state pomp and show than the Javans.
In general, the decorations employed and the forms observed
are simple and at the same time imposing, calculated to
impress the stranger with a high idea of the taste, correct-
ness, and yet love of splendour of this people. The orna-
ments of state, or regalia, are well wrought in gold ; the
royal shield is richly inlaid with precious stones, and the
royal kris is hung in a belt, which with the sheath is one
blaze of diamonds.
In processions when the Dutch Governor- General is to be
received, each side of the road for miles is lined with spear-
men in various apparel and standing in warlike attitudes.
Streamers are flying, and the music of the gamelan is playing
on every side. There are, too, payungs, or umbrellas, of
three tiers of silk, richly fringed and ornamented with gold,
placed at intervals, and nothing is omitted which can add to
the appearance of state and pomp. Among the ensigns
displayed on these occasions are the Monkey Flag of Arjuna
and a variety of other devices taken from the poems of
antiquity. Triumphal arches of bambu are also erected at
the entrance of the principal villages ; and the taste and
variety displayed has often been remarked as betokening
a refinement beyond that which their present state of
civilisation might seem to indicate.
At state banquets the sovereign is waited upon only by
his bopatis, but in private women are the only attendants
upon his royal person, and no male is permitted to approach
the royal apartments upon any excuse whatever under pain
(formerly) of instant execution.
1032 JAVA
Part II
Climate. Health. Births, Marriages, and Deaths at Batavia. Popula-
tion. Census-taking — How the Rajah of Lombok took the Census.
Climate. — The idea that the heat of Java must be
utterly unbearable is not so absurd, for the sun here is twice
a year vertically overhead, and its rays shoot down almost
in a perpendicular line. The fact, however, is that the
climate of Java, unlike that of other Eastern lands — India,
China, etc. — is not at all unbearable ; on the contrary it is
agreeable, and, except in the towns on the north coast, is in
no way oppressively hot or exhausting like it is in Hindustan.
This may be accounted for by Nature coming to the assist-
ance of the country, through daily giving refreshing land
breezes from the cool mountains and sea-breezes from the
Indian Ocean.
As the rising and the setting of the sun are likewise
always nearly at the same hour, and scarcely differ more
than a few minutes throughout the year, the long nights
cool the air so much that in the morning for an hour or two
before daybreak it may be said to be rather cold than warm,
especially for those people who have resided in the tropics
for any length of time.
From July to November at coast towns the thermometer
is usually in the hottest part of the day — that is, between
12 o'clock and 2 o'clock — 84° and 91° Fahrenheit, although
now and again it touches 93°. The greatest degree of
coolness in the morning on the coast is about 75° or 76°,
but in the interior the temperature goes down very much
ower.^
The barometer undergoes little or no variation, and
^ On the tops of the mountains 27° has been registered, with ice as thick
as a dollar.
MISCELLANEOUS 1033
stands for the whole year at 29-10 inches, according to
daily observations.
The warmth of the air decreases greatly on approaching
the mountains. At Buitenzorg, the country seat of the
Governor-General, about thirty-five miles from Batavia and
at the foot of the volcano Salak, the cold is so great for a
short while in the morning that thick clothes are needed.
The climate here is very healthy and refreshing, the air,
especially in the morning and evening, being really chilly,
and invalids who have suffered from fevers soon recuperate
here after a stay even of only three or four days, and this
in a land which lies directly under the Equator.
The land and the sea breezes blow almost every day
without exception. The sea-breeze, which in the east
monsoon is generally between E.N.E. and N.W., begins to
blow about 11 or 12 o'clock in the forenoon. It increases
gradually in the afternoon till evening, and then dies
imperceptibly away till about 8 or 9 o'clock, when there is
perfect calm.
The land-breeze begins at midnight or just before, and
continues until an hour or two after sunrise, when there
is generally again a calm, till the sea-breeze comes on at
its accustomed hour.
The year is divided into two seasons, one of which is
called the east monsoon, or dry season, and the other the
west monsoon, or rainy season.
The east, or good, monsoon begins in the months of April
and Ma}^ and ends in the latter end of September or the
beginning of October. The trade winds during this time
blow about four or five leagues off shore, and through the
whole of the Indian seas to the south of the Line from the
S.E. to E.S.E., at times, however, running as far as S.S.E.
with fine dry weather and a clear sky. It was no doubt
during this season that the ancients came down to Java in
their little boats.
1034 JAVA
The west, or bad, monsoon generally begins in November
or early in December. The wind often blows with great
violence and is accompanied by heavy torrents of rain,
which render the season very unhealthy and a time of the
greatest mortahty. The same winds are likewise found to
prevail everywhere to the south of the Line. They continue
till the latter end of February or the beginning of March,
and are very variable till April, in w^hich month the easterly
winds begin to blow ; hence these months, as likewise
October and part of November, are frequently termed the
" shifting months," and the times of the breaking up of the
monsoons are esteemed the most unhealthy of all.
It is to be noted that when the westerly winds blow as
far as nine or ten degrees south of the Line, the opposite
takes place at the same time, and to the same distance, to
the north of it, and vice versa. This alternation is beneficial
to navigators.
Thunderstorms are very frequent, and of tremendous
energy while they last ; they, however, seldom do more than
ordinary damage.
Health. — The general inference which has been drawn
by professional men is that Java is not an unhealthy
country, but may even be classed as having a healthy climate;
and that from the evenness of its temperature Europeans on
the hill stations, such as Soekaboemi, Bandoeng, Tosari,
Garoet, Sindanglya,^ etc., may attain to a greater age than
they would in Europe if only careful of themselves by
attending to one or two of the maxims for diet and hygiene
needed in all tropical countries. The greatest proof, how-
ever, of the healthfulness of the country and of its not being
unfavourable to man is given by the figures of the native
and Eurasian population, which are increasing at a great
rate. At the same time, however, it must be admitted that
1 Soekaboemi, 1,600 feet ; Bandoeng, 2,000 feet ; Tosari, 6,000 feet
Garoet, 3,000 feet ; Sindanglya, 3,483 feet above sea level.
MISCELLANEOUS 1035
there are spots upon the island which are decidedly
unhealthy. These are to be found along the low swampy
marshes of the northern coast, which are mostly recent
encroachments upon the sea ; the principal of such places
is Jacatra or old Batavia. The climate of this city in olden
days was undoubtedly truly designated as the " Store-house
of Disease " and the ''' White Man's Grave." The old East
India Company was, however, responsible for a great deal
of this unhealthiness, and the accounts of the sanitary
arrangements of the city during the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries make the reader surprised that any
individual after a few months' residence here should have
survived at all.
An intelligent traveller in the eighteenth century when
describing the beauties of the town observed that " the
European settlers at Batavia commonly appear wan, weak
and languid as if labouring with disease or death. Their
place of residence, indeed, is situated in the midst of swamps
and stagnated pools, whence they are every morning
saluted with a congregation of foul and pestilential vapours."
These pools received all the filth of the town, and naturally
as time went on disease increased in strength rather than
diminished.
That Batavia was ^ undoubtedly the unhealthiest recorded
town in the world is unfortunately too well proved by the
writings of visitors who have survived its perils, and by
the records of the Dutch East India Company itself, which
has been accused of the crime of maintaining a monopoly
at the expense of loss of life resulting from the confinement
of the European population within the narrow limits of an
unhealthy city surrounded by walls,^ so that it could never
free itself of its unhealthy vapours, even allowing that this
^ But is no longer.
2 Daendels destroyed these walls when he arrived and moved the in-
habitants further inland.
1036 JAVA
was desired, which some maintain was not the case. EaynaP
states that between the years 1714 and 1776 eighty-seven
thousand soldiers and sailors perished in the hospitals (so
called) of old Batavia, and from Table 11. here annexed of
the deaths inside the old Castle (oude Casteel), or just outside
the walls, from the year 1730 until 1752 a total is reached
(which were it not beyond all controversy would be con-
sidered incredible) of more than a million souls in twenty-
two years.
From the moment, however, at the beginning of the nine-
teenth century, when the walls of the city were demolished,
the drawbridges let down, and free egress and ingress
permitted, the population began to migrate to a more
healthy spot ; they had not to go more than one or two
miles before they found themselves in a different cHmate.
Necessity probably determined the choice of this spot
for the European capital, but a perseverance in the policy
of confining the European population within its walls after
so many direful warnings of its unhealthiness cannot but
lead to the inference, as Sir Stamford Eafiles justly observes,
" that either the monopoly of the trade was considered a
greater object to the nation than the lives of the inhabitants
or that the more liberal views of the Government were
defeated by the weakness or corruption of its agents."
For young men going out to a commercial life in Java,
where they will have to work in an office in one of the great
seaport towns, Batavia, Samarang or Sourabaya, there is
nothing to fear, if only they are bodily and constitutionally
sound to start with. The conditions of office life will be
found more agreeable here than in England and the work
far more interesting. The health, provided proper attention
is paid to a sensible diet, of fish, fowl, just-ripe fruit (neither
unripe nor over-ripe) and vegetables, and not much meat
nor alcoholic liquors, will certainly not suffer in the least in
1 Raynal, Vol. I., p. 293.
MISCELLANEOUS 1037
the first ten years or even longer, but on the contrary.
Exercise in the afternoon only, when the sun is going down,
should be taken in moderation ; walking or golf are the best
forms. Early to rest (say 10 o'clock) and early up in the
morning (say 6 o'clock) are benefits, but not absolute
essentials for the health, but the more sleep one gets the
better. Eat to excess, however, drink as many do, and keep
late hours, and you will be promptly punished by a fever,
dysentery, or some other even worse disease. Every five
or six years or so a holiday to Europe is beneficial for the
nervous system, and perhaps in some cases for the con-
stitution. After a twenty-five years' experience of the Far
East, I have come to the conclusion that twenty-one or
twenty-two years of age is the earliest and also the best
time to be sent to the East Indies. A young man has then
time to become acclimatised. His first two or three years are
those when he needs to exercise the greatest caution over his
health. To go to the East Indies for the first time after
the age of thirty is too late.
The seaport towns of Java are usually scourged annually
from the months of July to January with cholera, while
typhoid fever and small-pox are generally rampant. The
first two are contracted from the w^ater, which Europeans
should never drink unboiled. This is a golden rule.
Births, Marriages, Deaths at Batavia. — The annexed
documents, so far as they can be relied on, afford evidence
of a mortality in Batavia, as compared with the number of
inhabitants, that was perhaps never exampled in any other
quarter of the world.
Table No. I. was drawn out with as much exactness
as the original lists and registers still existing would
admit of.
In explanation, it is necessary to observe that when the
British captured the island of Java in August, 1811, part of
the most valuable papers were lost or destroyed, and amongst
1038 JAVA
them the register in which was stated the Chinese popula-
tion and the number of their deaths and marriages annually,
which is the reason why no mention is made of them.
The specific lists kept in the different hospitals were
likewise lost ; this is to be particularly lamented, because
they would have shown how many of the European deaths
were of inhabitants, mihtary persons, strangers, or sailors
and marines from the ships of the different nations lying in
the old Batavia roads ; they all sent their sick into the
hospitals of Batavia for better or for worse, who when dead
— and once inside the hospital they invariably died — were
included in the number of European deaths.
Table No. 11. was discovered among the records of the
Dutch East India Company after the conquest of Java in
1811, and is entitled to reliance.
Table No. III. is from the Dutch ofi&cial registers of the
births, marriages, and deaths in the Residency of Batavia,
which included the town, suburbs, and neighbourhood.
' By Mr. Alexander London.
MISCELLANEOUS
1039
Table I.
Number of Births, Marriages and Deaths at Batavia
from 1700 until 1813, comprising europeans or their
Servants and Native Government Employees, but
NOT Chinese or other Natives.
(As far as could be ascertained from the registers, etc., after
the conquest of Java in 1811.)
Marriages.
Births.
Deaths.
Year.
Euro-
peans.
Half-
castes
and other
Christians.
Euro-
peans'
Children.
Those of
Half-
castes
and other
Christians.
Europeans,
Elalf-castes,
etc.
Natives on
Slaves, etc.
1700 .
74
134
119
565
697
975
1701 .
65
126
76
341
736
815
1702 .
76
120
83
616
1,088
1,336
1703 .
72
133
190
443
856
931
1704 .
74
144
96
466
442
1,148
1705 .
55
133
100
441
688
1,800
1706 .
79
127
84
447
841
1,839
1707 .
60
116
88
471
655
1,371
1708
49
134
87
638
651
1,481
1709
64
138
82
575
804
1,828
1710
41
152
108
628
684
1,313
1711
63
154
110
555
766
1,487
1712
60
141
110
595
684
1,278
1713
56
154
747
599
1,022
1714
60
150
703
608
1,085
1715
43
159
759
567
1,074
1716
37
129
688
606
1,207
1717
41
147
578
716
1,322
1718
— i
—
663
1719
59
154
631
857
1,869
1720
68
148
529
977
1,685
1721
53
80
467
772
1,210
1722
61
132
649
193
813
1723
43
119
610
985
1,597
1724
34
172
781
934
1,755
1725
60
150
637
958
2,085
In the reformed
churches, and since
1746 in the
Lutheran Church.
1726 .
58
118
616
994
487
1727 .
—
—
740
1728 .
50
155
648
768
590
1729
.
52
135
7
36
754
500
1040
JAVA
Table I. — {contd.).
Marriages.
Births.
Deaths.
Year.
Half.
Europeans' Children,
Europeans,
Half-castes,
etc.
Euro-
castes
with those of Half-
Natives or
peans.
and other
castes and other
Slaves, etc.
Christians.
Christians.
In the reformed
churches, and since
1746 in the
Lutheran Church.
1730 .
45
167
763
857
1,800
1731
45
128
783
886
1,066
1732
55
142
625
1,003
689
1733
—
. —
554
1734
1735
65
166
561
240
667
1736
48
—
727
1737
48
133
572
1,906
705
1738
49
133
448
2,002
919
1739
51
179
658
1,068
668
1740
47
90
518
1,317
338
1741
52
124
670
1,278
406
1742
47
118
G02
1,286
547
1743
84
119
639
1,526
682
1744
—
673
1745
60
117
592
1,965
1,062
1746
—
. —
574
1747
—
,. —
670
1748
—
—
627
1749
39
115
705
1,662
556
1750
63
105
571
2,229
569
1751
38
84
550
2,189
592
1762
135
600
1,858
562
1753
132
457
1,789
1,542
1754
136
553
1,729
617
1755
146
484
2,532
630
1756
143
410
1,729
547
1757 ,
137
465
1,557
561
1758 .
128
468
1,781
1,082
1759 .
97
437
1,451
636
1760 .
124
450
1,403
1,064
1761 .
—
387
1,110
980
1762 .
,
471
1763 .
112
435
2,001
1,134
1764 .
131
297
1,907
685
1765 .
1 —
357
1766 .
356
1767 .
■ .
306
1768 .
93
329
1,933
537
1769 .
124
369
1,869
667
1770 .
12
6 1
302
2,871
2,672
MISCELLANEOUS
Table I. — (contd.).
1041
Marriages.
Births.
Deaths.
Year.
Europeans, Halt-
castfs and other
Christians.
Europeans' Children,
with those of Half-
castes and other
Christians.
Europeans,
Half-castes,
etc.
Natives or
Slaves, etc.
In the reformed
churches, and since
1746 in the
Lutheran Church.
1771 .
93
245
2,425
622
1772
108
301
2,437
2,256
1773
98
284
2,029
534
1774
97
295
2,452
866
1775
214
307
2,997
3,007
1776
100
303
3,055
1,199
1777
98
277
1,394
2,031
1778
104
253
1,804
2,131
1779
82
290
1,524
1,717
1780
113
259
1,418
1,435
1781
. — .
272
1782
75
260
733
1,692
1783
—
292
1784
81
279
1,439
1,669
1785
. —
243
1786
—
238
1787
58
230
1,939
1,278
1788
—
284
1789
—
236
1790
69
220
2,379
1,672
1791
48
216
2,228
1,590
1792
59
171
1,990
1,131
1793
48
149
1,805
1,030
1794
■ —
215
1795
92
183
1,121
953
1796
67
173
1797
52
210
215
930
1798
68
173
280
675
1799
. —
236
1800
68
169
106
1,168
1801
32
169
1802
. —
207
1803
58
182
263
2,356
1804
. —
190
255
1805
83
164
1806
50
171
1807
56
186
—
2.549
1808
—
151
1809
—
131
1810
. —
167
1811 .
. —
136
1812 .
—
115
1813 .
—
138
J. — VOL. II.
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1735
3,722
3,775
3,830
3,757
3,780
3,968
4,141
4,041
4,058
4,050
3,966
3,962
47,050
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1734
3,830
3,963
3,914
3,725
3,711
3,550
3,772
4,294
5,303
4,237
4,025
4,021
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MISCELLANEOUS
1043
Table IIL
Numbers of Births, Marriages, and Deaths of Europeans
AT BaTAVIA from THE OlD REGISTERS, 1816 TO 1847.
Fro7n 1816 to 1828.
Year.
Births.
Marriages.
Deatha.
1816
31
30
222
1817 .
219
58
500
1818
178
64
612
1819
194
68
601
1820
165
77
726
1821
233
82
1,137*
1822
126
76
659
1823
96
93
595
1824
55
22
725
1825
179
62
547
1826
169
44
454
1827
158
56
396
1828
212
44
348
Total
2,015
766
7,522
* The large number of deaths during the year 1821 is on account of an
epidemic of cholera morbus.
Births between 1829 and 1836.
Months.
1829
1830
1831
1832
1833
1834
1835
1830
Total.
January .
15
12
14
20
15
7
9
9
101
February .
21
14
12
6
9
16
15
14
107
March
20
9
9
19
15
12
16
19
119
April
13
16
6
20
10
16
12
18
111
iviay
14
11
12
12
13
11
17
26
116
June
15
9
15
15
16
20
13
17
120
July
13
8
6
12
13
10
17
15
94
August .
36
13
12
18
16
12
16
25
148
September
30
16
16
15
22
15
15
12
141
October .
29
24
21
21
20
16
19
6
156
November
16
24
17
18
10
13
20
13
131
December
16
17
14
12
18
11
19
25
132
Total
238
173
154
188
177
159
188
199
1,476
2
1044
JAVA
Specification of Last Figures.
Year.
Legitimate
Children.
Acknow-
ledged
Children
(European
Father,
Native
Mother).
Illegitimate
Children.
Adopted
Children.
Found-
lings.
Total.
1829
1830
1831
1832
1833
1834
1835
1836
149
120
106
123
126
113
138
141
1,016
74
46
39
29
25
23
29
47
312
15
3
7
17
21
22
18
8
111
4
2
19
5
1
2
3
36
1
238
173
154
188
177
159
188
199
Total .
1
1,476
Marriages between 1829 and 1836.
Months.
1829
1830
1831
1832
1833
1834
1835
1836
Total.
January
_
3
3
4
4
1
5
2
22
February .
1
3
4
3
3
2
5
3
24
March
4
1
3
7
3
3
3
5
29
April
6
3
1
8
4
5
5
5
37
May
6
2
5
6
6
5
7
5
42
June
2
6
3
6
3
6
—
4
30
July
2
2
7
5
5
5
6
2
34
August
2
2
4
2
3
8
1
4
26
September
5
5
7
3
2
3
4
2
31
October .
1
6
2
6
i
1
2
3
28
November
1
2
7
5
4
7
1
2
29
December
4
3
1
3
4
3
4
1
23
Total
34
38
47
58
48
49
43
38
355
MISCELLANEOUS
1045
Specification of last Figures.
Number of Pairs of which
the Men belonged to.
Year.
Total.
Civilians. Army.
1829.
26
8
34
1830.
28
10
38
1831.
36
11
47
1832.
46
12
58
1833.
37
11
48
1834.
41
8
49
1835.
34
9
43
1836.
35
3
38
Total •
283
72
355
Deaths between 1829 and 1836.
Monthis.
1829
1830
1831
1832
1833
1834
1835
1836
Total.
January .
34
46
59
34
38
42
48
36
337
February
33
40
58
31
35
26
32
30
285
March
39
42
36
24
38
25
38
13
255
April
32
45
33
27
28
13
38
21
237
May
33
58
50
41
22
22
36
24
286
June
58
42
44
34
36
30
29
21
294
July
60
61
46
32
34
31
39
33
336
August
57
56
29
37
35
39
44
49
346
September
50
43
50
34
31
32
57
29
326
October .
52
60
22
40
40
51
13
30
308
November
49
76
36
35
36
80
23
31
366
December
48
66
32
50
43
75
34
28
376
Total
545
635
495
419
416
466
431
345
3,752
1046
JAVA
Specification of last Figures.
Males.
Females.
c
c
Year.
Civi.
lians.
>j
OD
a .
eg 03
* .
Still-
bom.
Un-
known.
Total.
a
^
B>J
<
cc
2«5
§2
1829 .
87
255
38
54
59
43
5
4
545
1830 .
106
343
29
49
59
39
9
1
635
1831 .
104
180
50
50
54
46
11
-
495
1832 .
74
158
53
44
50
24
15
1
419
1833 .
85
101
73
44
66
35
12
-
416
1834 .
78
118
99
51
63
44
13
-
466
1835 .
82
122
72
44
58
46
7
-
431
1836 .
56
111
44
34
66
27
7
-
345
Total
672
1,388
458
370
475
304
79
6
3,752
Births between 1837 and 1846.
Months.
1837
1838
1839
1840
1841
1842
1843
1844
1845
1846
Total.
January .
February .
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October .
November
December
Total .
16
11
13
19
26
10
17
10
14
16
17
18
193
9
9
15
18
15
19
10
20
15
10
10
20
170
10
9
18
14
25
9
18
27
16
19
19
13
197
13
19
17
14
15
10
16
22
17
21
14
21
199
17
13
17
14
11
21
12
17
28
18
13
18
199
12
16
13
11
21
19
15
19
17
16
21
17
197
18
5
13
13
19
11
15
17
14
8
16
13
162
17
13
23
12
26
17
13
14
14
15
18
11
193
15
18
15
13
11
21
14
20
15
23
17
26
208
12
16
12
17
13
13
14
17
14
19
17
14
178
139
129
156
145
182
156
144
183
164
165
162
171
1,896
MISCELLANEOUS
1047
Specification of last Figures.
Acknow-
ledged
Year.
Lepitimatc
Children.
Children
(European
Father,
Native
Mother).
Illegitimate
Children.
Adopted
Children.
Found-
lings.
Total.
1837
124
62
5
1
1
193
1838
117
49
3
1
_
170
1839
127
60
7
3
_
197
1840
142
49
•5
3
_
199
1841
126
71
1
1
_
199
1842
123
65
7
2
—
197
1843
113
46
2
I
_
162
1844
132
53
5
3
_
193
1845
142
56
7
3
-
208
1846
109
55
9
5
-
178
Total .
1,255
566
51
23
1
1,896
Marriages between 1837 and 1846.
ilcnths.
1837
1838
1839
1840
1841
1842
1843 1844
1845
1846 1 Total.
January .
February .
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October .
November
December
Total .
4
2
1
3
1
3
3
4
6
4
5
5
41
2
2
5
7
I
4
4
4
2
4
5
6
46
5
4
3
2
2
1
3
6
11
2
3
1
43
5
4
2
5
3
5
I
5
5
3
7
52
2
1
4
5
4
6
3
3
2
4
4
38
7
4
7
1
1
4
1
1
3
7
4
40
2
3
5
3
2
3
6
3
4
2
3
5
40
8
8
3
1
3
1
8
2
1
6
2
6
49
5
2
4
2
5
2
3
5
9
3
4
7
51
3
6
2
5
1
5
I
2
5
4
3
2
39
43
36
36
34
23
34
34
31
47
35
39
47
439
1048
JAVA
Specification of last Figures.
Of these Pairs the Men were :
Year.
Total.
Civilians.
Army.
1837.
37
4
41
1838.
41
5
46
1839.
40
3
43
1840.
44
8
52
1841.
29
9
38
1842.
31
9
40
1843.
33
7
40
1844.
38
11
49
1845.
41
10
51
1846.
31
8
39
Total
365
74
439
Deaths between 1837 and 1846.
Months.
1837
1838
1839
1840
1841
1842
1843
1844
1845
1846
Total.
January .
February .
Marcli
April
May
June
July
August
September
October .
November
December
Total .
32
24
22
36
46
28
42
41
41
52
59
45
468
63
34
53
41
48
60
38
46
28
32
29
42
514
42
17
21
30
31
26
42
32
51
39
33
34
398
35
31
26
25
40
17
32
28
44
31
36
28
373
38
29
40
37
41
35
21
27
36
46
48
55
453
53
49
30
27
22
25
35
45
39
38
38
37
438
27
33
29
17
29
21
33
23
32
30
38
42
354
33
25
17
18
37
44
43
30
18
33
24
27
349
45
41
28
29
26
31
35
17
26
35
24
45
382
41
24
25
25
26
19
16
27
22
32
31
50
338
409
307
291
285
346
306
337
316
337
368
360
405
4,067
MISCELLANEOUS
1049
Specification of last Figures.
Males.
Females.
Still-
bom.
Un-
known.
Year.
Civi-
lians.
g
2
o
t>£>H
§2
tr>-'
Total.
5
<
S
go
^2
75
r-i
^
1837 .
116
87
60
64
62
4
468
1838 .
85
123
94
66
76
59
10
1
514
1839 .
80
102
100
29
46
36
5
-
398
1840 .
70
89
92
38
38
35
11
_
373
1841 .
69
98
142
54
38
39
12
1
453
1842 .
71
92
140
47
32
45
11
-
438
1843 .
69
113
52
41
39
41
9
-
354
1844 .
66
98
62
33
49
31
10
-
349
1845 .
75
114
56
33
57
39
8
-
382
1848 .
65
99
53
39
49
23
10
-
338
Total
715
1,044
878
440
488
410
90
2
4,067
Births, Deaths and Marriages in 1847.
Month.
Births.
Marriages.
Deaths.
January .
February .
Marcb
19
9
14
5
6
6
44
16
19
April
May
June
8
13
15
2
1
19
20
23
July
August
September
October .
14
13
21
23
4
4
4
7
25
28
18
29
November.
15
5
16
December
16
6
15
Total
180
50
272
1050
JAVA
Births specified —
Legitimate children . 138
Acknowledged children . 33
Illegitimate children . 6
Adopted children . . 3
Total . . .180
Deaths specified —
Civilians (men) . . 48
Army . . . .59
Navy . . . .55
Less than 18 years old . 22
Total . . .184
Population. — When the Hindu Rajah of Majapahit was
ruhng his mighty empire, and the people had not yet
abandoned the temples in Mid Java, it has been computed
that the population of the island may have been any number
between one and three and a half millions.
It has also been suggested that the soil in the middle and
eastern districts, being generally considered superior to that
in the western, together with greater facilities being afforded
by them for commerce, may account for this part of Java
having been originally selected as the chief seat of the
Hindu Government, and consequently for the denser
population ^ which, according to old Chinese records,
existed here.
When the Dutch East India Company first established
itself in Java the island was divided into three large empires
— Bantam, Jacatra, and the empire of the Susuhunan, which
last was the most extensive, and comprehended fully two-
thirds of the whole island, Cheribon being feudatory to it,
and consequently the former empire of Pajajaran (Bogoh)
and the Preanger districts likewise, since they were under
the Sultan of Cheribon. This was altered later and the
island became split up into five states or empires, which
altogether contained 123 provinces or governments, among
which the kingdom of Bantam was considered as but one.
Each province or government consisted of a certain
number of tjatjars, or families, the number of which through-
out the whole of Java, including Bantam, was, in the year
1717, 651,080.
1 There was a dense population in the year 700 in Kediri, Sourabaya, and
Pasoeroean,
5,000 families
, or 25,000 ]
persons.
19,390
>>
96,950
>>
63,120
}f
315,600
j>
i83,570
>>
2,417,850
>>
50,000
>>
250,000
>>
30,000
j»
150,000
"
Total
3,255,400
»
MISCELLANEOUS 1051
Calculating these upon an average throughout Java to
consist of one man, two women, and two children, the total
is as follows : —
First State. — In the kingdom of Ban-
tam, exclusive of the city of
Bantam .....
Second State. — In Jacatra, exclusive
of Batavia ....
Third State. — In Cheribon and its
dependencies, Soemedang, Ban-
doeng, etc. ....
FouHh State. — In the countries belong-
ing to the Emperor of Mataram
or the Susuhunan
Fifth State. — In the country of Balam-
bowang (or Banjoewangie)
In the island of lladura
According to a statement of the population in 1738, this had
decreased to one and a half million, which in 1777 had still
further fallen to 972,084, there being only 152,014 tjatjars
in Java and 10,000 in Madura.^
The tjatjar in this instance, however, was taken at six
souls, instead of, as in 1717, at five souls.
This amazing instance of the decrease of a population in
sixty years from more than three millions to less than one
is a proof of the destructive agency of war under an Eastern
despot, who would not accept defeat at the hands of his
European conquerors.
This, however, was not the only cause, the Dutch East
India Company being in some measure responsible. The
forced services and forced deliveries which existed wherever
the Dutch influence could be felt contributed to impoverish
and thereby depopulate the country. The drains also on the
» It is doubtful if this is quite correct, some records giving the population
in 1777 at nearly three times tlie above figure ; and this is possibly, even
probably, the correct total.
1052 JAVA
surrounding districts, to supply the place of the multitudes
who perished in the unhealthy climate of Batavia, must have
been enormous ; and if to these is added the checks to
population which were set up in Bantam, the Preanger
regencies, and Cheribon through the forced pepper and
coffee cultivation, it is not necessary to seek much further.
Table I. shows the European and native population of
Batavia from 1700 to 1793. Such were the effects of this
desolating monopoly system and selfish policy that the
population of the province of Banjoewangie, which in 1750
is said to have amounted to upwards of 80,000 souls, was
by the time of the arrival of the British reduced to 8,000.
Bad government, a policy which secured neither person nor
property, and was selfish, jealous, vexatious and tyrannical,
were the causes helping towards the depopulation.
Since this time, however, the Dutch have learnt their
lesson, so that out of evil has actually come good ; and the
wise and beneficent rule with which they have adminis-
tered their East Indian colonies since 1816 has been the
means of the population increasing itself to six times
the number where it stood at the time when the English
Government ruled the island, a statement which may well
seem astonishing.
The total population of Java and Madura in 1815 appears
from Table II. below to have amounted to 4,615,270, of
which about four and a half millions may be considered as
the indigenous poj)ulation of the country and the re3t as
foreign settlers. In this table wandering persons found along
the coast in the different capitals are not included, neither
is the nautical population, roughly estimated at 30,000
souls ; so that the whole population may be taken at the
time of the English to have been not much less than five
milhons. The table has been further divided up into
districts (see Table III.), with the natives and the Chinese
separated.
MISCELLANEOUS 1053
The Chinese at this period numbered 94,441 ; since then,
however, they have so increased that at the taking of the
last census in 1905 their total had reached 295,193 excluding
those in the outlying islands, who numbered a further
268,256.
Another Table marked IV, shows the total European
population in Java in 1813 to have numbered 3,811. In
1905 the total had reached 64,917, and at the present day
it may be taken at over 70,000 persons.
In addition to this there are full}" 16,000 Europeans in
the dependencies.
To return, however, to the population of the country : a
wise government from the time that the British were in
Java and the absence of drains on life through insurrections,
tyranny, or the blighting effects of the coffee monopoly
have caused the people to settle down comfortably and
their numbers to be on the increase ever since.
The agricultural life, in wliicli the mass of the people are
engaged, is in Java, as in every other country, the most
favourable to health. It not only favom's the longevity of
the existing race, but conduces to its more rapid renewal by
leading to early marriages and a numerous progeny. The
term of life in Java is not much shorter than in the best
climates in Europe.
A very considerable number of persons of both sexes
attain the advanced age of seventy or eighty, and some even
live to one hundred and upwards ; nearly the same pro-
portion survive forty and fifty as in so-called genial climates.
While life is thus healthy and prolonged, there are no
restraints upon the formation of family connections through
scarcity, or the labour of supporting cliildren. Both sexes
arrive at maturity very early, and the customs of the
country, as well as the nature of the climate, impel them to
marry young. The males marry at fifteen or sixteen, and
the females at twelve or thirteen years of age, though
1054 JAVA
frequently the females form connections at nine or ten,
even at seven and eight, infancy and marriage almost going
together.
The conveniences which the married couple require are
few and easily procured. The impulse of nature is seldom
checked by the experience of present deficiencies or the fear
of future poverty. Subsistence is procured without diffi-
culty, and comforts are not wanting. Children which are
for a very short period a burden to their parents become
early the means of assistance and the source of wealth. To
the peasant who tills his field with his own hands, and who
has more land than he can bring into cultivation, they grow
up into a species of property, a real treasure ; while during
their infancy and the season of helplessness they take little
from the fruits of his industry beyond a bare subsistence.
Their education costs little or nothing, scarcely any clothing
is required, his hut needs no enlargement, and no beds are
used. Many of them die in infancy from the small-pox,
but never from scanty food or criminal neglect by the
parents. The women of all classes suckle their children, but
not the wives of the hoj^atis and of the sovereigns, who
employ nurses.
Though women soon arrive at maturity and enter early
into the married state, they continue to bear children to an
advanced age ; and it is no uncommon thing to see a grand-
mother still making additions to her family. Large families
such as occur among the higher classes in England are,
however, rare. Though the women bear in some cases
thirteen or fourteen children, this is rather the exception
than the rule. Miscarriages among the women are not
frequent, and when they occur the cause is generalty found
to have been over-straining or the performance of oppressive
work in the field during pregnancy.
As the labour of the women is nearly as productive as
that of the men, female children become as much objects of
MISCELLANEOUS 1055
solicitude with their parents as male. They are nursed with
the same care and viewed with the same pride and tenderness.
If a girl happens to be a beauty her future is made, for
she will become the wife of one of the chiefs as soon as she
reaches the age of puberty. In no class of Java society are
children of either sex considered as an encumbrance or an
addition to the family as a misfortune ; marriage is therefore
almost universal. An unmarried man past twenty is never
or seldom met with, and an old maid is considered a curiosity.
Neither custom, law, nor religion enjoins celibacy on the
priesthood or any others of the community, and by none of
them is it practised. If a man has not one wife, he has two,
and if not two, three and so on, according to his means of
subsistence ; a wife need not cost him more than 3 rupees,
or 5s. a month.
Although no strictness of principle nor strong sense of
moral restraint prevails in the intercourse of sexes, prostitu-
tion is not common except in the capitals and coast ports,
where it is very prevalent. Most little towns, however,
have a brothel or two, and promiscuous indulgence is very
common everywhere.
As the Javans are a quiet domestic people, little given to
adventure, disinclined to foreign enterprise, not easily
roused to violence or bloodshed, and little disposed to
irregularities of any kind, but few, if any, families are left
destitute in consequence of hazards incurred in crimes com-
mitted by their natural protectors. The character of blood-
thirsty revenge, which has been attributed to all the
inhabitants of the Indian archipelago, by no means belongs
to the people of Java, and though in all cases where justice
is badly administered or absolutely perverted people may
be expected to enforce their rights or redress their grievances
rather by their own action than by an appeal to the magis-
trate, comparatively few lives are lost in the island by
personal affrays or private feuds.
1056 JAVA
Such are a few of the drcumstances that would appear to
have encouraged an increase of population in Java.
Just before the much-condemned but nevertheless very
wise system introduced into Java in 1831, and called the
" cultuur systeem " (culture system), the population of Java
was fixed by census in 1826 at 5,500,000 souls. In 1850
this number was 9,500,000, an increase of 73 per cent, in
twenty-four years. As time went on, however, and the
common people felt more secure, the beneficial effect of the
system increased their means of support and the state of
their domestic affairs improved ; thus the population con-
tinued to increase until it seemed as if the limit had been
reached in 1865, which was five years before the system
came to an end. In this year the census showed a total of
14,168,416, an increase of very nearly 50 per cent, in fifteen
years. It has been proved, however, that there is no limit
to the numbers in a race situated in a country where the
soil is fertile, the climate is almost all that can be desired,
and the government wise and thoughtful'.
In 1879 the population was 19,000,000 and in 1894
25,000,000.
Table V. shows the total population of Java and Madura
on the 31st December, 1905, to be 30,098,010, and Table VI.
shows the result of the census in the dependencies at the
same time.
The population is still growing steadily, and at the present
rate will double itself in about twenty-six years. This will
place a serious and difficult problem before the Dutch.
At present the number of persons is more than 500 to
the square mile ; and there is a limit to what even Java,
the finest tropical island in the world, can support.
The population of Batavia, including the suburbs, Jacatra
and Molenvliet, at the beginning of the century was esti-
mated at 160,000 inhabitants. The Chinese alone were
100,000 ; the natives, Armenians, Persians, Arabs, and
MISCELLANEOUS
1057
Europeans made up the rest. The latter were scarcely
1,200 to 1,500, in the service of the Company and private
merchants. A few of these merchants slept in the old town
above their storehouses, in which work was begun at
6 o'clock in the morning, business being transacted until
10 or 11, when the merchant returned to his country-house,
if he had one, at Molenvliet. He went backwards and for-
wards in a carriage on account of the heat and the length of
the journey.
Table IV. shows that the European population of Batavia
and its suburbs, Jacatra, Molenvliet, Welternxden, Tanalihang,
Passar Senen, and Cramat, in 1813 had risen to 2,299
persons. This excluded, however, the British officers and
soldiers making up the garrisons at Weltevreden and Meester
Cornelis. At the present day the European population of
Batavia, calculated in the same way, amounts roughly to
12,000 persons.
Table I.
List showing the Population of Batavia, Europeans and
Natives, from 1700 to 1793.
(As far as could be ascertained from the registers after the conquest
of Java by the English in 1811.)
Within the Walls.
In the Suburbs.
Year.
Europeans.
Europeans
and Natives.
Europeans.
Europeans
and Natives.
Total.
1700
1701
1702
1703
1704
1705
1706
1707
1708
1709
1710
1,785
1,715
1,755
1,835
1,898
1,771
1,923
1,826
1,769
1,681
1,716
20,072
19,084
19,683
18,580
22,150
19,752
21,899
21,632
20,922
20,600
20,850
215
321
309
534
470
417
411
402
412
368
32,478
48,972
45,452
47,123
49,351
49,483
47,026
54,628
55,581
68,761
52,550
68,056
65,135
65,703
71,501
19,752
71,382
68,658
75,550
76,181
79,611
J. — vol. II.
D D
1058
JAVA
Table I. —
contd.).
Within the Walls.
In the Suburbs.
Year.
Total.
Europeans.
Europeans
and Natives.
Europeans.
Europeans
and Natives.
1711 .
1,723
21,517
341
57,843
79,360
1712 .
1,656
21,538
448
65,865
87,403
1713 .
1,566
19,007
503
69,110
88,117
1714 .
1,644
19,758
553
66,092
85,850
1715 .
1,663
22,242
411
64,657
86,899
1716 .
1,516
18,947
446
60,236
79,183
1717 .
1,443
18,965
290
59,831
78,796
1718 .
—
—
—
—
—
1719 .
1,409
19,411
308
68,082
87,493
1720 .
1,610
21,156
361
67,792
88,948
1721 .
1,477
20,520
387
67,044
87,564
1722 .
695
11,252
417
67,339
78,591
1723 .
1,606
23,716
363
66,079
89,795
1724 .
1,562
23,428
341
62,966
86,394
1725 .
1,615
23,752
332
72,218
95,970
Within the Walls and
In the Vicinity and
Immediate Suburbs.
Envi
rons.
1726 .
1,452
22,814
304
76,893
99,707
1727
—
—
—
—
—
1728
1,538
15,343
289
73,141
88,484
1729
1,389
20,677
232
81,977
102,654
1730
1,330
20,429
209
80,756
101,185
1731
1,431
22,658
241
82,204
104,682
1732
1,445
22,646
211
83,602
106,248
1733
—
—
—
—
—
1734
—
—
—
—
—
1735
1,338
20,587
224
74,367
94,954
1736
—
—
—
—
1737
1,317
19,612
266
67,170
86,782
1738
1,350
11,212
212
64,090
75,302
1739
1,286
18,502
272
68,229
86,731
1740
1,420
14,141
269
72,506
86,647
1741
1,388
13,977
287
47,583
61,560
1742
—
_
259
56,882
56,882
1743
1,481
14,609
321
55,023
69,632
1744
. —
—
—
—
—
1745
1,517
14,926
278
67,254
82,180
1746
1,597
13,852
242
68.785
82,637
1747
1,525
13,854
240
73,163
87,017
1748
—
—
—
—
—
1749
1,541
14,050
318
77,008
91,058
1750
1,520
14,278
313
80,597
94,875
1751
1,439
13,874
336
78,259
92,133
1752
1,513
14,596
311
75,152
89,748
1753
1,651
15,710
325
76,611
92,321
1754
1,575
15,891
358
93,375
109,266
MISCELLANEOUS
Table I. — {contd.).
1059
Within the Town and
In the Vicinity and
Year.
all the Suburbs.
Environs.
Total.
Europeans.
Europeans
and Natives.
Europeans.
Europeans
and Natives.
1755 .
1,599
16,466
369
95,938
112,404
1756 .
1,604
15,925
310
96,702
112,627
1757 .
1,629
16,356
373
103,443
119,799
1758 .
1,560
16,855
447
106,151
123,006
1759 .
1,634
16,785
410
109,393
126,178
1760 .
1,572
16,942
377
111,273
128,215
1761 .
1,499
16,298
305
113,280
129,578
1762 .
—
—
—
—
—
1763 .
1,507
16,282
447
113,009
129,291
1764 .
—
16,008
413
117,207
133,215
1765 .
—
—
—
—
—
1766 .
—
—
—
—
—
1767 .
—
—
—
— ■
—
1768 .
1,642
15,256
273
108,507
123,763
1769 .
1,271
15,430
389
114,750
130,180
1770 .
