Souw Beng Kong, 1st Kapitein der Chinezen (; 1580–1644), called Bencon in older Dutch sources, was an 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 ...

and the first ''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 ...

, capital of colonial Indonesia. This was the most senior Chinese position in the colonial civil bureaucracy with legal and political jurisdiction over the local Chinese community in the colony.

Life

Andries Beeckman - The Castle of Batavia

Souw Beng Kong was born in Tong An,

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...

in 1580 during the

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

. By the beginning of the seventeenth century, he had established himself as a leading magnate and merchant in the port city of

Banten Banten ( id, Banten; Sundanese: , romanized ''Banten'') is the westernmost province on the island of Java, Indonesia. Its capital city is Serang. The province borders West Java and the Special Capital Region of Jakarta on the east, the Java Se ...

on the north coast of Java. He was appointed by Pangeran Ratu, Sultan of Banten (1596–1647) as the ''Kapitan Cina'', or Chinese headman, of Banten. In the conflict between the Sultan and the Dutch East India Company, however, Souw sided with the company. He developed a cordial relationship with

Jan Pieterszoon Coen Jan Pieterszoon Coen (, 8 January 1587 – 21 September 1629) was an officer of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in the early 17th century, holding two terms as governor-general of the Dutch East Indies. He was the founder of Batavia, ...

, the fourth Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (1587-1629). When Coen moved the Dutch headquarters from Banten to the newly conquered city of Jayakarta (later renamed Batavia), the Governor-General asked Souw to relocate to the new Dutch capital. Souw played an important role in consolidating Dutch rule in Batavia by encouraging the settlement of Chinese migrants, starting with 170 Chinese families from Banten. The Company appointed Souw as Kapitein der Chinezen of Batavia with political and legal authority over the local Chinese community. This system formed part of the Dutch colonial system of ‘Indirect Rule’. Similar posts were created for leaders of other ethnic groups in Batavia, such as the Bugis, the Balinese, the Makassarese, the Indians and the Papangers. Interethnic relations were close. Kapitein Souw Beng Kong is recorded to have had two Balinese wives who gave birth to two sons. Beyond his role as Kapitein, Souw Beng Kong was also given the authority to mint coins and print money and the license to tax gambling in Batavia. He also developed trade links between

Dutch Formosa The island of Taiwan, also commonly known as ''Formosa'', was partly under colonial rule by the Dutch Republic from 1624 to 1662 and from 1664 to 1668. In the context of the Age of Discovery, the Dutch East India Company established its presence ...

(Taiwan) and Batavia towards the end of the Ming Dynasty. Souw resigned his captaincy in 1636 after 17 years in office. Kapitein Souw Beng Kong died in 1644. As proven by his tomb, which refers to the Ming dynasty, Souw was a lifelong Ming loyalist.

Tomb

The tomb of Kapitein Souw Beng Kong is one of the oldest historic sites of the colonial period in Jakarta, Indonesia. It is located in

Mangga Dua Selatan Mangga Dua Selatan is an administrative village in the Sawah Besar district of Indonesia. It has postal code of 10730. See also *List of administrative villages of Jakarta {{unreferenced, date=March 2017 This is a list of administrative vi ...

Central Jakarta Central Jakarta ( id, Jakarta Pusat) is one of the five administrative cities () which form the Special Capital Region of Jakarta. It had 902,973 inhabitants according to the 2010 censusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 1,056,896 at the 2 ...

, in what was then the outskirts of the old colonial capital. The then derelict tomb was first restored during the mayoralty of Souw's last colonial successor,

Majoor Khouw Kim An Majoor is a Dutch surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Frank Majoor (born 1949), Dutch diplomat * Martin Majoor Martin Majoor (born 14 October 1960) is a Dutch type designer and graphic designer. As of 2006, he had worked since ...

(in office: 1910–1918, 1927–1945), who also added a commemorative plaque. After decades of abandonment and neglect, the tomb was restored again between 2006 and 2008 by a group led by MATAKIN (Supreme Council for the Confucian Religion in Indonesia) and

Trisakti University Trisakti University (Usakti) is Indonesia's largest private university located in Jakarta, Indonesia. Trisakti University, is the only private university in Indonesia which was established by the Government of the Republic of Indonesia. Founde ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Souw, Beng Kong 1580 births 1644 deaths Politicians from Banten Dutch colonial governors and administrators Dutch East India Company people People from Batavia, Dutch East Indies People of the Dutch East Indies Kapitan Cina Politicians from Xiamen Ming dynasty politicians Emigrants from China to the Dutch East Indies Chinese emigrants to Indonesia