Han Bwee Kong, Kapitein der Chinezen (1727 – 1778), also known as Han Bwee Sing, Han Bwee Ko and in historic Dutch sources as Han Boeijko, was a Chinese-Indonesian magnate, government official and ally of the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...

. He was the first member of the patrician

Han family of Lasem The Han family of Lasem, also called the Han family of East Java or Surabaya, was an influential family of the 'Cabang Atas' or the Chinese gentry of the Dutch East Indies (today known as Indonesia). They came to power in the Indies through their ...

to hold an official government position, that of

Kapitein der Chinezen Kapitan Cina, also spelled Kapitan China or Capitan China ( en, Captain of the Chinese; ; nl, Kapitein der Chinezen), was a high-ranking government position in the civil administration of colonial Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Borneo and the ...

Surabaya Surabaya ( jv, ꦱꦸꦫꦧꦪ or jv, ꦯꦹꦫꦨꦪ; ; ) is the capital city of the Provinces of Indonesia, Indonesian province of East Java and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. L ...

. He was also the ''pachter'', or leaseholder, of the government districts of

Besuki Besuki is the name of a district (''kecamatan'') in Situbondo Regency, East Java, Indonesia with an area of 26.08 km2. In 2004, its population was 57,109 people. In ancient time the city was important because it was the capital of the Resid ...

and Panarukan. Han Bwee Kong was born in 1727 at the port city of

Lasem Lasem ( fa, لاسم, also romanized as Lāsem and Lasm; also known as Lishan) is a village in Bala Larijan Rural District, Larijan District, Amol County, Mazandaran Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, ...

Central Java Central Java ( id, Jawa Tengah) is a province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogyakarta in t ...

. He was the youngest of five sons born to

Han Siong Kong Han Siong Kong (1673-1743) is best known as the founder of the Han family of Lasem, one of the oldest dynasties of the ''Cabang Atas'' or the Chinese gentry (''baba bangsawan'') of colonial Indonesia. As government bureaucrats, landlords and polit ...

(1673 – 1743), a Chinese migrant of ancient lineage, by an unnamed woman, probably a

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

or of at least part-native ancestry. Sometime in the first half of the eighteenth century, he moved to

East Java East Java ( id, Jawa Timur) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the easternmost hemisphere of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean bord ...

with two of his elder brothers, the Chinese-Javanese leader

Soero Pernollo Kyai Ronggo Ngabehi Soero Pernollo (1720 – 1776), or Surapernala, born Han Tjien Kong, was a Chinese-Javanese nobleman, government official and ally of the Dutch East India Company. He founded the senior Muslim branch of the Han family of Las ...

(1720 – 1776) and Han Hing Kong. By 1748 at the latest, Han Bwee Kong had contracted a highly advantageous marriage to the Peranakan daughter of a prominent Chinese leader in Surabaya, Tan Ho Goan (1672 – 1744). The couple had twelve sons and two daughters. Probably as a result of his wife's family backing, Han Bwee Kong was eventually appointed Kapitein der Chinezen of Surabaya at an unknown date. This position gave him governmental authority over the Chinese community of Surabaya as part of the Dutch colonial system of ''Indirect Rule''. In 1768, with the help of his elder brother, the ennobled Ngabehi Soero Pernollo, police chief of Besuki and Panarukan, Kapitein Han Bwee Kong became the leaseholder of the district of Besuki for an annual tribute of 10 koyans of rice and 1,000 rixdollars to the Dutch East India Company. In exchange, he helped his brother's son, the future

Adipati Soero Adinegoro Adipati Soero Adinegoro (1752–1833), also spelt Adipati Suroadinegoro, born Han Sam Kong (), and sometimes known as Baba Sam, was a Chinese-Javanese nobleman and government official, famous during his lifetime for the good governance of his te ...

, obtain a government appointment as ''Ronggo'' of Besuki in 1772. The Kapitein further obtained the lease for the district of Panarukan in 1777 for an annual tribute to the Company of 500 Spanish dollars. He died in 1778, and is buried together with his wife i
''Pasar Bong''
or Market of the Chinese Cemetery, in Surabaya. He is identified on his tombstone by the personal name of 'Zhensi', or 'He who Shakes Surabaya'. His eldest son and deputy, Han Khee Bing, Luitenant der Chinezen (1749 – 1768) predeceased him. So, he was succeeded as Kapitein der Chinezen of Surabaya and leaseholder of Besuki and Panarukan by his fifth and eldest surviving son, Han Chan Piet, Majoor der Chinezen (1759 – 1827). Another son, Han Kik Ko, Majoor der Chinezen (1766 – 1813), also attained prominence as Majoor der Chinezen, Temenggong and landlord of the district Probolinggo. Kapitein Han Bwee Kong's descendants, as part of the ''baba bangsawan'' or ''

Cabang Atas The Cabang Atas (''Van Ophuijsen Spelling System'': Tjabang Atas) — literally 'highest branch' in Indonesian — was the traditional Chinese establishment or gentry of colonial Indonesia. They were the families and descendants of the Chinese ...

'', or the Chinese gentry of Java, would play a significant role in the political and economic life of colonial Indonesia until the end of Dutch rule in 1945.

References

{{s-end 1727 births 1778 deaths Kapitan Cina Cabang Atas People from Surabaya People of the Dutch East Indies Indonesian politicians of Chinese descent Han family of Lasem