1,183
13,192
328
123,869
137.061
1771
1,105
12,233
300
121,380
133,613
1772
1,011
12,743
348
112,346
125,089
1773
1,061
13,473
342
107,500
120,973
1774
933
12,134
367
108,215
120,349
1775
1,165
13,512
328
125,635
139,147
1776
. —
—
276
131,895
131,895
1777
896
10,661
279
140,332
150,993
1778
1,137
12,206
238
136,532
147,738
1779
—
—
302
160,986
160,986
1780
747
13,651
278
129,943
143,594
1781
—
—
—
—
—
1782
664
9,517
276
127,039
136,556
1783
—
—
—
—
—
1784
695
10,422
336
129,506
139,928
1785
—
—
—
—
—
1786
—
—
—
— .
—
1787
574
9,910
375
133,151
143,061
1788
—
—
—
—
—
1789
—
—
—
—
—
1790
—
—
—
—
—
1791
325
6,367
450
120,352
126,719
1792
254
8,121
282
119,297
127,418
1793
254
8,121
282
119,297
127,418
D D 2
1060
JAVA
Table II.
Total Population of Java and JMadtjra in 1815, Inclusive
OF Europeans, Slaves and Itinerants.
Slaves ......
Europeans .....
Total
Total as per list
Besides itinerants not included, roughly
estimated at ....
Total
Or + 100 to square mile.
27,142
3,811
30,953
4,615,270
30,000
4,676,223
Table III.
Population in the various Districts in Java and Madura,
1815.
Natives.
Chinese.
Total.
Bantam .
230,976
628
231,604
Batavia .
279,621
52,394
332,015
Biiitenzorg
73,679
2,633
76,312
Preanger
243,268
180
243,448
Cheribon
213,658
2,343
216,001
Tegal
175,446
2,004
177,450
Pecalongan
113,396
2,046
115,442
Samarang
305,910
1,700
307,610
Kedoe
196,171
1,139
197,310
Grobogan
66,109
403
66,512
Japara and Joana
101,000
2,290
103,290
Rembang
154,639
3,891
158,530
Gr6sik .
115,078
364
115,442
Sonrabaya
152,025
2,047
154,072
Pasoeroean
107,752
1,070
108,822
Probolingo
102,927
1,430
104,357
Banjoewangie .
8,554
319
8,873
Surakarta
970,292
2,435
972,727
D jock Jakarta .
683,005
2,202
685,207
Madura .
205,744
12,923
218,667
Total .
4,499,250
94,441
4,593,691
MISCELLANEOUS
1061
Table IV.
European Population in various Districts in Java in 1813.
Batavia (Suburbs)
City of Batavia
Preanger
Krawang
Kandanghauer
Indramayoe
Tegal .
Pecalongan
Samarang
Japara .
Joana
Lasem and Rembang
Tuban .
Sedayoe .
GresUc
Pasoeroean
Total
371
1,928
34
14
6
18
176
154
96
151
50
179
1
4
208
321
3,811
Note. — This was not a complete table.
(For Tables V. and VI. see pp. 1062—63.)
Census-taking. — In early years there was considerable
difficulty in ensuring that the native chiefs took the census
with sufficient care, and not by their usual method of
counting the tjatjars ; the following story is related of how
the Eajah of Lombok, an island quite near Java, took it.^
How the Bajah of Lonibok took the Census. — The Eajah of
Lombok was a very wise man and he showed his wisdom
greatly in the way he took the census. The chief revenue
of the rajah was derived from a head-tax of rice, a small
measure being paid annually by every man, woman, and
child in the island. There is no doubt that every one paid
this tax, for it was a very light one, and the land was fertile
and the people well off ; but it had to pass through many
hands before it reached the Government warehouse. When
^ The story, -which I believe is perfectly true, is taken from Profeasor
A. R. Wallace's "Malay Archipelago."
n
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o
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o
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Total
Population
on 31st
December,
1905.
«CO t^OC-l^O I^^C- r-H -^ r-' tc t^ C -^ IS C5
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00
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1
1
891,541
1,999,978
2,681,962
1,682,273
1,969,450
2 671,492
1477,197
2,395,618
2,001,654
965,636
1.478,110
2,322,987
1,110,814
1,577.996
1,342,796
1,758,579
1,487,926
00
§
s
1
453,476
1,019,783
1,383,846
863,639
996,720
1,317,207
750,325
1,221,505
1,023,454
482,946
749,902
1,179,400
567,299
800,946
675,530
873,626
767,463
U5
438,065
980,195
1,298,116
818,634
972,730
1,254,285
726 872
1,174,113
978,100
482,690
728,208
1,143,587
643,515
777,051
667,266
884,954
720,462
CO
00
00
<2
in
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o
a
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O
t-J- lAt^-*— I 1 O GO -)■ ■* rt 00 '- lO CO
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00
1
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cot^ inco(Ni-i |r-ieocoeo lOooco eo
<
3
e
82
2,772
124
2,706
2,111
854
633
3,732
1,926
1,940
48
181
97
337
20
1,586
00
■*
C
S
o
t^CO iftift(M'Mt^-^00-^CD(NOOOOC© \ O
itCD lOO-HWO-^i-OC-JfNoOCOCO O
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00
13
uOCS CiO01(NC00000C0(MCRC:C5-^ It^
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CO
in
(M
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a
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1,356
43,103
3,819
10,741
7,986
16,575
9,195
11,175
5,983
1,305
3,196
6,086
2,949
4,968
2,257
6,110
1,532
CO
I>
eo
1^ t^ t^ 01 Oi CO r-( »a rH CD CO r* CO c^ r'- eo
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2
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3
o
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coo CO 00 i-H -0 CO 00 00 OO -* CO CO rH
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«« ooMo^iM'Woocoifl<et^coo-*cs o>
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Area
in
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Geo-
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1,436
2,117
3,710
1,233
1,008
1,488
1,352
1,081
1,594
1,846
1,010
992
565
1.129
1.068
1.273
983
00
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1
Bantam
Batavia
Preanger - Regentschap-
pen ....
Cheribon
Pecalongan .
Samarang
Rembang . ,
Sourabaya .
Pasoeroean .
Besoeki
Banjocmas .
Kedoe ....
Djockjakarta
Soerakarta .
Madioen
Kediri.
Madoera . ,
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1064 JAVA
the harvest was over the villagers brought their rice to the
kapala hampong, or head of the village, and no doubt he had
sometimes compassion on the poor or sick and passed over
their short measure, and sometimes was obliged to grant a
favour to those who had complaints against him ; and then
he must keep up his dignity by having his granaries better
filled than his neighbours, and so the rice he took to the
waidono that was over his district was generally a good deal
less than it should have been. And all the ivaidonos had,
of course, to take care of themselves, for they were all in
debt, and it was so easy to take a little of the Government
rice, and there would still be plenty for the rajah. More-
over, if they did not look after themselves, who would ?
And the gustis or princes who received the rice from the
waidonos helped themselves likewise, and so when the harvest
w^as all over and the rice tribute was all brought in the
quantity was found to be less each year than the one before.
Sickness in one district, and fevers in another, and failure
of the crops in a third were of course alleged as the cause of
this falling off, but when the rajah went to hunt at the foot
of the great gunung (mountain), or went to visit a gusii, on
the other side of the island, he ahvays saw the villages full
of people, all looking well-fed and happy. And he noticed
that the kris of his chiefs and officers were getting
handsomer and handsomer ; and those that were of yellow-
wood were changed for ivory, and those of ivory were
changed for gold, and diamonds and emeralds sparkled on
many of them ; and he knew very well which way the
tribute rice went. But as he could not prove it, he kept
silence, and resolved in his ow^n heart some day to have a
census taken, so that he might know the number of his
people and not be cheated out of more rice than was just
and reasonable.
But the difficulty was how to get this census. He could
not go himself into every village and every house and count
.7
)^'
W
■a.
i
.'^*fr
P^-
THE CRATER OF THE BROMO.
MISCELLANEOUS 1065
all the people ; and if he ordered it to be done by the
regular officers they would quickly understand what it was
for, and the census would be sure to agree exactly with the
quantity of rice he got last year. It was evident, therefore,
that to answer his purpose no one must suspect why the
census w^as taken, and to make sure of this no one must
know that there was any census taken at all. This was a
very hard problem, and the rajah thought and thought as
hard as a Malay rajah can be expected to think, but could not
solve it ; and so he was very unhappy, and did nothing but
smoke and chew betel-nut with his favourite wives and eat
scarcely anytliing ; and even when he went to the cock-
fight he did not seem to care whether his best birds won or
lost. For several days he remained in this sad state, and
all the court were afraid some evil eye had bewitched the
rajah ; and an unfortunate Irish captain who had come into
port for a cargo of rice, and who squinted dreadfully, was
very near being krissed, but being first brought to the
royal presence was graciously ordered to go on board and
remain there while his ship remained in port.
One morning, however, after about a week's continuance
of this unaccountable melancholy, which the rajah had
simulated very well, a welcome change took place, for the
rajah sent to call together all the chiefs and priests and
princes who were then in Matarem, his capital city ; and
when they were all assembled in anxious expectation he
then addressed them.
" For many days my heart has been very sick and I knew
not why, but now the trouble is cleared away, for I have
dreamed a dream. Last night the spirit of the Gunung
Api, the great fire mountain, appeared to me, and told me
that I must go up to the top of the mountain. All of you
may come with me to near the top, but then I must go up
alone, and the great spirit will again appear to me and will
tell me what is of great importance to me and to you and
1066 JAVA
to all the people of this island. Now go all of you and make
this known throughout the land, and let every village fur-
nish men to make a clear road for us to go through the forest
and up the great burning mountain."
So the news was spread over the whole island that the
rajah must go to meet the great spirit on the top of the
mountain. And the people all marvelled, for they knew
that the wisdom of their rajah was exceeding great ; more-
over, he was blessed with many wives and concubines and
was a good man. And every village sent forth its men,
and they cleared away the jungle and made bridges over the
mountain streams and smoothed the rough places for the
rajah's passage. And when they came to the steep and
craggy rocks of the mountain they sought out the best
paths, sometimes along the bed of a torrent, sometimes
along narrow ledges of the black rocks, and in one place
cutting down a tall tree so as to bridge across a chasm, in
another constructing ladders to mount the smooth face of
a precipice. The chiefs who superintended the work fixed
upon the length of each day's journey beforehand according
to the nature of the road, and chose pleasant places by the
banks of clear streams and in the neighbourhood of shad}^
trees, where they built sheds and huts of bambu well thatched
with the leaves of palm trees, in which the rajah and his
attendants might eat and sleep at the close of each day.
And when all was ready the princes and priests and chief
men came again to the rajah, to tell him what had been
done and to ask him when he would go up to the mountain.
And he fixed a day and ordered every man of rank and
authority to accompany him, to do honour to the great
spirit who had bid him undertake the journey, and to show
how willingly they obeyed his commands. And then there
was much preparation throughout the whole island. The
best cattle were killed and the meat salted and sun-dried ;
and abundance of red peppers and sweet potatoes were
MISCELLANEOUS 1067
gathered, and the tall pinang trees were chmbed for the
spicy betel-nut, the sirih leaf was tied up in bundles, and
every man filled his tobacco pouch and lime box to the brim,
so that he might not want any of the materials for chewing
the refreshing betel during the journey, and the stores of
provisions were sent on a day in advance. And on the
day before that appointed for starting all the chiefs both
great and small came to Matarem, the abode of the king,
with their horses and their servants, and the bearers of
their sirih boxes and their sleeping mats and their provisions,
and they encamped under the tall ivarmgin trees that border
all the roads about Matarem, and with blazing fires frighted
away the ghosts and evil spirits that nightly haunt the
gloomy avenues.
In the morning a great procession was formed to conduct
the rajah to the mountain. And the royal princes and rela-
tions of the rajah mounted their black horses, whose tails
Bwept the ground ; they used no saddle or stirrups, but sat
Upon a cloth of gay colours ; the bits were of silver and
the bridles of many-coloured cords. The less important
people w^ere on small strong horses of various colours, well
suited to a mountain journey, and all (even the rajah) were
bare-legged to above the knee, wearing only the gay-coloured
cotton waist-cloth, a silk or cotton jacket, and a large hand-
kerchief tastefully folded round the head. Every one was
attended by one or two servants bearing his sirih and betel
boxes, who were also mounted on ponies ; and great numbers
more had gone on in advance or waited to bring up the rear.
The men in authority were numbered by hundreds and their
followers by thousands, and all the island wondered what
great thing would come of it.
For the first two days they went along good roads, and
through many villages which were kept clean and had bright
cloths hung out at the windows ; and all the people, when
the rajah came, squatted down upon the ground in respect
1068 JAVA
and every man riding got off his horse and squatted down also
" for the greatness of the rajah was very great, and the
spirits were in communication with him." At every village
many joined the procession. At the place where they
stopped for the night the people had placed stakes along
each side of the roads in front of the houses.
These were split cross-Avise at the top, and in the cleft
were fastened little clay lamps, and between them were
stuck the gi'een leaves of palm trees, which, dripping with
the evening dew, gleamed prettily with the many twinkling
lights. And few went to sleep that night till the morning
hours, for every house held a knot of eager talkers, and much
betel-nut was consumed, and endless were the conjectures
what would come of it.
On the second day they left the last village behind
them and entered the wild country that surrounds the great
mountain, and rested in the huts that had been prepared for
them on the banks of a stream of cold and sparkling water.
And the rajah's hunters, armed with long and heavy
guns, went in search of deer and wild bulls in the surround-
ing woods, and brought home the meat of both in the early
morning and sent it on in advance to prepare the mid-day
meal. On the third day they advanced as far as the horses
would go and encamped at the foot of high rocks, among
which narrow pathways only could be found to reach the
mountain-top. And on the fourth morning when the
rajah set out he was accompanied only by a small party
of priests and princes with their immediate attendants ;
and they toiled wearily up the rugged way, and sometimes
were carried by their servants, till they passed up above
the great trees, and then among the thorny bushes, and
above them again into the black and burnt rock of the
highest part of the mountain.
And when they were near the summit the rajah ordered
them all to halt, while alone he went to meet the gi'eat
MISCELLANEOUS 1069
spii'it on the very peak of the mountain. So he went on
with the two boys only, who carried his sirih and betel, and
soon reached the top of the mountain among gi'eat rocks,
in the edge of the great gulf whence issue forth continually
smoke and vapom*. And the rajah asked for sirih, and
told the boys to sit down under a rock and look down the
mountain and not to move till he returned to them. And
as they were tired, and the sun was warm and pleasant,
and the rock sheltered them from the wind and cold, the
boys fell aselep.
And the rajah went a little way on under another rock,
and he was tired, and the sun was warm and pleasant, and
the rock sheltered him from the wind and cold, and he too
fell asleep.
And those who were waiting for the rajah thought him a
long time on the top of the mountain and thought the great
spirit must have much to say, or might perhaps want to
keep him on the mountain always, or perhaps he had missed
his way in coming down again. And they were debating
whether they should go and search for him, when they saw
him coming do-^Ti with the two boys. And when he met
them he looked very grave, but said nothing ; and then all
descended together and the procession returned as it had
come ; and the rajah went to his palace, and the chiefs to
their villages, and the people to their houses, to tell their
wives and children all that had happened, and to wonder
yet again what it all portended, and what would come of it.
And the people wondered all the more when their rajah
spoke not. But three days afterwards the rajah summoned
the priests and the princes and the chief men of Matarem
to hear what the great sphit had told him on the top
of the mountain, and when they were all assembled and
the betel and sirih had been handed all round, he told
them what had happened. On the top of the mountain
he had fallen into a trance, and the great spirit had
1070 JAVA
appeared to him with a face h'ke burnished gold, and
had said, " Oh, Rajah ! much plague and sickness and
fevers are coming upon all the earth, upon men, and upon
horses, upon boys, and upon cattle ; but as you and your
people have obeyed me, and have come up to my great
mountain, I will teach you how you and all the people
of Lombok may escape this plague." And all waited
anxiously to hear how they were to be saved from so great
and fearful a calamity. And after a short silence the
rajah spoke again, and told them that the great spirit had
commanded that twelve sacred hris should be made, and
that to make them every village and every district must
send a bundle of needles, a needle for every head in the
village. And when any grievous disease appeared in any
village one of the sacred kris should be sent there, and if
every house in that village had sent the right number of
needles the disease would immediately cease ; but if the
number of needles sent had not been exact, the kris would
have no virtue.
So the princes and chiefs sent to all their villages and
communicated the wonderful news ; and the people rejoiced
and were exceeding glad, for their rajah was a righteous man
and knew how to deal with the spirits.
And all made haste to collect the needles with the greatest
accuracy, for they feared that if but one were wanting the
whole village would suffer. So one by one the head men of
the villages brought in their bundles of needles ; those who
were near Matarem came first, and those who were far off
came last ; and the rajah received them with his own hands
and put them away carefully in an inner chamber, in a
camphor- wood chest whose hinges and clasps were of silver ;
and on every bundle was marked the name of the village and
the district from whence it came, so that it might be known
that all had heard and obeyed the commands of the great
spirit.
MISCELLANEOUS 1071
And when it was quite certain that every village had sent
in its bundle, the rajah divided the needles into twelve
equal parts, and ordered the best steel worker in Matarem
to bring his forge and his bellows and his hammers to the
palace and to make the twelve kris under the rajah's eye,
and in the sight of all men who chose to see it. And when
they were finished they were wrapped up in new silk and
put away carefully until they might be wanted.
Now the journey to the mountain was in the East monsoon
when no rain falls in Lombok ; and soon after the kris
were made it was the time of the rice harvest and the chiefs
of districts and villages brought in their tax to the rajah
according to the number of heads in their villages. And
to those that wanted but little of the amount the rajah said
nothing ; but when those came who brought only half or a
fourth part of what was strictly due, he said to them mildly,
*' The needles which you sent from your village were many
more than came from such a one's village, yet your tribute
is less than his ; go back and see who it is that has not paid
the tax." And the next year the produce of the tax
increased greatly, for they feared that the rajah might
justly kill those who a second time kept back the right
tribute. And so the rajah waxed very rich and increased
the number of his soldiers, and his wives, and his concubines.
And to his wives he gave golden jewels, and bought fine
black horses from the white-skinned Hollanders and made
great feasts when his children were born or were married ;
and none of the rajahs or sultans among the Malays were so
great or so powerful as the Kajah of Lombok.
And the twelve sacred kris had great virtue, and when
any sickness appeared in a village one of them was sent for :
and sometimes the sickness went away and then the sacred
kris was taken back with great honour and the head men of
the village came to tell the rajah of its miraculous power and
to thank him. And sometimes the sickness would not go
1072 JAVA
away ; and then everybody was convinced that there had
been a mistake in the number of needles sent from that
village, and therefore the sacred kris had no effect and had
to be taken back again by the head men with heavy hearts,
but still with all honour, for was not the fault their own ?
MISCELLANEOUS 1073
Part IIL
Crime. Punishments. Valley of Death — Vegetable Poisons. Edible
Birds' Nests. Shells. Piracy. Slavery. Chinese in Java. Harbours.
Mountains and Volcanoes — ^Eruptions. Meteorites. Rivers. Lakes.
Irrigation. Roads. Railways aud Tramways. Post. Telegraphs.
Telephones. Shipping.
Crime. — Crime among the Javans of the present day is
not commoner than among other Asiatic nations. On the
whole the Javans may be considered a peaceful people, and
not given to violence or bloodshed ; in fact, among them-
selves, and ruled by good bopatis, they are little disposed to
irregularities, and there is no race more easily managed
and controlled.
If one looks back, however, at the " Day Register " of
the old Castle of Batavia (" Dagh Register van de Oude
Kasteel "), one is struck by the amount of crime that was
rampant at this time ; scarcely a day passed without one
or more natives having to be punished by the Dutch with
strangulation, or with what appears to have been just as
common, torture. The crimes, however, appear to have been
frequently trivial, and it is probable that there was actually
no more crime among the natives then than now, but that
the Dutch, ever fearing an insurrection, which with their
small numbers would have been difficult to deal with, ruled
with a rod of iron, punishing among the natives every little
dereliction of duty as a crime.
Incidentally it may be remarked that crime among the
Dutch themselves at this period seems to have been very
frequent. This is, however, scarcely a matter for wonder
when we bear in mind the fact that on account of the
unhealthy cHmate of old Batavia the better classes among
the Dutch refused to proceed there.
The class which went was the riff-raff of Amsterdam and
J. — VOL. II. E E
1074 JAVA
Eotterdam, bankrupts, ne'er-do-wells, swindlers, and rogues
and vagabonds — men that could never do well anywhere,
mere fortune-hunters, whose sole object was money and
gain, and whose greed, avarice, and lust were notorious.
These were the men who served in the various positions
in the old East India Company, and lined their pockets
at the expense of the shareholders. Among such a class is
it a wonder if there was a large percentage of crime ? The
higher ofi&cials, too, were actuated by the same principles of
gain as the lower, and one and all seemingly had but a single
idea in coming to Batavia in these days, namely, to get
rich in the shortest time, if possible honestly — but to get
rich.
Punishments. — Punishments among the Javans, as
among all Asiatic nations, were formerly cruel and abomin-
able beyond conception, and the refinement of torture and
the pain inflicted upon the poor sufferer reached a degree
scarcely imaginable.
The victim was impaled, crucified, or mutilated — ^it
might be emasculated first — or his legs and arms broken.
He was perhaps pounded to a jelly in a rice block, or he
would be pierced with krisses and the wounds rubbed with
sugar in order to entice the ants to make festering wounds
and cause gangrene.
Sometimes the culprit was stood upright on his head
and then shced down the middle. All these punishments
and many more besides, equally severe, fell upon those
Javans who had committed some crime or had incurred the
wrath of their sovereign or his bopati.
In matters of punishment, however, the Dutch in the
early days at Batavia were in no whit behind the Javans,
and to be crucified, burnt by hot irons, dismembered,
flogged to death, or broken on the wheel were some of the
Hghter punishments the " board of schepenen " (or alder-
men) inflicted upon white man and black alike.
liOAIi-W ATKKIMi IN .I.WA.
THK 1)().\AN AT T.I ILAT.I AP.
MISCELLANEOUS 1075
Their most terrible punishment, however, was impale-
ment.
In the year 1769 there was an execution of this kind at
Batavia of a Macassar slave who had murdered his master.
The criminal was led in the morning to the place of execu-
tion, the grass plot or plain, and laid upon his belly, being
held down by four men.
The executioner made a transverse incision at the lower
part of the body as far as the os sacrum ; he then intro-
duced the sharp point of the spike, which was about 6 feet
long and made of polished iron, into the wound so that it
passed between the backbone and the skin. Two men
drove it forcibly up along the spine, while the executioner
held the end and gave it a proper direction till it came out
between the neck and shoulders. The lower end was next
put into a wooden post and riveted fast, and the sufferer
was lifted up thus impaled and the post stuck in the
ground.
At the top of the post, about 10 feet from the ground,
there was a kind of bench, upon which the body rested.
The insensibility or fortitude of the miserable sufferer was
incredible. He did not utter the least complaint, except
when the spike was riveted into the pillar ; the hammering
and shaking occasioned by it seemed to be intolerable to
him, and he then bellowed out for pain ; and like'^ise again
when he was hfted up and set upon the ground.
He sat in this dreadful situation till death put an end to
his torments, which fortunately occurred the next day
about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. He owed this speedy
termination of his misery to a light shower of rain, which
continued for about an hour, and he gave up the ghost
half an hour afterwards.
There have been instances at Batavia of criminals who
have been impaled in the dry season, and have remained
alive for eight or more days without any food or drink,
E E 2
1076 JAVA
which is prevented being given to them by a guard stationed
at the place of execution for that purpose.
None of the vital parts are injured by the impalement,
which made the punishment the more cruel and intolerable,
but as soon as any water gets into the wound it mortifies
and occasions gangrene, which directly attacks the vital
parts and brings on almost immediate death.
This miserable sufferer continually complained of the
intolerable thirst which is peculiarly incident to this terrible
punishment.
The criminals are exposed during the whole day to the
burning rays of the sun, and are unceasingly tormented
by numerous stinging insects.
About three hours before he died he was in conversation
with the bystanders, relating to them the manner in which
he had murdered his good master and expressing his repen-
tance for the crime he had committed.
This he did with great composure, yet an instant after-
wards he burst out in the most bitter complaints of
unquenchable thirst and raved for drink, but no one
was allowed to alleviate by a single drop of water his
excruciating torments.
The Dutch East India Company always asserted that
without this cruel punishment they were unable to restrain a
treacherous race, with no moral principles, from the per-
petration of the greatest crimes.
It may be granted that they thought so, but had a
better class of Dutchmen ruled over Batavia during the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries such tortures would
never have been found a necessity.
These terrible punishments and mutilations went on
until the time of Sir Stamford Raffles, for even Governor-
General Daendels, although he improved a great many
institutions in the island, failed to modify the code for
criminal punishment. Daendels on the whole, and taking
MISCELLANEOUS 1077
into consideration the time in which he Hved, was as far
as this matter was concerned the hardest governor there has
ever been, and the punishment which followed the slightest
disobedience or dereliction of duty, or the failure to carry out
a given task set by the government or himself, in the required
time, met with swift and speedy death. His policy was
immediate punishment, and in carrying this out it has some-
times been questioned whether he always punished the right
man, so short and cursory was the court-martial ; in fact
it was a case with him of " rather hang the wrong fellow
than no fellow."
In the proclamatiom of Lord Minto, done at MolenvHet
on the 11th September, 1811, one of the clauses reads : —
" The modifications of the Dutch law now to be adopted are
the following.
" First. Neither torture nor mutilation shaU make part of
any sentence to be pronounced against criminals." Etc., etc.
The following is a small extract I have taken from the
punishment register of the " Dagh Register " of the " Oude
Kasteel " of Batavia : —
Before the Court of Justice, which sat in the Old Castle
OF Batavia during March, 1670.
[Translation.]
" Louis, from Bengal, slave of Mr. William Mouray, for sundry
impertinencies, to be imprisoned, branded, flogged, and, at the
discretion of his owner, shackled.
" Claes Josua Cuhl, from Otterdorp, corporal, for making
trouble, to be hung up three times and imprisoned in chains for
eight months.
'* Matihys de Jonge, from Dort, soldier, for making trouble, to
be hung up three times and imprisoned in chains for a year.
" Hendrick Balckman, from Wesel, soldier ; Jan Vorsten, from
Hamburg, soldier ; Jan Jansen Lyndrayer, woodcutter, for being
absent, to be well flogged three times and imprisoned in chains
for six months.
1078 JAVA
" Pieter, from Batavia, for being twice absent, to be flogged
three times and imprisoned in chains for three years.
" Jan Bocksteert, soldier, for sundries, to be flogged three times
and imprisoned in chains for three years.
" Bastiaen Jochums, for sundries, to be tortured and imprisoned
in chains for a year.
In May, 1670.
" Sangady, from Padang, for sundries, to be strangled.
" Mey Intchie, for sundries, to be burnt, and sent to the Cape
for ten years.
In July, 1670.
" Remeus Rogers, for sundries, to be tortured and imprisoned
for a year in chains.
" Francis, from Bengal, slave of Hendrick Levendig, for
sundries, to be tortured, hung up, branded and imprisoned for
three years in chains with the meanest work.
" Dirck Jacobs, soldier, for being twice absent, to be flogged
twice and imprisoned for five years in chains.
" Lauren Jacobse Muts, of Rotterdam, for manslaughter, to be
brought to his death by the sword being drawn across his body.
" Moeda, of Macassar, to be tortured, branded, and imprisoned
for twenty-five years in chains, with the meanest work,
" Ma Banjar, female, slave of the Chinaman Eencko, because
she ran away, to be tortured and kept in chains for two years,
according to the wishes of her owner.
" Jacob Bastiense, of Rotterdam, quartermaster, for man-
slaughter, to be brought to his death with the sword."
Valley of Death. — It was in 1773, at the time an English
doctor named C. H. was living at Batavia/ and issued a
treatise on vegetable poison, that the so-called imaginative
Dr. Foerch, a surgeon to the Dutch East India Company
stationed at Samarang, startled the whole world and made
* In vain have I searched for his full name.
MISCELLANEOUS 1079
the blood grow cold with his description of the Gunung
Upas} He described himself as standing in horror on
a blasted plain, covered with skeletons, with but one
other object, a deadly wpas tree, in sight. It has been
said that Foerch discovered this valley on the volcano
Papandayang, but as there is nothing answering to it on
this mountain, and since it is very far from Samarang, it is
unHkely that tliis is the place he referred to.
Near Samarang, however, or at least not more than two
days' journey, is the mountain Dieng, and a visit here will
prove that however much Dr. Foerch exaggerated and
varnished liis tale — and it is not absolutely proved that he
did so — there does exist on this mountain, which was the
seat of a Hindu empire with a holy city for more than one
thousand years,^ a valley of death, or a dangerous and
poisonous zone. Into this valley, but only in the very early
hours of the day, and under the special guardianship of a
European who lives near, the traveller can go, but if there ia
the slightest chance of a breeze rising all living persons must
leave it instantly.^
This bare and desolate place stands in the midst of
reservoirs of poisonous gases fatal to the human system, and
if, as may have been the case in earlier years, a hoJion upas
(upas tree) stood alone in the valley — and these trees are to
be found in various places in the island — there is nothing
more likely than that criminals condenmed to death were
sent there to fetch some of the upas poison and never
returned. The improbability, therefore, of Foerch finding
skeletons there is perhaps not so ridiculous and absurd as
Dr. Horsfield, who only visited the Papandayang, and others
have tried to make out.
The bohon upas {Antiaris toxicaria) is common in the east
» The "Mountain of the Upas Tree."
2 See Chapter on " Antiquities."
^ The Author has never been in the valley himself, but knows persons
who have been.
1080 JAVA
of Java, in the residency or province of Banjoewangie
(formerly called Balembouang). The tree looks like an elm,
and grows to the height of about 30 to 40 feet. The leaves
are alternate, oval, and rough to the touch. The flowers
are dioecious and axillary. The male is formed of a round
receptacle sprinkled with stamina ; the female has two
pistils. The fruit is round and contains a kernel. On
breaking a branch of the tree a milky juice runs out from it
and immediately condenses itself ; this is the famous
poison. Mixed with the blood it kills almost instantaneously,
although the Javans eat the animals killed by means of
this poison without feeling any ill effect from it. That the
atmosphere of the tree is mortal is unfounded, but the story
that it is so was held to be true by the natives for many
years. It seems that this idea arose through some of the
former sovereigns of Java, finding the number of their
brothers and their large families raised through polygamy
an embarrassment, banished them with other state criminals
to marshy and unhealthy districts situated on the southern
coast of the island.^ As the greater part of these exiles
soon perished, the people imagined that they were killed by
the exhalations of the hohun upas.
Vegetable Poisons. — The interesting report of the English
surgeon called C. H. on the poison is here given in full : —
" In the year 1774 I was stationed at Batavia as a surgeon
in the service of the Dutch East India Company. During
my residence there I received several different accounts of the
bohun upas, and the violent effects of its poison. They all
seemed incredible to me, but raised niy curiosity in so high a
degree, that I resolved to investigate this subject thoroughly and
to trust only to my own observations. In consequence of this
resolution, I applied to the Governor-General, M. Petrus Albertus
van der Parra, for a pass to travel through the country ; my
request was granted, and having procured every information, I
set out on my expedition. I had procured a recommendation
1 Banyumas.
MISCELLANEOUS 1081
from an old Malayan priest to another priest, who lives on the
nearest habitable spot to the tree, which is about fifteen or
sixteen miles distant. The letter proved of great service to me
in my undertaking, as that priest is appointed by the emperor to
reside there, in order to prepare for eternity the souls of those
who for different crimes are sentenced to approach the tree to
procure the poison.
" The bohun upas is situated in the island of Java, about
twenty-seven leagues from Batavia, fourteen from Souracarta,
the seat of the emperor, and twenty leagues from Tinlcoe} the
present residence of the Sultan of Java ; it is surrounded on all
sides by a circle of high hills and mountains, and the country
round it to the distance of ten or twelve mUes from the tree is
entu-ely barren. Not a tree nor a shrub, nor even the least plant
or grass, is to be seen. I have made the tour all around this
dangerous spot, at about eighteen miles distance from the centre,
and I found the aspect of the countrj' on all sides equally dreary.
" The easiest ascent of the hills is from that part where the old
ecclesiastic dwells. From his house the criminals are sent for
the poison, into which the points of all warlike instruments are
dipped. It is of high value, and produces a considerable revenue
to the emperor. The poison which is produced from this tree is
a gum that issues out between the bark and the tree itself, like
the camphor. Malefactors, who for their crimes are sentenced
to die, are the only persons who fetch the poison, and this is the
only chance they have of saving their lives. Aft^r sentence is
pronounced upon them by the judge, they are asked in court
whether they will die by the hands of the executioner or whether
they wUl go to the upas tree for a box of poison ? They com-
monly prefer the latter proposal, as there is not only some chance
of preserving their lives, but also a certainty, in case of their safe
return, that a provision will be made for them in future by the
emperor. They are also permitted to ask a favour from the
emperor, which is generally of a trifling nature and commonly
granted. They are then provided with a silver or tortoise-shell
box, into which they are to put the poisonous gum, and are
properly instructed how to proceed while they are upon their
dangerous expedition ; among other particulars, they are always
to attend to the direction of the winds, as they go towards the
1 Passat Gede, near Djockjakarta, where the old Kratou stood.
1082 JAVA
tree, before the wind, so that the effluvium from the tree is always
blown from them. They are told likewise to travel with the
utmost despatch, as that is the only method of ensuring a safe
return.
" They are afterwards sent to the house of the old priest, to
which place they are commonly attended by their friends and
relations. Here they generally remain some days, in expectation
of a favourable breeze. During that time the ecclesiastic prepares
them for their future fate by prayers and admonitions. When
the hour of their departure arrives, the priest puts them on a long
leather cap, with two glasses before their eyes, which comes down
as far as their breast, and also provides them with a pair of leather
gloves. They are then conducted by the priest and their friends
and relations about two miles on their journey ; here the priest
repeats his instructions, and tells them where they are to look for
the tree. He shows them a hill which they are told to ascend, and
that on the other side they will find a rivulet, which they are to
follow, and which wiU conduct them directly to the upas. They
now take leave of each other, and amidst prayers for then' success,
the delinquents hasten away. The worthy old ecclesiastic has
assured me that during his residence there for upwards of thirty
years he had dismissed above seven hundred criminals in the
manner which I have described, and that scarcely two out of
twenty returned. He showed me a catalogue of all the unhappy
sufferers, with the date of their departure from his house annexed,
and a list of the offences for which they had been condemned, to
which was added a list of those who had returned in safety. I
afterwards saw another list of these culprits at the jail-keeper's
at Souracarta, and found they perfectly corresponded with each
other, and with the different informations which I afterwards
obtained.
" I was present at some of these melancholy ceremonies, and
desired different delinquents to brmg with them some pieces of
wood, or a small branch, or some leaves of this wonderful tree.
I have also given them silken cords desiring them to measure its
thickness. I never could procure more than two dry leaves, that
were picked up by one of them on his return, and all I could learn
from him concerning the tree itself was that it stood on the border
of a rivulet, as described by the old priest, that it was of middle
size, that five or six young trees of the same kind stood close by
it, but that no other shrub or plant could be seen near it, and that
MISCELLANEOUS 1083
the gi'ound was of a brownish sand, full of stones, almost imprac-
ticable for travelling, and covered with dead bodies.
" After many conversations with the old Malayan priest I
questioned him about the first discovery, and asked his opinion of
this dangerous tree, upon which he gave me the following answer :
* We are told in our Alcoran that above one hundred years ago
the country around the tree was inhabited by a people strongly
addicted to the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah ^ ; when the great
prophet Mahomet determined not to suffer them to lead such
detestable lives any longer, he applied to God to punish them,
upon which God caused to grow out of the earth this tree, which
destroyed them all, and rendered the country ever uninhabitable.' ^
Such was the Malayan opinion. I shall not attempt a comment,
but must observe that all the Malayans consider this tree as an
holy instrument of the great prophet to punish the sins of mankind,
and therefore to die of the upas is generally considered among
them as an honourable death. For that reason I also observed
that the delinquents who were going to the tree were generally
dressed in their best apparel. This, however, is certain, though
it may appear incredible, that from fifteen to eighteen miles
round this tree not only no human creature can exist, but that in
that space of ground no living animal of any kind has ever been
discovered. I have also been assured by several persons of
veracity that there are no fish in the waters, nor has any rat,
mouse or any other vermin been seen there, and when any birds
fly so near this tree ^ that the effluvium reaches them, they faU a
sacrifice to the effects of the poison.
" This circumstance has been ascertained by many delinquents,
who in their turn have seen the birds drop down, and have picked
them up dead and brought them to the old ecclesiastic. I will
mention an instance which proves the fact beyond all doubt, and
which happened during my stay in Java.
"In 1775arebellion broke out among thesubjectsof the Massay,*
a sovereign prince whose dignity is nearly equal to that of the
emperor. They refused to pay duty imposed upon them by their
sovereign, whom they openly opposed. The Massay sent a body
1 This vice is still very prevalent in Mid-Java, especially in Djockjakarta.
2 The holy city on the mountain Dieng, once the centre of a great priest-
hood, was of a sudden deserted.
8 Yalley.
* Mangku Boemi.
1084 JAVA
of a thousand troops to disperse the rebels, and to drive them
with their families out of his dominions. Thus four hundred
families, consisting of about six hundred souls, were obliged to
leave their native country. Neither the emperor nor the sultan
would give them protection, not only because they were rebels,
but also through fear of displeasing their neighbour the Massay.
In this distressful situation they had no other resource than to
repair to the uncultivated parts round the wpas and requested
permission of the emperor to settle there.
" Their request was granted on condition of their fixing their
abode not more than twelve or fourteen mUes from the tree, in
order not to deprive the inhabitants already settled there at a
greater distance of their lands. With this they were obliged to
comply, but the consequence was that in less than two months
their number was reduced to about three hundred. The chief of
those that remained returned to the Massay, informed him of their
losses, and entreated his pardon, which induced him to receive
them again as subjects, thinking them sufficiently punished for
their misconduct. I have seen and conversed with several of
those who survived soon after their return. They had all the
appearance of persons tainted with an infectious disorder ; they
looked pale and weak, and from the account which they gave of
the loss of their comrades and of the symptoms and circumstances
which attended their dissolution, such as convulsions and other
signs of a violent death, I was fully convinced they fell victims to
the poison.
" This violent effect of the poison at so great a distance from the
tree certainly appears surprising and almost incredible, and
especially when we consider that it is possible for delinquents
who approach the tree to return alive. My wonder, however, in a
great measure ceased after I had made the following observation.
I have said before that malefactors are instructed to go to the
tree with the wind and to return against it. When the wind
continues to blow from the same quarter while the delinquent
travels thirty or six and thirty miles, if he be of good constitution
he certainly survives. But what proves the most destructive is
that there is no dependence on the wind in that part of the world
for any length of time. There are no regular land winds, and the
sea wind is not perceived there at all, the situation of the tree
being at too great a distance and surrounded by high mountains
and uncultivated forests. Besides, the wind there never blows a
MISCELLANEOUS 1085
fresh, regular gale, but is commonly merely a current of light,
soft breezes, which pass through the different openings of the
adjoining mountains. It is also frequently difficult to determine
from what part of the globe the wind really comes, as it is divided
by various obstructions in its passage, which easily change the
direction of the wind and often totally destroy its effects. I
therefore impute the distant effects of the poison in a great
measure to the constant gentle winds in those parts, which have
not power enough to disperse the poisonous particles. If high
winds were more frequent and durable there, they would certainly
weaken very much, and even destroy the obnoxious effluvia of the
poison, but without them the air remains infected and pregnant
with these poisonous vapours.
" I am the more convinced of this, as the worthy ecclesiastic
assured me that a dead calm is always attended with the greatest
danger, as there is a continual perspiration issuing from the tree,
which is seen to rise and spread in the air like the putrid steam of
a marshy cavern.
" In the year 1776, in the month of February, I was present at
the execution of thirteen of the emperor's concubines at Soura-
carta, who were convicted of infidelity to the emperor's bed. It
was in the forenoon about eleven o'clock, when the fair criminals
were led into an open space, within the walls of the emperor's
palace. There the judge passed sentence on them by which they
were doomed to suffer death by a lancet poisoned with upas.
After this the Alcoran was presented to them, and they were
according to the law of their great Mahomet to acknowledge, and
affirm by oath, that the charges brought against them, together
with the sentence and their punishment, were fair and equitable.
This they did by hanging their right hand upon the Alcoran, their
left hand upon their breast, and their eyes lifted towards heaven ;
the judge then held the Alcoran to their lips, and they kissed it.
These ceremonies over, the executioner proceeded on his business
in the following manner. Thiileen posts, each about five feet
high, had been previously erected. To these the delinquents
were fastened after being stripped. In this situation they
remained a short time in continual prayer, attended by several
priests, untU a signal was given by the judge to the executioner,
on wliich the latter produced an instrument much like the spring
lancet used by farriers for bleeding horses. With this instrument,
it being poisoned by the gum of the upas, the unhappy wretches
1086 JAVA
were lanced in the middle of the breasts, and the operation was
performed upon them in less than two minutes. My astonishment
was raised to the highest degree when I beheld the sudden effects
of that poison, for in about five minutes after they were lanced
they were taken with a tremor attended with a subsultus tendinum,
after which they died in the greatest agonies, crying out to God
and Mahomet for mercy. In sixteen minutes by my watch, which
I held in my hand, all the criminals were no more. Some hours
after their death, I observed their bodies full of livid spots, much
like those of the petechice, their faces swelled, their colour changed
to a kind of blue, and their eyes looked yellow.
" About a fortnight after this I had an opportunity of seeing
such another execution at Samarang. Seven Malayans were
executed there with the same instrument, and in the same
manner, and I found the operation of the poison and the spots on
their bodies exactly the same. These circumstances made me
desirous to try an experiment with some animals in order to be
convinced of the real effects of this poison, and as I had then two
young puppies I thought them the fittest objects for my purpose.
I accordingly procured with great difficulty some grains of upas ;
I dissolved half a grain of that gum in a small quantity of arrack,
and dipped a lancet in it.
" With this poisoned instrument I made an incision in the lower
muscular part of the belly in one of the puppies. Three minutes
after the wound the animal began to cry out most piteously, and
ran as fast as possible from one corner of the room to the other.
