Tan Eng Goan, 1st Majoor der Chinezen (; 1802 – 17 September 1872) was a high-ranking bureaucrat who served as the first
''Majoor 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
Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
), capital of colonial
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 ...
.
This was the highest-ranking Chinese position in the civil administration of the
Dutch 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 ...
.
Life
Background and early career
![Jan Weissenbruch - Een straatje in het oude gedeelte van Batavia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Jan_Weissenbruch_-_Een_straatje_in_het_oude_gedeelte_van_Batavia.jpg)
Born in 1802, