Oey Bian Kong, Kapitein der Chinezen ( zh, t=黃綿光, poj=Ûiⁿ Biân Kong) was a prominent

Chinese-Indonesian Chinese Indonesians ( id, Orang Tionghoa Indonesia) and colloquially Chindo or just Tionghoa are Indonesians whose ancestors arrived from China at some stage in the last eight centuries. Chinese people and their Indonesian descendants have l ...

bureaucrat who served from 1791 until 1800 as the 20th '' Kapitein der Chinezen'' of

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

(now Jakarta, capital of Indonesia), and the last under 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 ...

, which was dissolved in 1799. This post was the most senior in the Chinese civil bureaucracy that governed the local Chinese community as part of the Dutch colonial system of '

indirect rule Indirect rule was a system of governance used by the British and others to control parts of their colonial empires, particularly in Africa and Asia, which was done through pre-existing indigenous power structures. Indirect rule was used by vario ...

Life

Born in

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 mos ...

, Oey was the son of the poet-bureaucrat Oey Tje, who was installed as Kapitein der Chinezen of Semarang, Central Java in 1753. Oey Bian Kong's career as a bureaucrat started with his appointment as ''Boedelmeester'', or State Trustee for insolvent estates, by a Resolution of June 1, 1778. He was raised to the post and title of ''Luitenant der Chinezen'' by a Resolution of November 26, 1784. In 1791, Oey was further elevated to the post and title of Kapitein der Chinezen in succession to the outgoing Kapitein Ong Tjoe Seng. Oey's appointment was approved by Willem Arnold Alting, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies. To mark his installation in 1791, Oey commissioned the oldest of the eight surviving commemorative plaques of the

Kong Koan A kong koan (; Dutch: ''Chinese Raad''; Indonesian: ''Raad Tjina'') or "chinese council", was a high government body in the major capitals of the Dutch East Indies, consisting of all incumbent Chinese officers in those cities. It acted as both a ...

, or Chinese Council, of

, now conserved at Leiden University. In the words of historian

Leonard Blussé Leonard Blussé (born 23 July 1946 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch historian concerned with the field of Asian-European relations. Blussé has a prolific written output in his field, having authored, co-authored or edited more than twenty books since 20 ...

: 'He wished to show the full pedigree of the captains who had held office before him'. The text begins by extolling Kapitein Souw Beng Kong, the first in the 'pedigree', then highlights the re-establishment of authority following the Chinese Massacre of 1740 and the ongoing Java War of 1741 to 1743 under Kapitein Lim Beng Ko, appointed in 1743, and the

, newly reconstituted and recognised as an official government body in 1742. Kapitein Oey Bian Kong's plaque then declares: 'following the examples set by his illustrious predecessors, he will devote himself to the well-being of his people.' In 1800, due to old age and failing health, Kapitein Oey Bian Kong submitted his request to the Dutch authorities, first for a resignation, and secondly for the appointment of his son, Oey Kam Sing, as Boedelmeester. By a Resolution of December 27, 1800 under Governor-General

Pieter Gerardus van Overstraten Pieter Gerardus van Overstraten (19 February 1755, in Bergen op Zoom – 22 August 1801, in Batavia) was Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1796 until 1801. He was the last Governor-General of the Dutch East India Company, which wa ...

, both requests were duly granted. According to Dr de Haan, the old Kapitein died between December 17, 1802 and March 22, 1803.

Family and descendants

Kapitein Oey Bian Kong was survived by his widow, Han Tjiet Nio, and at least two sons, Boedelmeester Oey Kam Sing and Oey Liam Kong, Kapitein der Chinezen. His grandson through the latter, Kapitein Oey Liauw Kong, was a prominent Chinese officer and member of the Kong Koan between 1841 and 1849, as were his great-grandsons, Kapitein Oey Kim Tjiang and Kapitein Oey Hok Tjiang. His family maintained its position in the Chinese officership until the early twentieth century in the person of his great-great-grandson, Luitenant Oey Keng Hien, who was in office from 1899 until 1903.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oey, Bian Kong Dutch colonial governors and administrators Dutch East India Company people People from Batavia, Dutch East Indies People of the Dutch East Indies Indonesian people of Chinese descent Indonesian Hokkien people Kapitan Cina 1800s deaths Year of death uncertain Year of birth unknown