"So it continued during six minutes, when all its strength
being exhausted, it fell to the ground, was taken with convulsions,
and died in the eleventh minute. I repeated this experiment with
two other puppies, with a cat, and with a fowl, and found the
operations of the poison in all of them the same ; none of these
animals survived above thirteen minutes.
" I thought it necessary to try also the effect of the poison given
inwardly, which I did in the following manner. I dissolved a
quarter of a grain of the gum in half an ounce of arrack, and made a
dog of seven months old drink it. In seven minutes after, a retching
ensued, and I observed at the same time that the animal was
delirious, as it ran up and down the room, fell on the ground and
tumbled about, then it rose again, cried out very loud, and about
half an hour after was seized with convulsions and died. I
opened the body and found the stomach very much inflamed, as
MISCELLANEOUS 1087
the intestines were, in some parts, but not so much as the
stomach.
" There was a small quantity of the coagulated blood in the
stomach, but I could discover no orifice from which it could have
issued, and therefore supposed it to have been squeezed out of
the lungs by the animal's straining when it was vomiting. From
these experiments I have been convinced that the gum of the upas
is the most dangerous and most violent of all vegetable poisons,
and I am apt to believe that it greatly contributes to the unhealthi-
ness of that island.
" Nor is this the only evil attending it ; hundreds of the natives
of Java, as well as Europeans, are yearly destroyed, and treacher-
ously murdered, by that poison, either internally or externally.
" Every man of quality or fashion has his dagger or other arms
poisoned with it, and in times of war the Malayans poison the
springs and other waters with it ; by this treacherous practice the
Dutch suffered greatly during the last war, as it occasioned the
loss of half their army.
" For this reason they have ever since kept fish in the springs
of which they drink the water, and sentinels are placed near them,
who inspect the waters every hour to see whether the fish are
alive.
" If they march with an army, or body of troops, into an enemy's
country, they always carry live fish with them, which they throw
into the water some hours before they venture to drink it, by
which means they have been able to prevent their total destruc-
tion."
Edible Birds' Nests. — Birds' nests are exported in large
quantities from Java to China, where as an article of diet
they are esteemed a great delicacy.
These nests are nearly half the size of a woman's band ;
they are made by a very small swallow, and consist of a
glutinous substance and froth of the sea interwoven with
filaments. They are found on the coasts of all the Sunda
Islands, in the cavities of steep rocks. The Javan method
of procuring them is by fixing a stake on the summit of the
precipice with a rope ladder affixed, whence they descend
into the most perilous situations to look for them. These
1088 JAVA
nests have neither taste nor smell, but they have the
property of renovating and giving a new tone to a debilitated
and worn-out stomach and restoring all its functions —
they are, in short, a most powerful stimulant.
They are made into excellent broths, and are ingredients
in all the ragouts of the princes and sovereigns of Java.
Their high price, however, prevents the ordinary man from
partaking of them, for they fetch several pounds sterling
per pound avoirdupois.
The white nests are in most request, and their value is
proportionately higher. They are prepared by first washing
them in three or four changes of lukewarm water, which
separates from them the feathers and bits of straw or half-
dried grass of which they are partly composed.
What remains has the appearance of vermicelli.
These nests so highly thought of, particularly in China,
are the production of a kind of swallow, the salangana
{Hirundo esculenta), of a blackish-grey colour, a little
inclining to green, with a shade of mouse-grey on the beak
and under the belly. The middle toe, including the claw,
is longer than the foot : the nail of this toe is very sharp,
long, and crooked ; the bird uses it in fastening itself to the
rocks. The tail is longer than the body, neck, and head
together ; it is also rather forked.
This swallow nearly resembles in shape the bank swallow,
but it is so light and delicate that ten of this species weigh
only about two and a half ounces.
The salangana is two months preparing and completing
its nest.
In form this is a half-oval, elongated, and intersected at
right angles by the centre of its little axis.
In the semi-transparent substance feathers are here and
there introduced, with the object, apparently, of adding
solidity to it.
It may be observed that while the opulent Chinese
MISCELLANEOUS 1089
consider bird's-nest soup the most delicious of all deli-
cacies, the European palate discovers nothing more than
an insipid gelatinous dish, rather resembling ordinary
vermicelli.
Shells. — In all the small islands lying off the coast of
Java numerous miniature harbours are to be found, some
full of rocks and the bottoms covered with fields of seaweed,
others sandy and pebbly, but the water invariably so clean
and transparent as to enable one to discern at the depth of a
fathom and more every stone and shell as clearly as if they
were but a few inches below water.
The variety of shells to be found is not so extensive
as in some parts of the world, and without more than
a superficial knowledge of conchology it is impossible
to state whether or no there are any rare ones to be
found.
Cyjprcea, the common cowrie, is plentiful, small, and
large-spotted.
The Pectinidce family is represented by the genus
Spondylus aurantius.
The Haliotidce family is represented by specimens of the
Haliotis tuherculata.
Siplwnaria, a genus of the family Siphonariidce, is fairly
common.
The family Mitridce is found in the Mitra ; and the lovely
and elegant Olivia represents the family Olividce.
There are also specimens of Trochidce, the commonest
being Trochus argyrostomus, Trochus obeliscus, Clangulus,
Rotella, and Moiiodonta of diminutive size.
Of the Turhinidce family are found Turbo torquatus.
There are also representatives of the Siphonostomata
family, chiefly of the Murex genus.
Numerous specimens of the Conus may also be picked up
on some islands.
There is also the Neritidce family, represented by Nerita ;
3. — VOL. II. F F
1090 JAVA
and the Naticidce, represented by Natica, which may be
found in fairly large quantities. A small shell called
Columbella can be found in hundreds of thousands.
These are but a fraction of the shells which a conchologist
could discover.
Piracy. — There was no more favourable place in the world
for piracy than the East Indian Archipelago, and until
steam was introduced it was very prevalent, especially
around Borneo and the Straits of Banca, between Singapore
and Batavia. It was looked upon by the Malays themselves
as an honourable occupation, worthy of being followed
by young princes and nobles, and was an evil of ancient
date intimately connected with the Malayan habits.
The old Malayan romances and the fragments of their
traditional history constantly refer with pride to piratical
cruises.
Singapore was once a favourite basis, but later on the
bays of North Sumatra were fixed on as the haunts to watch
the Straits. Any sailing vessel passing through, unless very
well armed, was sure to fall a prey to the ruffians, if becalmed
even temporarily.
Their strength was paralysing, and within a few hours
a thousand men in well-armed boats would have sur-
rounded the prize, ready to board at the first favourable
opportunity.
The Europeans were usually killed, but the native crew
were carried off as slaves and sold at the nearest market.
Sometimes European ladies were on board, in which case
they served to increase the number of some rajah's harem,
until poisoned when no longer required.
East Borneo used also to be a centre for the pirates, and
the old Sultan of Kotei, before he died in 1840, acknowledged,
even boastingly, having taken nearly fifty prizes during his
hfe, the English or Dutch captains of which he had murdered
and sold the crews as slaves.
I
MISCELLANEOUS 1091
The late Admiral of the Fleet, Sir Harry Keppel, then
only captain, did, together with Sir James Brook, as much
as any one to put down piracy by hunting round the coast
of Borneo for the pirates, finding them out in their homes,
and destroying their boats, or if he caught them on the high
seas, sinking them.
It was not, however, until the advent of steam that this
*' honourable occupation," or rather scourge of these seas,
entirely ceased.
Slavery. — Before the abohtion of the slave trade by an
Act of the British Legislature passed by Lord Minto in 1811,
the sources of slavery in all the Malayan countries was
piracy, captivity in war, man-stealing along the coast, and
the penalties enacted in the Malayan law respecting debts
and sundry misdemeanours. The surviving crews of vessels
which fell into the hands of the pirates were always disposed
of by sale at the first market. The captives which were
taken in war were usually herded together and employed
tending the cattle or cultivating plantations, until some
slave-dealer came round and bought them for disposal at
a public market. The coasting vessels at the begimiing of
the nineteenth century, especially the Arab ones, were
almost exclusively navigated by the slaves of the owner,
and in their progress from island to island no difficulty
was found in recruiting the crew by presents of slaves
or, if that should fail, by kidnapping the unfortunate
natives.
Kidnapping was practised considerably on the island of
Celebes, and the slaves were sold to Europeans, who carried
them away to Bourbon, where higher prices were paid for
them. The East India Company at Macassar also required
several hundreds yearly. This iniquitous traffic was almost
wholly in the hands of private individuals.
The Buginese slaves were generally considered the best,
the men being muscular and strong, while the women in
p p 2
1092 JAVA
general were much handsomer than those of any other of the
East Indian natives. There were some even among them
who, for the contour of their faces, would be esteemed
beauties in Europe ; these, needless to say, fetch very high
prices.
In 1815 in Java there were officially rather more
than 27,000 slaves, while unofficially there were probably
several thousand more. In these days all the domestic
servants were slaves, and the evil grew as time went
on and the European population increased. Some Euro-
peans had only twenty or thirty ; others could count
their slaves by the hundreds. This state of things was
not finally abolished until the fifties, when the last slaves
had died.
Slaves were brought to the number of fully 3,000 yearly to
Batavia. They were of both sexes, and came from the
Malabar coast, Bengal, Sumatra, and Celebes. From the
last place were imported the greatest numbers. A duty of
12 rix dollars, about 47s. per head, was paid on all slaves
that entered for the first time, excepting those brought by
the captains of vessels. These slaves were employed in
every kind of domestic and menial service, in which they
were instructed by those who had been longer in the family.
They became in time cooks, tailors, coachmen, etc. In
general they experienced much better treatment than that
with which the negro slaves in the West Indies met from the
British and other colonists. Instances sometimes did occur
of barbarity and inlmmanity, but it was rather the exception
than the rule, and those Europeans who were guilty of such
treatment seldom failed to meet their due reward, being
generally murdered or poisoned by their exasperated slaves.
When the slaves were well treated they possessed fidelity
enough, and full confidence could be reposed in them pro-
vided they did not carry to excess an inborn passion for
gambling, to which they all were extremely addicted. If
MISCELLANEOUS 1093
they once abandoned themselves to this infatuating vice,
they not only played until they lost all they might happen
to have of their own, but likewise all they could lay their
hands upon belonging to their masters as well, continually
flattering themselves with the idle hope of retrieving their
former losses by a lucky throw of the dice. In this they
were generally deceived, for the Chinese,^ who kept the
gaming houses (and had among other games of hazard one
called ** top-tables "), were too great adepts for the poor
slaves to regain one cent of what they had lost.
However satisfactory the treatment of the slaves may have
been once they were bought by a respectable Dutch or
English family, there is no doubt that the circumstances
which attended this traffic were no less revolting to humanity
than those which marked it on the coasts of Africa. The
unhappy victims were torn by violence from their friends
and country, being delivered pinioned hand and foot to
the dealers in human flesh. They were kept bound during
the whole course of the voyage, a precaution which was
necessary for the safety of the crew. In small schooners or
barks of 110 tons as many as 400 would be shipped. They
were laid upon their sides, and if they did not lie exactly
parallel, a plank was put upon them, and a sailor would
get upon it and jam them down. One lay Avith his arm so
as to fit into the next one, so that no space was lost. These
poor miserable wretches were kept like this sometimes
for two or three days with practically no food, and, what
was worse in the tropics, with scarcely any water, for the
vessel had no room to carry such things.
When the British crusiers came to Java every vessel that
was seen was overhauled and the captain usually questioned
as to what quantity of water was on board, which it was
1 The Chinese paid 3,100 rix dollars monthly for the monopoly of the
gaming houses at Batavia. This sum is the equivalent of £8,000 sterling
a year.
1094 JAVA
presumed would show whether she carried slaves or not ;
but this only resulted for many years in the slavers carrying
still less.
The mortality was therefore terrible. Notwithstanding
the guard that was kept and the way the slaves were packed,
instances now and again occurred where the captives seized
a moment of liberty — granted by some of the captains with
more humane ideas than the rest — to snatch up the first
weapon within their reach, stab all whom they encountered,
and conclude the scene by leaping overboard and volun-
tarily seeking a watery death.
From the island of Nias ^ about 1,500 slaves were kid-
napped yearly, mostly the young girls, who are the most
lovely of all the East Indian women, being small and deli-
cately made.
In their country the Nias people rarely make use of rice
as food, and are almost unacquainted with the use of salt.
The sudden change of diet to which they were subjected
on board ship, added to their confinement and dejection of
mind, to say nothing of the unusually brutal treatment these
particular slaves invariably had to suffer from the sailors
on board, who took them to wife, were fatal ; of a cargo
of 100 girls, 95 have been known to perish before the
conclusion of the voyage. The demand for these women
was greatest in the French Islands — Bourbon, Mauritius,
etc.
^\rhile at Benkoelen Sir Stamford Raffles did all he could
to stop this iniquitous traffic and made a treaty with the
Rajah of Nias.
For this, however, he received a severe reprimand from
che directors of the East India Company in London, who
' had no hesitation in declaring that his proceedings in
regard to Pulo Nias were deserving of their decided repre-
* Off the west coast of Sumatra.
MISCELLANEOUS 1095
hension," and that " they were inchned to visit him with
some severe mark of their displeasm'e for the steps he had
taken," and even threatened to remove him from his govern-
ment.
After the transfer of Sumatra to the Dutch, the slave
trade, which had received a great blow from Raffles, was
resumed with greater vigour than ever.
Chinese in Java. — Almost all the inland commerce
beyond what is carried on through the medium of the pasar
or market is under the control of the Chinese, who, possessing
considerable capital, and frequently speculatmg on a very
extensive scale, engross the greater part of the wholesale
trade, buy up the principal articles of export from the native
grower, upon whose crop has been given a voorschot,^ or
advance, convey them to the maritime capitals, and in return
supply the interior with all the necessaries required, and
with the principal articles imported by the European fu-ms
for native consumption, such as cotton and silk goods, and
all the cheap ware of Birmingham and Manchester. The
industry of the Javans being almost exclusively the culti-
vation of the soil, they are satisfied if they can find an
immediate market for their surplus produce, and the Chinese,
from their superior wealth and enterprise, offering them
this advantage without interfering with their habits, have
obtained almost a monopoly of their produce and an un-
controlled command of the market for their supplies. The
European firms give large and long credit to the Chinese
merchants on their purchases of goods for the local markets,
and, except in the minority of cases, these credits have never
been abused and are always faithfully returned. The
European merchants when they buy produce generally
give a voorschot some time before to the Chinese contractor
or "go between," who in turn, in order to make sure of
the produce, makes a moderate advance to the native on
1 A Dutch word meaning " before-amount."
1096 JAVA
his gi'owing crop. The Chinaman, however, remains re-
sponsible for the advance, which is deducted when the
produce is paid for. The Chinese are the backbone of trade
in the country, and from their long residence in the island
they are thoroughly conversant with the natives and their
habits, which enables them to work with them in an entirely
satisfactory manner.
The Chinese are born merchants, and are very active and
particularly intelligent. There is almost nothing they will
not do — if the required fee for so doing is in sight — be it
honest or dishonest. Those merchants who have a name to
lose, however, are honest, because it pays them to be so ;
but there are others who have no name to lose, and they are
the contrary. The European merchants learn, however,
whom they can and cannot trust.
The Chinese retain in Java as many of the customs of
their native land as they can, one of these being to visit the
ancestral tombs once a year. On this day from sunrise
an endless multitude of Chinese of both sexes and all ages,
some on foot, others in carriages, repair to the tombs.
These tombs are ornamented with bands of paper, or if of
a rich family, silk, of different colours, and three red wax
tapers are burnt on each.
Every Chinese brings various provisions, which are placed
as offerings on the tombs.
The opulent are easily distinguished from the rest by the
luxuriousness of their meats ; there are dishes spread out
with all that the most splendid Oriental table could suggest
of viands — fruit, fish, sweetmeats, and drink. After having
left these various provisions for some hours on the tombs,
they eat part and carry the rest away. "Women weep over
the graves of their husbands, children deplore the loss of
the authors of their being, and the old sigh for theii* faithful
companions and appear to regret having survived them.
The Chinese temples in Java mostly consist of large saloons,
MISCELLANEOUS 1097
ornamented with grotesque and antique statues, especially
those representing the Joss in the midst of his family.
Joss, or Josi, was a disciple of Confucius, to whom he
had been a servant, and is the principal being to whom the
Chinese pray, or of whom they beg favours.
In nearly every Chinese house, however poor its occupant,
there is a table standing at the end of the chief room
on which stands the Joss, as well as a centre figure of
Confucius.
As a rule two or more wax tapers are burning before these
images.
Every now and again, on high days or hohdays, in
the Chinese kampong a lofty stage is erected, where per-
formances are given from Chinese romances, such as the
wars between the Tartars and the Chinese. In these plays
various men, made up as chiefs differently dressed, their
faces smeared and blackened and whitened or masked,
appear and annoimce a new war in which they anticipate
great success ; they harangue the soldiers, of which the
public can only see two or three on the stage, with a variety
of gestures and gi-imaces, all of which appears supremely
funny to the Oriental, but is gross and coarse to the Euro-
pean. Then comes a general upon the scene ; he is to be
distinguished by the collection of bric-a-brac he carries,
hung on his uniform, who, after talking a great deal, exclaims
and gesticulates to himself as he parries imaginary foes with
his long sword, piercing one man through and cutting
another's head off, and so on, to the gi'eat amusement
of the onlookers, who readily observe in wonderment,
" Wah! ivahl " or " Wonderful, wonderful ! "
After a further speech the combatants appear. The
Chinese have each a different head-dress and costume, and
are armed with lances or iron-shod sticks, 7 or 8 feet
long, which serve for both offence and defence.
The Tartars are in uniforms, short coats, large trousers,
1098 JAVA
and large hats. They are armed with a sabre and a shield,
which covers the head and body and denotes that they are
more up to date than their antiquated enemies.
The fight then begins and the Chinese are victorious
(historically they were not so, but that is a detail).
During the combat the Chinese onlookers reach an un-
imaginable pitch of excitement, and when their countrymen
win the yells of delight which pierce the air show the interest
tliey have in the performance. After the combat the
general once more appears and makes a speech on the courage
of the Chinese soldiers.
All this time great gongs are being beaten faster and
faster, so that the din and noise is terrific, and nothing else
can be heard whilst it lasts.
These performances usually continue all night.
On other occasions a party of rong'geng girls are engaged,
but the Chinese do not favour them so much as the stage
performances.
Bound about the stage, when a performance is being acted,
there are a number of gaming and eating tables, which are
usually full. The Chinese eat, as in China, with chop-
sticks instead of forks, and all their food is cut up before
it is placed on the tables.
The Chinese are gi'eat gluttons and eat to excess. Their
principal article of diet is pork, which they consume in
great quantities. Besides this they eat minces of beef,
fish, fowls and soups.
Tlieir drinks are generally hot, and as a rule are limited
to water, sugar and water, or arrack.
Independently of the playhouse, on certain feast-days
there are processions of men with masked or painted faces,
kettle-drums, gongs, and tambourines. They are dressed
as devils, who are carried in triumph on poles decorated
with paper, ribands, bells, etc. ; others are seated on mon-
sters, and a huge dragon is carried by half-a-dozen or more
MISCELLANEOUS 1099
men, whose legs only are to be seen, the rest of their person
being hidden in the body of the animal.
The reason the Chinese give for these feasts to the devil
is that the God of Heaven and of Earth being infinitely
good, it is not necessary to implore Him, but that, on the
contrary, the devil must be feasted to prevent his doing
them harm.
The Chinese girls are generally shut up and employed m
sewing and embroidery, and are not usually seen in public
until the day of their marriage.^
These marriages are made b}^ the parents, without the
couple ever holding communication with each other till
their celebration.
Once married, the women are frequently shut up and
only permitted to see their relations. The poorer Chinese,
of course, set their wives to work or serve in their shops,
but they are closely watched there.
Notwithstanding the life of severity, even cruelty, which
the Chinese woman has to put up with, no people have
more domestic virtues.
The Chinaman is a good son, a good father, a good
husband, and a good friend ; he carries gratitude to the
extreme, and he has been frequently known to offer and
divide his fortune, or what little he has, with Europeans
who have assisted him before, and have become in turn
necessitous.
The Chinamen are, nevertheless, depraved, loose, and
immoral, and so avaricious that they will even sell their
daughters or nieces if the sum offered is high enough.
In former days, at the beginning of the nineteenth century,
there were many examples of Chinamen who had not the
means of making good their engagements handing over
their daughters to Europeans in final settlement of the
debt or as a security for the outstanding loan.
^ Tills custom is gradually changing.
1100 JAVA
The wretched victims of this infamous traffic were slaves
until the parents chose to redeem them by paying ofT the debt.
The commercial genius of the Chinese is great, and there
is nothing too small or too large for them to undertake to
carry out. They having before the arrival of the Europeans
carried on their mercantile pursuits with other Orientals
only, excessive conceit of their own talents and superiority
has become ingrained in their characters, and, according
to their own ideas, no people can equal them. If a com-
parison is drawn between two similar objects, one made
in their own, the other in another country, however inferior
the former may be, they would give it the preference.
They are ill-adapted to military science, being not only
cowardly and effeminate, but inclined to revolt and run
away. The immense population in their own country
renders them very restless, but their insurrections never
break out until they are fully assured that they are three or
four times the number of their opponents ; and the same is
true in their private disputes.
In the towns of Java there is always a Chinese chief,
who is called the " captain Chinaman," besides two lieu-
tenants. In some of the bigger towns there is also a " major
Chinaman."
These chiefs are the " go between " with the Dutch
Government officials, and are obliged to keep order among
their countrymen and report on their well-being from time
to time.
The Chinese have always been great owners of house
property in Java, and in some towns, as for instance
Samarang, three-quarters at least of all the houses are
owned by them.^ The Europeans find, however, that they
are bad landlords, and leave the repairs to be attended to
by the occupier at his own expense.
1 In Samarang and Tjandi most of the houses are owned by the " Major,'*
Oei Tiong Ham, and his brother, Oei Tiong Bing.
MISCELLANEOUS
1101
The following is a list, from early in the eighteenth century,
excluding public buildings, of the number of houses of all
descriptions, large and small, in the old Castle of Jacatra
and outside ; it will show the proportion even then owned
by the Chinese : —
Inside the Old Castle Walls.
Dutch houses — ■
Large ....
Small ....
Chinese houses
Dutch houses teuanted by Chinese
Total .
678
564
997
203
2,442
Outside the Castle Walls.
Arrack
Houses
owned by
Chinese.
Large
Dutch
Houses.
Small
Dutch
Houses.
Chinese
Hou.?e.3.
Total.
At the New Gate .
At the Diest Gate .
At the Rotterdam Gate .
At the Utrecht Gate
Coach-houses .
6
1
5
62
7
120
27
181
33
501
135
309
236
106
589
559
277
732
751
9
Total .
12
216
850
1,240
2,328
Total outside the Castle walls .
Total inside and outside the Castle walls
2,328
4,770
All these Dutch houses gradually fell into the ownership
of the Chinese.
Harbours. — There are three principal harbours hi Java
frequented by the shipping which visits the island, namely,
Tandjong Priok at Batavia, Surabaya (Sourabaya), and
Chelachap, or, as it is more commonly known, Tjilatjap.
That of Tandjong Priok is an artificial harbour, built
of granite, with great warehouses of brick and zinc, and an
extensive coal wharf, where as a rule 10,000 tons of Cardiff,
Australian, Japanese, and Bengal coal are lying.
1102 JAVA
Tandjong Priok was built by the Dutch, the work being
begun in 1877 and conripleted in 1886. Two breakwaters,,
each nearly a mile in length, protect an outer harbour. It
was found necessary to construct this refuge on account of
the ships increasing in draught while the old roadstead of
Batavia was gradually silting up. This harbour is now
being enlarged.
The other two harbours are natural refuges. Surabaya
is nearly land-locked hj the island of Madura, which at
its western and eastern extremities is only a few miles away
from the mainland of Java ; to enter the harbour a vessel
has to cross a bar, which, according to the different states
of the tides, is from 19 to 20 feet deep. The harbour is
broad and capacious, secure against the violence of wind and
sea, and can be rendered impregnable against any hostile
attack.
The vessels load and unload at buoys into lighters, which
discharge into commodious warehouses on the Surabaya
river.
Tjilatjap is a small harbour on the south coast, but well
protected from the Indian Ocean, with its high swell and
the heavy surf which breaks here. The entrance to this
harbour, is however, dangerous, and needs the assistance
of a Dutch pilot. The vessels lie alongside a wharf. Tjilat-
jap, although one of the most beautiful places in the island,
has earned a well-merited name as being also the most
unhealthy.
Formerly the exhalations of extensive swamps which
surrounded this place, but which now are dried up, occa-
sioned severe malarial fevers, carrying off hundreds of
Europeans and thousands of natives.
There are also the harbours of Palabuan Eatu, or Wyn
Coops Bay, and Pachitan, on the south coast, which may
be approached with safety, but the Dutch have considered
it undesirable to attract trade to this side of the island.
MISCELLANEOUS 1103
for fear of giving an unnecessary advantage to a hostile
power ; and for this last reason the harbour of Tjilatjap is
protected by a heavy artillery so placed as to render it
impregnable.
Samarang is almost an open roadstead, but except during
the months of December and January the sea is usually
smooth and the weather moderate, enabling vessels to load
and discharge with ease into lighters.
Mountains and Volcanoes. — Passing along the coast
of Java in a steamer, one cannot fail to be impressed with
the bold outline and prominent features of its scenery.
From one end of the island to the other there is one long
uninterrupted range of large mountains, varying in their
elevation from 4,000 to over 12,000 feet, and showing by
their circular base and pointed tops their volcanic origin.
The highest volcano of all is the Semiru, which together with
the Bromo, Boedolemhoe, Ider Ider, and Tosari form the
Tenger range. These are situated tow^ards the eastern end
of the island, near the town of Pasoeroean. In the west
the principal volcanoes are the Salak and Gedeh, which are
situated about fifty miles south of Batavia. These two
mountains on a clear day are distinctly visible from the
Batavia Roads, and from the appearance they exhibit are
called by mariners the Blue Mountains.
From the Samarang Roads the mountains known by
mariners as the " Two Brothers " are discernible on a clear
day. These are the Sumbing and Sindoro. From Samarang
may also be seen the mountains Ung'arang, Merbabu and
Meraju.
The most interesting volcanoes to visit are the Tanktiban-
Prahu,^ in Middle Java, the Papandayang, near Batavia,
and the Bromo.
Erupt'lons. — Eruptions nowadays are not so common as
' This mountain has derived its name from its resembling at a distance a
prahu (or boat) tvirned upside down.
1104 JAVA
they were formerly, and the loss of life is usually lessened
by the fact that the inhabitants are warned by the Dutch
authorities in time to remove themselves from the danger
zone. The records from the Tankuhan-Prahu show that
this mountain has been the scene of violent eruptions for
many ages, and even during the last century has experienced
three — namely, in 1804, in May, 1846, and again in May,
1896, when a new crater was opened. To give an adequate
description of the interior of this crater would furnish matter
for an able pen ; the impression is increased perhaps by the
recollection of the danger which awaits one at the bottom.
Everything here contributes to fill the mind with awe.
A sight of the interior of a volcano is undoubtedly one of the
most grand and terrific scenes which Nature affords, one,
indeed, which it is not in the power of the ordinary mortal
to describe.
The Papandayang was formerly one of the largest
volcanoes on the island, but the greater part of it was
swallowed up in the ground after a short but severe erup-
tion in the year 1772. The account ^ which has remained
of this event asserts that near midnight between the 11th
and 12th August there was observed about the mountain
an uncommonly luminous cloud, by which it appeared to
be completely enveloped. The inhabitants, as well about
the foot as on the declivities of the mountain, alarmed by
this appearance, betook themselves to flight ; but before
they could all save themselves the mountain began to give
way, and the greater part of it fell in and disappeared in
the bowels of the earth. At the same time a tremendous
noise was heard, resembling the discharge of the heaviest
cannon. Immense quantities of volcanic substances, which
were thrown out at the same time and spread in every
direction, propagated the effects of the explosion through
the space of many miles.
1 From " Batavia Transactions," Vol. IX.
MISCELLANEOUS 1105
It is estimated that an area made up by the mountain itself
and its immediate environs fifteen miles long and fully
six broad was by this commotion swallowed up in the depths
of the ground. It is also mentioned that forty villages were
destroyed on this occasion, being partly swallowed up in
the earth and partly covered by the substances thi'own
out, and that 2,957 of the inhabitants perished. A pro-
portionate number of cattle were also destroyed, and most
of the plantations of cotton, indigo, and coffee in the adjacent
districts were buried under the volcanic matter. Another
eruption of much less force occurred in 1822 at this volcano,
since when the crater has more or less remained quiet.
Near the Papandayang is the world-famous volcanic
lake called the Telaga Bodas, or white lake, which is over
5,000 feet above the sea level. This greenish- white sulphur
lake is enclosed by steep walls, and is reached by a long
march through coffee plantations and a wilderness. In
half an hour this lake, which is circular in shape with a
diameter of 700 feet, can be gone round ; the waterfall,
solfatara, and the hot springs where the water bubbles are
to be seen close by. The banks that arise circularly around
are covered down to the water's edge with the richest
green foliage, forming a strange and weird but beautiful
contrast to the surface of the water, which receives its
white colour from the sulphur and alum at the bottom of
the lake.
This lake is no doubt lying in the remains of an extinct
crater, which spent its force in the remote past.
The mountain Gedeh was the scene of an eruption in 1761,
but the damage done was of no great moment, nor were
there any lives lost, the inhabitants near (and there were
not many of them) receiving apparently timely notice for
flight.
On the 12th April, 1815, one of the greatest eruptions
of modern times took place at the mountain Tomboro, on
J. — VOL. II. G G
1106 JAVA
the island of Sambawa, by which 12,000 people were
destroyed beneath the burning ashes, and according to
official statistics 200,000 died from starvation and exposure.
The whole island was laid waste by this violent and extra-
ordinary explosion and was covered with from 1 to 2 feet
of lava, and for years no rice crops could be raised.
The inhabitants of Lombok still refer to this catastrophe,
which they look upon as a visitation by Providence, with
fear and trembling and in whispered tones.
The noise was heard as far as Djockjakarta and attributed
to distant cannon, so much so that a detachment of troops
was marched to Klaten in expectation that this post had
been attacked, and on the coast two boats were dispatched
in quest of a supposed ship in distress owing to an attack
from pirates. The commander of the British cruiser
Benares, stationed at Macassar, reported that during the
day it was as night, and the " ashes began to fall in showers,"
the general appearance being " truly awful and alarming."
The darkness during the day was never equalled by the
darkest night, and " it was impossible to see your hand
when held close up to your eyes."
" At 6 o'clock next day it continued as dark as ever, but by
about 8 o'clock objects could be faintly discerned upon deck.
The appearance of the cruiser when daylight returned was most
singular, every part being covered with the falling ashes, nearly
the colour of wood ashes, notwithstanding the precaution that
had been taken of spreading awnings fore and aft."
The British cruiser Teignmouth, which was lying at anchor
at Ternate, had also a strange experience, and imagined
a battle was going on outside the harbour.
Lieutenant Owen Phillips, the Resident at Macassar,
who proceeded to Sambawa as soon as possible, states
in his report that
" the extreme misery to which the inhabitants have been
reduced is shocking to behold ; there were still on the roadside
MISCELLANEOUS 1107
the remains of several corpses, and the marks of where many
others had been interred. The villages were almost deserted, and
the houses fallen down, the surviving inhabitants having dis-
persed in search of food.
" The sole subsistence of the inhabitants for some time past
has been the heads of palm trees and the stalks of the papaya and
plantain.
" Since the eruption a violent diarrhoea has visited the islands,
which has carried off a great number of people. It is supposed
by the natives to have been caused by drinking water which has
been impregnated with the ashes, and horses have also died in
great numbers from a similar complaint.
" The daughter of the rajah has died from hunger so severe has
been the famine.
" I have presented rice in your name." ^
The mountain Klut was in eruption in June, 1812, and
large quantities of fine ashes were blown up into the air
and carried by the ordinary breeze of the monsoon to
Batavia and further westward, spreading a light mantle
all over the intervening land.
It possessed the properties of the purest clay, and being
mixed with water became viscid and ductile. The Javans
are not unacquainted with the properties of this ash, and
it is the custom among the silversmiths to collect the ashes
thrown out by similar eruptions for the purpose of making
moulds for the finest works.
There was another eruption of this mountain in 1901.
This occurred at 4 o'clock in the morning, and the noise
which was heard in Samarang, several hundred miles away,
was as if artillery was being discharged in the town. By
10 o'clock it was pitch dark at Samarang, and ashes began
to fall until the earth for miles around was covered.
The Guntur is a volcano that has a striking appearance,
the eastern part of it being completely naked, exposing to
view in a singular manner the course of the lava streams of
the last eruption.
' That is, in Sir Stamford Eaffles' name.
G g2
1108 JAVA
Of all eruptions, however, within the knowledge of man
there has been none to equal the colossal explosion, on the
27th August, 1883, of the island of Krakatau, in the Straits
of Sunda. According to old records there has been an
eruption here, " great and violent," as far back as 1680,
and there is some mythical story that several hundreds
of years before this another eruption still more important
took place, when possibly the last remaining link of land
joining Sumatra and Java was burnt asunder.
Except however for these, the mountain remained quiet
until the 21st May, 1883, when smoke was suddenly seen
to rise from it.
The following is an account of this great eruption ^ : —
" The island of Krakatau (such, and not Krakatoa, is the native
name) is situated in latitude 6° 7' S., longitude 105° 26' E., in the
fair- way of the Sunda Straits, about equally distant from Java
and Sumatra, close on 26 miles W.S.W. from the village and
lighthouse of Anjer, the call-port or signal station, prior to the
present eruption, for all vessels passing through that frequented
channel. It was a small uninhabited island about five miles in
length and three in breadth, culminating in two elevations, the
taller of which, known as the Peak of Krakatau, rises (or did rise)
some 2,750 feet above the sea. Surrounding it on all sides are
numerous volcanic cones. The Tengamoes (or Kaiser's Peak) to
its north-west is situated at the head of the Semangka Bay, and
the quiescent Rajabasa to its north-east in the southern pro-
montory of Sumatra ; in the east by south the Karang smoulders
in Bantam, and south-east rise the active cones of the Buitenzorg
Mountains. Standing in the straits and very little to the north
of Krakatau are the two dormant or dead cones of Sebesie and
Sebooko. A line drawn from Rajabasa, passing along the
western side of Krakatau and continued thence to Prince's
Island, which lies off Java Head, would mark the boundary on
the eastward side of the shallow Java Sea, which rarely exceeds
50 fathoms, and on the west side of the deep Indian Ocean. On
looking at the accompanying map of the locality before the erup-
tion it will be seen that close to the east and north-west sides of
1 Extracts from Proc. Roy. Geog. Soc, 1884, Vol. VI., No. 8.
MISCELLANEOUS 1109
Krakatau there are two small fragments of land, Lang and
Verlaten islands respectively. It is Mr. Norman Lockyer's
opinion that these are two higher edges of the old rim of a sub-
sided crater, overflowed in part by the sea through inequalities
in the margin between them ; that the heights on Krakatau
itself, the remaining portion of the old volcano summit, are cones
elevated on this old crater floor ; and that the ancient funnel is
practically co -extensive with the area inclosed by these three
islets, though, tUl the 20th of May last, blocked up by volcanic
debris.
" On the 20th of May last year, at half -past 10 in the forenoon,
the inhabitants of Batavia were astounded by hearing a dull
booming noise, whether proceeding from the air or from below
was doubtful, soon followed by the forcible drumming and rattling
of aU the doors and windows in the place. The commotion was
strongest between half-past 10 and 1 o'clock in the day and
between 7 and 8 in the evening. About mid-day a curious cir-
cumstance was observed, that in some spots in the city no vibra-
tions were perceived although the surrounding buildings were
experiencing them. It was at once concluded that a volcanic
eruption of an alarming character had taken place, but for some
time it was impossible to localise the direction of the sounds,
though the west was the quarter of the compass to which most
people assigned them.
" A report issued next day by the director of the Observatory
in Batavia stated that as he had no instruments for recording the
intensity and direction of earthquake shocks, he could certify
only that no increase of earth magnetism accompanied the
tremblings — the photographs indicating nothing abnormal ; and
that the quivering was absolutely vertical throughout the periods
mentioned above ; for a suspended magnet with an exact regis-
tering apparatus gave no indications of the slightest horizontal
oscillations, but alone of vertical vibrations. This was verified
by the observations of one of the philosophical instrument makers
in the town on a pendulum in his shop, where only vertical trillings
were observable at a time when the windows and glass doors of
the house were rattling, just as if shaken by the hand, in so violent
a way that it was difficult to carry on conversation. Nowhere,
however, do there seem to have been observed any shocks of a
true or undulatory earthquake. From midnight of the 20th
1110 JAVA
throughout the forenoon of the 21st the tremulations continued
very distinct. The same morning a thin sprinkling of ashes fell,
' whence is not known,' both at Telok-betong and at Semangka,
situated in Sumatra at the head of the Lampong and Semangka
bays respectively. At Buitenzorg, 30 miles south of Batavia, the
same phenomena were observed ; while in the mountains farther
to the south-west they were even more pronounced, and the
Karang, a mountain situated about west from Batavia, it was
thought must be the seat of disturbance. By this time the
general opinion had decidedly ascribed to the west or north-west
the direction whence the movements were proceeding. Krakatau
itself was even named ; but some of the Sumatran mountains
were considered more likely to be the delinquents. Batavia being
connected with that island by a telegraph line passing along the
north coast of Java to Anjer, across the Straits of Sunda to Telok-
betong, thence northwards to Palembang on the east, and to
Padang on the west coast, intelligence from all parts soon began
to come in ; but none of any eruption anywhere, beyond the
notice of the fall of ashes mentioned above. Anjer telegraphed,
' Nothing of the nature of an earthquake known or felt here.'
This was dated 21st ; a message in much the same terms had been
received on the previous day, as well as the report of one of the
Government officials, to the following effect : ' On Sunday
morning, the 20th, I landed at Anjer and there stayed till 1 o'clock
in the afternoon ; at half -past 3 I reached Serang and halted an
hour. Neither I nor my coachman, either at Anjer or at Serang,
or on my whole journey to Tangerang (near Batavia), felt or
heard any earthquake or disturbance, or anything at aU remark-
able.'
" Anjer lies on the narrowest part of the Sunda Straits, 27 miles
from Krakatau, which formed a prominent object in one's seaward
view from the verandah of its quiet little hotel on the sea margin.
This hotel was kept by one of Lloyd's agents, Mr. Schuit (whose
family perished in the subsequent disaster), who had in his
verandah a powerful telescope for reading the signals of ships for
report to Batavia, and by whom consequently any occurrence in
the straits could scarcely fail to be observed. Thus during the
period of greatest disturbance in Batavia and Buitenzorg, when
men there were referring the origin to Krakatau, 80 miles away,
at Anjer, only 27 miles distant from it, nothing was felt or heard.
The same report was made from Merak, likewise situated on the
MISCELLANEOUS 1111
straits, 35 miles from, and presenting a clear outlook to, the
volcano. The winds prevalent in this region during the month
of May are from the east, and would tend to drive any smoke and
ashes toward the Indian Ocean, which might explain their not
being detected from Anjer ; but the direction of the wind fails to
account for the entire absence in that and the surrounding villages
of the phenomena which were most conspicuous in Batavia,
" Not till the evening of the 21st was smoke observed to be
issuing from Krakatau ; on the 22nd the volcanic vent there
seems to have been fully established, and the vibrations and other
phenomena experienced in Batavia quickly subsided.
" Of the appearance of the volcano on the 27th we have a
graphic account in the Algemeen Dagblad newspaper, of Batavia,
by one of a party that ascended to the crater on that day. As
they approached the scene the neighbouring islands had the
appearance of being covered with snow. The crater was seen to
be situated, not on the peak, but in a hollow of the ground, which
lay from south-east to north-west, sloping towards the north
point, in front and to the north side of the lower summit, looking
towards Verlaten Island. Both heights were seen ; the southerly
green, and the more northerly and much lower one quite covered
with dust and ashes. The volcano was ejecting, with a great
noise, masses of pumice, molten stone, and volumes of steam and
smoke, part of which was being carried away westward by the
monsoon wind, dropping all round and close at hand its larger
pieces, whUe a higher rising cloud is specially recorded as driving
away eastward, having evidently encountered a current in that
direction in the upper air. Some of this dust-cloud was carried
far to the eastward, for Mr. Forbes relates that on the morning of
the 24th of May, when in the island of Timor, 1,200 miles distant,
he observed on the verandah of his hut, situated high in the hills
behind Dilly, a sprinkling of small particles of a greyish cinder,
to which his attention was more particularly drawn later on that
and the next day, by their repeated falling with a sudden pat on
the page before him. The visitors to the crater seem to have
viewed with most amazement the grandeur of the smoke column
whirling upward with a terrific roar like a gigantic whirlwind,
through whose sides the ascending ejecta, vainly trying to break,
were constantly sucked back and borne upwards round and round
into the centre of its Stygian coils. The trees which once clothed
1112 JAVA
this portion of the island presented only bare stems from which
their crowns had disappeared, evidently not by fire, for there was
no charring visible on them, but rather as if wrenched off by a
whirlwind — ^perhaps of the crater itself.
" After the 28th curiosity in these volcanic phenomena seems
to have abated, and during the next eight or nine weeks, though
the eruption continued with great vigour, little is recorded of its
progress ; indeed so completely did it seem to have been forgotten,
that visitors to Batavia, unless they had made inquiries, might
have failed to hear of its existence at all. During this period no
local disturbances to attract attention or to cause the least alarm
are recorded. From the logs of ships in the neighbourhood of the
straits, about the middle of August, numerous extracts have been
published ; but many of them show that they have been written
either with the mind bewildered and confused by the terrifying
incidents amid which the officers found themselves, or from the
after-recollection of the events, of which under such conditions
the important dry facts of time, place, and succession are liable
to be unconsciously misstated. Much is therefore lost which
might have been known ; but a few are of the utmost value.
" On the 21st August the volcano appears to have been in
increased activity, for the ship Bay of Naples reports being unable
to venture into the straits on account of the great fall of pumice
and ashes.
