{{no footnotes, date=September 2014 The Dutch expedition to the west coast of

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

was a punitive expedition of the

Royal Netherlands East Indies Army The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army ( nl, Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger; KNIL, ) was the military force maintained by the Kingdom of the Netherlands in its colony of the Dutch East Indies, in areas that are now part of Indonesia. The ...

in 1831. The

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, responding to the same incident, sent a punitive expedition in 1832. The

Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, also known as the Treaty of London, was a treaty signed between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands in London on 17 March 1824. The treaty was to resolve disputes arising from the execution of the Anglo-D ...

limited Dutch freedom of action in the

Aceh Sultanate The Sultanate of Aceh, officially the Kingdom of Aceh Darussalam ( ace, Keurajeuën Acèh Darussalam; Jawoë: كاورجاون اچيه دارالسلام), was a sultanate centered in the modern-day Indonesian province of Aceh. It was a major ...

on the island of Sumatra. The treaty assured the independence of Aceh and obligated the Dutch to ensure the safety of shipping and overland trade in and around Aceh. In 1831 some Acehnese pirates plundered the American ship ''Friendship'' in

Kuala Batee Kuala Batee is a district in Southwest Aceh Regency, Aceh, Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, inc ...

. The passing Dutch schooner ''Dolfijn'' made a failed attempt to rescue the ship, but fear of open war with Aceh and a diplomatic crisis with Britain prevented a greater Dutch response. The Acehnese were emboldened, occupied Baros and attacked the Dutch posts. The Dutch response was to declare that Baros,

Singkil Singkíl (or Sayaw sa Kasingkil) is a folk dance of the Maranao people of Lake Lanao depicting one of the episodes in the Philippine epic poetry, epic poem ''Darangen'', which was popularised by the Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Compa ...

and Tapus lay outside the Aceh Sultanate and to prepare a party to occupy them in the name of the Batavian government. Lieutenant Colonel Roeps, the commander of Baros, was ordered to proceed on the town, only engaging the enemy when absolutely necessary. In one of those encounters, he was mortally wounded by gunfire. His replacement, Michiels, took a squadron of 700 men and fell on Baros. Lieutenant Bisschoff climbed the parapet of one of the defensive works and took down the Acehnese flag, receiving eleven

klewang The klewang or kelewang is a class of bladed weapon between the sword and machete found in Indonesia and Malaysia. History During the Aceh War the Acehnese klewang proved very effective in close quarters combat against the sabre-wielding Dutch ...

wounds in the act. Leaving behind their weapons and ammunition, the Acehnese retreated to Tapus and Singkil, where their main body under Mohamed Arief was waiting. Again the Acehnese were expelled and Dutch authority in Singkil was thus established.

References

*Terwogt, W. A. ''Het land van Jan Pieterszoon Coen. Geschiedenis van de Nederlanders in oost-Indië''. P. Geerts. Hoorn, 1900. *Kepper, G. ''Wapenfeiten van het Nederlands Indische Leger; 1816-1900''. The Hague: M.M. Cuvee, 1900. *Gerlach, A. J. A. ''Nederlandse heldenfeiten in Oost Indë''. The Hague: Drie delen. Gebroeders Belinfante, 1876. Conflicts in 1831 Dutch conquest of Indonesia 1830s in Indonesia