The Netherlands Indies Civil Administration ( abbreviated NICA; nl, Nederlandsch-Indische Civiele Administratie) was a semi-military organisation, established April 1944, tasked with the restoration of civil administration and law of Dutch colonial rule after the capitulation of the Japanese occupational forces in the

Netherlands East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

(present-day

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, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

) after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In January 1946 the name was changed to Allied Military Administration-Civil Affairs Branch (AMACAB). After the British departure from the Indonesian arena and the disbandment of the SEAC in June 1946, the name was changed into Tijdelijke Bestuursdienst (Temporary Administrative Service).

Foundation

The NICA was established on April 3, 1944, in Australia and operated as a link between the Netherlands East Indies Government in exile and the Allied high command in the command area of the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA). Based in (Camp Colombia)

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

it originally reported into the Allied command structure. Early 1944 Dutch Lieutenant-Governor-General H.J. Van Mook and U.S. General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...

, supreme commander SWPA, agreed that areas of the Dutch East Indies recaptured by allied (i.e. US) troops will be put under civil administration of the NICA. Due to political procrastination by the U.S. State Department, it was December 10, 1944 before the Van Mook-MacArthur Civil Affairs Agreement was officially signed.

Early activity

Still in April 1944, the first NICA detachments went ashore at Hollandia (New Guinea). NICA staff consisted of Dutch,

Indo (Eurasian) The Indo people ( nl, Indische Nederlanders, or Indos) are Eurasian (mixed ancestry), Eurasian people living in or connected with Indonesia. In its narrowest sense, the term refers to people in the former Dutch East Indies who held European ...

and indigenous Indonesian military or militarized personnel that wore uniforms. The general management was in the hands of Colonel C. Giebel who had the rank of ''Staff Officer NICA'' (SONICA). Each detachment was headed by a ''Commanding Officer NICA'' (CONICA) responsible for local government. Before the capitulation of Japan NICA units already established civil administration in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

(i.e.

Hollandia Hollandia may refer to: * HVV Hollandia, Dutch football team * Hollandia Victoria Combinatie, defunct Dutch football team * ''Hollandia'' (1742 ship), a ship of the Dutch East India Company, wrecked in 1743 on her maiden voyage * Jayapura, a city ...

Biak Biak is an island located in Cenderawasih Bay near the northern coast of Papua (province), Papua, an Indonesian province, and is just northwest of New Guinea. Biak is the largest island in its small archipelago, and has many atolls, reefs, and c ...

and

Manokwari Manokwari is a coastal town and the capital of the Indonesian province of West Papua. It is one of only seven provincial capitals of Indonesia without a city status. It is also the administrative seat of Manokwari Regency. However, under pro ...

, Numfur), the Moluccas (

Morotai Morotai Island ( id, Pulau Morotai) is an island in the Halmahera group of eastern Indonesia's Maluku Islands (Moluccas). It is one of Indonesia's northernmost islands. Morotai is a rugged, forested island lying to the north of Halmahera. It ha ...

) and

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

(

Tarakan Tarakan is an island and the largest city of the Indonesian province of North Kalimantan. The island city is located in northern Borneo, midway along the coast of the province. The city boundaries are co-extensive with the island (including a co ...

and Balikpapan). U.S. support and supplies to the NICA virtually ended when it became clear that after August 15, 1945, military command was transferred from the American SWPA to the British SEAC. The 250 NICA detachments planned for Java were halted. The reoccupation 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 ...

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...

and Lombok became a British responsibility. While the rest of the islands became an Australian responsibility. On 24 August, the Dutch signed the new British Civil Affairs Investment Agreement with

Lord Mountbatten Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of German ...

's South East Asia Command (SEAC). In September 1945, the first NICA representatives arrived in Batavia. Because the Republic of Indonesia strongly reacted to the arrival of the NICA staff and its name (Netherlands Indies) in January 1946 the name was changed to ''AMACAB'' ''(Allied Military Administration-Civil Affairs Branch)''. After the British departure from the Indonesian arena and the disbandment of the SEAC in June 1946, the name was changed into ''Tijdelijke Bestuursdienst'' (Temporary Administrative Service).

Commanders

NICA's highest commander was the Dutch acting Lt.Governor-General Hubertus Johannes van Mook (Semarang, 1894 – L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, 1965). His most senior adviser (1944) and second in command (1947) was the Javanese nobleman Raden Abdulkadir Widjojoatmodjo (Salatiga, 1904 - The Hague, 1992). A graduate from Leiden University and a prodigy of Professor

Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje (8 February 1857 – 26 June 1936) was a Dutch scholar of Oriental cultures and languages and advisor on native affairs to the colonial government of the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). Born in Oosterhout in 1857, ...

. Before the war he was a senior diplomat in both

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...

and

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...

. In his roles for NICA he was also appointed colonel in the KNIL and the resident of the Moluccas. In 1946 he became the general secretary of state of the Republic of the United States of Indonesia. In 1947 he was acting Governor-General of the Netherlands East Indies and chairman of the Dutch delegation to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

. Dutch Wikipedia File:Mook.jpg, Hubertus Johannes van Mook File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Portret van kolonel Abdulkadir Widjojoatmodjo en zijn echtgenote TMnr 10018595.jpg, Raden Abdulkadir Widjojoatmodjo

References

Notes and citations

Bibliography

* * * * * {{cite book , last=Cheong , first=Yong Mun , title=H.J. Van Mook and Indonesian Independence: A Study of His Role in Dutch-Indonesian Relations, 1945-48 , publisher=Nijhoff , year=1982 , location=The Hague , isbn=9789024791415

External links

NICA (Netherlands Indies Civil Administration) online dictionary.
Retrieved July 2012

November 2015.
NICA issued stamps.
Dai Nippon. Retrieved July 2012
Archived
April 2014. Dutch East Indies Aftermath of World War II in Indonesia 1944 establishments in the Dutch East Indies 1946 disestablishments in the Dutch East Indies 1944 establishments in the Dutch Empire 1946 disestablishments in the Netherlands