" The first, however, of the more disastrous effects were experi-
enced on the evening of the 26th, commencing about 4 o'clock in
the afternoon. They were inaugurated by violent explosions,
heard in Anjer, Telok-betong, and as far as Batavia, accompanied
by high waves, which after first retreating rolled upon both sides
of the straits, causing much damage to the villages there, and
were followed by a night of unusually pitchy darkness. These
horrors continued all night with increasing violence tUl midnight,
when they were augmented by electrical phenomena on a terrify-
ing scale, which enveloped not only the ships in the vicinity, but
embraced those at a distance of even ten to a dozen miles. As
the lurid gleams that played on the gigantic column of smoke and
ashes were seen in Batavia, 80 miles off in a straight line, we can
form some idea of the great height to which the debris, some of
which fell as fine ashes in Cheribon, 500 miles to the east, was
being ejected during the night.
" Between 5 and 7 o'clock (for the hour is uncertain) in the
MISCELLANEOUS 1113
morning of the 27th there was a still more gigantic explosion,
heard in the Andaman Islands and in India, which produced along
both shores of the Strait an immense tidal movement, first of
recession and then of unwonted rise, occasioning that calamitous
loss of life of which we have all heard.
" The material thrown out rose to an elevation which we have no
means of estimating, but so tremendous was it that on spreading
itself out it covered the whole western end of Java and the south
of Sumatra for hundreds of square miles "wdth a pall of impenetrable
darkness. During this period abnormal atmospheric and mag-
netic displays were observed ; compass needles rotated violently,
and the barometer rose and fell many tenths of an inch in a
minute. Following at no great interval, and somewhere between
10 and 12 o'clock in the forenoon of the same day, either by
successive rapid outbursts or by one single supreme convulsion^
the subterranean powers burst their prison walls with a detonation,
so terrific as to have been, as it seems, inaudible from its very
immensity to human ears in its close vicinity, but which spread
consternation and alarm among the dwellers within a circle whose
diameter lay across nearly 3,000 miles, or 50 degrees of longitude.
" With sunrise on the 28th the dense curtain which had
enveloped so wide an area in darkness gradually began to clear
off, and the light broke on a scene of devastation of the saddest
kind, but on one of comparative placidity, as if Nature lay
exhausted after her frantic paroxysm. Krakatau was seen
reduced to a fraction of its original size ; the whole of the northern
portion, with the height in front of which the volcano first broke
out and half of the peak itself, had vanished. ... To the
northward, however, two new pieces of land, which have received
the names of Steers and Calmeyer Islands, raised their tops
above the surface of the sea, where the morning previous 30 to
40 fathoms of water had existed. Of the two islets on each side
of Krakatau, Lang Island is left practically unaltered, while
Verlaten Island seems elevated somewhat, and is reported to be
in eruption. But where the volcano had been so active a few
hours before, a sea fathomless with a line of a thousand feet is
now to be found.
" Having thus followed the succession of events there remains^
little doubt that the crater on the 26th of August by its constant
action had either cleared out the old funnel into its submerged
portion, or that a rent by subsidence or otherwise was formed,.
1114 JAVA
through which a column of water was admitted to the heated
interior, resulting in explosion after explosion in increasing
violence, as more material for generating steam was finding its
way into the underground recesses.
" The first great waves on the evening of the 26th and the early
part of the 27th were probably caused by a portion of Krakatau
being shot out northwards for eight miles and dropped where we
have now Steers Island ; while the appalling detonation in that
forenoon and the greater wave accompanying it resulted perhaps
from that still more titanic effort which lifted the greater portion
of Krakatau — several thousand million cubic yards of material —
out by its 170 fathom root, hurled through the air over Lang
Island, and plunged it into the sea some seven miles to the north-
east, where Calmeyer Island now blocks the channel which
mariners have known so long as the East Passage.
" The reports we have as to the tidal phenomena differ from
different places. At many points it was observed that a distinct
withdrawal of the water preceded the rise or great tide ; while
from others, as in the canal at Batavia, the opposite is given as
the order of occurrence. Everything, however, depends on the
moment of the observation. It will be apparent that these waves
were the most natural consequents of the events, and were due
certainly not to any seismic movement of the sea-bed, but on the
one hand to the inrush of water to fill the deep chasms out of
which the ejected portions of the island came, which was naturally
followed first by a withdrawal of the water, and then by a disas-
trous recoil over the low foreshores of Java and Sumatra ; and
on the other hand to the tremendous stroke — the splash, in fact —
imparted to the sea by such a gigantic block of matter, square
miles in size, which must have resulted first in a great rise of water
followed by a withdrawal.
" To what height the supreme outburst propelled the smoke,
dust, and the lighter portion of matter, it is impossible at present
to estimate. Mr. Whymper saw Cotopaxi, in by no means one
of its extraordinary expirations, eject a column over 20,000 feet
in height ; but many multiples of this distance will doubtless be
required to measure the spire that was shot sky-ward on the fore-
noon of the 27th of August last. At all events it rose so high that
months have been required for it to descend."
MISCELLANEOUS 1115
Meteorites. — During the Hindu period heavenly bodies
are said to have fallen upon Java, and were explained no
doubt by the ancient panditas as warnings from the gods.
Coming down to more recent times, however, a Mooltan
aerohte fell at Prambanan, Soerakarta, in 1865,^ and on
the 19th September, 1869, at 9 p.m., a meteor, the briUiancy
of which is stated to have surpassed that of the moon, was
seen to move in a north-easterly direction over the desah of
Tjabe, near Pandangan, and Bodjo Negoro, in the Kembang
residency. It was observed at Pandangan, the chief
place of the district, as well as at Bodjo Negoro, the chief
town of the residency, and lying east of Pandangan. At
the same time a meteorite fell at Tjabe, at a distance of
about 20 metres from the house of a native named Sokromo.
The sound following the appearance of the meteor is described
as an explosion as loud as that of a cannon, followed by a
noise resembling that caused by a carriage crossing over
a wooden bridge ; this lasted some time. The villagers
sought in vain for the spot where the meteorite fell ; at
6 o'clock next morning, however, it was found at the
place already mentioned at a depth of 2 feet in the soil,
which was hardened from a long drought. According
to the report drawn up by the Resident of Rembang, it
was remarked by the Javans that the aerolite, when found,
was still so hot that it could not be touched with the
hand. This statement, however, must be received with
caution.
This stone, the only one found, weighed about 20 kilo-
grammes. It was covered with a dull greyish coat 0*5 milli-
metre in thickness ; the fresh fracture was dark grey, and
exhibited a number of brilliant points ; here and there
brilliant plates 1 millimetre square were met with, as well
as a small number of very dark, almost black, grains of
spherical form with a diameter of 2 milhmetres. The mass
' See Flight's " Meteorites."
1116 JAVA
of the stone was coarsely granular, and was so very hard
that portions were detached Avith a hammer only with gi'eat
difficulty.
The specific gravity of the metallic portion was 6*8 ; the
magnet removed 14 per cent, of the constituents, which
consisted of two alloys of nickel-iron containing respectively
6 "2 and 12*5 per cent, of nickel ; in one portion of the stone
was found 6'17 per cent, of troilite. The density of the
stone was 3*695.
On the lOth December, 1871, at 1.30 p.m., three strange
explosions were heard, and six stones were fomid at Goe-
moroeh, near Bandoeng.
The Ipa'gest, weighing 8 kilogrammes, fell in a rice-field,
and penetrated the soil obliquely to the depth of 1 metre.
A second, 2'24 kilogrammes in weight, and a third, weighing
0*68 kilogramme, fell in a rice-field about 2,200 metres
south-west of Babakan Djattie and 1,500 metres from
Tjignelling, or 3,700 metres from the spot where the first
stone struck the ground. The three remaining stones
weighed in all 150 grammes. The stone second in size, now
in the Paris collection, was an irregular block with rounded
edges. It was completely enveloped in a dull black crust,
and the natural surface exhibited numerous cavities of
different sizes, which bore a great resemblance to those
produced on quartzite by exposing it to the oxy-hydrogen
flame. A fresh fracture was grey, and enclosed in the
sihcite forming the greater portion of the stones were three
kinds of granules, which had a metallic lustre — the one
of an iron-gre}^ which was at once identified as nickel-iron ;
the second, of a bronze-yellow, which often possessed a
blue or yellow tint, was troilite ; and the third, black and
insoluble, was chromite.
The siliceous portion, wdien examined under the micro-
scope, was found to be made of transparent much-broken
grains, which were throughout crystalline.
MISCELLANEOUS 1117
Rivers. — As might be expected from a country which
abounds in mountains, no region in the world is better
watered than Java.
When the first Europeans came to this part of the world
there were at least ten rivers that admitted them to the
interior during the east monsoon, while in the west mon-
soon there were not less than fifty which were navigable to
some considerable distance from the coast, and during the
same season hundreds, if not thousands, valuable to the
agriculturist.
The largest river on the island is the Solo, or, as the
Javans term it, Beng'awan (the Great) Solo.
This river rises in Kedawang, and after collecting the
waters from the surrounding mountains flows dovm to
Surakerta, where it is a stream of great depth and con-
siderable breadth. Its course is north-easterly, and it
runs after leaving Surakerta, or Matarem, through
Sukawati, Jipang, or Bodjonegoro, Blora, Tubau, Sidayu,
and out into the sea at Gresik. To its existence no
doubt are due all the principal towns in ancient days
which were on its banks, and the fact that Gresik
became the great centre for the first Chinese and Arabian
adventurers.
The " Surabaya " river (so called) is another stream
of gi'eat importance, rising in the neighbourhood of the
mountain Arjuna.
Near its source it is called Kali Brantas. At the old
Hindu town of Malang it receives other streams to increase
its volume, and from here it takes another course and then
curves round the mountain Kawi. It is even more classical
than the Solo river, and on its banks from the earhest times
several Huidu cities were builjt. After crossing the old
districts of Wirasaba ^ and Japau ^ it discharges itself into
the ocean by five outlets, which form as many separate
' Kediri. * Modjokerto.
1118 JAVA
rivers. There is no space for a long account of the other
principal rivers, but it may be observed that every district
has its main stream, and that no town of any importance
exists that cannot be reached by water.
Lakes. — There are one or two lakes, very small, but of
exceeding beauty, to be found in the mountains and in the
craters of extinct volcanoes, as the principal among which
may be mentioned the Telaga Bodas,^ on the Papandayang,
and the Telaga Warna, on the Gedeh.
In some places in the island swamps exist which are
overgrown with the wild hyacinth and are called by some
lakes, but these are ill-termed, as during the dry monsooR
they are no more than swamps.
Ikrigation. — That irrigation was known to the early
inhabitants of Java before the advent of the Hindus has
been proved by philological investigations, which show that
centuries before their arrival rice was cultivated in irrigated
fields divided into terraces.
Little more, however, is known as to the means that
w^ere used to ensure the supply of water necessary for growing,
rice, but it cannot be doubted that however perfect these
plans were, they were greatly improved upon by the Hindus
when they firmly estabhshed themselves on the island in
A.D. 75.
The first work the Dutch undertook was the Ooster-
slokkan in Jacatra, which was begun in 1739 and
completed in 1753. The work was paid for by private
individuals under severe pressure from the East India
Company.
In 1766 the Westerslokkan was cut, the East India Com-
pany paying for this themselves. It has frequently been
stated that these Slokhans, or canals, were the cause of the old
town of Batavia becoming infinitely more unhealthy than
it previously had been, and that they brought the interior
^ Already described under " Mountains and Volcanoes."
MISCELLANEOUS 1119
state of the town or " Old Castle " into a state of utmost
unhealthiness, as the following extract from an old work
will show : —
*' A great part of the insalubrity of the city is the little circula-
tion of water in the canals which intersect it. This is occasioned
by the river which formerly conveyed most of its water to the
city being greatly weakened now by the drain which has been
dug called the Slokkan, which received its water from the main
land, and carries it away from the city, so that many of the canals
run almost dry in the good monsoon. The stagnant canals in
the dry season exhale an intolerable stench, and the trees planted
along them impede the course of the air, by which in some degree
the putrid effluvia would be dissipated. In the wet monsoon the
inconvenience is equal, for then these reservoirs of corrupted
water overflow their banks in the lower part of the town and fill
the lower stories of the houses, where they leave behind them an
inconceivable quantity of slime and filth ; yet, these canals are
sometimes cleaned, but the cleaning of them is so managed as to
become as great a nuisance as the foulness of the water, for the
black mud taken from the bottom is suffered to lie upon the banks,
in the middle of the street, till it has acquired a certain degree of
hardness to be made the lading of a boat and carried away. As
this mud consists chiefly of human ordure, which is regularly
thrown into the canals every morning, there scarcely being a
necessary in the whole town, it poisons the air, whflst it is drying,
to a considerable extent. Even the running streams become
nuisances in their turn, by the negligence of the people, for every
now and then a dead hog or a dead horse is stranded upon the
shallow parts, and it being the business of no particular person to
remove the nuisance, it is negligently left to time and accident."
In 1818, owing to the numerous complaints from the
cultivators of rice and sugar about the water supply, there
being too much in one place and too little in another, the
Dutch Government established a sort of Department for
the proper irrigation of the saivahs ^ and the general care
of the agricultural interests. Little benefit could her
^ Rice-fields.
1120 JAVA
expected, however, from a service which had only five
engineers attached to it.
During 1847 130,000 fl. were appropriated for works
on the Sampean river in the residency of Bezoeki, and in
1849 281,000 fl. for works in the Cheribon district.
In 1852 works on a considerable scale were undertaken
for the irrigation of the Sidoardjo district, in the Sourabaya
residency, at Lengkong, and 90,000 bouws were properly
irrigated.
The work was carried out by a large number of forced
labourers, who were unpaid, but, notwithstanding this,
2,600,000 fl. were spent.
In the same year, owing to a famine which had occurred
in the Samarang residency in 1848 through the rice crop
failing for want of water, a storage dam in the Kali Toen-
tang at a place called Glapan, with irrigation streams
tapping off the water on both banks, was constructed.
The Department of Civil Pubhc Works, ^ which was
established in 1854, had thirty-three engineers attached to
it, and in a general way endeavoured to improve a state of
affairs which in some parts of the island had already become
critical. As however, there was no plan for the general
irrigation of the country, and the department busied itself
chiefly in replacing, by permanent works, but without any
proper studies, native dams and distributing works whose
maintenance was beyond the powers of the administrative
officials, nothing of any real benefit was conferred upon the
agriculturists for several years.
This department, however, changed its ways in 1872,
when the works for a proper supply of water and an im-
provement in the drainage system in the district of Demak,
near Samarang, were undertaken after a careful altimetric
survey with the aid of the maps ; thus the engineers were
enabled to compile altimetric maps, on the basis of which the
^ Burgelijke Openbare Werken.
MISCELLANEOUS 1121
complete system of water supply and drainage channels was
designed. These works cost 7,750,000fl. Other sums
expended between 1872 and 1890 for irrigation works
amounted to 4,000,000fl.
In 1885 new regulations were issued for the Department
of Civil Public Works, and a section of the engineers was
specially entrusted with the preparation and execution of
irrigation works.
These regulations were again modified in 1889, but the
principle defined in 1885, by which the work of the irrigation
department was kept separate from that of the hydraulic
department, was adhered to.
An amount of 35,000,000fl. was appropriated in 1891
for the completion of sixteen irrigation undertakings with
a total area of 577,300 bouws. These undertakings were
carried out by voluntary paid labour, and of the sixteen
projected only three were not carried into execution.
Two years later the " Panama Canal " of Java was
begun. This was the drainage of 223,000 bouws in the
Solo valley, together with an improvement in the water
supply of the surrounding country. The cost was estimated
at 19,000,000fl., and the work contemplated was the most
stupendous of its kind ever undertaken by the Dutch engi-
neers in Java. In 1898, when only partially completed,
it was stopped owing to new estimates proving that at
least 50,000,00011. would be required to finish it, while the
benefits to be derived therefrom were open to doubt.
In 1888 the Irrigation Department of Serajoe was estab-
lished for superintending the existing irrigation works,
chiefly constructed by the population in the Bagalen and
Banjoemas residencies. This decentralisation plan proving
successful, the Irrigation Department of Brantas for the
residencies of Pasoeroean, Sourabaya, and Kediri and Serang
(which comprised the residencies of Samarang and Japara)
was established in 1892. These separate and distinct
J. — VOL. II. H H
1122 JAVA
irrigation departments proving to be an advantage, fresh
divisions were mapped out and placed under independent
staffs — Pekalen-Sampean in 1907, Pemali-Tjomal in 1908,
and Madioen in 1909.
The residency of Kadoe was placed under the Serajoe
department in the last-mentioned year, while the irrigation
division of Tjimanoek, extending over the greater portion
of the Cheribon residency, was established in 1910.
When the irrigation works now in course of construction
in Bantam and Djember are completed, the Dutch Govern-
ment may be considered to have carried out a difficult
plan in a highly satisfactory and scientific manner.
The chief reason which has compelled the Dutch Govern-
ment to use all its endeavours for increasing the productivity
of the soil is the burdensome task which continually stands
before it of feeding a prolific race like the Javans, who in
rather more than a hundred years have increased from
about 3,000,000 to over 30,000,000, that is, at a rate un-
equalled anywhere else in the world.
KoADS. — There is no country where the roads are more
numerous, more level or better kept, taking into considera-
tion the severe wet monsoon, than in Java. The whole
island is intersected with main roads, post roads, cross roads
and bye roads, so that there is no point that the traveller
cannot reach by carriage or motor-car. Fresh horses for
the former and the necessary equipment for the latter are
procurable about every five to ten miles on the main roads.
Travelling is thus a pleasure instead of a labour in this
tropical land.
Centuries before the arrival of the Portuguese a high
state of civilisation was attained, for the roads as found by
the Dutch themselves in the seventeenth century proved
conclusively how the trade and industry of the Javans
had driven or encouraged the populace to build broad and
durable roads. •
MISCELLANEOUS 1123
Strange to say, the same feature was noticeable in
the island of Lombok, for when the first Dutch visited this
country they were struck with the roads which stretched
thi'ough the country and the excellent condition in which
they were kept.
During the Hindu period — that is to say, as far back as
the time of the empire of Mendang Kamulan — there were
thi'ee main roads by which the capital could be reached.
One went from Japara, which was then a large and populous
Hindu town, with a rajah known to the fii'st Chinese as
the " King of Java," across country to Srondol/ Oenarang,
Salatiga, and Bojolah. The second started from Tagal
and went through the Banjoemas ; this appears to have been
a difficult and troublesome way, and it took twelve days to
reach the capital by it. The third road started at Balam-
bangan, or in the district now known as Banjoewangie, and
passed over Pasoeroean and Kediri. There were also at
an early date small roads from the capital running to
Jortan (Bangil) and Grissee.
The rivers were crossed by large and powerful bambu
and teakwood bridges, which were kept in perfect condition,
while the roads, although as far as is known not macadamised,
were made durable and able to bear heavy weights by
means of hewn djati or teak trees. The first European
report on one of these roads is given by Kijklof van Goens, a
member of the Council, who in 1656 travelled from Samarang
to Matarem. This traveller tells us how he found at the
river " Damack " a " fine massive bridge, supported by
thick Jaty beams, the planks being 10 to 12 inches thick
and 300 feet long, over which thousands of elephants and
heavy artillery might safely march." Van Goens further
remarks upon the large population of Matarem and the
* Japara and Samarang were linked at a later period before the Europeans
arrived, and the road between Samarang and Srondol was probably then
opened up.
H H 2
1124 JAVA
three important roads which led out of the capital to
the east, west and north, this latter being that by which he
travelled.
Antonio Hurdt, of the East India Company's army,
who in September, 1678, in company with the Susuhunan
of Matarem, travelled from this capital to Kediri to punish
Truna Jaya, also mentions the various roads they went over.
On this occasion three parties went to the assistance of
the emperor ; one, the party with which Hurdt was himself,
started from Japara, the second was under Captain Tak, the
Dutchman who is supposed to have stolen the great diamond
from the Majapahit crown, and the third was under Captains
Kenesse and Muller from Eembang.
According to Hurdt the roads were in good condition,
although there were some big holes, caused by the previous
year's rains, not yet filled in. With regard to this want
of repair, it may be observed that it has everywhere been
a noteworthy fact, that no sooner does European influence
endeavour to spread itself over an indigenous people, than
the inhabitants not only become temporarily impoverished,
but permanently demoralised, and lose the arts and crafts
which they formerly possessed.
This was the case with Java, for no sooner had the Dutch
settled permanently at Jacatra, and the Susuhunan of
Matarem discovered that there was no dislodging them,
than the great roads were neglected and the Javans were
reduced to using narrow footpaths, from which most
probably the main highways first took their origin.
The Governor- General Gustave Willem Baron van Imhoff
was a great man for travelling in Java, and in 1746 made his
memorable journey to East Java ; he started at Samarang
and proceeded to the Emperor of Matarem's court by
way of Oenarang, where the Susuhunan met him in all
his pomp with a magnificent retinue and a huge body-
guard. Van Imhoff, however, does not fail to report
MISCELLANEOUS 1125
upon the state of the roads after he left Matarem, tersely
remarking that they were in such a deplorable state that
it would almost seem as if no human being had ever lived
near them or used them. Patches here and there were good,
but rains, mud, rich vegetation and neglect had made
them not only difficult, but extremely dangerous for traffic.
The more the Dutch penetrated into the country and
the greater power they assumed in the land, the more
clearly they saw the necessity of taking the roads and bridges
in hand to enable them to undertake military operations,
punitive or otherwise, whenever they wished to do so.
Up to the time of Baron van Imhoff's journey the only
roads controlled and kept in repair by the Dutch East India
Company were those immediately around Batavia ; the
roads, however, to the forts of Tandjoeng Poera, Tangeran,
etc., as also the long road to Bantam, were built by the
military and kept by them in repair.
When a long period of inactivity, however, was the lot
of the Company's army, the roads were sure to be neglected,
there being a complete lack of system and a want of funds,
for during such times, when money could not be made out of
field services, these funds found their way into divers pockets
instead of being used for the repair of the roads, as was
officially intended.
H The main roads in the seventeenth century ran along
the coast and through the low plains ; inland communica-
tions were for the greater part non-existent, or, where there
were any, remained in such a condition as scarcely to warrant
the name of roads, that of " ways " being more appropriate.
One of the consequences of this was that great hardships and
cruel suffering were inflicted on the sick, who were removed
from the steaming, unhealthy hot plain of old Batavia to
higher and cooler health resorts at Tji-panas, Kampong
Baroe,*i,(and other places in the Preanger regencies. J
Buitenzorg.
1126
JAVA
This state of affairs lasted down to the eighteenth century.
After Governor- General Daendels arrived, on the 14th
January, 1808, he had begun his first journey by the 29th
April to the east of Java, travelling through Buitenzorg.
It was during this trip that he issued an order on the 5th
May that the post road between Buitenzorg and Karang-
samboeng should be laid. The preamble of this order
reads as follows : —
" Whereas the enormous disadvantage caused to the country
and the inhabitants has been noticed by the lack of serviceable
roads that prevents the development of the cultivation of cofEee,
and other produce imposes enormous expenditure upon the
smallest transport and exposes this important colony to great
danger if one part should be attacked by the enemy, and troops
from other parts could not be brought to the threatened point :
Governor-General Daendels, in the absence of the Council for
India but by the authority he holds from His Majesty the King,
" Has decided [Heeft besloten] —
"Article 1. That the oJSicial responsible for Javan Affairs
(zaken van den inlander) during the following dry season as soon
as the coffee and rice harvests are over shall make a great road
from Buitenzorg to Karangsamboeng over Tji-pannas, Tjanjour,
Bandoeng, Pracca, and Sumadang. That the road shall be 7^
yards wide and a post (paal) shall be placed at every 9| miles
indicating the distances, and also the parts for the upkeep of
which va^rious districts and their inhabitants shall be responsible.
" Further, that 1,100 boeijangers [coolies in chained gangs]
shall be employed for the work for which an amount of money
will be provided as follows : —
From
To
Number of
Workers.
Amount of
Money provided
in Rijksdaalders
Zilver.
Tjiceroa .
Tjanjour .
Radjamandala .
Bandong .
Praccamoentjang
Sumadang
Tjanjour
Radjamandala
Bandong
Praccamoentjang
Sumadang
Karangsambong
400
150
200
50
150
150
10 thousand
4
6
1
5
4
MISCELLANEOUS 1127
" That upon receipt of this order Colonel Liitzow shall proceed
to the spot with two engineers and a Government official to map
out the exact way to be followed. One of the engineers to be
employed on the portion of the way between Tjiseroa and Tjan-
jour, the other for that of Parakan moentjang to Sumadang,
whilst both are to be provided with two non-commissioned
officers of the artillery."
This was, however, merely a beginning, for in a short
space of time there was a main road from Anjer in Bantam
at one end of the island to near Banjoewangie at the other.
The making of this main road, however, is not due to
Daendels only, for in parts it existed before his arrival ;
thus, for instance, a way had already existed for about
two hundred years between Cheribon and Buitenzorg vid
Bandong and Samarang from the time when the whole of
these districts were brought under the control of the
Mahometan Sultan of Cheribon after the final destruction
of the empire of Pajajaran. So likewise there were various
strips of road along the north coast already in use before
the great Marshal's arrival. What, however, Daendels
did was to link all these together and to make the roads
broad and serviceable, and at fixed stations along this
post way to arrange that fresh horses and postilions should
be always procurable for a certain remuneration which he
himself fixed, but which left a loss to the native chief
forced to supply them.
It was at this time that the famous gardoe system was
introduced, or reintroduced as some maintain, who claim
it as an ancient Hindu institution which had fallen into
disuse in the island. Under this system beats on the tong
tong ^ every hour conveyed all sorts of signals and warnings
from one end of the island to the other in a comparatively
short space of time, each tong tong being within hearing
distance of its neighbours on either side.
^ Kind oi wooden gong made out of the trunk of a tree and hollowed
out inside.
1128 JAVA
All these roads, it may be mentioned, were not made,
or remade, by Daendels without a large sacrifice of lives
on the part of the poor Javans ; five hundred from Galoe in
Cheribon perished while making the part of the road across
the high Megamendoeng. This, however, is nothing com-
pared to the loss which is said to have happened when the
Eegent of Ba^tang was forced to make a road through a
morass ujd to the present estate of Siloewok Sawangan,
which cost his own life and some say those of as many as
ten thousand of his men/
This was not the first chief General Daendels had hung
in this connection, one of the jpangerans being punished
by death for not having a portion of the road near Suma-
dang ready within the stipulated time.^
When the English arrived in 1811 the work ordered
by General Daendels had been more or less completed,
and the testimony of Sir Stamford EafSes on the state in
which he found the roads is recorded as follows in his
" History of Java " : —
" Few countries can boast of roads, either of a better description
or of a greater extent, than those of Java. A high post road,
passable for carriages at all seasons of the year, runs from Anjer,
on the western side of Bantam, to within twenty miles of Banjoe-
wangi, the eastern extremity of the island, being a distance of
not less than eight hundred English miles. Along this road, at
intervals less than five miles, are regular post stations and relays
of carriage horses. A portion of it towards the west, which pro-
ceeded into the interior and passed over some high and moun-
tainous tracts, was found to occasion great delay and incon-
venience to passengers, and to impose an oppressive duty upon
those inhabitants who, residing in the neighbourhood, were
obliged to lend the use of their cattle, or the assistance of their
personal labour, to aid carriages in ascending the steeps ; this
part of the line has therefore been abandoned, and a new road has
^ The road ran straight through Siloewok Sawangan, or Plellen (to give
it its correct name), and not, as now, around it.
^ The spot is known as Tjadas Pangeran.
MISCELLANEOUS 1129
recently been constructed along the low lands from Batavia to
Cheribon, by which not only the former inequalities are avoided,
but a distance of fifty miles is saved. This route is now so level
that a canal might easily be cut along its side and carried on
nearly through all the maritime districts of the eastward, by
which the convenience of inland navigation might be afforded
them for conveying the commodities continually required for the
consumption and exportation of the capital. Besides this main
road from one extreme to the other, there is also a high military
road, equally well constructed, which crosses the island from
north to south, leading to the two native capitals of Sura-Kerta
and Yug'ya-Kerta, and consequently to within a few mUes of the
South Sea. Cross roads have also been formed wherever the
convenience or advantage of Europeans required them, and there
is no part of the island to which the access is left difficult. But
it is not to be concluded that these communications contribute
that assistance to agriculture or trade in Java, which such roads
would afford in Europe. Their construction has on the contrary
in many instances been destructive of whole districts, and^hen
completed by his own labour or the sacrifice of lives of his neigh-
bours, the peasant was debarred from their use, and not permitted
to drive his cattle along them, while he saw the advantage they
were capable of yielding, reserved for his European masters that
they might be able to hold a more secure possession of his country.
" They were principally formed during the blockade of the
island, and were intended to facilitate the conveyance of stores,
or the passage of troops necessary for its military defence. The
inhabitants, however, felt the exclusion the less, as good inferior
roads were often made by the side of these military roads, and
bye-roads branched off through all parts of the country, so that
the internal commerce met with no impediment for the want of
direct or convenient lines of communication."
In 1853, by an Order in Council, all the Government
roads were thrown open and allowed to be used by every one
and by all vehicles provided these were in accord with
certain regulations.J' The old-fashioned Javan carts, called
pedatis, with wooden discs as wheels, were forbidden, as
were also vehicles the felloes of which no longer rested flat
on the road, through the wheels wobbling on worn-out
1130
JAVA
>
02
1^
d5
W
o
<;
CO
• o
o
'O o ^ ^ &mS
fc4 O =1
-w d * H B T<
<? o o
1— <OTt<OOC<l'-<0«C>05(M'-HOO-^C«3CO
o
as "Tj Jrt Oi
O t>;
m
t3t3
O
Ah
•se
o Oi
1-H t-r^p^,-r-Hr-r(NC^ ^"lOC^"
r- -*i— iooc<i i>>fococ<> coco
S 00 -^ CD -S «J
l:--*>-HeO(M(NOO'-HOC<lt^COOOCOe»5
-*"*>— i1>C505(NIMi—iGOO(MOIOtH
I— I C<1 1— ( .— I 1— ( I— I C<l
<D _, <D -»-' O S d
^ CO CO CO C^i-*i— lO— I
c o o o ®
bO
■^^^.^-r'
o d o o ffl
CO->*l:--rt<0(MC<l<MiOtC-*eOO(NC5
F^i^co-^«b'^o«b'^>bTt<0'— i<Nt--
eo-<*<c<ico<Mcoeoeoco<Mco(MiocoiM
OCOOOOOOM5000U500
N»OOOIM>COIOOOOO— 10»00
OOCDeO<NCOGOCQlO'*0^(NC^-*"<l^«0
coc4'tjh'>-hco>-hco— ^"«D<©oot--coeooo
»-ieo<Ncoeoc<ieo i—i ^i— ii— ii— i
TflinoOlCi— !•— c<MCO-*-^t^t^<Nt^U5
1— iOOO-H(MCOCDl:^OC<JCOOO>Oi-H'*
(MCOCOifflCvlOr^OOlMSDC^liCfO-^eD
lOCSC<I>— i<MeOOil>00a0-<tlOffflt^l:^
— HO-'^eooO'^r-'C^cDoot^co'Ciosci
t^ (MCO'*'>*COCO'OTii(MlOOO'*C<l
'o
— iI:--*(M'*00l0Tt<C505Q0«0OOC<l
i-HT-K-^co(Ncoc<ieo COCO"— II— ic<i-<*
t^COOOCOOlM'-^-^OlOCO-HCOO-*
t^000000"^C000Oi-^<M05l0»Cl0O
I— 1<» >— i(M CO^-— I 1-H 1—1
p?
p^
S-, M)!
a. 2
o S e c fl cs
03 cS S^ ol g o ?; OS
3 '-' i^
0) « 4il
eg o3
§.^ a
QJ O) O
o ©•
cs D e3 ® " ®
MISCELLANEOUS
1131
Bridges
erected
or re-
newed
between
1896—
1903.
t^ <N CO C5 »C IC t^ -< 1 1 00 -< CO OC C<> »« O
0«0(MC5-H .-H-rJH| llOeOCO 00^
1—1 i-H
CO
Total
Number
of Large
or Small
Cul-
verts.
l0C-HTt(iCl>CiC00O05W^C000tCCOI>00
C^lCsl-^OOt-C^lCD-^C^lCOCDS^COOlOTt^CO
t-OOi— ICO"— 1 rt<-^i-Hi— (CiiOi— < t-
o
o
CO"
Small
Cul-
verts.
is
C<>00(M(-(Mr^«Ot^l:^<O00Tj<00Oi»OTt<«O
O^COCDC-^-^IMCO"— i(M<M-*t--<*-*CO
O^ "* lO eg .-H (M CO C^J »0
00
eg
00
Emer-
gency
Bridges
till
1896.
i^
1-"
05 0-*'-iTt* ^-H«OQ0 MH-i
(M CO >-( Tj< O 1 1 1 1 -H cq — i 1 O 1
t-CO (N 1 1 1 1 C<) 1^1
00
Number of Arch
Bridges.
From
32-8
Feet
to
64-6
Feet
wide.
l«CO(MI[|[CO||-H|]CO'»t>[ 1 CO
fH 1 I-H
Longer
than
32-8 Feet
or with
more
than one
Opening.
CO 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 -^t 1
o
Plate Girder and Lattice
Girder Bridges.
,1, ,,'S t. ^^ 1 O lOOOCiMOOkCOiOCOOOO
t»°C|3ClOOrl •
^ H^ '^ S- <M50 -<*^Tt*rt-H— i,-ii?1-.i<sC'*i--i'*0
o
ob
eg
Total
Length
of
Flooring
(Feet).
cicoo»ow:i-<*oicocicoi^t-oo»o
OOlOOOSCOOt^OOiOlOCOlOOi— 11-4
>-J_05_l0005COlMC^-*COlOO^OOOCOCO'-l
t-T co' Co" 00 CO ic m" lo' co' 00 <-!
-* .-1 CO <M
o
CO
«o
A . M ^ «<» 05 00 OS 00 (M (M U5 CO N •<* Ttl P-( (M
a «-; oocooit^co -H rt 05 lo (N c<i t- 1— 1 co
a S t- ic 00 c<5 CO i-< o >— 1 c<»
eg
1— 1
«o
M5 1
Length of Roads in Miles
kept by the Government.
3rd Class.
O <M O O OOO <M «D
lo CO Op lo lo »9 lo c^ op
0<MC5— 4obC)C3t^O»OC<10CO(N«bo5i-H
1— (N t^ 00 t^ eg t^ «D CI 1— 1 O "* 00 CO
10101C»OC<I eg >-< >Cl <N (N eg C^
eg
CO
CO
o
OOO ■* O K> O O O O CO
op CO QO ^ 'P ^ '^ *^ °? f "?>
vocgososi l^^t^i iThocDobcbcbf^
o ^ eg o CO ci CO
U5
O
00
(N
I— *
oi
o
■s
i-H
lOioooic o egooo
io| 1 l-^-^eiol 1 Icoloc^col
05 CO •-<
CO
CO
1—1
ID
.2
'3
§
'3
West Coast of Sumatra
Bencoolen
Lampong Dist. .
Palembang
East Coast of Sumatra
Achin'
Riouw
Banka
Billiton .
Borneo, W. Div.
Borneo, S.E. Div.
Menado
Celebes
Amboina .
Tern ate
Bali and Lombok
Timor
Is
o
H
'T3
El
1132 JAVA
axle.'^. Moreover the width of the felloes was prescribed,
this width increasing with the load on each wheel.
The Dutch Government at the present time spends money
freely on repairs and improvements, as also on the building
of new roads and bridges, and the old sytem initiated by
Daendels and carried on by RafHes has been steadily
developed in no mean or grudging way. This not only
refers to Java but to Sumatra, and the so-called outlying
dependencies ^as well.
Table I. gives the roads and bridges at present in existence
in Java, with the exception of those on private estates ;
whilst Table 11. gives the same for the outlying possessions.
It may be remarked before closing this section on the
roads of Java that Raffles abrogated Daendels' mail-coach
service,which the latter had taken so much trouble in starting
in 1812 ; and on the 4th June, 1813, Raffles also revoked the
passenger service as being too burdensome on the Javans.
No sooner, however, had the English left the island in
1816, than the latter service again came into operation,
but with a more reasonable and generous remuneration
to the native chiefs than before.
Unfortunately, owing to the opening up of the country
by railways and tramways, this delightful way of seeing
the beauty of the land in the comfortable old mail-coaches
is gradually disappearing.
Railways and Tramways. — As far back as 1830 the
question of the transport of both man and produce received
the serious consideration of the Dutch Government.
The minister J. C. Band suggested that a trial should
be made with an importation of forty camels from Teneriffe,
and sent to Java large shipments of mules and donkeys.
In 1840 Colonel van der Wyck, of the engineer corps,
suggested that railways should be introduced, if not for
the benefit of the agriculturists, then for military defence,
and that a line should be constructed starting at Sourabaya
MISCELLANEOUS 1133
and running to the Preanger regencies via Surakarta and
Djockjakarta, with numerous side Hnes.
Nothing, however, came of this proposal at the moment,
but there were numerous petitions from private persons for
concessions to construct Hnes from the seaports to various
points in the interior.
In 1841 the Governor- General Count van Hogendorp
invited tenders for building a line between Samarang,
Surakarta, and Djockjakarta.
It was suggested in a general w^ay that the track should
be for horse tramways. The Government not oiily promised
to assist in the undertaking, but under certain conditions
was prepared to guarantee the payment of interest upon
the money invested.
No one, however, was found willing to enter upon a
joint concern of this sort with the Government.
When Governor- General Rochussen came to Java in
1845, he advocated the principle of state ownership of all
railways that might be constructed, declined even to consider
any of the petitions for concessions from private individuals,
and asked for a loan of 2,500,000 guilders to construct a
line of railway from Batavia to Buitenzorg. The minister
for the colonies at The Hague was found unwilling to propose
the grant, and matters therefore remained in abeyance for
another five years. It was Governor- General Duymaer van
Twist who in 1851 proposed the reconsideration of the
invitation to private capital, but it was not until 1860 that
J. J. Stieltjes, a Dutch engineer from Holland, and John
Dixon, an Englishman from Manchester, were sent to Java
to report upon the question of railway communications
throughout the island. The report, although favourable,
led to nothing on the part of the Government, but in 1862
a concession was granted to Messrs. Alexander Eraser,^
Poolman, and Kol to build a line from Samarang to
' A former partner in Messrs. Maclaine, Watson & Co.
1134 JAVA
Djockjakarta, to be called the Samarang Crown-Country
Eailway (''Samarang Vorstenlanden Spoorweg"), and in
1864 a concession was granted to the Netherlands India
Railway Company (" Nederlandsche Indische Spoorweg
Maatschappij ") to build one between Batavia and Buiten-
zorg. This latter company eventually bought the first-
named line.^
The result of these concessions was that the first railway,
a short stretch of 25 kilometres, between Samarang and
Tanggoeng, was opened in 1867. It was not, however,
until 1872 that the whole of the line to Surakarta and Djock-
jakarta was opened. The line from Batavia to Buitenzorg
was opened for traffic in 1873.
In 1875, after a long consideration, the Government
decided to construct its first state railway and voted a sum
of money for building a line from Sourabaya to Pasoeroean,
which was completed in 1878, and to their surprise was a
great financial success. Instead, however, of this stimu-
lating the authorities to build other lines, the home Govern-
ment seemed less willing than before to vote further supplies
for railway construction, so that it was not until the 1st
November, 1894, that Java was connected from Batavia to
Sourabaya by railway.
The first tramway concession was granted in 1881 for
^ In 1865 the first committee was formed. This is the notice in the Java
(Jourant of 17th and 21st February, 1865 : —
" De ondergeteekenden brengen ter kennis van belanghebbenden dat
zij op heden de administratis der Nederlandsch Indische Spoorweg Maat-
schappij hebben op zich genomen, en van nu af overeenkomstig de Statuten,
de vertegen woordigens zijn op Java van bovengenoemde maatschappij.
" Het Comite van Bestuuf de Ned. Ind. Spoorweg Maatschappij.
" G. H. MiESEGAES, President.
" Alex. Oltmans.
" Mr. J. P. VAN BORSE.
" Samarang, 10th February, 1865."
This body exists at the present day. The G. H. Miesegaes above men-
tioned was a partner in Maclaine, Watson & Co., being the head of the
Samarang branch.
MISCELLANEOUS 1135
a line between Samarang and Joana, which was called the
" Samarang Joana Steam Tram Company."
The following concessions to private persons to build
railways have been granted at various times : —
The Java Railway Company {Java Spoorweg Maat-
schappij), to build a line from Tagal to Balapoelang ; by
order in council of the 18th January, 1882, this concession
was handed over to the Samarang Cheribon Tramway
Company in September, 1895 (granted to Messrs. Alexander
Fraser, Poolman, and Kol).
The Deli Railway Company {Deli Spoorweg Maatschappvj) ,
to build a line from Belawan, Medan Timbang Langkat ;
by order in council of the 23rd January, 1883.
The Batavia Bekasi Company {Bataviasche Ooster-
spoorweg Maatschappij) , to build a line from Batavia to
Bekasi ; by order in council of the 19th Feburary, 1884 ;
taken over by the State on the 4th August, 1898.
The railways and tramways of the island of Java are
as good and comfortable as are to be found in any other
country in the world, whilst their organisation under
capable and efficient boards of management and personnel
is perfect.
Government recognises two types of railways, although
the regulations affecting each are practically similar, differing
only in the speed allowed.
Of tramways only one type is at present recognised,
but a change is contemplated in this direction, so that a
division will be made between tramways of primary and
secondary importance.
The service of trains on all the railways and tramways
is frequent and runs punctually, arriving at the destination
whatever the length of journey to within a minute of the
tabulated time ; this is sufficient proof that these lines may
be compared favourably with those in Europe, more
especially when one takes into consideration the fact
1136
JAVA
that on many of the main tracks numerous dangerous
curves and steep declivities up the mountains are met
with.
There is an overland limited express which runs daily
from Batavia to Samarang and Sourabaya, and vice versa.
This goes through the Preanger regencies (the most beauti-
ful in Java), and stops at all the principal towns en
route.
For comfortable accommodation and for the excellence
of the refreshment car there is no express in England to
equal it.
For a traveller with little time at his disposal there is
no better way to see the island than by travelling in this
train.
That the railways have been a boon to the country
cannot be doubted, and the traffic in such a populous and
productive land is so enormous that handsome dividends
in the case of every company are unfailingly returned every
year.
The following figures show the development of the great
net of railways and tramways in Java : —
Railways.
Company.
Length
in Kilo-
metres
Capital Outlay
in Guilders
(end of 1907).
Cost per
Kilometre
in
Guilders.
State Eailways : — •
Eastern Circuit (East of Surakarta) i
Western Circuit (West of Djockjakarta) .
Private Railways : —
Samarang-Voretenlanden
Batavia-Buitenzorg ....
904
1,005
205
56
68,140,775
89,997,297
24,441,397
4,179,575
75,377
89,513
119,226
74,635
> The Eastern and Western Circuits are linked by a third track on the
private company's line, Djockja-Solo.
MISCELLANEOUS
Tramways. 1
1137
Length
of Line
Capital
Cost per
Name of Company.
in Kilo-
metres
Outlay in
Guilders
Kilometre
in
(end of
(end of 1907).
Guilders.
1907).
Samarang Joana Stoom Tram Maatsc
dappij 305
12,543,192
31,755
Oost Java Stoom Tram Mij.
79
2,292,893
32,821
Stoomtramweg Djockja Brosot
a n f\
23
596,833
25,949
Stoomtramweg Djockja Magelang Wi;
lem I. Ill
8,175,728
73,655
(both owned by N. I. S. Mij.)
Stoomtramweg Goendih-Sourabaya
245
13,587,420
55,422
Stoomtram Mij. Samarang-Cheribon
334
11,149,963
33,383
Serajoedal Stoomtram Mij.
91
2,935,104
32,202
Kediri Stoomtram Mij.
123
2,671,051
21,716
Malay Stoomtram Mij.
86
2,779,353
32,318
Pasoeroeau Stoomtram Mij.
44
1,136,578
25,831
Probolinggo Stoomtram Mij.
45
1,357,049
30,156
Modjokerto Stoomtram Mij.
79
2,338,943
29,607
Babat Djombang Stoomtram Mij.
68
1,7^9,884
26 469
Madoeia Stoomtram Mij. .
214
6,313,383
29,501
Line Madioen Ponorogo, with ext€
/nsions
Ponorogo Balong, and Ponorog(
) Soe-
moroto "^ . . . .
56
1,619,996
28,928
Post. — During the time of the old East India Company
there was no regular postal service either in the island
itself or to Europe.
Whenever a Company's ship happened to be leaving for
Europe, which occurred every three to six months or so, a
box was opened, called " de gemeene doos," under charge of
a " senior merchant " (opper koopman), and into this the
Governor-General's dispatches and private letters were
packed, the latter duly reaching their destination, the
" opper koopman willing."
In the island there was a so-called "overland mail,"
but it existed in name only, dispatches being sent by coolie
every three or four weeks, if there happened to be dispatches
to send ; or, if a coolie arrived with letters from the Preanger
' In this list lines of purely municipal interest are not included.
'^ Built and managed by the Board of the State Railways.
J. — VOL. II. I I
1138 JAVA
regencies, or the interior, after a few days' rest, he was
returned with letters addressed to the place from whence
he had come.
Letters were also carried by the different English and
Dutch merchantmen who visited the colony for trading
purposes.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century private
merchants who had important interests employed their own
men to carry their communications, and these sometimes
travelled on foot, or if speed was required, on horseback.
On some occasions letters were sent with persons travel-
ling through the country — pedlars, pilgrims, and others.
These overland journeys were not, however, undertaken
without considerable risk, many of the carriers never being
heard of again, either losing their lives through missing the
track in the forests or while crossing some swollen river,
or else falling a prey to the wild beasts which still roamed
plentifully in the jungle.
When Marshal Daendels arrived in 1808 and constructed
and linked up the famous highway from one end of the
island to the other, he improvised an overland mail which
could at last be wholly rehed upon.
The first regulations for this postal service came into
operation on the 18th June, 1808.
The communications were from Batavia to Bantam, from
Batavia to Samarang via Buitenzorg, the Preanger regencies,
Cheribon and Pekalongan, and from Samarang along the
northern coast to Sourabaya. Post offices were erected at
Batavia, Samarang, and Sourabaya under the direction of
special postmasters.
This mail was carried by special carriers on horseback,
who were always accompanied by a guide, and at night by
a torch-bearer also, to keep the wild animals at a distance.
The rate of postage on letters weighing more than half
an ounce amounted to 2 rupees from Batavia to Samarang
MISCELLANEOUS 1139
and 3 rupees from Batavia to Sourabaya. The postage had
to be paid in cash. Unpaid letters were hable to an additional
rate of postage of a quarter of the postage of paid letters,
which had to be settled in cash before delivery was given.
This overland mail left twice a week. When Sir Stamford
Baffles arrived, the postal regulations underwent an
alteration and the rates were somewhat altered.
In the main, however, they coincided with those already
in force.
A regular outward mail service was arranged during the
EngHsh period. One of the Company's ships, or a private
vessel belonging to one of the British mercantile houses
at Batavia, Deans, Scott & Co. or Chapman, Rutter &
Co., being hired by the Government to carry passengers and
mails to Calcutta, whence they were transhipped to a sailing
ship leaving this port for England.
After the English left, and up to 1848, the correspondence
for foreign countries was sent by means of Dutch sailing
vessels, which left for Amsterdam and Rotterdam every two
or three months as the case might be. The principal
British firms, however, made use also of their own private
vessels for carrying their correspondence, and for the mail
which arrived via Singapore one firm had a special vessel
waiting to bring its own letters down.^ In these days it
was customary to send all documents in triplicate by three
separate opportunities, only one of which sometimes
arrived owing to the other vessels being lost. Thus one
set could be sent via Holland, another from London to
Java direct by a cargo vessel, whose sailing would be adver-
tised to all the East India Merchants, and another by the
mail service to Singapore.
In 1849 the Dutch authorities concluded an arrangement
for the conveyance of all correspondence via Southampton
and via Marseilles ; this was received in Singapore by the
1 Maclaine, Watson & Co.
112
1140 JAVA
Netherlands Indian Postal Administration and forwarded
by means of a monthly steamboat mail service that had been
established between Batavia and Singapore.^
In 1870 the service via Singapore, and in 1871 the service
via Trieste also, which had been opened in 1849, were
discontinued (see note at end).
As a result of the opening of the Suez Canal a six-weekly
service oversea was estabhshed in 1871, and an agreement
was concluded with the Netherland Navigation Company
(Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland) for a monthly mail
service between Holland and Java. On the outward route
the steamers called at Naples, and on the homeward route
at Padang. For each voyage the Steam Navigation Com-
pany was saosidised by the Dutch Government to the
extent of 3,000 guilders.
This service became a fortnightly service later on, and
in 1887, together with the steamers of the steam navigation
company " Kotterdamsche Lloyd," carried on a regular
weekly service, calling at Marseilles for the mail on the
outward journey and discharging it there on the homeward.
As to the inland postal communication of Java, further
developments came, of course, with the introduction of
railways and tramways, so that now the post closes several
times daily at all the principal towns for any place within
the island.
The postal service of Netherlands India compared with
that of British India can claim to be in no way inferior.
Note.
Extract from Java Courant, 3rd October, 1849.
" Overland Trieste Route.
" The Austrian Lloyd's steamers continue to ply between
Alexandria and Trieste as under, viz. : —
** The direct, leaving Trieste the 25th of each month, arriving
1 This mail service was carried on by one steamer, the Koningin der Neder-
landen, Captain (1848) George Batten.
MISCELLANEOUS 1141
at Alexandria about the 2nd or 3rd of the following month, and
starting for Trieste from Alexandria 18 to 24 hours after the
arrival there of the Indian passengers by the Calcutta steamer,
except on occasions when the latter arrives at Suez behind time.
" A steamer of the same company leaves Alexandria every
alternate Thursday for Smyrna, when it meets the steamers of
the Levant Line, by means of which communication is kept up
as previously through Syria with Constantinople, Trieste, Greece,
etc.
Fares direct to Trieste, £18, including table money.
,, via Smyrna, £13 45., without the table money.
Passengers intending to avail of the Trieste route should book to
Suez only. There are now so many railroads open through
Germany that London may be reached from Trieste in six days
with comfort and at an expense of about £10 to £12.
" For further particulars apply to the undersigned agents of
the Austrian Lloyd's Steam Navigation Company.
" Maclaine, Watson & Company.
" Batavia, 10th October, 1849."
Telegraphs. — The first proposal to erect telegraphs was
made by the Governor- General A. J. Duymaer van Twist
in 1855, namely, the erection of a telegraph wire between
Batavia and Buitenzorg ; and the work on it was begmi
the following year under the supervision of one Groll.
The construction was started on the 18th August, 1856,
and completed on the 23rd October following, upon which
day the fii'st message was sent from Weltevreden to the
Governor- General at Buitenzorg. On the 2nd March,
1857, a beginning was made of the continuation of the line
to Sourabaya ; Cheribon was reached on the 14th April,
1858, Samarang on the 18tli June, and finally Sourabaya
on the 25th July, 1858.
The first cable between Singapore and Batavia was
established in 1859 with a branch line from Muntok to
Palembang.
It was not long, however, before this communication
was interrupted again and again, and in view of the high
1142 JAVA
expenses attending its repair it was decided to dismantle
the cable.
A portion of the cable was picked up and relaid in 1865
in the Straits of Sunda, so that communication between
Anjer (Java) and Telok Betong (Sumatra) was possible.
The line, however, possibly owing to poor material, was
never satisfactory, and after being repaired over and over
again was finally dismantled and replaced by a new
cable.
In 1870 permission was granted to the British Australian
Telegraph Company, Limited, to lay and work a cable
between Singapore, Java, and Australia. The result was
that Batavia was again almost immediately in communi-
cation with Singapore, and this port being shortly afterwards
in connection with Penang and Madras, Java was at last
enabled to participate in the advantages — some merchants
who remember the olden days say disadvantages — of
international telegraphic communication.
In October, 1872, the cable between Java and Australia
was opened, and in 1873 the British Australian Telegraph
Company was incorporated with the Eastern Extension,
Australasia, and China Telegraph Compan}^ Limited.
As far as Sumatra is concerned the erection of telegraph
wires was begun as early as 1866, but the work was carried
on under far greater difficulties than those which had been
experienced in Java.
Hordes of wild animals and troops of monkeys were
continually knocking over or climbing the posts and breaking
the wires or damaging the insulators, while later elephants
in great numbers maliciously pulled down the masts over
considerable distances, playfully dragging them with wires,
insulators, and all into the dense jungle, from w^hich they
were as a rule not to be recovered. This was not all, however
for the difficulties attending the conveyance of materials,
owing to there being no facilities, and the malarial fever.
MISCELLANEOUS 1143
which decimated the engineering staff, hampered the work
from its start.
In spite, however, of all these obstacles Palembang
was reached in 1867, Padang in 1871, Singkel in 1873, and
Deli in 1887.
At the present time the telegraph wires in Netherlands
India extend over 8,881*04 kilometres, and the telegraph
cables over 5,221*27 kilometres, making the total length
14,102-31 kilometres.^
Telephone. — In 1880 a concession was granted to some
private persons for twenty-five years to construct telephonic
communication in Batavia, Samarang, and Som'abaya,
and between Batavia and Weltevreden and Batavia and
Tandjong Priok.
The work was begun in 1882, and at Batavia, Weltevre-
den, and Tandjong Priok was ready in 1883, while Samarang
and Sourabaya opened their service in 1884. At the end of
the contract Government took over all these lines.
In 1896 inter-communal telephones were opened by
private initiative from Batavia, Cheribon, Tegal, Peka-
longan, Samarang and Sourabaya, and other places to the
Preanger districts, Djockjakarta, and Soerakarta.
The whole system has now been taken over by the
Government, and works, like all things the Dutch Govern-
ment undertakes, very w^ell.^
Shipping. — Although the rights of coastal navigation are
' The only private telegrapli line that I have known of in Java is one
which connected the General post office at Weltevreden with Messrs.
Maclaine, Watson & Co.'s office in the old town of Batavia, for which
the latter had to pay a special remuneration to the Government. This
special service, which had the advantage of giving messages fifteen minutes
sooner, was suspended when the public telephone service came into use.
'^ There are many private telephone lines in Java, among which may be
mentioned that in use at Kendal between the sugar fabricks there, and the
property of a small company. The others are all privately owned, being
mostly the property of the shareholders in the estates on which they are
used.
1144 JAVA
granted only to Dutch vessels, the ports of Netherlands
India are open for general trade and accessible to the ships
of all flags with whom the Dutch are on friendly relations,
provided always the general local regulations are strictly
observed.
Whilst the shipping which trades to and from Java is
enormous, as can be easily gathered from an examination
of the statistics, there are four companies which may be
considered as carrying the bulk of the passengers and
cargo ^ inwards and outwards, and as carrying on the local
traffic in the archipelago.
For the ocean traffic there are two Dutch companies
and one English (although some of the vessels of the latter
company fly the Dutch flag), namely, the Nederland Steam
Navigation Company of Amsterdam (Stoomvaart Maat-
schappij Nederland), the Kotterdam Lloyd Steamship
Company of Eotterdam (Stoomvaart Maatschappij Rotter-
damsche Lloyd), and the Ocean Steamship Company of
Liverpool (Blue Funnel Line), the Dutch line of which is
called the " Stoomvaart Maatschappij Ocean."
For the local trade there is the Royal Packet Company
of Batavia (Koninklyke Paketvaart Maatschappij), which
holds the monopoly.
The Nederland Steam Navigation Company was estab-
hshed in June, 1870. Previous to this several attempts
had been made to form a company, but sufficient money
was never forthcoming. When the Suez Canal was opened
a further attempt was made and a public meeting was called
to discuss the establishment of a national line to Batavia
via Port Said and the Red Sea. The meeting was well
attended, as the subject had aroused a good deal of enthu-
siasm, and within two days a committee was elected to
consider the details. The members of the committee were
1 Excepting the sugar, which is carried to all quarters of the globe ia
chartered steamers.
MISCELLANEOUS 1145
G. J. Boelen, of Messrs. de Vries & Co. (shipowners) ; J. G.
Bunge, of Messrs. Bunge & Co. ; J. Boissevain, of Messrs.
Boissevain & Co. (Eastern traders and insurance agents).
The royal family also took great interest in the under-
taking.
It was at once decided that a regular steamship company
should be formed, and in February, 1870, a provisional
contract was made with the Government whereby the
carriage of all Government produce was secured for the
new enterprise. The following month the company was
floated with a capital of 3,000,000 guilders (£250,000),
and the first steamers were ordered from the Glasgow firm
of John Elder & Co., of Glasgow.
On the 17th May, 1871, the Willem III. started on her
maiden voyage, crowds of people witnessing her departure
from Den Helder. The company began with misfortune.
Two days later the news reached Holland that the
Willem III. was on fire and had been beached at Ports-
mouth. Shortly after this another of the company's ships
came to grief on a rock in the Red Sea, and it was not
until 1875 that the regular sailings could be guaranteed.
The vessels call every fortnight at Southampton, and
en route to Batavia call at the ports of Lisbon, Tangiers,
Algiers, Genoa, Port Said, Suez, island of Perim, Colombo,
Sabang (Sumatra) and Singapore, and are the most com-
fortable and best-equipped steamers travelling to the East.
At the present time the Nederland Company's fleet
consists of the following mail steamers.
N.R.T. N.R.T.
Koning der Neder- Vondel . . 3,713
landen . . 5,500 Koning Willem I. . 2,851
Princess Juliana . 5,000 Koning Willem II. 2,684
Grotins . . 3,702 Koning Willem III. 2,872
Eemhrandt . . 3,719 Oranje . . 2,798
1146 JAVA
Besides this the company has a fleet of fifteen cargo
steamers, whose tonnage ranges from 2,500 tons N.R. to
nearly 4,000 tons N.E.
The Rotterdam Lloyd Steamship Company began its days
under no special name in 1844, when according to old books
the Drie Gehroeders, a bark of 450 tons gross, sailed from
Holland for Batavia on the 11th September.
The first steamer that was built was called the Ariadne
(in 1870), and the Fop Smit followed shortly after this ;
these were intended for the Levant trade.
In 1872 D. T. Buys, of Buys & Co., made an arrange-
ment with the Commercial Steam Navigation Company, of
London, for tlu-ee steamers, the Wyherton, 1,450 tons, the
Harringtmi, and the Kingston to run under the English
flag to the East Indies. This was the pioneer line of the
Rotterdam Lloyd.
The arrangement was that a regular service should be
maintained with six steamers, three of which would be
supplied by the English company and three by Buys & Co.,
the company to be called " The Botterdam Lloj^d." Buys
& Co., however, found some difficulty in carrying out their
part of the agreement owing to no money being procurable
in Holland, and it was not until 1875 that the company
(Botterdam Lloj^d) was actually formed, and then with
nearly the whole capital supplied in London.^
The first Dutch steamer was the Groningen, built by the
British firm of Mitchell & Co., Newcastle-on-Tyne, and she
sailed on her maiden voyage from Vlissingen on the 7th
March, 1875, being followed on the 29th May by the steam-
ship Friesland. The Groningen, after three voyages, was lost
near Antwerp on the 26th March, 1876. She was followed
1 The capital was supplied, I am told, by G. H. Miesegoes, F. Bogaardt,
and F. W. von Laer (partners in Maclaine, Watson & Co.), H. 0. Robinson,
head of a firm of engineers in London, and one or two others. The agents
in Java were Maclaine, Watson & Co.
MISCELLANEOUS 1147
by the steamship Drenthe. In December, 1877, the Friesland
was lost with all on board on the Corobedos rocks. For
years it was not known where she had gone down, but in
1905, through blocks of tin being brought to Corcubion, it
was discovered where the place of the wreck was.
On the 3rd September, 1881, four steamers of the Commer-
cial Steam Navigation Company were placed under the
Dutch flag to keep up the three-w^eekly service. Twa
years later, on the 15th June, 1883, the company as it now
is was established and all connection with the Commercial
Steam Navigation Company ceased.
At the present time the Eotterdam Lloyd Company's
fleet consists of the following mail steamers : —
N.E.T.
l^.R.T.
Tahanan
. 5,500
Rindjani
. 4,600
Tambora
. 5,500
Kaivi .
. 4,600
Goentoer
. 5,500
Orphir
. 4,600
Sindoro
. 5,000
J 1
Wilis .
1 n I P
. 4,600
1
Besides this the companj^ has a fleet of twelve cargo
steamers with a tonnage ranging from 4,700 tons N.R. to
8,000 tons N.R. The steamers of the company call every
two weeks at Southampton, and are splendidly equipped.
They take nearly the same route to Java as the Nederland..
The Ocean Steamship Company (Alfred Holt & Co.) is
so world-famed that no account of the company is necessary.
The line was started by Alfred Holt in the fifties with three
ships, the steamships Agamemnon, Ajax, and Achilles,
which traded to China via the Cape of Good Hope, returning
as a rule with a full cargo of tea only at bumper freights
up to £7 and more per ton of 40 cubic feet. While the
Nederland Company and the Rotterdam Lloyd carry all the
passengers to and from Holland to Java, the Ocean Steam-
ship Company take the bulk of the cargo from Java which,
is landed in Amsterdam.
1148 JAVA
Four steamers of this company carry the Dutch flag, and
constitute a separate concern registered in Holland.
" From small beginnings come great ends," and such a
term may faithfully be used in reference to the Eoyal Packet
Company, which nowadays carries on the whole service of
local passenger and cargo transport in the East Indian
Archipelago with a magnificent fleet of steamers, veritable
yachts in luxury and convenience.
The first st^mship to carry out a special service between
Batavia (Cheribon, Tegal, and Pekalongan when required),
Samarang, and Sourabaya was the Van der Capellen, of
216 tons, in 1826, which was nominally owned by the British
mercantile house of Thompson, Roberts & Co., Batavia,
but in which Maclaine & Co., Forestier & Co., Miln, Haswell
& Co., and Trail & Co., all British firms in the place, were
also interested.
The advent of steamships in the Eastern Archipelago,
as may be well understood, created a great sensation among
the native races, and was the death blow to the daring pirates
of Borneo and the Celebes after every other method for
their suppression had failed.
Few know the story of the first steamer off Java. Some
pirate ships saw a steamer in the distance, and observing
smoke coming from its fat, short masts concluded the ship
was on fire and therefore helpless. They gave chase,
therefore, but were amazed to see the strange beast come
up steadily before the wind and vomit fire from its guns.
It was generally agreed after this in polite pirate circles
that the white man had played a mean trick upon a successful
and honourable body of traders.
The Va7i der Capellen continued the service until 1839,
when she was lost between Batavia and Singapore. Maclaine,
Watson & Co. now ordered a vessel called the Koningin der
Nederlanden (Queen of the Netherlands), which arrived at
Batavia in 1840, to continue the same service. She was
MISCELLANEOUS 1149
more than twice the size of the Van der Capellen, having a
capacity of 516 tons. According to the Java Courant of
the 24th February, 1841, a meeting was called to form a
company with this single vessel : —
" Those interested in the steamship the Koningin der Neder-
landen are invited to attend a meeting on Thursday, 11th March,
at 12 o'clock, at the office of Maclaine, Watson & Co., Batavia, to
decide and discuss what conditions should be made before request-
ing the Government to permit the establishment of the Javasche
Stoomboot Maatschappij .
" Maclaine, Watson & Co.
" Batavia, 22nd February, 1841."
After this meeting Maclaine, Watson & Co. handed over
the directorship of the vessel or company to the British
house of Paine, Strieker & Co., as this firm was concentrating
its interests in the shipping business, so that it was feared
there might be unnecessary competition.^ While the direc-
torship later on changed hands several times,^ Paine^
Strieker & Co. were the booking agents at Batavia of the
company until 1866, and specially established themselves
at Padang to look after the company's large interests there.
On the coast the agents until 1890 were McNeill & Co.^
Samarang, and Fraser, Eaton & Co., Sourabaya. On the
board at Batavia, there was generally, if not always, a
partner in Maclaine, Watson & Co.
The Javasche Stoomboot Maatschappij never took official
form, but in 1842 the Netherlands India Steamboat Com-
1 Java Courant, 17th March, 1841 : — " The undersigned give hereby
notice that they have handed over the agency of the steamboat Koningin
der Nederlanden to Messrs. Paine, Strieker & Co.
" Maclaine, AVatson & Co.
" Batavia, March 12th, 1841."
2 It would seem that the directors had to be re-elected every year.
Paine, Strieker & Co. held the position from 1842 to 1848, J. J. Blancken-
hagen in 1848, Thompson, Roberts & Co. from 1849 to 1851, and Maclaine,
Watson & Co. from 1852 to 1866 ; then for the Netherlands India Steam
Navigation Company, Alexander Fraser (late partner in Maclaine, Watson
& Co.) and J. Schroder were appointed.
1150 JAVA
pany was established, and in the old records one observes
the ownership of the Koningin der Nederlanden transferred
in 1844 from the name of Maclaine, Watson & Co. to that
of the above company.
The first page of a share-warrant is as follows : —
Nederlandsch Indische.
STOOMBOOT-MAATSCHAPPIJ.
opgerigt te Batavia in den jare 1842.
No. 96.
Bewijs van Aandeel Voor
Den Heer JOSEPH MARIE TISSOT
als deelhebbende in de Nederlandsch Indische Stoomboot-Maat-
■schappij, gevestigd te Batavia, voor EEN AANDEEL, groot EEN
DUIZEND GULDENS zilvergeld, bereids gefourneerd, alles
achtervolgens de acte van oprigting van voorschrevene Maat-
schappij, op den 3den Maart des jarrs 1842, ten overstaan van
den Notaris Mr. H. M. Wilier, en getuigen alhier-gepasseerd en
sub no. 24 verleden, goedgekeurd door den Vice-President Waarne-
mend Gouverneur Generaal van Nederlandsch Indie, bij Besluit
van den SOsten Maart 1842, no. 16, en waarvan de Statuten bier
achter voorkomen.
Batavia, den 29th Augustus, 1842.
Paine, Stricker & Co. Directeur.
A. Geves. ) ^ .
J. McNeill j Comissanssen.
The service was now extended with the assistance of
a Government steamer, and whilst the Koningin der Neder-
landen continued its old route, it ran in conjunction with the
new vessel which was despatched monthly from Batavia to
Singapore via Muntok and Khio. Thompson, Roberts & Co.
were the agents for this Singapore line.
In 1850 a monthly service was started between Sourabaya
and Macassar by way of a trial with a single steamer belong-
ing to private persons, and in the same year the Netherlands
India Steamboat Company was granted a loan by the
Government for the building of a second steamer, and a
MISCELLANEOUS 1151
provisional agreement was made with Mr. Cores de Vries for
the maintenance of a regular steamship service between
Batavia and Padang, Batavia and Macassar via Sourabaya,
and Macassar and Menado via Amboina and Ternate.
In 1854 the Dutch Government entered into a definite
agreement with Mr. Cores de Vries for a period of five years,
on condition that from the 1st June, 1854, the following
regular services were maintained : —
Batavia, Samarang, Sourabaya, Macassar, Banda, Am-
boina, Ternate, Menado, Macassar, Sourabaya, Samarang,
Batavia ; and Batavia, Muntok, Rhio, Singapore, and
back.
A contract for a period of four years beginning on the
1st May, 1854, was also made with the Netherlands India
Steamboat Company for the conveyance of the mails from
Batavia to Singapore. This contract was extended to
the 31st May, 1859, and again continued until the end of
1860, while Mr. Cores de Vries's contract for the other
services was extended until the 1st May, 1865.
On the 21st July, 1863, tenders were invited for the main-
tenance of the following services during a period of ten
consecutive years, that is, from 1866 to 1875 : — Fortnightly
from Batavia via Muntok and Rhio to Singapore and back,
with some ports of call, with a branch line from Muntok to
Palembang and back. Weekly from Batavia via Samarang
to Sourabaya and back via Samarang. Once a month from
Sourabaya to Macassar, Timor, Koepang, Banda, Amboina,
Boeroe, Ternate, and Menado, and back to Sourabaya via
Macassar, the route to be reversed alternately. Once a
month from Batavia to Pontianak and Singkawang and
back to Batavia via Pontianak.
Fortnightly from Batavia via Bencoolen to Padang, and
back to Batavia via Bencoolen. Once a month from Soura-
baya via Bawean to Banjermassin and back to Sourabaya
via Bawean.
1152 JAVA
Mr. H. 0. Eobinson, the head of a London firm of engi-
neers, put in the lowest tender and obtained the contract,
which he transferred to the Netherlands India Steam Navi-
gation Company, which company afterwards also secured
the contract offered for public tender in January, 1874.
This was for a period of fifteen years from 1876 to 1890.^
In 1888 there was a patriotic flutter in Holland about
all the lines in Netherlands India archipelago being in the
hands of Englishmen, and through the combined action of
the Nederland and Eotterdam Lloyd the " Eoyal Packet
Company " was established and the contract in 1890 given
to Messrs. J. Boissevain and P. E. Tegelberg, directors of
the Netherlands Steamship Company of Amsterdam, and
Mr. E. Euys, director of the Eotterdam Lloyd Steamship
Company of Eotterdam. The capital of the new concern
was 9,000,000fl., and by agreement they took over from
the Netherlands India Steam Navigation Company sixteen
steamers, coal stocks, warehouses, and wharves, and the
greater part of the staff, including captains, ofi&cers, engi-
neers, and shore employees.
^ The largest sliareliolders in this concern are said to have been the British
India Steam Navigation Co. ; the rest were mostly English. The director
at Batavia was Mr. Schroder. The agents at Samarang were McNeill & Co.
and at Sourabaya Fraser, Eaton & Co.
Pakt IV
Pocial Life in Java. The Houses of Europeans. The Press. The Batavia
Society of Arts and Sciences. The Banks. Currency — Coins in
Circulation. Weights and Measures. Land Measurement. Imports
and Exports. Duties. Customs Receipts.
Social Life in Java. — The social life of Java is not unlike
that in most Eastern countries. The day begins at 5 or
5.30 a.m., the custom being then to breakfast with coffee
and fruits. A stroll is then taken by some, while others
prefer a ride on horseback. A more solid meal is taken
again at 8.30, after which the men usually proceed, by motor
car, carriage and pair, train or tram, to their offices, which
as a rule start work at about 9 o'clock. The men in the
Government bureaus, however, start work at least half
an hour earlier than this. Tiff en (lunch) is served in the
offices at 1 o'clock.
The mercantile offices close between 4.30 and 5, but the
Government departments close at 2 o'clock except in the
case of the postal and telegraph offices.
Games of sport, tennis, golf, cricket or football are then
indulged in until 6 o'clock or so, when the sun sets, and it
at once begins to get dark, there being no twilight in the
tropics.
The lady during the day usually attends to her household
affairs, which occupy her until noon, after which she par-
takes of a meal called the '* rijstafel " (literally, rice-table),
which consists of rice, with a dozen or more small dishes of
lish, flesh and fowl, cooked with hot chillies and other equally
strong condiments. She then takes a " siesta " until 4
o'clock, when she prepares herself for joining a tennis party
with the men or taking an afternoon drive with some lady.
At 7 o'clock the married people either attend some fashion-
able reception, which each local Dutch dignitary holds once
J. — VOL. II. K K
1154 JAVA
in the month, or else visit the club to listen to the band, or
perhaps, in the case of the man, join a billiard or bridge
party.
Dinner is taken at 8 o'clock with " mijnheer " and " mev-
row " (Mr. and Mrs.) in full dress. After dinner the theatre
or a concert is sometimes attended, otherwise the evening
is spent in literary employment, and the day in this case
closes at about 10.30 p.m.
Dinner parties and private and public dances (at the
clubs) are frequent and largely attended.
The Dutch are a very hospitable nation, and all the best
families open their doors to the English providing they
are willing to attend a reception first. The Dutch language
is not specially insisted upon, English being a language
the Dutch are very proficient in ; at the same time it behoves
all Englishmen to learn the Dutch language if they wish to
succeed in the country.
The towns are very gay, and there is no end to amuse-
ments for those that seek them.
There are also race clubs in at least eight towns in Java,
and the scenes on these occasions are very animated.
The Houses of Europeans. — Although the heat of the
day is rather severe in Java, the houses of the better
classes are so built that it is, comparatively speaking, quite
cool inside of them.
The houses are constructed on the bungalow plan, and
deep verandahs encircle the house. Instead of windows,
broad and lengthy Venetian doors open from the rooms
into the verandahs.
The whole flooring is of solid white marble slabs, while
the roof is of red tiles.
The bedrooms are large and capacious, and the salons
or reception rooms broad and long, while the ceilings of
all rooms are lofty.
The servants' quarters, the bathrooms, kitchens and
MISCELLANEOUS 1155
store cupboards are built in a row a little distance from the
house, but are connected therewith by a long covered
alley-way.
For luxury and comfort, for real magnificence and gran-
deur, there are no houses in the East to compare with those
of the " upper thousand " in Batavia.
A house as described sufficiently large for, say, a family
of ten persons may cost anything from £3,000 to £10,000,
although there are a good number in Batavia and elsewhere
which have cost double this sum.
The Press. — The first experiment in journaHsm in Java
was made by Governor- General van Imhoff in 1744, w^hen he
published an official paper called the Bataviasche Nouvelles.
This premature journalistic infant did not live long,
however, and two years later died a natural death for want
of news, which was extremely scarce owing to the severe
censure which w^as feared from the authorities in Holland if
anything appeared displeasing to them.
Shortly afterwards another attempt was made with
Het Vendu Nieuws, which showed rather more freedom than
its predecessor. This was superseded by the Bataviasche
Koloniale Courant in 1810, which lasted until Sir Stamford
Raffies arrived in 1811, when it was replaced in 1812 by
the Java Government Gazette,^ which contained besides all
official proclamations and advertisements of the British
Government, the public notices of all the British mercantile
houses, accounts of official entertainments, and a vast
amount of general information never before published, or
allowed to be published, in the island. When the English
left Java in 1816 this gazette became the Bataviasche
Courant,^ under which name it fluttered until 1828, when it
I First uumber was published oa Saturday, 29th February, 1812, aud
the last oil the 19th August, 1816.
^ First number was published on the 20th August, 1816, and the last ou
the 1st January, 1828.
K K 2
1156 JAVA
was re-christened the Javasche Coiirant,^ the name by which
this official organ is still known.
These Dutch Courants could scarcely be taken as a real
newspaper in the generally accepted sense of the term, for
they were as a rule strictly official, and only occasionally
condescended to publish ordinary items of news. The
first real newspaper which deserves the term, and may be
considered as the pioneer of the Java Press, was the Soera-
haya Courant,^ which made its appearance in 1835. This
paper, while supplying a long-felt want, did not assume much
importance, owing to the fact that the censor kept a rather
sharp eye upon it, so that in the end what this official
tolerated was nothing more harmful than notices, regula-
tions, instructions, notifications, now and again varied by
the appointment of a day for general thanksgiving or
perhaps supplication, or a lottery list, or funeral oration.
In 1842 the Government forbade private printing, and in
1847 the authorities decided that the printing press should
be used as a medium of publicity only by those to whom
such privilege was granted.
In 1848 there was a change, for a meek and rather
modest clergyman named van Hoevell startled the high
authorities of Java by his agitation for reforms, and the
liberty of the Press was the first and most important item
on the programme. Like all " men " who strike out a
line of their own or endeavour to carry out well-formed
principles, whether it be in business or in Government life,
van Hoevell not only made many enemies, but set the
official class against himself, which resulted in the Govern-
ment adopting still sterner measures of repression, and when
during this period of reaction a certain Mr. W. Bruining,
of Eotterdam, arrived at Batavia with a printing press, he
was refused permission to use it.
^ The first Javasche Courant was issued on Thursday, 3rd January, 1828.
2 Still exists as Nieuwe Soerabaya Courant.
MISCELLANEOUS 1157
The authorities were now alarmed, and apparently
regarded Bruining as the transmitter of some pestilential
and epidemic disease, and they tried to rid themselves of
the danger by offering him a free passage and a monetary
compensation to return to Holland.
Later on Dr. J. H. van der Chys, a gentleman by birth
and education, with a true journalistic instinct and talent,
was appointed editor of the JavascJie Courant, and conceived
the idea of making this dry and unpalatable official organ
more agreeable to the general public and thus increase its
sale. He therefore arranged to have certain items of news
mailed to him from Holland and upon receiving them pub-
lished those which he considered interesting. This did not,
however, last long. In these days there were of course no
railways to Buitenzorg, so that it occasionally happened
that information regarding home affairs became public
property in Batavia before it reached the Government
officials at Buitenzorg.
Thus it occurred on one occasion that information which
it was desirable the officials should hear of first came to
them the day after the public had received it, and this
arousing the indignation of the Governor- General, Dr. van
der Chys was sent for and given a severe reprimand. After
this the home mail was sent with all speed to Buitenzorg,
so that the censor might decide what might and what might
not be published.
Meantime Bruining remained at Batavia, steadfastly
declining to return to Europe, and after a long struggle
succeeded in obtaining permission to publish a weekly
paper called Het Bataviasche Advertentieblad in 1851. This,
however, w^as never much more than an advertising medium,
although a few articles were now and again published
which had previously appeared in the official organ in
Holland, the Staatscourant, or in the Javasche Courant.
In 1852 the Advertentieblad was succeeded by the Java
1158 JAVA
Bode,^ the owner being still Bruining, who edited and
published the paper in conjunction with H. M. van Dorp
(who acted as manager), van Haren Noman, and Kolff.
This paper was published twice a week, and the yearly-
subscription was 25 fl.
In 1857 the paper was taken over entirely by H. M. van
Dorp, and four years later a special edition w^as issued for
circulation in Holland. On the 1st December, 1869, the
Java Bode became a daily paper. It was of course subjected
to a strict censorship, and the Resident of Batavia was
instructed carefully to watch its progress and report from
time to time his opinion on the new venture. The sub-
scription to this paper was 40 fl. a year.
The first competitor with the Java Bode was Het Algemeen
Daghlad voor Nederlandsche Indie, which w^as started by
Mr. Coenraad Busken Huet on the completion of his con-
tract with the Java Bode, upon whose staff he had been
working. Busken Huet was a clever and able journalist,
quite capable of conducting a newspaper. He charged
50 fl. a year for his paper, and immediately secured a large
number of supporters. A tliird competitor, however,
now came into the field in the Bataviaasch HandelsUad, a
daily paper, which was published bj^ the firm of Ogilvie &
Co. and edited by that well-known and remarkably intelli-
gent lawyer the late Mr. J. A. Haakman.
Mr. Busken Huet some years later returned to Holland,
and the Algemeen Daghlad was gradually ousted by the
Bataviaasch HandelsUad, which also eventually succumbed
on the sudden death of Mr. Haakman after flourishing for
a time.
The Locomotief appeared in 1851 ; it was the first arrival
in the world of journalism in Samarang. Mr. J. E. Herman
de Groot was the publisher, and it came out once a week.
The journal prospered, and had a large sale in Middle
1 Still exists.
MISCELLANEOUS 1159
Java, so much so that in a short time it appeared twice a
week, and shortly afterwards daily. Ten years from the
date of its first publication the Locomotief was purchased by
G. Kolff & Co., and five years later, in 1866, passed into the
hands of Grivel & Co., and under the guidance of that very
capable editor, Mr. C. E. van Kesteren, its circulation
more than doubled itself. Until quite recently, when
the Semarang Courant ^ appeared, the Locomotief had no
competitor, so that a price of 40 fl. per annum was
maintained.
In 1852, in opposition to the Soerahaya Courant, the
Soerabayaasch Handelsblad was started by the publishing
firm of Leroy & Co. The business of this firm together
with the paper were after a year or two bought up by G.
Kolff & Co., who sold it again to Mr. W. Thieme. With
the assistance of Mr. Wilkens as editor, Mr. Thieme's venture
proved a profitable one, for the sale of the paper soon in-
creased. Wilkens, however, did not remain long, and his
place was taken by Mr. S. Kalff, a gentleman whose ability
as an article-^^Titer was well known, but who unfortunately
failed as a business man ; consequently the sale of the paper
dwindled away very considerably. Kalff therefore left,
and his place was filled by Mr. H. G. Bartels, a briUiant and
distinguished pensioned officer, with great journalistic
ability.
Having more than ordinary ideas as to the functions
of journalism, he went in for a freedom of language in writing
his articles and a mode of criticism which soon brought the
circulation of the paper back to its former footing. Like,
however, so many men before him, Bartels on one occasion
went too far, and as there is no greater crime than this in
Indian journalism, a tobacco prince sued him for 75,000 fl.
damages. A lawsuit followed and Bartels fled the country.
The Soerabayaasch Handelsblad is now known as a very
' No longer exists.
1160 JAVA
high-class organ, certainly the best in Java. It has main-
tained almost throughout a standard and stamp of its own,
and under such a brilliant editor as van Geuns it may be
safely expected to continue to do so.
In 1883 the town of Cheribon produced a paper called
the Tjerimai, which still manages to live, and in 1885 the
Bataviaasche Nieuwshlad was started under Mr. P. A. Daum.
In 1894 the Soerahaya Courant, after having reached a
high standard under Mr. Eyssel, went into liquidation on
his sudden death, but was succeeded by the Nieuwe Soerahaya
Courant The Nieuws van den Dag was started in 1893 with
another name ; under the very clever Mr. G. Wybrands it
is doing well, and has a large sale.
From a general point of view the Press of Java compares
favourably with that of other countries, and must be con-
sidered as having a high tone and keeping up a good standard.
There is (or rather was) one English newspaper in Java,
the Java Times ^ ; it was started in 1908 by Mr. H. M.
Bankilor,^ and is (or was) published weekly at Batavia. The
Java Times, although an excellent little paper for the English
resident who cannot read Dutch, or for English travellers
visiting the island, could in no way be compared to the
Dutch newspapers which daily appear, and are as full of
information as it is possible to make them, with columns
of telegrams from all parts of the world.
The Batavia Society of Arts and Sciences. — That
very distinguished institution known as " The Batavia
Society of Arts and Sciences," or, to give it its Dutch title,
" Het Bataviasch Genootschap voor Kunsten en Wetenschap-
pen,'' was founded by the Governor-General De Klerk and
his son-in-law, Mr. Radermacher, on the 24th April, 1778.
1 This paper died a natural death in April, 1912.
2 Mr. Kankilor, who was both the proprietor and editor of the Java Times,
came to Java from Kuala Lumpur, in the Federated Malay States, where
he had held the position of manager of the Malay Mail, the oldest newspaper
in that country.
MISCELLANEOUS 1161
It seems that after these gentlemen were elected directors
of the Society of Haerlem, in 1777, a programme was issued
which contained a plan for extending the branches of this
society to Java, a scheme that immediately received sup-
port and encouragement from Mr. Kadermacher, who was
known as a man of great scientific talents and a strong sup-
porter of the Christian religion. It appears, however, that
this idea of encouraging the arts and sciences of Batavia
and other East Indian establishments then dependent on
Holland, although officially coming from the Society of
Haerlem, actually emanated from Kadermacher, and the
idea had received the full and unreserved support of his
all-powerful father-in-law, the Governor-General.
For reasons probably of distance and the difficulties
likely to ensue from a branch so far away, nothing came of
the above plan, but this did not prevent a separate society
being formed by the energetic and persevering Kadermacher,
and this with official support and authority was duly carried
out, and the new society as above named took for its motto
that of the one at Haerlem, namely, " The Public Utility."
The number of members of the society on its first organisa-
tion was 192. The Governor- General was the first chief
director, and the members of the Council of India (Radenvan
Indie) were directors. The ordinary members were elected
from the principal families of Batavia and other parts of
Java. A committee was nominated of eight members,
with a president, vice-president, and secretary ; their duties
were to attend to the daily occurrences and details, and they
were given the authority to settle all questions which
admitted of no delay, but were obliged to report all the
proceedings and to produce their minutes {notulen) at the
first ensuing general meeting.
The society, whose ideas have become broader with time,
chose for its first objects of research and inquiry whatever
might be useful to agriculture, commerce, and the welfare
1162 JAVA
of the colony. It further as a consequence encouraged the
study of the history, antiquities, manners, and usages of the
Javans and other East Indian races. It is significant,
however, to note that they expressly declined to enter upon
any subject which might relate directly or indirectly to
the Dutch East India Company, which no doubt was a
wise plan, as any criticism from a body of such distinguished
gentlemen upon the proceedings of the iniquitous old Com-
pany would have soon resulted in the resignation of the
Governor- General and members of his council, which in
turn would have brought about the fall of the society.
To define definitely and clearly the objects of the society
and to contribute towards their accomplishment, a pro-
gramme was eventually printed and circulated among the
members from time to time. Among other questions in
these interesting old programmes, besides those which
related to commerce and agriculture, were such ones as " the
means for combatting the diseases of the climate " and what
" means could be used for removing the unhealthiness of
the old town of Batavia," etc.
When the society was established and all minor details
for its organisation settled, it received from various quarters
acquisitions for its museum and library.
From Mr. Eadermacher the society received a house,
besides eight cases of very valuable books, collections of
animals, fossils and minerals, of Javan musical instruments,
and of the different coins current in the East, and through
the liberality of a Mr. Bartt the society was enabled to form
a botanical establishment in a garden presented by that
gentleman.
In 1779 the first volume of the society's well-known and
interesting " Transactions " appeared. The second came
out in 1780 and the third in 1781. Owing, however, to
the want of types and other unfortunate circumstances,
the first programme did not appear until 1782.
MISCELLANEOUS 1163
The fourth volume, which was the first given to the pubHc
and was printed in Holland under the special privilege
of the " States-General," was issued in 1786, and the fifth
and sixth in 1790 and 1792. After this the society seems to
have languished through the want of good men to control
the committees and management, which resulted in less
and less interest being taken in it.
Meetings were unattended, no questions were asked, or
when they were asked were never answered, and after con-
tinuing in this state for several years it practically ceased to
exist.
Dr. Thomas Horsfield, the celebrated botanist, when he
arrived in the island seems to have done all he could to
resuscitate the society and in a small measure succeeded.
It remained, however, for Sir Stamford Baffles, who was
elected president in 1812, to revive and bring it into new
life, and it is now among the distinguished institutions of
its kind in the world.
The first meeting Raffles presided over was on the 24th
April, 1813, being the anniversary of the institution. There
was a large attendance to listen to the magnificent discourse,
which took one hour to deliver. It was a wonderful example
of forensic art, and showed his knowledge of his subject.
Such was the enthusiasm created by Raffles' peroration
that he was requested to deliver another discourse on the
11th September, 1815, when he again made a famous one.
This time he spoke for more than two hours. We cannot
help marvelling, when we consider the arduous life Raffles
lived, how he toiled from before daylight until well into the
night ; when we read his long minutes and lengthy dispatches
(prepared by himself), the new regulations for ruhng the
land, and voluminous reports on all matters ; when we think
of the travelling he did and the history he prepared — how he
could still find the time to study questions of philosophy and
policy of great delicacy which enabled him to deliver long
1164 JAVA
and heavy lectures on Java or its dependencies, going deep
into questions and debating historical records, which
nobody until then had ever heard of. All this and more
Raffles did, and he not only placed a clean stamp on all
Government actions during the short five years the English
were in the island, the hke of which had never been seen
before, but he put on the Batavia Society of Arts and Sciences
the impress of zeal and intelligence which it has ever since
retained.
The ethnographical collection in the museum at the
present day consists of articles of dress, ornaments, furni-
ture, models of dwelling-houses, agricultural implements,
fishing requisites and objects of art and industry obtained
from all parts of the East Indian Archipelago.
The archaeological division consists of antiquarian objects,
chiefly of bronze, some dating as far back as the very early
ages of Hindu culture in Java ; piles of very ancient
bronze dishes, for the greater part engraved with various
designs, highly interesting from the point of view of the
history of art ; a whole series of implements of Hindu
worship, ornamented with fine engravings ; a few of those
very ancient, famous, and mysterious kettle-drums, on
which more than one German monograph has been
published ; a large number of small images and prehistoric
weapons — all exceeding in number anything of the kind
met with in European museums.
Then there is a room in this museum called the " Gold
Tloom," which is encased in iron ; here the public may
inspect the valuables derived from subjugated countries and
dynasties which have been received by the society in trust
from the Netherlands India Government.
Among these are the precious stones and ornamental
gold weapons from Lombok and the South Celebes. They
include gold articles of state, gold and jewelled weapons,
gold shields, gold and silver state ornaments, gold umbrellas,
MISCELLANEOUS 1165
gold table services, etc., worth many thousands of
pounds.
These were all manufactured in the countries they came
from, the gold being procured from Sumatra.
There are, too, the old stone images of the Hindu pantheon.
These came mostly from Mid- Java, and are daily being added-
to by private individuals who from time to time find images
of value on their mountain estates. In the front gallery as
one enters one observes five idols in a row. These, it is
said, are seldom if ever found complete, and from an
archaeological and iconographical point of view are of the
highest interest and curiosity. There are also here engraved
stones, among which there are some covered with writing of
all periods of Javan history. In the left portion of the building
is a room called the " East India Company's Koom." It
is an exact and correct copy of a bedroom of some nabob in
the good days of the old Dutch Company. All the furni-
ture, including the doors, windows, blinds, skylights, even
the lamps, etc., is quite genuine and old, in black, and of
the particular style so handsome and aristocratic which
prevailed on the Kali Besar of Batavia in the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries. And in the entrance to the
library there are some magnificent old cupboards and cases
that used to belong to the East India Company, and were
brought from " Heemradenplein."
There is also a fine collection of coins ^ and valuable
papers which, although as a matter of course less rich than
the famous European collections, is nevertheless of consider-
able value to Indian numismatists.
The library is a large and extensive one, with works on
the history, philology, religions, ethnography, and geo-
graphy, etc., of the East Indian Archipelago. There are
also manuscripts "s\Titten in every language in the East
1 I understand that Mrs. Duncan Fraser, n^e Van der Chys, helped
towards arranging them in the present order.
1166 JAVA
Indies, among which are some very noteworthy ones in
Javan and Arabic.
There are, further, several hundreds of ancient writings
made by the Hindu j^an^itos on palm or lontar leaves.
These for the most part are old Javan and Balinese ren-
derings of the Mahahharata and Bamajana and other
literary productions belonging to the Hindu cycle.
Many of the manuscripts have been gathered from the
inaccessible recesses of Achin, and contain writings on the
Mahometan religion.
It appears from the marginal notes, in these manuscripts
often suddenly broken off, that the owners were hunted
from one place of refuge to another, where they, like the
old Hindus in days gone by, were studying the sacred works
of their religion, high up in the wild and lonely mountains,
awaj^ from their fellow- creatures. They Avere priests who
had become Nature-worshippers, and delighted to contem-
plate upon the future of their fellow-creatures and to
ponder upon the great questions given us by our Creator,
far away from all contact with man and with his daily
temptations.
These Mahometan priests were actuated with a holy zeal
for their reUgion just as much as the Hindu Buddhists.
The librarian is Dr. van Eonkel, while among other very
brilliant members of this distinguished society must not
be forgotten Mr. C. M. Pleyte, the lecturer on etlmology,
geography, and history ^ ; and with such able and learned
men superintending it the society can never fail in main-
taining its high standard.
Java is to the scientist undoubtedly one of the great
store-houses of the world, and there are numerous reasons
1 Otiier important members of committee or otherwise are Baron Quarles
de Quarles (president), P. de Roo de la Faille, Dr. D. A. Rinkes, J. Homan
van der Heide, T. V. Zimmermann, Dr. Hazeu (vice-president), J. P.
Moquette, and Dr. Krom.
MISCELLANEOUS 1167
for supposing that at one time it was not only connected with
Asia, but also with South America.
The puzzling resemblance of the old Hindu ruins in the
island with those of Peru, Yucatan, and Central America
show a link that has still to be cleared up,^ while the common
characteristics of some of the images with those of ancient
Babylon denote a contact with that country at some early
period which has still to be fixed. These questions, and
many more besides, must, however, be left to others to work
out.
Banks. — The first mention of a bank in Java is in an
old account which dates back to about 1768, and reads :
" A bank of circulation has been established here for some
years, which is united with the Lombard, or bank for lending
money on pledges. It is under the administration of a director,
who is generally a Councillor of India, two commissaries, a cashier,
and a book-keeper. A fee of 5 rix dollars is given at the opening
of an account ; and stamped bank bills, signed by the director
and commissaries, are delivered for the money placed in the bank.
" Its capital is computed to amount to between two and three
millions of rix dollars." ^
With certain modifications this bank continued up to
the EngHsh period, during which time, and for some years
afterwards, Skelton & Co.^ and Deans, Scott & Co. con-
ducted practically all the circulating banking business of
the colony.
In 1824 the Netherlands Trading Company (Nederlandsche
Handel Maatschappij) was formed, a separate department
of which conducted a general banking business. This
concern has a splendid record of commercial and financial
> There are also links in the Jlora, which are still more important than the
links in the ruins.
^ Between £435,()()0 and £650,000 sterhng.
* When Skelton & Co. ceased, Macquoid, Davidson & Co. carried on their
bankino; business.
1168 JAVA
activity to look back upon, clearly showing how completely
the objects of its promoters have been realised.
The present capital of the company is 60,000,000 fl.,^
of which 45,000,000 fl. has been paid up ^ ; the reserve fund
is 5,378,375 fl.
The Java Bank {Javasche Bank) was founded at the very
end of 1827, so dates from 1828. Since its estabhshment it
has been the only bank empowered to issue bank-notes in
Netherlands India. It is constituted as a private company
with limited liability, the shares, which are fully paid up,
being in the hands of the general public, but originally (it is
said) they were to a great extent owned by Englishmen.
Permission to act as an " issue bank " can be obtained
only by royal decree, and while such permission might legally
be given to more than one banking corporation, the principle
of one " bank of issue " has been adhered to in Holland since
1814. If that principle were broken, the Netherlands India
Government would lose their share in the profits of the
Java Bank, which share amounts to, roughly, 550,000 fl.
per annum.
The standard coin in Netherlands India is the Dutch
gold 10-guilder piece, weighing 6*720 grammes, with -majs
fine gold. The Dutch silver coins of 2|, 1, and | guilders
are also legal tender in the colonies and mother country for
any amount, and for this reason are also called standard coins.
The Java Bank is therefore, like the Bank of France,
entitled to effect payment in silver to any extent. With
regard to international transactions, however, the Java
Bank has always been prepared to give gold on gold drafts
on sight, or by telegraphic transfer, as it considers it its duty
to assist as much as possible in settling international
obligations on the gold basis.
J Guilders.
2 The first president was A. J. L. Ram, who if not actually an English-
man was half-English.
MISCELLANEOUS 1169
Owing to the Oriental preference for silver, due probably
to the fact that the first European tender was silver, it
is difficult to keep gold in circulation, and in consequence
it is of great importance for the bank to take measures to
maintain the gold parity. In consequence of the large
exports and the comparatively small imports of the Dutch
colonies, however, such a task up to the present has not been
a difficult one. The drafts against exported produce are
principally drawn on gold countries, and while it is always
to be obtained hardly any demand for gold occurs.
The bank acts on behalf of the Government ; its duty is
to control the circulation of money in Netherlands India,
the neighbouring countries, and Europe. To effect this the
Java Bank is prepared to buy or sell drafts on foreign
countries and foreign gold coin, and if necessary it will give
gold or gold drafts at or within the parity of coin export in
order to maintain the fixed value of the silver guilder.
The bank issues notes of 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, 300, 500,
and 1,000 guilders, all of which bear the signatures of the
president and one of the managing directors. No restric-
tion is made as to the amount the bank may have in circu-
lation at any time, nor is any tax whatsoever paj^able, but
against the notes in circulation, the unpaid bank sight-
drafts, and sundry creditors the bank is obliged at all times
to have a reserve of at least two-fifths in coin and bullion.
Three-quarters of this obligatory reserve must be kept
in Netherlands India, and at least half of it has to be Nether-
lands Indian legal currency. Apart from this metal reserve,
the bank keeps a gold reserve in Europe in loans on call
at Amsterdam, and bills of exchange payable in gold, in
order to be, in any case, in a position to control the rate of
exchange with foreign countries and to maintain the gold
parity with them. Owing to the right of circulating and
withdrawing from circulation bank-notes without any re-
striction as to the amount, and without tax, simply on the
J. — VOL. II. L L
1170 JAVA
condition of maintaining a currency coin reserve equal to
40 per cent, of that amount, the Java Bank has always been
able to meet with ease all the financial changes in the East
Indian Archipelago.
The bank grants advances on bonds and shares, mer-
chandise, bills of lading, gold and silver coin and bullion,
bills of exchange and promissory notes ; buys and sells
drafts and telegraphic transfers in foreign currency, dis-
counts bills of exchange and promissory notes, effects
transfers either by telegraph or by letter between its branches
in Netherlands India and in Amsterdam ; collects drafts,
receipts, and draw^n bonds ; and superintends investments
and securities. It is also prepared to receive securities and
valuables for safe custody, and generally conducts all the
usual banking business.
The capital of the bank is 6,000,000 fl. and the reserve is
2,000,000 fl. The amount of notes issued has varied during
recent years from 61,000,000 to 71,000,000 guilders. The
bank makes a net profit of, roughly, 2,000,000 fl. a year.
When the Java Bank opened at Batavia in 1828, an
Englishman named 0. M. Koberts was appointed a director
on the Board, a position he held until his death in 1841,^
when his place was filled by a Dutchman named J. Schill.^
1 When he was away in 1838 — 1839 John Davidson, his partner, filled
his place.
2 Below in the text are lists of local directors at Sourabaya and
Samarang from 1829 to 1874.
The first Board at Batavia consisted of C. D. Haan as president, A. J. L.
Earn (the president of the Netherlands Trading Company), 0. M. Roberts
(partner in Thompson, Roberts & Co., an EngUshman, who was no doubt
partly taken on owing to his Dutch connections), J. J. Nolthenius (partner
in Brouwer, Nolthenius & Co.) as directors, and C. J. Smulders as secretary.
At Samarang from 1829 until the 3 1st March, 1874, the heads of MacNeill
& Co. successively sat on the local board as directors. The last to fill this
position was W. T. Fraser, who resigned on his leaving for Europe.
At Sourabaya J. E. Banck held the place of director from 1829 until
1838, giving way to the Englishman Robert Boyd, who kept it until 1842.
In 1835 Arthiu- Fraser, the head of Fraser, Eaton & Co., became also local
director, and the successive heads of this firm always took up a post on the
MISCELLANEOUS
1171
On the 1st March, 1829, the Java Bank opened agencies at
Samarang and Sourabaya, John MacNeill being appointed
agent at the former place and J. E. Banck at the latter.
The following year, however, both these gentlemen, who
represented large interests, became local directors, their
places as agents being taken respectively by C. J. Daendels
and F. H. Preyer.
Following are hsts of the local directors at Sourabaya
and Samarang, 1829 — 1875 : —
Directors of the Java Bank at Sourabaya.
J. E. Banck
1829
A.
H
. Buchler
J. D. A. Loth
1830
J>
• »
1831
„
C. Sluyter
1832
T.
Schuurman
)}
1833
J J
99
1834
C.
A.
GranpreMoliere
>»
1835
Arthur Fraser
1836
»
1837
yy
1838
»
1839
t*
1840
»
1841
>>
1842
G
D
. ScUegel
9>
1843
>»
1844
99
1845
>»
1846
1847
.
1848
William Eaton
1849
>»
1850
—
»
1851
—
j>
1852
P.
Beets
D. MacLachlan
1853
j»
»
1854
>>
»
1855
5>
99
1856
Thomas Bonhote
1857
>>
J. J. Blanckenhagen
1858
>J
)>
1859
>>
>>
1860
J.
L.
van Gennep
99
1861
>>
A. J. Anemaet
1862
99
1863
„
1864
jj
L. McLean
1865
>»
Th. von Laer
Robert Boyd
99
99
F. W.'Mehlbaum
99
C. van Raalsen
99
99
99
F. D. Granpre Moliere
99
99
99
99
99
B. J. van Eck
A. J. Anemaet
board imtil the 31st March, 1874, when the Samarang and Sourabaya
branches of Maclaine, Watson & Co. decUned to sit any longer on the local
boards.
L L 2
1172
JAVA
Directors of the Java Bank at Sourabaya — continued.
1866 W. H.
s'Jacob
Th. von Laer
A. J. Anemaet
1867
y>
tf
1868
ft
tf
1869
>»
t>
1870
F. Bogaardt
1871
ff
Jhr. c'.'g. van B
1872
9y
1873
tt
)t
1874
F. W. von Laer
A. J. Anemaet
1875
M. van der Heuvell
„
Notes.
(1) It will be seen that from 1835 up to 1874 inclusive there
was always a partner of Fraser, Eaton & Co., Sourabaya, sitting
on the local board, the years 1861, 1862, and 1863 excepted.
(2) In 1838, 1839, 1840, and 1841 two Englishmen sat on the
local board.
(3) The head of the factory also always sat on the local board.
(4) Up to 1837 J. E. Banck was the largest merchant in Soura-
baya, he did also an important sugar business, and was the
pioneer of the export trade in sugar from Sourabaya, which later
on went over to Eraser, Eaton & Co., when W. Eaton and his
partners joined A. Fraser.
(5) The head of McNeill & Co., Samarang, always sat on the
local board, except during the years 1859 — 1862 inclusive.
At Samarang.
1829
1830
1831
1832
1833
1834
1835
1836
1837
1838
1839
1840
1841
1842
1843
1844
1845
1846
John MacNeill
Alexander MacNeill
Donald MacLachlan
T. Schuurman
P. H. Meyer Tim-
merman Thyssen
J. a. Plate
J. Bremner
if
>»
C. A. Granpre Moliere
R. F. van der Nie-
poort
D. Scheltema
MISCELLANEOUS
1173
At Samarang — continued.
1847
Donald MacLachlan
J. G. Plate
A. van der Leeuw
1848
jj
C. F. Boudriot
jj
1849
>j
>9
—
1850
,,
—
1851
,,
—
1852
Donald Maclaine
N. D. van Slype
F. E. de Nys
1853
»)
,,
»9
1854
J. Martens
>y
P. Druyvensteyu
1855
jj
99
1856
J,
»
1857
,,
>>
G. L. Dorrepaal
1858
Donald Maclaine
9J
jj
1859
H. F. Morbotter
J. L. van Gennep
1860
P. C. van Oosterzee
„
1861
R. J. Stok
99
1862
»>
1863
G. H. Miesegaes
J. Ph. von Hemert
1864
yy
1865
1866
>>
G. A. W. Werwuth
1867
»>
1868
J. MacLachlan
V. S. Dolder
1869
,,
>>
1870
,,
>>
1871
F. W. von Laer
1872
W. T. Fraser
C. van Lennep
—
1873
jj
C. Nortier
B. V. Houthuysen
1874
j»
H. C. F. Schlosser
G. L. Dorrepaal
1875
j»
j>
99
The first English bank which advertised its doing business
at Batavia was the Bank of Australia in 1836, the agents for
whom were Maclaine, Watson & Co. ; its field, however,
appears to have been limited.^
The Clmrtered Bank of India, Australia and China,
which was estabhshed in 1855, opened a branch at Batavia
in 1863 with its own 'personnel, Thomas L. Mullins being the
first manager. Throughout the whole of this time its
' Java Courant, 23rd April, 1836 : — " Notice. The undersigned beg to
intimate that they have been appointed agents in Java for the Bank of
Australia, and for the information of masters of vessels, and others arriving
from Sydney and Van Dieman's Land, that they are ready to negociate
the bills of the above Corporation on application at their office.
" Batavia, 20th April, 1836.
Maclaine, Watson & Co."
At this time all the ships to and from England and Australia called at
Batavia.
1174 JAVA
operations have been gradually extending, until now it
carries on an important and extensive business throughout
all parts of Netherlands India, its high reputation and the
commanding position it enjoys in different parts of the
world, and more especially in the East, combined with its
long record of activity in Java, giving it a recognised
influence in the country.
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation estab-
lished an agency at Batavia in 1875 under the Dutch firm
of Suermondt & Co., but in 1878 it was transferred to
Pitcairn, Syme & Co., who held it until 1881, when the
late firm of Martin Dyce & Co. took charge until their
failure in 1884, when the bank opened for themselves
with M. C. Kirkpatrick, late of the old Oriental Bank,
in charge.
The Chartered Mercantile Bank of India, London and
China, which now no longer exists, opened under this name
an agency at Batavia and Sourabaya, with Pitcairn, Syme
& Co. as their agents, in 1871, but in 1873 the bank sent
their own personnel to Java, F. C. Bishop being the first
manager. This bank is now known as the Mercantile
Bank of India, for which Maclaine, Watson & Co. are the
agents for all Java.
The next Dutch bank of standing is the Netherlands India
Commercial Bank {Nederlandsch Indische Handelshank),
which opened at Batavia in 1864.
Its object has been to conduct a general banking business
in Sumatra, Java, and the neighbouring possessions and
to offer every possible facility for carrying through the
many financial transactions which are continually taking
place between Holland and her East Indian colonies. The
result has been an unqualified success.
The bank has a subscribed capital of 15,000,000 fl., equal
to £1,250,000, of which a sum of 12,500,000 fl. has been
paid up. The reserve amounts to 2,250,000 fl.
MISCELLANEOUS
1175
The Netherlands India Cash Bank (Nederlandsch Indische
Escompto Maatschapjpij) has been in existence fifty-one
years, and was estabhshed in Batavia. The capital of
the company is 12,000,000 fl., of which 7,500,000 fl.
has been paid up. The reserve funds amount to
1,000,000 fl.
This bank, which has numerous agencies, conducts the
usual business of a bank in buying and selling drafts,
receiving bills of exchange for collection, issuing letters of
credit, etc.
CuRBENCY. — The currency of Netherlands India consists
of guilders and cents, the par value of the guilder being
Is. 8^. ; 12 guilders therefore go to £1 sterling ^ ; 1 guilder
equals 100 cents.
Coins in Circulation. — The coins in circulation are as
follows :■ —
Coina.
Weight in
Grammes.
Standaud.
Gold :—
10 guilder piece .
6-720
0900
Silver :—
1 dollar piece
1 guilder piece .
I ■ »» »»
;; >> >» • •
10 cents piece
5 „ „ . .
250
10-0
5-0
3-180
1-250
0-610
0-945
0-945
0-945
0-720
0-720
0-720
Copper : — ■ .
2J cents
1 cent
i „ ...
12-5
4-8
23
' Of old coins, the old Sicca rupee was worth 2s. 5^. ; the old Spanish
dollar, 3-30 fl. to 360 fl., or 5s. 8|d. to 6s. ; the old Japan gold coupang,
24 fl., or £2 3s. 7|(f. ; the old Dutch ducatoon, 4 fl., or 7«. Z^. ; the old
Dutch ducat, 6 90 fl., or 12s.
1176
JAVA
Weights and Measukes. — The metric system of weights
and measures is in force in Netherlands India. Other local
weights are : —
Local Weights.
1 pikul = 61-76 Kg. = 100 katis
1 kati = 1-25 Amsterdam lb.
1 Batavia koyan = 27 pikuls = 253
katis .....
1 Samarang koyan = 28 pikuls .
1 Sonrabaya koyan = 30 pikuls
1 last = 1,200 kilos .
1,016 kilos ....
1 corge .....
British equivalent.
136 lbs. av.
1-36 „
1-639 tons.
1-70
1-821 „
1-89
1 ton d.w.
20 pieces.
Land Measurement. — In Java and the rest of Nether-
lands India the ground is always let by Government at so
much per hahu (bahoe or bouw) or jung. Four of the former
make a jung.
One hdhu or houw equals If English acres.
Until this measure came in the Javans used to sell or
let one another a land with so many tjatjars upon it. A
tjatjars is a family, and was usually reckoned to consist
of five or six persons — two men, two women, and two
children.
Imports and Exports. — The amounts of the principal
Java and Madura imports and exports since 1886 show the
growth of the trade of the country, which has made unpre-
cedented strides during the last years.
The imports show in the main a steady increase, chief
among which and most noteworthy are the cotton, bleached,
printed, and coloured, goods from the United Kingdom.
These are the imports of the British houses, and the great
increase is due as much to the energy, forethought and care
of the British merchants, besides their liberal spirit when
dealing with Eastern nations, as to the greater demand there
is in Java for an article of quality and lasting wear.
MISCELLANEOUS 1177
In exports the most remarkable feature is perhaps the
large increase in the quantity of sugar the island produces,
and as the planters still continue yearly to increase the area
under cultivation with this staple, the limit seems as far
off as ever.
Duties. — Import and export duties in Netherlands India
are levied in accordance with the law of the 17th November,
1872, which, although it has been revised on several
occasions, is still in force.
Import Duties. — According to the existing tariff an
import duty of 6 per cent, of the value is levied on
earthenware and porcelain, gunpowder, yarn, wood-work,
haberdashery, manufactures, piece goods of cotton and
half-wool, manufactured silk, silk ribbon, tape, furniture,
and horses.
An import duty of 10 per cent, is levied on several things,
including the following : —
Vinegar, manufactured goods not separately specified
(made of cotton, wool or fibre), flour, musical instruments,
paper of all kinds, carriages, and steelware.
Twelve per cent, is the duty levied on gold and silver
(leaf), garments, either ready made, woven or knit, per-
fumery and eatables of all kinds.
On beer in barrels and beer in bottles the duty is 5*25 fl..
and 6 fl. per hectolitre respectively.
An import duty of 50 fl. is due on every hectolitre of
spirit containing 50 litres of alcohol at a temperature of
15° Centigrade.
On candles the duty is 12 fl. per 100 kilogrammes ; on
opium 450 fl. per 100 kilogrammes, and on petroleum
2*50 fl. per hectolitre.
The import duty on table salt amounts to 12 fl. per 100
kilogrammes.
The following are imported free of duty : —
Arrack leaguers, animal charcoal, books, cement, donkeys
1178 JAVA
and mules, factory engines, steam engines, machinery,
mathematical, physical, surgical and optical instruments,
tools and implements used in agriculture, manufacturing,
engineering and mining plant, sawn and unsawn wood,
iron in bars or pieces, rails, nails, iron wire, ships' anchors
and chains, telegraph and telephone wire, lime, charcoal,
coal, lead, manure, pitch, rice, pictures, steel bars and plates,
ropes, cables, rigging and all other rope for the equipment
of ships or for fishing purposes.
In addition to the above the following are all admitted
free of duty : —
(1) All goods arriving for or on account of the Govern-
ment.
(2) (a) All produce of the Netherlands Indian possessions
where duties are levied by the Government, with the
exception of salt not coming from Government stores ; this
only so far as regards cotton goods, tobacco and cigars
accompanied by a certificate of export from those posses-
sions.
(h) All produce from other Netherlands Indian possessions
and from the native states of the Eastern archipelago on
intimate footing with the Netherlands Government, with
the exception of gambier, woven cotton goods, tobacco,
cigars, and salt.
(3) Personal requisites, such as travellers' luggage and
small parcels carried by travellers.
(4) Household goods belonging to the consuls of foreign
states, and flags, escutcheons and office requisites belonging
to the consulates in Netherlands India.
Export Duties. — Export duty is charged on all goods
mentioned in the following table, although there are one
or two exceptions, which are dealt with later on in this
article.
MISCELLANEOUS
1179
Export Duty payable as
per
Tariff.
Goods.
Scale.
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
p. c.
p. c.
p. c.
fl.
p. c.
Balam and Soentei fruits
koyang of 40
piculs
10
"
Benzoin, caoutchouc,
damar, gutta-percha.
camphor and other
kinds of gum and
resin
value
—
5
8
p. c.
"
Benzoin, damar, and
other kinds of gum
and resin not specially
mentioned
t>
—
—
—
5
10
Birds' skins
>>
-
10
10
-
fl.
2-25
n A
Birds' nests.
kilogramme
6
6
6
6
Caoutchouc, gutta-
p. c.
percha, and other pro-
ducts known under
the name of " getah."
value
-
-
-
8
10
fl.
3
Coconuts
1,000 piculs
-
-
-
-
Gahroe, and other odori-
p. c.
ferous wood
value
_
5
8
-
-
Grease of Balam and
Soentei fruits .
tt
-
-
-
5
-
Hartshorn .
_
5
8
-
-
Hides
»»
2
2
2
2
5
Ivory and rhinoceros
horn
f»
-
8
8
fl.
2-50
10
Koelit bakan and Koelit
koyang of 40
_
5
8
—
tangar
piculs
Pepper, white
value
-
-
-
-
4
,, black
»>
-
-
-
4
fl.
0-38
Pinang tjang
100 kilogrammes
_
_
_
_
„ boelat
»»
—
—
~
_
p. c.
0-19
Eattans of all kinds
value
—
5
8
5
-
Sago and sago flour
ft
-
5
8
fl.
0-60
-
„ purified
100 kilogrammes
_
_
-
-
„ rough .
,,
-
-
-
0-40
-
Tengkawang stones
value
-
5
8
-
-
Tengkawang or Soentei
grease
II
—
5
8
—
~"
1180
JAVA
Goods.
Scale.
Export Duty payable as per
Tariff.
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
Tin .
Tobacco not prepared
for the native market
Tobacco prepared for the
native market .
Wax ....
100 kilogrammes
»>
>>
value 100 kilo-
grammes
fl.
3-50
10
fl.
3-50
10
p. c.
5
fl.
3-50
10
p. c.
8
fl.
3-50
10
80
fl.
3-50
10
40
8-0
The export duty is not only levied on goods for countries
outside Netherlands India, but also on goods going to some
other port in Netherlands India, if —
(a) At the port of destination no export duty is levied
by Government.
(h) At the port of destination a lower rate of export is
charged, provided, however, that in the latter case only
the difference of export duty shall be paid.
Freedom of duty is allowed on gutta-percha obtained by
manufacture from the leaves of gutta-percha trees, and also
on gutta-percha and caoutchouc produced from cultivated
plantations ; in these instances, however, exemption is
only granted to the holders of exemption certificates granted
by a Dutch official.
The duty on exported Billiton tin ore amounts to 2*35 fl.
per 100 kilogrammes.
Exemption from export duty is also granted to —
{a) Goods exported for or on account of the Govern-
ment.
(b) Goods for which export duty has already been
levied at some Netherlands Indian Customs House, save
when at such second port of export a higher duty is
chargeable. In this instance the goods are not allowed
MISCELLANEOUS 1181
to pass before the difference in the rate of duty has been
paid.
Excise Duty. — (1) Excise on distilled beverages. This
duty is levied only in Java and Madura, and amounts to
50 fl. per hectolitre on beverages containing 50 per cent, of
alcohol. This ratio is maintained for all other beverages,
according to the proportion of alcohol.
(2) Excise is levied on petroleum, together with benzine
and gasoline, throughout the whole of the customs sphere,^
and amounts to 2*50 fl. per hectolitre. It is due —
(a) On petroleum imported from beyond the customs
sphere, by the act of importation or that of storing up
in entrepot.
(h) On petroleum acquired within the customs sphere
by the act of acquisition as a produce fit for consumption.
(3) Excise on matches is levied in the whole of the cus-
toms sphere, and is due —
(a) On matches imported from beyond the customs
sphere, by importation for consumption.
(h) On matches manufactured within the customs
sphere, as soon as they are made.
The duty on matches of the sort now in use, packed in
boxes in the usual way and with a single head, amounts to
0*70 fl. per gross boxes, provided that each box contains no
more than seventy-nine matches.
Should a box contain more than seventy-nine matches,
the amount chargeable is 0*05 fl. extra per gross boxes on
every five matches or less.
If the matches are provided with two heads, the excise
amounts to 1*40 fl. per gross boxes containing not more
than seventy-nine matches and 0*10 fl. extra per gross
boxes on every additional five matches or portion of five
contained in each box.
> The term '' customs sphere " applies to those parts of Netherlands
India where the Government levies export and import duties.
Part V
Government. Foreign Consuls. Finance. Army. Navy. Royal Mag-
netic and Meteorological Observatory. Police. Education.
Government. — The Government of Java, until Sir
Stamford Baffles had conquered the whole country, and
the Dutch after his departure had thoroughly established
themselves and consolidated their position, was in principle
an unmixed despotism. There were, however, customs of
the country of which the people were very tenacious, and
which the Susuhunan or Sultan seldom infringed. His
subjects had no rights to the liberty of person or property,
his breath could raise the humblest individual from the dust
to the highest distinction or wither the honours of the most
exalted. There was no hereditary rank, nothing to oppose
his will. Not only posts, honours, and distinctions depended
on his pleasure, but all the landed property of his dominions
remained at his disposal, and might, together with its
cultivators, be parcelled out by his orders among the officers
of his household, the members of his family, the ministers
of his pleasures, or the useful servants of the state. Every
officer was paid by grants of land, or by a power to receive
from the peasantry a certain proportion of the produce of
certain villages and districts. The despot was the pro-
prietor, everything was his property.
When a sovereign enjoys unlimited power, he generally,
in Eastern countries, surrenders it for ease and pleasure,
and his servant, under the name of Vizier or some other
title, becomes the despot. The highest executive officer,
or prime minister, in the Ja,van Government was called Baden
Adipati ; he usually ruled the country, while his master
endeavoured to satisfy himself with flattery, with pomp,
and the seraglio. He was formerly entrusted with power
so great as even, in particular cases, to extend to the royal
MISCELLANEOUS 1183
family. All communications to and from the sovereign
were made through him ; he received all reports from
different parts of the country, and issued all orders.
This office still exists, but the power hitherto attached
to it has naturally lessened of late years, since the Dutch
Government assumed the right of nominating the person
who should fill it.
The Sovereign, too, naturally reposes less confidence in
a prime minister so nominated than in one of his own choice,
and if he does not take an active part himself in the small
field of politics in his court left to him still, he may be under
the influence of an ambitious member of his own family,
so that his Baden Adipati, though left to conduct the details
of government, is often ignorant of many an intrigue
carried on in the palaces.
In a country like Java the framework of society is so
simple, the hand of power is so universally felt or seen,
rank, wealth and authority are so identified, and the different
classes of the community are so related to each other by
contrast or reciprocal influence, that the Dutch, in main*
taining this framework and allowing the people to be ruled
by their own chiefs, hold sway over all these countries,-
with their teeming millions of inhabitants, by a mere
" pressure of the button," and the Pangerans (princes),
Bojpatis, ^ or Tuviurig'gungs (governors or regents of pro-
vinces), Patehs, the assistants, and petty chiefs classed as
Mantris, but having various titles, such as DemangSy Luras,
or Kliwons, continue to govern the country as they formerly
did, if not in theory, in actuality as far as the people are
concerned.
These said pangerans and bopatis are responsible for
order among the people of the provinces under their juris-
diction. The laws, orders, and regulations are received by
' Bo'pati is the plural of adipati.
1184 JAVA
them from the Dutch Resident, and they, with the assistance
of the patehs and mantris, are obhged to carry them out.
Should it be found that a new regulation is oppressive or
irksome to the people, the mantris report to the pateh, who
informs the adipati, who holds the right to discuss it with
the resident, as the adipati is the responsible person if
any outbreak or rising takes place.^ The system works
well, and there is no country in the world where an Eastern
nation, with an ancient constitution, is so easily ruled as
Java ; this is due entirely to the system the Dutch maintain
of allowing the people to be nominally ruled by their own
chiefs.
The line of succession for the hopatis is usually, if possible,
from father to son, but the rights of primogeniture are not
always observed hj the Dutch resident, who has to confirm
the appointment, which usually depends on the behaviour
of the father during his regency. If there is no direct
descent, the claims of collateral branches of the reigning
dynasty are settled, but by no law or uniform custom.
During the Hindu period females have been known some-
times to hold these offices of power, keeping up estab-
lishments with pomp and show as if they were male
sovereigns.
The Dutch Government of the East Indies may be
•divided into four parts : —
(1) The superintendence exercised by the sovereign.
(2) The central Government, exercised by the Governor-
General, in some cases in concert with the Council of
India.
(3) The civil service, which plays a prominent part
in inland government, and
(4) Provincial and local government carried out with
the aid of provincial and local councils.
I'Both the resident and adipa'i or bopati suffer, usually by being
pensioned off.
MISCELLANEOUS 1185
At the head of the Central Government stands the Governor-
General, who is appointed by the sovereign. The Governor-
General is assisted by a department called the Algemeene
Secretaire, or " General Secretary's Office."
The General Secretary is practically the Governor-
General's adviser. He superintends the publication, dis-
patch, registration, and preservation of the directions issued
by the Governor- General, and deals with all Government
correspondence, as well as the contents of the " Java
Courant " or official organ (Javasche Courant).
The Governor-General is also assisted by the Council
of Netherlands India ^ (Raad van Indie), which dates back
as far as 1611, when it was composed of four members. This
council is appointed by the sovereign.
The number has undergone frequent change. The
president used to be Director-General of Trade, and the
members all held some office.
During the period of British occupation the Council con-
sisted of a vice-president (who was commander of the
troops) and two members. Its present composition has
come down unchanged since 1836, and consists of a vice-
president and four members.
As a rule the Council is made up of tw^o former governors
or residents of Java or the outlying possessions, one ex-
judicial chief officer, and one ex-chief officer of the Central
Bureau or " secretaire." The choice of the fifth is left open.
The power of the Governor- General is almost absolute,
although at any time his policy may be modified, at the
suggestion of the colonial minister at The Hague, in the
name of the sovereign.
He is commander-in-chief of the army and navy, and
can control as he wishes both these forces. The adminis-
trative offices of the navy, however, are under the control
of the Dutch admiralty in Holland.
' This corresponds to the Viceroy of the British India Council.
J. — VOL. II. M M
1186 JAVA
In case of war or rebellion he is empowered to take all
necessary measures for the safety of this Eastern empire,
even such as would require the sovereign's authority under
other conditions. He may declare martial law or a state of
siege in the whole or any part of Netherlands India, and has
extensive legislative authority.
The Government regulations permit and authorise him
to declare war, make peace, and conclude treaties with
Indian princes and peoples, provided the sovereign's com-
mands be observed.
The yearly salary of the Governor- General amounts to
£11,000, besides which he is granted a large sum for travel-
ling and other expenses ; and the annual allowance to the
members of the Council amounts to £3,000 for the vice-
president and £2,400 for each of the others.
The Civil Service is divided into seven departments as
follows : —
Agriculture.
Justice.
Interior.
Finance.
Government Works.
Instruction, Public Worship, and Industry.
Public Works.
There are also two other departments in Java, namely,
Marine and War.
At the head of each of the first seven departments is
placed a director, who, although officially above the heads
of provincial governments, are not their superiors, as the
latter are placed directly under the orders of the Governor-
General.
The departmental chiefs may, however, send orders or
instructions to the governors or residents, etc., but beyond
that their actions depend mainly on the amount of tact they
display or otherwise.
MISCELLANEOUS 1187
At the head of the Marine Department is the commander
of the fleet, and of the War Department the commander-in-
chief of the forces.
The following subjects are placed under the different
departments : —
Justice. — Judicature ; the civil, commercial, and penal
legislation ; the body of notaries ; the interpreters and
sworn translators ; the inspection of labour and enlisting
of coolies ; the functionaries for Chinese and Japanese
affairs ; the orphans and estate courts ; the admission,
removal, and extradition of aliens ; the examination of
regulations drawn up by the chiefs of provincial adminis-
tration and ordinances of police ; the system of imprison-
ment ; joint stock companies ; the equivalence of Asiatics
with Europeans and naturalisation ; slavery and hostages ;
Press supervision.
Interior. — Provincial and local administration, town
militia, and other bodies not directly belonging to the army,
as police corps ; private agriculture ; forced labour ; land
rent ; the inland system of credit (especially agricultural
credit) ; cadastral survey ; agrarian affairs ; directing of
the civil store-houses of the State ; means of transport and
communication (Koyal Packet Company, the Java-China-
Japan Line, and the mail steamers sailing between Europe
and the East Indies) ; passports.
Instruction, Public Worship, and Industry. — European,
native, and Chinese instruction ; worship ; promotion of
the knowledge of language and ethnography of Netherlands
India, and the publishing of useful books, arts, and sciences
(also archaeology and scientific explorations) ; civil medical
service ; institutions of benevolence or public utility ;
boards of charity ; industry (including chambers of com-
merce and industrial exhibitions, etc.) ; system of marking
measures and weights.
Agriculture. — Agriculture and rural instruction ; the
M M 2
1188 JAVA
breeding of cattle and horses and civil veterinary service ;
fishery and breeding of fish ; Government coffee cultures ;
forestry ; botanical garden at Buitenzorg ; physiological
researches.
Civil Public Works. — Buildings, bridges, roads, and
irrigation.
Government Works. — Railways, tramways, and steam
engines ; post telegraph and telephone ; post office savings
banks ; mining (including the tin mines of Banka) ; salt
monopoly ; Government printing establishment (which
publishes the official newspaper, Javasche C our ant).
Finance. — Financial administration ; system of taxes ;
the " lombard " service ; the opium " regie " ; " farming "
system ; the public sale houses ; passports and annual
passes for ships ; monetary system ; compilation of the
report of trade and navigation.
War. — Military affairs ; the steam tramway in the
government of Achin.
Marine. — The affairs of the navy, also beaconage,
pilotage and hydrography ; the magnetic and meteoro-
logical observations.
The General Chamber of Accounts (called Reken Kamer)
deals with the moneys and properties of the State.
As previously observed, the one cardinal principle upon
which the whole of the Netherlands India system of
civil administration is based is to leave the native popula-
tion as much as possible under the direction of their own
chiefs.
These chiefs are either appointed or acknowledged by
the Government, and subjected to supervision, either in
accordance with special rules laid down by the Governor-
General or with treaties which have been concluded between
the native princes and the state.
Consequently, upon this underlying idea only the highest
posts are conferred upon Europeans. All the subordinate
MISCELLANEOUS
1189
positions are held by the leading natives, supervised and
instructed, of course, by the European officials.
The different provinces into which Netherlands India
is divided are governed by governors or residents, according
to whether the district is a " gouvernement " or " resi-
dentie."
Billiton and South New Guinea are in charge of assistant
residents. Military officers are almost invariably chosen
for the post, especially in the provinces beyond Java.
Java is divided into seventeen residencies. The possessions
outside Java include twenty provinces.
The heads of principal governments are appointed by
the Governor- General.
To become a resident takes usually twenty years, and they
are chosen from the list of assistant residents. The greater
number of assistant residents, however, are pensioned
early as unfit to attain to this highly important and
responsible post.
The following tables will show the pay allowed by the
Dutch Government to their civil servants.
Civn. Service Pay List.
European Staff.
Baak.
Pay, cal-
culated in
Sterling
per Year.
Remarks.
Governor-General
Member of Council
Governora .....
£
14,000
3,000
1,800
Free use of three palaces — ■
Weltevreden (Batavia),
Buitenzorg, and Tji-
pauas (summer place)
and allowances for all
charges for receptions
and travelling.
Free house and reception
money, from £150 to
£300.
1190 JAVA
CrviL Service Pay List — continued.
European Staff — continued.
Pay, cal-
culated in
Rank.
Sterling
per Year.
Remarks.
Representative for native provinces
£
5 1,600
Free house and reception
money, £300.
Residency Adviser
1,200
Residents ....
(at first)
1,100 )
1,000 j
Free house.
Residency Secretaries, first class
1,000
„ (at
first)
800
„ „ second clas
3 800
(at first')'
600
Assistant Residents
750
Free house.
„ „ (at first)
450
»
Administrative Controllers .
350
Controllers
700
„ (at first)
225
>5
Assistant Controllers .
180
Aspirant Controllers .
150
Javan Staff.
Pay, cal-
culated in
Rank.
Sterling
per Year.
Remarks.
£
Bopatis (Regents)
1,200
Ranks with but below a
Resident, the position
being compared to a
younger brother with
the Resident as the elder
brother.
Patehs .....
,, .....
475
325
of Batavia who are not
(600
(500
under any regent
Mantris
Demangs ....
260
Luras .....
145
Kliwins ....
100
MISCELLANEOUS 1191
The sub-districts are made up of a number of communities
or desahs (villages), each desah being governed by a chief.
The chief is chosen by the people on the understanding
that he must meet ^\^th the approval of the regent, and after
him of the resident. Each chief has a substitute, and is
assisted by various officials and the village priest. These
may be said to constitute the government of the desah.
He receives no regular salary, but is granted 8 per cent,
of the taxes he collects, together with the produce of certain
fields allotted to him and known as ** bekel."
In the protected states in Java the native government
is regulated and supervised by these self-governing states.
There also is found the division into Regencies.
Soerakarta is governed by a Susuhunan, Djockjakarta by
a Sultan. In each of these states is also an independent
prince with extensive possessions.
In Soerakarta he is the Prince (Pangeran) Mangku Negoro,
in Djockjakarta the Prince Paku Alum, who was estab-
hshed in his position by Sir Stamford Raffles. Both these
princes were under obligation to hold a legion of soldiers at
the disposal of the Dutch or English.
In both states a special Javan, appointed by the Governor-
General, acts as mediator between the resident and the
native prince, being paid £1,000 a year.
The native princes receive liberal indemnification for the
loss of their former income. In Soerakarta it amounts to
as much as £73,278 annually, and in Djockjakarta to
£39,305. Besides this they have enormous incomes from
their private estates. All the money is spent, however, in
keeping up their huge establishments with their state and
pomp.
Foreign Consuls. — All the European nations are officially
represented in Java either by a consul-general or by a consul.
Germany, France, Norway, Persia, and Turkey have
consuls-general, whilst for the interests of Great Britain,
1192 JAVA
America, Denmark, Belgium, Italy, Austria, Portugal,
Russia and Switzerland consuls are considered sufficient.
Japan and Siam are represented by a consul and Spain
and Sweden by a vice-consul
All these chief representatives live at Batavia, the capital
and seat of the Governor- General, who on special occasions,
such as the birthday of the Queen of Holland, receives the
consular body in audience as the " corps diplomatique."
At coast ports, such as Samarang and Sourabaya, the
principal nations are represented by consuls and vice-
consuls, who are under the authority of the consul-general
or consul, as the case may be, at Batavia.
As far as Great Britain is concerned, it may be observed
that when the English gave up Java and its dependencies
in 1816 no representative of the British nation or Government
was allowed to be stationed in Java. Sir Stamford Raffles
in 1818 and again in 1820 urged upon the British East India
Company the necessity of Great Britain having a special
" agent " at Batavia with " certain powers," but it was
generally assumed, and no doubt with some truth, that the
King of Holland would not consider such a proposal. Com-
mercially the British East India Company was represented
at Batavia by Jessen, Trail & Co. from 1817 to 1825 and by
Trail & Co. from 1825 to 1834.
John Deans from 1818 was in communication with the
British Government or one of its officials, either privately
or semi-officially, until probably his departure from Batavia
on the 1st February, 1828.
After him GilHan Maclaine was semi-officially or pri-
vately in communication with some member of the Foreign
Office.
In shipping matters, such as the settlement of disputes
among British seamen or the care and forwarding of sick
sailors to England, Martin Dyce & Co. were from 1842 until
1844 in the possession of certain limited powers, but only
MISCELLANEOUS 1193
as far as the British Government were concerned, the Dutch
Government in no way recognising them.
In 1844, when the question of the sugar duties arose,
it w^as found necessary for the British Government to have
some representative or agent at Batavia, Samarang and
Sourabaya to sign certificates as to whether the sugar was
" free " or " slave-grown."
There is a dispatch from Lord Aberdeen dated London,
8th July, 1844, and sent simultaneously to John Lewis
Bonhote at Batavia, Alexander Macneill at Samarang,
and Arthur Eraser at Sourabaya.^ This shows the reason
why and under what conditions these gentlemen, who were
all partners in the British house of Maclaine, Watson & Co.,
became the first " consular agents." Since this time down
to the present day the successive partners of this old and
highly-respected house have been the representatives of
the British Government.
Notwithstanding, however, the great success that has
always attended the efforts of the British consular officers
in this part of the world and the exceedingly high position
which they have always taken, there can be no doubt that
the time has arrived when Great Britain should be repre-
sented by a consul de carriere whose standing is not under
that of Germany's representative and whose whole time can
be devoted to the furtherance of British interests, which
during the last few years have become more important and
considerable in this part of the world and can no longer be
adequately attended to by a trading consul.^
1 See note at end of this section.
2 It is a peculiar but correct fact that, notwithstanding the very valuable
services of some of these gentlemen in furthering and upholding the British
name, honour and credit, and generally in using their best endeavours
towards the interests of English and Dutch and creating a general good
feeling between them, not a single consul or vice-consul has ever received
any recognition whatever from the British Crown for his labours ; and this
duiing a period of almost a centuiy.
1194 JAVA
If the opinion of so humble an individual as myself could
be supposed to reach the ears of the British Premier, I
would respectfully but earnestly call his attention to the
foregoing remarks.
In further support of my opinion I would observe that a
reference to the shipping tables will also show how great
is the quantity of British tonnage which visits Java, exceed-
ing as it does even ships under the Dutch flag, while in the
matter of property there is no foreign nation which owns
anything like the same acreage in Netherlands India as
the English or has £20,000,000 invested. A dispatch dated
Batavia, 24th November, 1872, from Acting-Consul W. T.
Fraser to Earl Granville is given below ; it is more or less
of interest.
On the 6th March, 1856, a convention between the
Queen of England and the King of the Netherlands was
signed at The Hague by Lord Abercromby, van Hall, and
Pieter Myer for the reciprocal admission of consuls of each
party to the colonies and foreign possessions of the other.
A table below shows the consular agents, consuls, and
vice-consuls of Great Britain since 1844 until the present
day on the island of Java.
Copy of Dispatch from Lord Aberdeen to certain Persons
IN Java.
" Foreign Office, July 8th, 1844.
" Sir, — Her Majesty's Government have proposed to Parlia-
ment certain alterations in the sugar duties whereby sugar of
foreign growth, not the produce of slave labour, will be admitted
into this country at a reduced rate, provided that it be accom-
panied by a certificate of origin, under the hand and seal of a
British agent.
" The sugar of Java, not being slave-grown, would, of course,
be entitled to participate in such a reduction of duty, if accom-
panied by the necessary certificate, and as the Netherlands
Government have hitherto declined to receive a British consular
agent in their East India possessions, Her Majesty's Government
MISCELLANEOUS 1 195
propose to avail themselves of an application which has been
made to them in your favour to act as British agent at Batavia.
" It being probable that as the house of which you are a partner
has been for many years established in Java, and is of undoubted
character and respectability, the Dutch colonial Government will
not put any obstruction to your issuing certificates of origin so as
to admit the free-grown sugar of Java into the ports of the
United Kingdom.
" I have therefore to authorise you, and you are hereby autho-
rised to grant when applied to, under your hand and seal, certifi-
cates of the growth and origin of the sugar which may be shipped
from Batavia for ports of the United Kingdom.
" I have, however, to caution you that you are not to grant
certificates indiscriminately, but to satisfy yourself that the sugar
for which you grant certificates is bond fide free-grown sugar, the
produce of Java.
" In order to guide you in this respect, I enclose copies of letters
which I have addressed to the consul whom Her Majesty has
appointed at Manila.
" I have further to caution you, in order to avoid exciting any
jealousy on the part of the local authorities, not to assume any
official character or position in consequence of the trust hereby
confided to you.
" The certificate, when granted, must be given simply
in your name, as a British merchant residing at Batavia, and
acting under the authority now conferred upon you. Orders of
course will be given to the officers of Her Majesty's Customs to
respect it.
" As you will not have authority to levy fees on the certificates
you may grant, and as you may be put to some expense in this
business, I have to acquaint you that you will receive an adequate
remuneration from Her Majesty's Government. You will, how-
ever, understand that the whole arrangement is liable to be
reconsidered when Her Majesty's Government shall see reason to
do so.
" I win forward to you copies of the Act of Parliament and the
Orders in Council to be founded upon it by the first opportunity.
" I am. Sir, your most obedient, humble servant,
" (Sd.) Aberdeen.
" John L. Bonhote, Esqre., Batavia."
1196 JAVA
Parliamentary Papers, 1872. Reports relative to British
Consular Establishments, 1858 and 1871.
1872
Vol. 60, pt. II.,
page 333.
Batavia.
Acting-Consul Eraser to Earl Granville (received January 6th,
1872).
" Batavia, November 24th, 1871.
" My Lord, — In compliance with the wish expressed by your
Lordship in circular letter dated Eoreign Office, 26th August last,
I have the honour to wait upon your Lordship with a report in
connection with my consular district, and those at Sourabaya and
Samarang as existing at present.
" I would respectfully call your Lordship's attention to the
reply given to query No. 19 regarding the desirability of estab-
lishing unpaid consular posts in other parts of Netherlands India.
" I am, etc.,
" (Signed) W. T. Eraser."
Inclosure.
REPORT BY ACTING-CONSUL ERASER.
" The Consulate of Batavia embraces entire Java, Sumatra,
the Dutch possessions in the Moluccas, Borneo, and the islands
in Gaspar, and Billiton Straits. The consul's residence is Batavia,
and the appointment is at present filled by Acting-Consul Mr.
W. T. Eraser, late vice-consul at Samarang, and for ten years
engaged in the consular affairs at this port, and at Sourabaya
and Samarang. The newly appointed consul, Mr. N. McLean,
will take charge at Batavia on the 1st December next.
" 1 and 2.
(Tabular statement of Ships
entered and cleared. Value
of exports and imports, etc.)
Totals
MISCELLANEOUS
1197
" 3, 4 and 5.
(Consular Establishments.
Tabular Form.)
Ck)untries.
Rank.
Trading.
StafF.
Salaries.
Fees.
"6. The consulate and vice-consulates at Samarang and
Sourabaya are commercial posts and are of great service to
British commercial interests in these parts. With regard to
local industries and productions, the consular report of Acting-
Consul IVIr. W. T. Fraser for 1870 gave every particular.
"7. In 1858 and in 1871 to 30th November the following is
the number of British vessels that entered and cleared the port
of Batavia.
1858.
1871.
Entered.
Cleared.
Entered.
Cleared.
68
63
103
94
" 8. The items for house rent, clerk hire, wages, etc., were much
less in 1858 than at present, and it is impossible to compare the
two periods.
" House rent and articles of food especially have advanced very
much, and wages, therefore, have followed.
" The wages of clerks in first-rate mercantile firms vary in pro-
portion to the time they have been in their employer's service and
the work they do ; £150 to £1,500 per annum would embrace the
lowest and highest cyphers paid to European clerks.
" 9. Staff of Her Majesty's Consulate.
1858.
1871.
1 clerk.
2 clerks.
1198
JAVA
" Being allowed to trade, the above clerks are employed in my
mercantile office also, and divide the lesser consular work between
them. The salary of clerk is, therefore, procured from that given
by my firm and the consular fees.
" 10. The work of the consulate is increasing yearly, while the
fees are decreasing owing to the numerous means of communica-
tion. Java is now much more visited than formerly, and the
consul's time is much more taken up by rendering advice and
assistance than it ever was previously.
" The consul is always at his post from 9.30 a.m. till 4 — 5 p.m.,
and his duties consist in engaging and discharging seamen, noting
and extending protests, drawing out powers of attorney, bottomry
bonds, and other legal documents, carrying on the general corre-
spondence with the home and Netherlands Indian Governments,
giving advice and assistance to British ship-masters and seamen,
settling disputes, holding naval courts, and taking measures for
the recovery and salvage of wrecked or lost property, caring for
the affairs of the British Church establishment. Her Majesty's
ships of war, and other matters too numerous to mention here.
Her Majesty's consuls at this and other ports come far more into
contact with all departments of the Netherlands Indian Govern-
ment than any of their colleagues, and have very much more
consular business to transact and consular responsibilities to bear.
" The following is a memorandum of the amount of business
transacted in 1858 and 1871.
"10. Amount of Business.
Number of dispatches received
„ dispatched
„ seamen engaged .
„ „ discharged
Protests executed
Powers of attorney executed
Bills of health issued, etc.
1858.
94
63
36
49
4
18
2
1871.
178
129
70
127
12
8
4
"II. The consul here received no allowance for office expenses,
but, being allowed to trade, has the consul office with his mercan-
tile office.
\
£
s.
d.
259
19
4
242
12
4
272
19
8
123
19
4
xMISCELLANEOUS 1199
" The fees, as above stated, are given to the clerks ; they
aggregated
In 1868
1869
1870
The 11 months for 1871
" 12. None.
" 13. There are at present only two unpaid vice-consulates
under my jurisdiction, namely, at Sourabaya and Samarang, and
these appointments being held by partners in my mercantile
establishment at these ports, no office expenses are allowed. The
fees are, as at Batavia, given to the consular clerk.
" There have not been any consular posts abolished since 1858.
"14. As far as I have been able to ascertain, no house allow-
ance is granted to any of the other consuls at this or the other
ports.
" The fees they collect are for their own benefit, with exception,
I believe, of those paid at the French consul-general's office.
" 15. The only privilege granted to Her Majesty's consular
officers in Java is immunity from the compulsory militia service,
in terms of the Convention of 1856, between Her Majesty and the
King of the Netherlands.
" My position has always been most friendly with the various
departments of the local Government, who have invariably done
everything in their power to render me assistance when I have
required it in the discharge of my consular duties.
"16. My colleagues and myseK are upon precisely the same
footing with regard to immunity from the militia service. The
appointment of consul merely gives a certain status to the person
holding the office, but no direct advantage accrues from it.
"17. The present Table of Fees I consider quite satisfactory,
and have never heard any complaints made regarding it by
British ship-masters.
"18. I have nothing to say on this head.
" 19. The instructions for the consular service received from
the Government and the Board of Trade are so voluminous that
it is almost impossible for a consul to act always in strict accord-
ance with them. It is most requisite that a revised edition of
the consular instructions be issued, embracing both the original
and supplementary instructions.
1200 JAVA
" With regard to the consular service in Netherlands India,
I consider it most necessary that owing to the large arrival
of British bottoms that now visit the various ports under my
jurisdiction (and which is certain to increase), unpaid vice-
consulates be appointed at the following places : Passaroean,
near Sourabaya, Macassa, in Celebes, and Padang, in Sumatra.
" The rank of the consular officer at Batavia might also be
consul-general without any increase to the present salary of £200
per annum, should this be thought advisable by Her Majesty's
Government. Her Majesty's representative would then be on an
equality with the French consular officer.
" (Signed) W. T. Fraser.
" Batavia, November 24th, 1871."
Appendix.
(Tonnage of the Shipping.)
Ships entered.
Countries.
Ships cleared.
Totals, etc.
The number of steamers under the Netherlands East Indian
flag, and included in above table, is 21, comprising a capacity of
9,040 tons and of 1,550 horse-power.
The number of British steamers entered at and cleared from
Batavia from 1868 to 1870 is 8, of 1,250 tons burthen.
One steamer under the French flag performs the bi-monthly
mail service between this and Singapore.
Vice-consulate of Sourabaya.
John Forrest, vice-consul.
Residing at Sourabaya.
Staff — one clerk.
Trading.
Appointed 26th January, 1870.
1. Average number of vessels entered and cleared, with their
tonnage, in 1868, 1869 and 1870.
Flag.
Totals.
Vessels.
Average Tonnage.
MISCELLANEOUS
1201
The number of British subjects resident in Sourabaya.
Adults, 25. Children, 15.
Average of fees 1868, 1869 and 1870, £40 per annum.
Vice-consulate of Samaranq.
Place of residence — Samarang.
Vice-consul's name — Henry Lash.
Staff — one clerk.
Trading.
Length of service — 16 months.
(Tabular statement of Ships and Tonnage
and
Consular Establishments.)
Amount of Business.
1858.
1871.
Number of despatclies and letters received and sent .
Seamen discharged. ......
Seamen engaged .......
Protests executed .......
Bills of health issued ......
Average fees, £16 per annum.
40
39
20
36
2
4
British Vice-Consulate, Samarang, 10th November, 1871.
List of British Representatives (Consuls, Vice-Constjls,
Etc.^) in the Island of Java Since 1844.
Year.
Re^idence.
Rank.
Name.
1
Pav ^^^^ °'
•'■j Appointment.
1844
Batavia
consular agent
John L. Bonhote
£
300 8th July, 1844
Sourabaya
Arthur Fraser
300 , „
Samarang
Alex. McNeiU
300
>> )>
1848
Batavia
J. L. Bonhote
—
4th Sept., 1848,
Sourabaya
Arthur Fraser
—
to
Samarang
Donald Maclachlan
— 1 22nd Jan., 1851
' Pro-consula
r list not complete.
J.-
—VOL. II.
N N
1202 JAVA
List of British Representatives — continued.
Year.
Residence.
Rank.
Name.
Pay.
Date of
Appointment.
1852
Batavia
consular agent
Alex. Eraser
£
300
4th Sept., 1848
to
Sourabaya
ji
Thos. Bonhote
300
>> »
1851
Samarang
J,
Donald Maclaine
300
4th April, 1851
1855
Batavia
it
Alex. Fraser
300
4th Sept., 1848
Sourabaya
Donald Maclachlan
300
26th April, 1854
Samarang
Donald Maclaine
300
Jan., 1851
1856
Batavia
consul
Alex. Fraser
200
4th July, 1856
to
Sourabaya
9f
Thos. Bonhote
200
» »>
1857
Samarang
Donald Maclaine
200
>> >>
1858
Batavia
^j
Alex. Fraser
>> >>
to
Sourabaya
jj
Donald Maclachlan
26th March, 1857
1859
Samarang
jj
Donald Maclaine
4th July, 1856
"
acting consul
James Mclachlan
Jacobus Martens
—
1860
Batavia
consul
Alex. Fraser
4th July, 1856
to
Sourabaya
unpaid vice-consul
Lachlan Maclean
28th Oct., 18.59
1861
Samarang
»>
Peter DuPuy
—
acting from 8th
Nov., 1860
1862
Batavia
consul
James Mclachlan
.
5th April, 1862
to
Samarang
unpaid vice-consul
Peter DuPuy
—
acting untU 1869
1870
Sourabaya
t9
Lachlan Maclean
—
28th Oct., 1859
1870
Batavia
consul
James Mclachlan
—
5th AprU, 1862
Sourabaya
unpaid vice-consul
John Forrest
26th Jan., 1870
Samarang
>»
William Thompson
Fraser.
—
26th Jan., 1870
Henry Lash
appointed acting
vice-consul for
W. T. Fraser.
1871
to
Batavia
consul
Neill McLean
—
19th AprU, 1871
1874
Samarang
unpaid vice-consul
WiUiam T. Fraser
_
26th Jan., 1870
»
"
Henry Lash
—
acting for W. T.
Fraser untni871
Sourabaya
,,
John Forrest
—
26th Jan., 1870
1875
Batavia
consul
WilHam T. Fraser
6th AprU, 1875
Samarang
unpaid vice-consul
George Henderson
—
14th Sept., 1875
Sourabaya
J,
John Forrest
—
26th Jan., 1870
1876
Batavia
consul
W. T. Fraser
6th April, 1875
to
Samarang
unpaid vice-consul
George Henderson
1878
Sourabaya
J,
John Forrest
—
26th Jan., 1870
1879
Batavia
consul
WiUiam T. Fraser
—
6th April, 1875
jj
pro-consul
S. R. Lankester
—
31st Dec, 1879
Samarang
unpaid vice-consul
George Henderson
—
14th Sept., 1875
Sourabaya
>i
Alex. P. Cameron
—
3rd Jan., 1876
1880
Batavia
consul
Alex. P. Cameron
23rd June, 1879
to
,,
pro -consul
S. R. Lankester
31st Dec, 1879
1884
Samarang
unpaid vice-consul
Henry C. Downie
—
22nd Sept., 1879
Sourabaya
,,
George Henderson
—
14th Sept., 1875
„
pro-consul
W. L. McNeiU
—
27th Nov., 1884
1885
Batavia
consul
Neil McNeiU
—
12th Aug., 1884
to
,,
pro -consul
S. R. Lankester
1886
Samarang
unpaid ^'ice-consul
Henry C. Downie
—
22nd Sept , 1879
Sourabaya
unpaid vice-consul
pro-consul
Arthur J. Warren
W. L. McNeiU
21st Feb., 1884
MISCELLANEOUS 1203
List of British Representatives — continued.
Year.
Residence.
Rank.
Name,
Pay.
Date of
Appointment.
1887
Batavia
consul
Neil McNeiU
£
12th Aug., 1884
to
,,
pro-consul ad
H. V. S. Davids
—
19th May, 1887
1888
interim
j^
pro-consul
H. V. S. Davids
—
12th Dec, 1888
Samarang
vice-consul
Arthur J. Warreu
—
21st Feb., 1884
Sourabaya
pro -consul
Adam Dowie
W. L. McNeill
—
9th June, 1886
1889
Batavia
consul
Neil McNeiU
300
tX)
„
pro-consul
H. V. S. Davids
1890
j^
A. F. Mclachlan
—
11th AprU, 1890
Samarang
vice-consul
Samuel R. Lankester
25
12th Dec, 1888
Sourabaya
,,
Adam Dowie
75
1891
Batavia
consul
Neil McNeill
300
to
jj
pro-consul
A. F. Mclachlan
1892
Samarang
vice-consul
Duncan D. Fraser
25
28th Feb., 1890
Sourabaya
,j
Arthur J. Warren
75
1893
Batavia
consul
S. R. Lankester
300
to
j»
pro -consul
D. M. Campbell
1896
Samarang
vice-consul
Fred. Bonhote
25
10th Oct., 1892
Sourabaya
jj
Arthur J. Warren
75
1897
Batavia
consul
H V. S. Davids
300
to
,j
pro -consul
D. M. CampbeU
1900
Samarang
vice-consul
Duncan D. Fraser
25
14th Dec, 1896
Sourabaya
,,
A. J. Warren
88
1901
Batavia
consul
H. V. S. Davids
300
to
,j
pro-consul
D. M. CampbeU
—
until 13th May,
1902
1901
^j
,,
CoUn A. Loudon
—
13th May, 1901
Samarang
vice-consul
Adam Dowie
25
5th AprU, 1900
Sourabaya
pro -consul
A. J. Warren
Edward T. Camp-
88
bell
—
8th Mav, 1902
1903
Batavia
consul
pro-consul
Duncan D. Fraser
300
10th May, 1902
Samarang
vice-consul
Adam Dowie
25
Sourabaya
pro -consul
Alex. McLean
E. T. CampbeU
88
22nd April, 1902
1904
Batavia
con.sul
Duncan D. Fraser
300
to
Samarang
vice-consul
Donald M. CampbeU
54
9th Feb., 1903
1905
Sourabaya
pro -consul
Alex. McLean
Edward T. Camp-
bell
88
1906
Batavia
consul
Duncan D. Fraser
,,
pro -consul
H. ft. Jackson
—
30th March, 1906
Samarang
vice-consul
D. M. CampbeU
Sourabaya
David G. Rose
—
17th AprU, 1905
pro-consul
James Dalton
—
23rd March, 1906
1907
Batavia
consul
pro -consul
David G. Rose
H. G. Jackson
—~
Ist April, 1906
Samarang
vice-consul
D. M. CampbeU
Sourabaya
pro-consul
Arthur Thomson
James Dalton
— •
23rd March. 1906
1908
Batavia
consul
John W. Stewart
Samarang
vice-consul
D. M CampbeU
N N 2
1204 JAVA
List of British Representatives — continued.
Date of
Year.
Residence.
Rank.
Name.
Pay.
Appo.ntment.
1908
Soiirabaya
vice-consul
pro -consul
Arthur Thomson
J. Dalton
£
1909
Batavia
consul
J. W. Stewart
Samarang
vice-consul
D. M. Campbell
Sourabaya
pro -consul
A. C. Ballingal
Neil McNeiU
1910
Batavia
consul
J. W. Stewart
300
Samarang
vice-consul
D. M. Campbell
54
Sourabaya
pro-consul
R. W. E. Dakymple
Neil McNeill
88
"
,,
R. Bussell
—
temporarily
1911
Batavia
consul
J. W. Stewart
Samarang
vice-consul
D. M. CampbeU
Sourabaya
pro -consul
R. W. E. Dalrymple
Neil McNeiU
1912
Batavia
consul
acting consul
J. W. Stewart
R. W. E. Dalrymple
—
until March
Samarang
vice-consul
D. M. Campbell
A. C. BaUingal
—
until March
Sourabaya
"
H. G Jackson
H. B. M.'s Consulate, Personalia.
Ballingal (Alexander Cameron), was vice-consul at Sourabaya,
1909. Resigned 1910. Vice-consul at Samarang, 1912.
Bonhote (Frederic), was vice-consul at Samarang, Java, from
10th October, 1892, to 25tli March, 1895, when he resigned.
Was acting consul at Batavia from 1st April to 3rd July, 1898,
the date of his death.
Bonhote (John Lewis), was first consular agent at Batavia,
Java, from 8th July, 1844, until 4th September, 1848, when he
resigned. Died 22nd August, 1867.
Bonhote (Thomas), was consular agent at Sourabaya, in the
Dutch East Indies, 1st October, 1853, till 4th July, 1856, when
he was appointed consul there, which post he held till March,
1857, when he resigned. Died 20th December, 1897.
Cameron (Alexander Patrick), appointed vice-consul at Soura-
baya, Java, 3rd January, 1876. Acting consul at Batavia from
24th February, 1878, till 23rd June, 1879, when he was appointed
consul for the island of Java, to reside at Batavia. Resigned 12th
May, 1884.
MISCELLANEOUS 1205
Campbell (Donald Maclaine), appointed vice-consul at Saraa-
rang, Java, 9th February, 1903. For nine years previous pro-
consul at Batavia. Resigned as vice-consul March, 1912.
Campbell (Edward Taswell), pro-consul at Sourabaya from 1902
to 1905. Several times acting vice-consul at Samarang between
1905 and 1909.
Dalrymple (Robert William Elphinstone), was vice-consul at
Sourabaya, 1910.
Davids (Henry Vavasor Saunders), was consul at Batavia, Java,
from 14th December, 1896, to AprU, 1902, when he resigned.
Downie (Adam), was vice-consul at Sourabaya, Java, from
9th June, 1886, to 24th January, 1890, when he resigned. Ap-
pointed vice-consul at Samarang 5th April, 1900. Resigned 5th
January, 1903.
Downie (Henry Charles), was appointed unpaid vice-consul at
Samarang 22nd September, 1879. Died at Samarang 25th
January, 1886.
Du Puy (Peter), was acting unpaid vice-consul at Samarang
from 8th November, 1860, till December 14th, 1869.
Fraser (Arthur), was first Consular Agent at Sourabaya, from
8th July, 1844, to 4th September, 1848.
Fraser (Alexander), was consular agent in Batavia from 4th
September, 1848, till 4th July, 1856, when he was appointed
consul. Resigned 6th March, 1862. Died in London 5th July,
1904.
Fraser (Duncan Davidson), was vice-consul at Samarang, Java,
from 28th February, 1890, to 30th August, 1892, and acting
consul at Batavia from 1st May, 1893, to 20th February, 1894.
Again appointed vice-consul at Samarang 1st May, 1895. Resigned
22nd February, 1900. Appointed consul for the island of Java,
to reside at Batavia, 10th May, 1902. Resigned 31st March, 1906.
Fraser (William Thomson), was appointed unpaid vice-consul
at Samarang, in the consul district of Batavia, 26th January, 1870.
Was acting consul at Batavia from 1st April, 1870, till 30th
November, 1871, and was appointed to be consul there 6th April,
1875. Resigned 20th March, 1879. Died 31st May, 1880.
Forrest (John), was for some time vice-consul at Sourabaya, in
the consul district of Batavia, having been appointed 26th
January, 1870.
Henderson (George), from 1871 acting vice-consul at Samarang
until he was appointed unpaid vice-consul at Samarang 14th
1206 JAVA
September, 1875, and was transferred to Sourabaya 22nd Sep-
tember, 1879. Resigned 9th January, 1884. Died 2nd June,
1887.
Lankester (Samuel Rushton), was acting-consul at Batavia
from 22nd April to 11th June, 1888. Appointed vice-consul at
Samarang, Java, 12th December, 1888. Resigned 15th January,
1890. Was again acting consul at Batavia from 20th to 30th
January, 1891, and from 26th April, 1891, to 27th October, 1892 ;
was appointed consul for the island of Java, to reside at Batavia,
28th October, 1892. Died at Batavia 13th October, 1896.
Lash (Henry), was acting unpaid vice-consul at Samarang from
1st April, 1870.
Maclachlan (Donald), served as consular agent at Samarang
from 4th September, 1848, till 22nd Januarj^ 1851, and as con-
sular agent at Sourabaya from 6th April, 1852, till 3rd August,
1855, and was consul at Sourabaya from 25th March, 1857, till
31st July, 1858, when he resigned. Died at Southsea 23rd
January, 1893.
Maclachlan (James), was consul at Batavia from 5th April,
1862, till 24th March, 1871, when he resigned.
Maclaine (Donald), M^as acting consular agent at Samarang
22nd January, 1851 till appointment as consular agent at Sama-
rang from 4th April, 1851, till 4th July, 1856, when he was
appointed consul. Resigned 4th July, 1859, and died at Lochbuy
12th October, 1863.
Martens (Jacobus), acting consul from 1859 to November, 1860.
McLean (Alexander), was vice-consul at Sourabaya, Java,
from 22nd April, 1902, to March, 1905, when he resigned.
McLean (Lachlan), was unpaid vice-consul at Sourabaya from
28th October, 1859, till 14th December, 1869, when he resigned.
Was acting consul at Batavia from 1st January, 1866, till 31st
March, 1870. Died 9th August, 1880.
McLean (Neill), was consul at Batavia from 19th April, 1871,
till 22nd January, 1875, when he resigned.
McNeill (Alexander), was first consular agent at Samarang from
8th July, 1848, to 14th September, 1848.
McNeill (Neil), appointed consul for the island of Java, to
reside at Batavia, 12th August, 1884. Resigned 5th October,
1892.
McNeill (William Loudon), appointed pro-consul at Sourabaya
27th November, 1884.
MISCELLANEOUS
1207
McNeill (Neil), appointed pro-consul at Sourabaya, 1909.
Rose (David George), was vice-consul at Sourabaya, Java, from
17th April, 1905, to 1st February, 1906, when he resigned.
Appointed acting consul at Batavia 1st April, 1906, and consul
for the island of Java, to reside at Batavia, 30th May, 1906.
Resigned 11th April, 1907.
Stewart (John William), appointed consul for the island of Java,
to reside at Batavia, 17th May, 1907.
Thomson (Arthur), appointed vice-consal at Sourabaya, Java,
23rd March, 1906.
Warren (Arthur John), appointed vice-consul at Sourabaya,
Java, 21st February, 1884. Transferred to Samarang, 26th May,
1886, Resigned 3rd November, 1888. Again appointed vice-
consul at Sourabaya 11th March, 1890. Resigned 31st March,
1902.
Finance. — The following table indicates, in florins, the
revenue and expenditure of Netherlands India for the
fourteen years 1898 to 1911.
Year.
Revenue
Expenditure
(in Florins').
(in Florins).
1898 .
132,432,135
150,709,404
1899 .
142,600,402
144,371,546
1900 .
151,809,380
146,115,382
1901 .
149,379,896
149,903,204
1902 .
146,616,335
160,675,007
1904 .
152,617,233
166,537,090
1905 .
155,646,063
166,222,778
1906 .
169,340,004
167,950,851
1907 .
184,716,767
172,990,500
1908 .
190,050,215
191,321,216
1909 .
197,488,179
200,863,298
1910 .
221,516,220
231,427,271
1911 .
247,293,308
248,453,924
With regard to the period of ten years 1898 to 1907, the
following observations are due. Apart from the wars that
were being fought in the outlying possessions during a
Twelve florins or guilders equal £1 sterling.
1208 JAVA
part of this period, 84,000,000 fl. was the outlay on pro-
ductive works, as follows : —
fl.
Constructions of railways and tramways . 56,328,400
Irrigation work 17,100,000
Harbours and channels .... 2,660,000
Waterworks for the town of Sourabaya . 3,605,000
Telegraph cables 4,576,000
Total .... 84.269.400
Further, during 1906 and 1907 a sum of 3,754,400 fl.
was spent in measures having for their object the increase
of the economic standing of the population, such as the
establishment of agricultural banks, improving the breed
of horses, cattle, poultry, promoting fisheries, construction
of roads, and emigration.
This policy of improving the economic condition of the
native population by a liberal and generous expenditure on
the part of the Dutch Government, which cannot have
anything but the best results, is being steadfastly adhered
to, so that the excess of expenditure over revenue is fully
justified, and shows, if nothing else does, the excellent
and statesmanlike principles which guide the Dutch in the
government of their colonies.
The sources of revenue may be divided into four principal
groups, namely —
Taxes.
Monopolies.
Government Industries.
Other Revenues.
Army. — The army of the Dutch East Indies is voluntary,
and consists of Europeans and natives, in the proportion
of one of the former to ten of the latter.
MISCELLANEOUS 1209
Among the Europeans are to be found, besides Dutchmen,
Germans, Belgians, Swiss, and formerly, in the cavalry,
French.
The natives are mainly dra^^'n from such born soldiers as
the Menadonese and Amboinese, who are very similar to
the Ghurkas of our Indian Army.
The officers are mostly Dutchmen born and trained in
Holland and dra^^'n from the better classes, but since 1908
a few natives recruited exclusively among the Javan nobility
have been included.
The commander-in-chief of the army and navy in the
East Indies is the Governor-General, but besides this
personage, who, as the head of the State, is the responsible
head of the army, is the " Leger Commandant," or Com-
mandant of the army, a lieutenant-general, under whom
are four major-generals.
The War Department consists of nine divisions, namely —
Secretary's Department.
Infantry.
Artillery.
Engineers.
Commissariat and Administration (corresponding to our
Army Service Corps).
Medical Corps.
General Staff.
Cavalry.
Topographical Service.
Each division is under the command of its o\\ti chief.
The field army in Java is divided into four brigades, which
have their head-quarters at Batavia, Magelang, Sourabaya,
and Bandoeng.
The seat of the war commandant is at present at Batavia,
but it is expected that it will shortly be transferred to
Bandoeng, together with the first brigade.
The brigades are made up as follows : — Twenty field
1210 JAVA
battalions of four companies, four field batteries of four
guns each, four mountain batteries of four guns each,
four field squadrons of cavalry, four companies of engineers,
together with the customary auxiliary units, army service,
administration, medical corps, etc. Besides the troops
already mentioned there are three depot battalions in Java,
divided between Buitenzorg, Magelang, Djockjakarta, and
Solo ; whilst there is a fourth depot battalion at Fort de
Kock, on the borders of Acheen, in Sumatra. The chief
purpose of these battalions is doubtless the training of
recruits, but they happen also to be stationed at posts of
poUtical importance.
All told, the army of the Dutch East Indies numbers about
30,000 men.
The ordnance of the artillery consists of 3.7 cm. quick-
firing guns, whilst the arms of the soldiers are the magazine
rifle '95 m., the chopper revolver, and sabre.
The Dutch Government usually arm the infantry when
going into wild country with the carbine and a short, very
sharp native sabre, called a klewang, or else with the rifle
and chopper revolver, both with a bayonet.
The klewang is, however, a particularly deadly and
redoubtable weapon in a hand-to-hand fight, and I under-
stand from officers that a Marechaussee commander prefers,
when fighting in the bush, not to shoot, but makes his men
sling their carbines and attack only with the klewang in
hand.
They creep silently through the bush until near their
prey ; than at a signal from the captains in charge the Mena-
donese and Amboinese screech out, in a shrieking ear- and
soul- piercing yell, their war cry, '* Madjoe Marechaussee "
(Advance Marechaussees!), and the impetuous advance which
this instantly causes is so well known to the foe, whose
acquaintance with the klewayig is not new, that they flee
as before the most terrific rifle fire.
MISCELLANEOUS
1211
The following table shows the standard of pay and pensions
in the Dutch East Indian army : —
Army Pay List.
Pay per Year,
Pension per
Widow's Pen-
Standing.
calculated in
Year in
sion per Year
Sterling.
Sterling.
in Sterling.
£
£
£
Commander of the army .
2,680
Lieutenant-generals .
2,000
750
150
Major-generals .
1,250
600
133
Colonels .
1,000
375
115
Lieutenant - colonels
750
275
100
Majors
650
233
91
j> • •
600
Captains .
475
166
75
>» • •
450
»» • •
400
First lieutenants of cavalry, artil-
lery, engineers and topo-
graphical service
225
After six years' service .
250
After nine years' service .
300
After twelve years' service
350
125
58
Of infantry ....
210
After six years' service
240
After nine years' service
300
After twelve years' service .
350
125
58
Second lieutenants of cavalry,
artillery, engineers and topo-
graphical service
190
100
35
Of infantry ....
175
100
35
Magazine masters :
Captains ....
400
,, . . . .
350
Lieutenants ....
200
After six years' service
225
Aft^r nine years' service
250
After twelve years' service .
300
Surgeons :
First class ....
425
After eight years' service
450
After twelve years' service .
500
After sixteen years' service .
550
Second class ....
275
After four years' service
325
Military apothecaries :
First class ....
400
After ten years' service
425
After fourteen years' service
475
After eighteen ji
;ars' s
ervice
600
1212
JAVA
Army Pay List — continued.
Standing.
Pay per Year
calculated in
Sterling.
Pension per
Year in
Sterling.
Widow's Pen-
sion per Year
in Sterling.
Military apothecaries — continued
Second class .
After three years' service
After six years' service
After nine years' service
Military veterinary surgeons
After fifteen years' service
Under-lieutenant of cavalry, artil
lery and engineers
Under-lieutenants of infantry
Military architects
Under-lieutenants, apothecaries
assistants
Adjutant non-commissioned offi
cers ....
,f »> »>
Sergeant-major
Sergeant
Corporal
First-class soldier
Second-class soldier .
250
275
300
325
400
450
190
175
250
250
175
120
56
30
21
12 to 7i
11 to 7i
100
100
55
15
50
50
24
22
20
14
Navy. — The Dutch navy in the East Indies consists of
some five or six so-called battleships, several protected
ships, survey vessels and torpedo- and gun- boats. In
addition to this in the roads of Sourabaya there lies an
antiquated old guardship, a relic of a by-gone age, which
mounts a couple of small guns for saluting purposes. From
the foregoing it may be gathered the navy is by no means a
powerful one ; it is, however, quite sufficient for the duties
it has to perform.
MISCELLANEOUS 1213
The personnel of the navy consists of —
One flag officer.
18 chief officers.
222 subaltern officers.
97 engineers.
2,100 European petty officers and men.
1,000 native petty officers and men.
Besides these 25 petty officers and men of the marines
have to be kept as a guard for the protection of the Dutch
Embassy in Pekin.
The commander of the navy in the Dutch East Indies is
a flag officer, called vice-admiral, who is likewise the chief
of the Marine or Navy Department, Batavia.^
The squadron is under the command of a captain-
commander of the sea squadron, who is subordinate to the
vice-admiral.
At Sourabaya there is a marine establishment, which is
intended for building, constructing, repairing, laying up,
and equipping ships, tools, boilers, etc., for the navy and
Government marine fleet, for pilotage, buoying, coast
lights, and the harbour departments : all of which services
are under the supervision of the Department of Marine.
Private ships are allowed to make use of the docks, the
mast and boiler derrick, careening pontoon, and boiler
pontoon if the private establishments in the locality do not
possess the necessary equipment.
There are two iron floating docks, one of 5,000 and one of
1,400 tons, while an iron floating 3,000-ton dock, likewise
belonging to the marine establishment, is stationed at
Sabang and is worked by a private company.
In addition to the above docks there is also at Tand-
jong Priok a Government 4,000-ton dock, which is worked
by the Tandjong Priok Dry Dock Company.
' A CMef of the Marine, or Port Admiral, has been established at Batavia
since the year 1762.
1214 JAVA
For ships up to a maximum weight of 2,000 tons and a
maximum length of 90 metres there is also a slip available.
The table on the following two pages shows the ships
composing the East India Squadron, the vessels in and
out of service in the East Indian Marine, and the gunboats
in service in 1911 — 1912.
EoYAL Magnetic and Meteorological Observatory
AT Batavia. — When the newly-appointed Governor-General
of Netherlands India, Charles Ferdinand Pahud, visited
Berlin in 1856 it appears that Alexander von Humboldt
discussed with him the desirability of an observatory being
established at Batavia, wherein regular meteorological and
magnetic observations should be made. This, he stated,
would as a matter of course prove a very useful contribu-
tion to the knowledge of the elements in the tropics. The
result of this discussion was that Professor Buys Ballot
submitted certain proposals to the Minister of the Colonies
in 1857, which, being eventually accepted, led to the estab-
lishment of the Eoyal Magnetic and Meteorological Observa-
tory in 1865, and since the 1st January, 1866, regular
observations of the various meteorological elements have
been made, while in July, 1867, magnetic observations were
also started.
The latter are not quite complete, however, owing to
illness among the European staff in charge, which inter-
rupted the observations in 1883 ; while in 1899 — 1901, owing
to the great disturbances caused by the newly-established
electric tramways, the records for two years were obliged
to be entirely obliterated.
Kegisters are further kept of the temperature, moisture,
barometer level, sunshine, direction of wind, velocity of
wind, rainfall, electricity in the air, and terrestrial currents.'
1 Tliese observations are annually published in the year-book of " Obser-
vations " of the Observatory ; and the rainfall in a special book under the
title of " Rain Observations."
MISCELLANEOUS
1215
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MISCELLANEOUS 1217
There are also the seismological observations, which,
until the end of 1908, were made chiefly by means of a
Milne seismograph, and one by Rebeur Ehlert, besides
an astatic seismograph by Van Wiechert.^
Police. — The general " poUcing " of Java, by which term
is meant the measures taken to secure public peace, order
and safety, or in a narrower sense the measures aimed at
the prevention and detection of crimes and other dis-
turbances of the peace, is carried on under two divisions,
namely, the Government poHce and the Javan municipal
poHce. The former, however, is again divided into pre-
ventive, or general, and repressive, or criminal, police.
The Government police is controlled by European and
Javan officials in the Department of the Interior, namely,
the chief of the residential and local administration (partly
also the " controllers "), the hopatis, patehs, and the district
and sub-district heads, assisted by an extensive European
and native personnel.
In chief towns of any importance European bailiffs and
police inspectors are found, for instance at Batavia there
are one bailiff, three assistant bailiffs, two water bailiffs,
and the necessary police inspectors. These baihffs go by
the title in Java of " schout." ^
Furthermore, all administrative officials, as a rule, have
one or more native policemen at their orders ; save for
a few exceptions, since the reorganisation in 1897, the fol-
lowing system of attachment has been adopted in principle : —
To a resident, one mounted chief policeman and three
men.
' A work by Dr. van der Stok, entitled "Wind, Weather, and Currents
in the East India Archipelago," in which observations from 1814 to 1890,
taken from ships' journals kept on board the warships are worked up,
together with wind observations relating to sixty points on the coast, is of
considerable value. There is also a small work on the rainfall of Java by
Dr. van Bemmelen, in which the average monthly rainfall and the number
of rainy days is given.
- " Water-schout " is water-police inspector.
J. — VOL. II. O
1218 JAVA
To an adipati (or regent), one mounted chief policeman
and three men.
To a patch, one poHceman.
To a wedono (or district chief), one mounted policeman
and three men.
To an assistant ivedono (or sub-district head), one mounted
and one foot policeman.
Taken together these policemen form a very large number ;
at the end of 1907 their number in Java and Madura out-
side the three ordinary chief towns amounted in round
figures to 1,800 mounted and 8,800 foot poHcemen, or a
total of 5,600 men.
In almost all residencies in Java there are further special
police officials appointed with the title of " Mantri Police,"
who in this sphere of work find an excellent training for
the office of assistant district chief. In nine residencies
these are, for the better securing of peace and order, armed
native police corps, organised, it is true, on a military
footing, but under civil administration. These corps
consist mostly of an instructor, a sergeant, one or two
corporals, and 20 or 24 policemen, recruited from districts
other than those where they serve ; the corps at Batavia,
under the name of the " Corps of Pikemen," numbers five
sergeants, nine corporals, and 176 soldiers.
For extraordinary circumstances there are also armed
corps, as in the large towns the '' schutterij," in which all
Dutch civilians under 45 years of age are obliged to serve,
and in Madura the Barisans, like the Javan " schutterij."
The policing of Java as compared with that of British
India may be considered a very easy matter. The per-
petrators of a crime are invariably found out at once and
delivered up to justice, which naturally acts as a deterrent
to evil-doers.
Convicts with life sentences are seen daily working on
the roads without any supervision, and when their work is
MISCELLANEOUS 1219
finished they return voluntarily to their prison quarters.
They are aware it is no use trying to escape, for should they
do so they would be immediately caught again and punished
with severer tasks and poorer fare.
Education. — There are excellent schools in Java all
over the country, where European boys and girls up to any
age can be educated under a very highly efficient staff of
professors, schoolmasters, and schoolmistresses.
The schools and staff are under the control of the Govern-
ment Department of Education, and there are no better
institutions of their kind outside Europe.
There are also schools for natives, and one or two for
Chinese.
o o2
Part VI
Information for Travellers. The Way to get to Java. Hotels. Money in
Use. Conveyances in Java. Custom House. Passports. Malay
Language, and Sentences in General Use all over the Island. Biblio-
graphy. Tourist Bureau.
Information for Travellers. — The question where is
one to go for a holiday often puzzles the jaded traveller who
has seen everything and been everywhere in Europe and the
United States, perhaps even Canada and South America as
well. To those who know there is but one answer to the
question : Go to Java. Java the wonderland of the silent
East ; Java the paradise of the world ; Java the land of
grand, magnificent, and luxuriant vegetation ; of mild,
quaintly picturesque, and clean races ; of marvellous and
stupendous ancient Hindu ruins, of curious customs, of
strange religions, and of the gorgeous courts of royal
sultanates !
The traveller has nowhere in the world such a pleasant
time as in Java. Does he seek health, he has a calm sea
voyage, with a choice thereafter of a number of sanatoria
with any climate he wishes in the highlands and mountainous
districts of Java. Does he want a land of scenery, Java is
second to none in this world. Thrown in with these advan-
tages, as it were, are the scented Spice Islands of the Eastern
seas with their palm-fringed shores, their vivid tropical
green sloping hills, and cloud-capped mountains. Does
he want fresh markets for commerce and mercantile enter-
prise, he has the rich islands of Netherlands India, with
Java itself containing a fast-increasing population of over
thirty millions.
All this can be reached in the finest and most comfortable
ships, over the smoothest seas in the world, if the proper time
is chosen.
The often-quoted beauties of the inland sea of Japan are as
nothing to the beauties of Java, whilst in all other respects
MISCELLANEOUS
1221
other lands find a rival in this veritable paradise of the
world.
The Way to get to Java. — The island of Java can be
entered either at the capital, Batavia, at the west end, or
at Sourabaya, the main commercial centre, on the east
coast.
Passengers from China, Singapore, India or Europe
always land at Batavia ; those from Australia at Sourabaya.
From Southampton and Marseilles or Genoa there are
the weekly steamers of the " Nederland " and " Eotterdam
Lloyd," which proceed without any change direct to Java.
For a description of these magnificent steamers, see the
section on " Shipping." The fares are —
From Southampton : —
To.
First Class.
Second Class.
Single.
Return.
Single.
Return.
Batavia, Samarang, or Soura-
baya ....
£ 8.
65
£ 8.
97
£ s.
37 10
£ 8.
64
From Genoa or Marseilles :
To.
First Class.
Second Class.
Single.
Return.
Single.
Return.
£ «.
Batavia, Samarang, or Soura-
baya . . . . 61
£ s.
91
£ s.
33
£ s.
55 10
The Netherland Company's agent in London is Mr. H. V.
Elkins, 2, Panton Street, Haymarket, London, S.W., to
whom applications should be made for passages or further
particulars.
1222 JAVA
Messrs. Thomas Cook & Son, whose headquarters are
Ludgate Circus, London, E.C., also are agents for all the
shipping companies having connection with Java, as well
as for the railways of the island, and they will supply
guide-books and all information.
Hotels. — The hotels of Java, which are all under Dutch
management, may be reckoned among the very best in the
East, and it may be even justly said that they surpass the
greater number in the East in cleanliness, general comfort, as
well as in the excellence of the cuisine. Nor is the tariff
high, the best accommodation, including private bathing-
rooms, etc., being all obtained for a charge of 6 rupees, or
guilders (10s.) per day. The charges for wines and spirits
are also very reasonable. Thus the cost of living in the
island may be reckoned at, say, from 125. to 15s. a day for a
person of moderate expenditure.
Money. — The English sovereign is accepted everywhere at
the full value of 12 guilders.
Conveyances. — Motor-cars or carriages may be secured
at all the principal hotels at very moderate rates.
Motor-cars cost per hour about the same as in Europe,
while carriages cost about a guilder (Is. 8^.) an hour. Smart
up-to-date private carriages called " my lords " can also be
hired at IJ guilders (2s. 6d.) an hour.
Four-wheeled hackney coaches are obtainable at 1 guilder
an hour, and two-wheelers (" sados ") for 60 cents (Is.) an
hour.
On the ship's arrival at Batavia, that is, at its harbour,
Tandjong-Priok, porters from most of the principal hotels
come directly on board to take charge of one's luggage.
Custom House. — The Custom House is then passed
through. This is quite an informal affair, and the Dutch
officials are most obliging, keeping the travellers waiting
only a few minutes, unless firearms are being brought into
the country.
MISCELLANEOUS 1223
The train is then taken to Batavia from the harbour.
These trains run every twenty minutes. The luggage left
with the hotel porter will be later on delivered in the hotel.
From the station at Batavia to the hotel the traveller
can take a carriage or one of the two -wheeled dos-d-dos
(*' sados "), any number of which will be found awaiting the
trains as they come in.
Passports. — After settling down at the hotel, travellers
should visit their consul and obtain through him a " toela-
tings kaart," or pass, giving permission to visit and remain
in Java for six months.
For this the following particulars must be furnished : —
(1) Name in full.
(2) Where born.
(3) Age.
(4) Occupation.
(5) Where last resided.
(6) Date of arrival.
(7) Port at which arrived.
(8) Steamer by which arrived.
(9) Name of captain of steamer.
Malay Language. — Without attempting a full vocabu-
lary, a few words and expressions are given for the benefit of
EngUsh travellers. It may be observed that the Malay
language is about the simplest in the world.
The vowels are pronounced generally as in French :
a full, as in father ; e as in neck ; i as ee in feel ; o full, as
in open ; oe is pronounced as u in full.
On Arrival at Tandjong-Priok Harbour = Sampeh di Tandjong-
Priok.
Boat = Sampan.
Boatman = Toekangsampan.
Coolie = Coolie.
Copper coin = Doewit tembaga.
Custom house = Kantor douane.
Electric train = Tram lekstrik.
First class = Klas satoe.
Gold coin = Wang mas.
Hotel = Roemah makau.
House = Roemah.
Letter = Soerat.
Luggage = Barang.
Money = Wang.
Office = Kantor.
1224
JAVA
On Arrival at Tandjong-Priolc Harbour = Sampeh di Tandjong-
Priok — continued .
Paper money = Wang kartas.
Photograpli — Gambar gambar.
Pbotograpber — Toekan gambar.
Pier = Darat.
Railway = Spoor.
Railway carriage = Karetta api.
Second class = Klas doewa.
Shore = Darat.
Silver coin = Wang perak.
Steamship = Kapal api.
Stop = Brenti.
Tailor = Toekan pakian.
Telegram = Soerat kawat.
Telegraph office = Kantor kawat.
Ten-cents piece = Sketip.
Twenty -five cents piece = Talen
(stali).
Third class = Klas tiga.
Ticket = Kartjes.
Policeman = Oppas policie.
Police station = Kantor policie.
Postal card = Kartoe pos.
Post office = Kantor pos.
I will go = Saja pigi.
Go quickly = Pigi lekas.
How much (price) = Brapa doewit.
How much (quantity) — Brapa ada.
I won't do it = Tida maoe.
I won't give it = Tida kassi.
I don't allow it = Saja tida kassi.
That's enough = Ini sampeh.
Timetable = Soerat kreta api.
Tram = Trem.
Watch = Djaga.
All right, it is enough = Soedah.
Come here = Mari sini.
Don't want it = Tida maoe.
Go = Pigi.
Wait a little = Nanti sedikit.
Will go ashore = Pigi darat.
It is no use bothering me any more
= Soedah, habis, perkara.
Hold your tongue = Diam kwe.
Be off = Pigi.
At the Railway Station = Di Station Spoor {Kareta Api).
Here, coolie, take my luggage =
Sini, coolie, angkat barang.
Two men only = Doewa orang
sadja.
Five pieces = Lima potong.
Are you the mandoer from Hotel
des Indes ? = Kwe mandoer
Hotel des Indes ?
Yes, Sir = Saja Toean.
Here is the receipt of my luggage ;
you take care of it, pay the coolies
for me, and bring it to the hotel =
Ini recu deri bagage ; kwe djaga
bajar coolie dan bawa di hotel.
Here is a quarter (025 fl.) to pay the
coolies = Ini satoe talen (stali)
(025 fl.) boewat bajar coolie.
Where is your bus (waggon) ? =
Mana omnibus ? Kareta i?
Everything all right ? = Soedah
klar !
Go on, then = Madjoe.
At the Hotel = Di Roemah Makan.
Have you a room ? = Ada kamar ?
Where is the landlord ? = Mana
toean roemah makan ?
Boy, take my luggage to No. 50 ;
five pieces — Jonges, angkat bar-
ang di kamar ; 50 ada lima
potong.
Have you got them ? = Soedah
ada ?
I want some tea or coffee = Saja
minta te (koppie).
Is there no barber ? = Tida ada
toekan tjoekoer 1
Yes, Sir, he wiU be here after a
while = Ada toean, nanti datang.
Call the washerman for me = Pan-
gil menatoe.
Here, washerman, are 20 pieces, I
want them back in 3 days ; that
means on the 29th at 5 o'clock
in the afternoon = Sini, menatoe
20 potong, minta kombali 3
hari, djadi hari 29 poekoel lima
sore.
All right. Sir = Baai Toean.
Boy, I want some writing paper.
MISCELLANEOUS
1225
At the Hotel = Di Roemah Makan — continued.
some ink, and a pen = Jonges
minta kartas toelie dan penna
tinta.
I want some ice water = Minta ajer
ice.
I want a bottle Apollinaris = Minta
ajer blanda.
Where is the w.c. ! — Mana kamar
ketjil ?
Where is the bathroom ? == Mana
kamar mandi !
Open this bottle = Boeka ini bottel.
Open this trunk = Boeka ini kop-
per.
In the Evening = Sore.
At what time is dinner, boy ? =
Poekoel brapa makan, jonges ?
Don't forget before dinner to clean
my bed cxirtain properly from
mosquitos — Djangan loepa bekin
brisih klamboe baaibaai deri
njamok.
Remember, if you don't look after
the mosquitos, you don't get
your fee = Ingat kaloe kwe tida
djaga njamok kwe tida dapat
present.
Yes, Sir, I will take care = Saja
Toe an, saja djaga.
Wake me up to-morrow at 6 o'clock
sharp. I want to leave by the
first train to Buitenzorg = Kassi
bangoen bissok pagi poekoel 6
betoel. Saja maoe pigi di Buiten -
zorg.
All right. Sir = Baai Toean.
Can I have some breakfast before I
leave ? = Bisa dapat makan doe-
loean ?
Yes, Sir, breakfast is always ready
at 6 o'clock = Saja toean, Maka-
nan deri poekoel 6 soedali klaar.
Shall I order a carriage for you to
bring you to the station and a
luggage-car for your luggage t =
Apa saja misti pesen karetta
boewat pigi di spoor dan karetta
bagage djoega.
Yes I want a carriage and a luggage
car = Ja saja minta karetta dan
karetta bagagi.
At Dinner = Makan Malum.
Boy, I want some bread — Jonges
minta rotti.
Let me have the wine-list = Bawa
soerat anggoer.
Bring me a bottle claret No. 10 =
Kassi satoe bottel anggoer merra
No. 10.
Give me some ice, boy = Minta ice,
jonges.
Give me some fruit = Minta boea.
Have you a match for me ? = Kwe
ada korrek api ?
At Breakfast := Makan Pagi.
I want some half -boiled eggs = !
Minta telor stengah mateng. '
Let me have a couple of fried eggs 1
or ham and eggs = Kassi doewa !
mata sapi atauw mata sapi dan
ham.
want some tea, boy = Jonges
minta te.
Where is the menu ?
makan ?
Bring me some soup first = Bawa
sop doeloe.
I don't want any rice = Tida makan
nassi.
Let me have some rice, but none of
At the Lunch = Makan Siang
Mana soerat
the hot dishes = Minta nassi tapi
tida maoe sambal.
I want only chicken, eggs and fish =
Minta ajam, telor dan ikan sadja.
Let me have some beefsteak and
salad = Minta biefstiik sama
salad.
1226
JAVA
In a Carriage = Di Karetta.
To the left = Kiri.
To the ri^ht = Kanan.
To the British consul = Pigi di kan-
tor konsul Inggrie.
To the German consul == Pigi di
kantor konsul Djarman.
To the French consul = Pigi di kan-
tor konsul Pransman.
To the American consul = Pigi di
kantor konsul Amerika.
You know, where it is ? = Kwe tao
di mana ?
Go back = Balik.
Go home = Poelang.
Go on = Madjoe.
Stop = Brenti.
Bring me to the Concordia Club =
Pigi di kamar bola Concordia.
Bring me to the Harmonic Club =
Pigi di kamar bola Harmonie.
Wait till I come back = Toengoe
sampe saja datang.
When rain comes, close the carriage
properly = Kaloe hoedjan, toe-
toep karetta betoel.
Open the carriage = Boeka karetta.
Open the hood = Boeka kap.
Clean the seat first = Bekin brissi
bankoe doeloe.
Go to Kemajoran station = Pigi
station Kemajoran.
Go to Weltevreden station = Pigi
station Weltevreden.
Go to Batavia S. S. = Pigi station
Batavia S. S.
Go to Batavia N. I. S. = Pigi
station Batavia N. I. S.
General.
Good morning = Slamat pagi.
Good day = Tabeh.
Good evening = Slamat malam.
Good-bye = Slamat tingal.
Periodical time = Temponja.
All night = Satoe malam trees.
Day after to-morrow = Harieloesa.
Day before yesterday = Kemaren
doeloe.
Evening = Sore.
Last week = Mingo doeloe.
Last month = Boelan doeloe.
Last night = Kemaren doeloe.
Midday = Tengari.
Month = Boelan.
To-day = Ini hari.
To-morrow = Bissok.
To-morrow morning = Bissok pagi.
To-morrow evening = Bissok sorre.
Yesterday = Kemaren.
Day = Hari.
One day = Satoe hari.
Sunday — Hari mingo.
Monday = Hari senen.
Tuesday = Hari selassa.
Wednesday = Hari reboe.
Days of the Week = Harinja.
Thursday = Hari kemis.
Friday — Hari djoemahat.
Saturday = Hari saptoe.
Every day = Hari hari.
One week = Satoe mingo.
Black = Itam.
Brown = Merra toewa.
Grey = Aboe.
Red = Merra betoel.
Colours = Roepa Roepa.
White = Poeti.
Yellow = Koening.
Light = Moeda.
Bed = Tampat tidoer.
Bench = Bankoe.
Chair = Krossie.
Desk = Medja toelis.
Room Requisites = Barang Dikamar,
Drawer = Lemari.
Pitcher = Karap.
Screen = Sampiran.
Table = Medja.
MISCELLANEOUS
1227
General — continued .
Table Requisites = Barang Medja.
Fork = Garpoe.
Glass = Glas.
Ice water = Ajer ice.
Knife = Piso.
Plate = Piring.
Spoon = Sendok.
Beef = D aging.
Beer = Bier.
Bread = Roti.
Chicken = Ajam.
Eggs = Telor.
Fish = Ikan.
Miik = Soesoe.
All = Semoewa.
A little = Sedikit.
Deep = Dalam.
Half = Stengah.
Large = Besar.
Long = Pandjang.
Tablecloth -= Taplak.
Teacup = Mangkok.
Teaspoon = Sendok te.
Tumbler = Glas besar.
Wine glass = Glas anggoer.
Food = Makanan.
Mustard
Mosterd.
Pepper = Lada.
Rice = Nassi.
Salt = Garam.
Sugar = Goela.
Vinegar = Tjoeka.
Wine, beer, spirits = Minoeman.
Quantity.
Narrow = Sissek.
Short = Pendek.
SmaU = Ketjil.
Thick = Tebul.
Thin = Tipis.
Wide = Lebar.
Weather = Tempo
Cold = Dingin.
Fine weather = Hari bagoes.
Hot = Panas.
Rain = Hoedjan.
Rainy weather = Bari hoedjan.
Storm = Angin kras.
Thunder = Gloedoek.
Waves = Ombak.
Wind = Angin.
Season = Moessim.
Dry season = Moessim kring. | Wet season = Moessim hoedjan.
Bridge = Djembatan.
Field = Kebon.
Garden = Kebon.
Hill == Boekit.
Hot spring = Soember panas.
Island = Poeloe.
Lake = Laoet.
Mountain = Goenoeng.
Path or road = Djalan.
Human Body
Actor = Orang kemedie.
Aged people = Orang toewa.
Arm = Langang.
Back — Blakang.
Bachelor = Boedjang.
Rice-field = Sawah.
River = Kali.
Sand = Passir.
Sea = Laoet besar.
Stone = Batoe.
Town = Kotta.
Village = Kampong.
Waterfall = Ajer pemandjoor.
Well = Soemoer.
■- Badan Orang.
Beggar = Orang minta minta.
Behind = Di blakang.
Body = Badan.
Boy = Anak laki.
Beard = Djengot.
1228
JAVA
General — continued.
Human Body — Badan Oraag — continued.
ChUd = Anak.
Daughter = Anak prempoean.
Doctor = Toean dokter.
Ear = Koeping.
Eye = Mata.
Face = Moeka.
Female = Prempoean.
Finger = Djari.
Foot or feet = Kaki.
Forefinger = Teloendjoek.
Forehead = Djidat.
Front of body or chest = Dada.
Girl = Anak prempoean.
Girl servant = Baboe.
Hair = Ramboet.
Hand = Tangan. !
Writing Material
Ink =. Tinta. i
Paper = Kretas toelis.
Pen = Penna.
Head = Kapala.
I = Saja.
Interpreter = Djoeroe basa.
Knee or knees = Dengkoel.
Legs (generally) = Paiia.
Loins = Pingang.
Male (human) = Laki-laki.
Mouth = Moeloet.
Neck = Leber.
Nose = Hidoeng.
Shoulders = Poendak.
Teeth = Gigi.
Thumb = Dempol.
Woman = Prempoean.
You = Kwe ; loe.
= Barang ToeUs.
Pencil = Pottelood.
Postage-stamps = Kapala radja.
Postal cards = Karto pos.
Animals, Harness, etc. = Binatang, Pakejan Koeda.
Bridle = Leis.
Carriage = Karetta.
Dog = Andjing.
Driver = Koessir.
Groom = Toekang koeda.
Harness — Pakejan koeda.
Horse = Koeda.
Saddle = Sella.
AAHiip = Tjambok.
Miscellaneous = Segala Roepa.
Bamboe = Bamboe.
Bath = Mandi.
Bathroom = Kamar mandi.
Bedclothes = Seprei.
Blanket = Shmoet.
Bookseller — Toko boekoe.
Boots = Sepatoe.
Breakfast = Makan pagi.
Button = Kantjing.
Candle = Lilin.
Carry = Pikoel.
Chain = Ranteh.
Clean = Brissi.
Coal = Areng.
CoUar = Kraag.
Colour = Roepa.
Comb = Sisir.
Cushion = Bantal.
Dinner = Makan malam.
Dining-room = Kamar makan.
Drug store = Roemah obat.
East = Wettan.
Envelope = Emplop.
Fan = Kipas.
Fire = Api.
Flea = Lalar.
Flower = Kembang.
Gate = Pintoe.
Gate-keeper = Djaga pintoe.
Gloves = Sarong tangan.
Gold = Mas.
Handkerchief = Stangan.
Hat or cap = Topi.
House = Roema.
Indian corn = Djagong.
Key = Koentji.
Lamp = Lampoe.
Leaf = Down.
Lighthouse = Lampoe sowar.
Lobster == Kepiting.
Looking-glass = Katja.
Moon = Bolan.
Mosque = Missigit.
Mosquito = Njamok.
Mosquito net = Klamboe.
Nail = Pakoe.
MISCELLANEOUS
1229
General — continued.
Miscellaneous = Segala Roepa — coniinued.
Neckties = Dassie.
North = Lor.
Oil = Minjak.
Onion = Bawang.
Orange = Djeroek.
Paper = Kartas.
Picture = Gambar.
Pin = Penetee.
Pine tree = Tjemara.
Pocket knife = Piso lipat.
Potato = Kentang.
Receipt = Resie.
Ring = Tjintjin.
Room = Kamar.
Rose = Kembang roos.
Salt = Garam.
Scissors = Goenting.
Shirt = Kemedja.
Shoe = Sepatoe.
Silk = Soetra.
Slippers = Slop.
Soap = Saboen.
Socks = Sarong kaki.
South = Kidoel.
Spectacles = Katji mata.
Stars = Bintang.
Sun = Mata hari.
Sword = Pedang.
That man = Ini orang.
Thief = Pentjoeri.
Tooth brush == Bros gigi.
Tooth powder = Obat gigi.
Towel = Handoek.
Tree = Pohon.
Trousers = Tjelana.
Trunk = Kopper.
Velvet ~ Bloedroe.
Vinegar = Tjoeka.
Umbrella = Pajong.
Waistcoat = Rompie.
Watchmaker — Toekang lontjeng.
Water closet = Kakoes ; kamar
ketjil.
West = Koelon.
Window = Djendella.
Wood = Kajoe.
Numbers = Nommer.
One = Satoe.
Two = Doewa.
Three = Tiga.
Four = Ampat.
Five = Lima.
Six = Anam.
Seven = Toedjoe.
Eight = Delapan.
Nine = Sembilan.
Ten = Sapoeloe.
Eleven = Sablas.
Twelve = Doewablas.
Thirteen = Tigablas.
Fourteen = Ampatblas.
Fifteen = Limablas.
Sixteen = Anamblas.
Seventeen = Toedjoeblas.
Eighteen = Delapanblas.
Nineteen = Sembilanblas.
Twenty-one = Doewa poeloe satoe.
Twenty- two = Doewa poeloe doewa.
Thirty-four = Tiga poeloe ampat.
Forty-six = Ampat poepoe anam.
Hundred = Seratoes.
Thousand = Sereboe.
Hours = Djam.
Clock or watch = Lontjeng.
Time = Tempo.
Minute = Minuut.
What is the time ? = Poekoel
brapa.
One o'clock = Poekoel satoe.
Two o'clock = Poekoel doewa.
Half-past two = Stengah tiga.
Quarter-past two = Poekoel doewa.
Morning = Pagi.
Noon = Siang.
Afternoon = Sore.
Distance.
One English mile = One paal.
1230 JAVA
General — continued
Money = Wang.
1 guilder (Is. 8d.) = 40 cents
American gold.
Guilder = Roepia (100 cents).
Cent = Sen.
10 cents = Sketip.
25 cents = Talen (stall).
50 cents = Stengah roepia.
100 cents = Satoe roepia.
Bibliography. — Two recent books in English on these
East Indies which will prove interesting are —
" Twentieth Century Impressions of Netherlands
India."
" Ledger and Sword," by Beckles Willson.
Tourist Bureau. — It will then be advisable to visit the
official Tourist Bureau at Batavia on arrival, where arrange-
ments will be made and all particulars and information
furnished for innumerable excursions in this beautiful land.
No one should pass Singapore without visiting Java, and
once you have tasted of its waters you will long to return
to them again.
For the true European with Javan tastes and interests
there can be no such thing as a final parting, for if he has
appreciated the quiet charm of Java and her country, and
if he has seen the beauty of life that her sons, the descen-
dants of the highest nobility of Hindustan, lead here, he
can never altogether be separated from her, for the spirit
of the place will have penetrated him and he will carry
Java with him wherever he goes to the end of his days.
^;
i
GEOLOGICAL CHART
■r""" VOLCANO CHART
JAVA & M ADO ERA
INDEX
Abreu, Antonio de, 157
Acheen, King of, 183
Ageng Muhammed, 102
Aji Sdka, 27
Ancient inhabitants, origin of, 7
Angkor Wat, 15
Anjer, English factory at, 241
Anklung, 11
Antiquities of Java, 801 — 802
Arabian intercourse with Java, 85
Arkins, E., gravestone at Bencoolen,
609
Army, 1208—1212
Auchmuty, Sir S., 325
B
Baillie, Mrs. E. M., gravestone at
Bencoolen, 613
W., gravestone at Ben-
coolen, 612
Bandoeng, 526
Bangkalan, 507
Banjermassin, English colony at,
241, 507
Banjoewangie, 505
Banks, 1167—1175
Bantam, 139, 528
agents of E. E. I. Co.'s factory,
593—597
EngUsh ejected from, 235
treaty with King of, 185
Batavia, 140, 451—460
Society of Ai-ts and Sciences,
1160—1167
Beaulieu, Commodore, 711 — 713
Begoos Rang In, 361, 386
Bencoolen, 605 — 607
English gravestones at, 608 —
617
Best, Capt. Tho«., 187
Bibliography, 1230
Bing Am, 140
Births, maiTiages and deaths, 1039
—1040
Bligh, Capt., 770—771
Bogle, J. V. L., gravestone at Ben-
coolen, 609
Robert, gravestone at Ben-
coolen, 608
Bojolali, 488
Bopatis, 5
Boro BuduT, 4, 803—812
Bowen, Capt., 362
British consular estabHshnients,
1192—1200
representatives, 1201 —
1204
Brooke, Sir J., rajah, 425
Buitenzorg, 5, 520
Byron, Commodore, 746
Cam, Don Diego, 149
Campbell, Lieut.-Col., epitaph, 459
Cape of Good Hope, Dutch settle-
ment of, 222
Carteret, Phihp, 748—750
Cavendish, Thomas, 165, 665 — 669
Ceylon, Dutch seizure of, 214
French expedition to, 216
Chandi Kalasan, 815 — 817
Pawon, 812 — 814
Sari, 817—819
1232
INDEX
Chandi Sewu, 829—831
Siva, 821—825
Vishnu, 825—827
Brahma, 827
Lumbung, 831—832
Bubrah, 832—833
Plaosan, 833—835
Sajivan, 835
Kalongan, 835
Mendut, 842—845
Perot, 846
Pring Apus, 846
Selo Gryo, 847
Ungarang, 847—849
Singa Sari, 849—850
Panataran, 850—853
Cheribon, palace at, 95
administration of, 481 —
483
Chermon, Kaja of, 75
China, first intercourse with, 49
Chinese, arrival of, 60
Council of Batavia, 141
customs, 1095—1101
early knowledge of Java,
132
estates, 141
rebeUions, 115, 141, 252
Clipperton, Capt. John, 739
Cocos Keeling Islands, 640 — 644
Coen, Jan, 199
Coffee production, 943—944
Consuls, foreign, 1191—1193
Conti, Nicolo, 146
Cook, Lieut. James, 753 — 769
Cooke, Capt. Edward, 738
Cowley, Capt., 725
Cox, Philip, gravestone at Ben-
coolen, 611
William, gravestone at Ben-
coolen, 614
Crawford, J., British Resident, 357,
378
Crime and punishment, 1073
Crisp, Edward, gravestone at Ben-
coolen, 611
" Culture system," 421
Cunningham, G., gravestone at
Bencoolen, 460
Currency, the, 1175
Curtis, Capt., and Pang6ran Chakra,
242
D
Da Cabral, Pedro, 152
Da Cunha, Tristan, 154
Daendels, Gen., 120, 272—275
Da Gama, Vasco, 149
Dampier, Capt. Wm., 726
Dancing in Java, 1024 — 1029
Danes, the, 139
Davidson, Geo. F., 780—796
De Albuquerque, Alfonso, 153
Francisco, 153
De Almeyda, Francisco, 154
De BouganviUe, Capt. Louis, 750 —
753
De Britho, 160
De Kock, governor, 411
De Magalhaes, his account of Java,
657—665
Demak, 489
De Maudelshoe, J. A., 717—722
De Sa> Francisco, 158
Devine, Jane, gravestone at Ben-
coolen, 611
De Wilde, Andries, 651—654
Dezentje, A. J. C, 438
Dieng, the, 837—842
Dipo Negoro, 411
Di Pordonene, Odoric, 146
Di Varthema, Ludovico, 147
Djockjakerta, trouble with Sultan
of, 378
description of, 513
Donston, Stokeham, gravestone at
Bencoolen, 610
Drake, Francis, 163, 665
Dress in Java, 995—1000
Dutch-
first expedition to Java, 171
second expedition to Java, 178
first commercial treaty with,
173
factory at Bantam, 185
governors of Ceylon, 221 — 222
in Japan, 208
INDEX
1233
Dutch — continued.
possessions in East, 229 — 230
E. E. Co., financial difficulties
of, 263—267
E. E. Co., organisation of, 287
— 272
rule in Java, 407 et seq.
Dwellings in Java, 991—994
E
Earl, G. Windsor, in Java, 796—800
Edible birds' nests, 1087—1088
Education, 1219
Elberfeld conspiracy, the, 243
English —
arrival of, in Java, 121
E. I. Co., 181
expeditions to E. Indies, 163,
165, 169, 325
factory at Bantam, 185
and Dutch, strife between, 188,
200
expeditions to E. Indies, list of,
279
occupation of Java, 350 — 407
Excise duty, 1181
Export duty, 1179—1180
Fa Hien, 133
Fauna of Java, 875 — 889
Fendall, John, Lieut. -Gov., 402
Finance, 1207—1208
Flora of Java, 868—874
Fort Marlborough {see Bencoolen).
Fort Rotterdam {see 3Iacassar).
Eraser, Lieut. -Col., inscription on
tomb, 503
Fruits of Java, 857—867
Funan, 16
Funnel, Capt. Wm., description of
Java, 732—734
Games in Java, 1017-
Garvet, 527
J. — VOL. II.
-1018
Gille.spie, Gen., 121
charges against Raffles, 398
Government, 1182—1191
Gressie, 495—496
H
Hamilton, Capt. Alex., 726—732
Robert, 615
Harbours, 1101—1103
Hippon, Capt. Anthony, 704 — 706
Hinduism, establishment of in Java,
27
Holloway, W., gravestone at Ben-
coolen, 610
Houtman, Cornelius, 170
travels in Java, 670 — 695
Ibu Batuta, 90
Ibu Mulana Malik Ibrahim, 92
Imports and exports, 1176
Industries of Java, 909—982
Inglis, Francis, gravestone at Ben-
coolen, 614
Inhabitants, present, origin of, 14
Irrigation, 1117—1122
Jaka Tingkir, 97
Jakatra {see Batavia).
Janssens, Gov. -Gen., 275
Japara, 485 — 486
Java, origin of name, 18
first visitors from the West,
20
returned to Dutch, 404
end of British occupation, 407
Javan finance during English occu-
pation, 395
war with Dutch, 409
Jennings, W. R., gravestone at
Bencoolen, 612
Joana, 490—492
Johnstone, Ann Herries, gravestone
at Bencoolen, 614
P P
1234
INDEX
K
Kablai Khan, 59
Kalang, 8
Keeling, Capt., 700—702
Kendal, 481
Kerta Sui-a, 107
Khumer Empire, 15
Knox, Capt. Robert, 723—725
Lancaster, Admiral, 182
John, gravestone at Ben-
coolen, 613
Land measurement, 1176
Language of Java, 1009—1012
Lassen, 494
Lewis, Jane, gravestone at Ben-
coolen, 612
Liang dynasty, 137
Lopez, Diogo, 155
M
Macassar, 603
Macartney, Earl, 771 — 776
MacGillavray, Henry, 124
Maclane, Miss Frances, gravestone
at Bencoolen, 611
Maclean, Lieut., memorial, 512
McLeod, Capt. Norman, 487
McPherson, Capt., tomb, 503
MageUan {see De Magalhaes).
Mahavansa, 13
Mahometanism, introduction of
into Java, 75
Mahometan sovereigns, 128
Majapahit, 57, 64, 71
Malacca, Dutch settlement of, 223
governors of, 225
returned to English, 406
Mangku Bumi, 119, 262
Manners and cu.stoms in Java, 983
Marco Polo, 145
Matarem, 27, 108
Maxwell, Capt. Murray, 777 — 780
Michelbm-ne, Sir E., at Bantam,
699—700
Middleton, Capt., 199, 698, 700, 702
Minerals of-Java, 890—908
Ming Dynasty, and Java, 139
Minto, Lord, 325, 329
proclamation, 355
death of, 400
Monteath, Alex., gravestone at
Bencoolen, 608
Munden, Sir W., 227
Mun'ay, Charles, gravestone at
Bencoolen, 615
Museum of Batavia Society of Arts
and Sciences, 1164—1167
Music in Java, 1012—1015
N
Navy, 1212—1214
Nienhof, John, 713—717
Nova, Juan, 152
Observatory, Eoyal, at Batavia,
1214
Oenarang, 487
Paku Negara, 261
Pangeran Adipatti, 374
Mangkubumi, 261
Prabu, 114
Pugar, 106, 109, 112
Ratu, massacre of Euro-
peans, 370
Papajaran, 53
Parr, Thomas, gravestone at Ben-
coolen, 617
Pasoeroean, 5, 495
Pekalongan, 139, 484
Personalia (H.B.M.'s consulate),
1204—1207
INDEX
1235
Phoeuicians, trade with, 21
Physical features of Java, 3 — 6
Piracy, 1090
Police, 1217—1218
Population statistics, 1041 — 1072
Pordonone, Odoric di, 146
Porteous, Major, gravestone at
Bencoolen, 608
Portilis, Gonsalo, 203
Portuguese, amval of, 53
Postal service, 1137—1141
Pranibanan, 4
ruins, 814—815
temples, 819—821
Press, the, 1155—1160
Probolingo, 497
Pulo Condore, English factory at,
240 ^
^V.i,0V3^,?//
R
Raban, Major, 363
Raden Patan, 78
Raffles, Sir T. Stamford, 121
birth, 287
at E. India House, 287
at Peuang, 288
Lieut. -Gov. of Java, 292
supersession, 295
Lieut. -Gov. of Bencoolen, 298
and Lord Hastings, 305
at Singapore, 309
and Sumatra, 315
return to England, 321
death of, 322
genealogical tree, 324
and improvements in Java, 401
Railways and tramways, 1132 —
1137
Ramus, C. R., gravestone at Ben-
coolen, 609
Rasaka, 8
Raymond, Capt., 169
Religion in Java, 1002—1009
Rembang, 493
Roads in Java, 1122—1132
Robinson, Capt., 121
Rogers, Commodore, 734 — 738
Roggewein, Commodore, 252, 739 —
744
Rubber production, 967 — 971
S
" Sacred Isles of the Gentiles," 22
St. Helena, 227
Salatija, 487
Samarang, 471 — 476
epitaphs at, 477—479
European governors, 479 — 480
Sambas, 597
Sarawak, trouble with England,
425, 449
massacre of Europeans,
427
Saris, Capt. John, 706 — 710
Senapati, 98
Schoven, W. C, 711
Scott, Capt. E., notes on Bantam,
696—698
Sheik Ibu Mulana, 78
Shipping, 1143—1152
Ships of E. India Squadron, 1215 —
1216
Si Kiva, 141
Singapore —
Dutch claim to, 405
British residents at, 622 — 623
merchants and occupiers of
land, 623—624
prices current at (1833), 632—
637
Slavery, 1091—1095
Smissaert, resident, 410
family, 433—436
Social life, 1153—1155
Soekaboemi, 526
Sourabaya, 462 — 471
Spanish Armada, 167
Speelman, Admiral, 238
Spilbergen, Geo., 710
Sports, 1018—1024
Srondol, 486
Staunton, Sir G., 776 — 777
Sugar factories, 923—927
Su Kru, 109
Sultan Ageng, 102
1236
INDEX
Sumenap, 506
Sunda group, 6
Sura Kerta, 108, 117, 510
Susuliunan Ha Slangku —
Rat I., 103
II., 106
III., Ill
Table of events, 129
Tack, Capt. Francois, 108
Taprobana, 26
Tapso, Capt. T., gravestone at
Bencoolen, 611
Tariff of import duties, 1177—1178
Tavernier, J. B., 722
Tea production, 950 — 953
Tegal, 483—484
Telegi-apbs and telephones, 1141 —
1143
Temple caves, 853 — 854
Tborne, Eobert, 163
Tbunberg, C. P., 769
Titles and rank, 988—990
Tjiandi Sewu, 4
Tjilatjap, 519
Tjop Wan j ok, 141
Toeban, 494
Tourist bureau at Batavia, 1230
Tradenius, Paulus, 203
Travellers, information for, 1220 —
1229
Tritr6stra, 34
Truua Java, 105
Tucker, Capt., and Moluccas, 276
Tumapel, Chinese expedition to, 138
Valkenier, 115
Van den Wyk, Gov. -Gen., 431
Van Eck, Governor, 219
Van Hohendorff, 119
Van Noort, travels in Java, 695 —
696
Van Speult, Governor, 190
Vocabulary for travellers. 1223 —
1230
Volcanoes, 1103—1116
Von Imhoff, Baron, 219
W
Wallis, Capt. Samuel, 747
Watson, H. J., gravestone at Ben-
coolen, 610
Watts, Richard, gravestone at Ben-
coolen, 615
Weights and measures, 1176
Wetherall, Maj.-Gen., 348
Whittenberry, Thomas, gravestone
at Bencoolen, 610
Wyaya, 13
Yawa Dvipa, 18
— T
BRADBURY, AG^^E\V, <fe CO. LD., PRINTEP-S, LOhTJON AND TOVBRIDOB.
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES
UNIVERSITV OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY
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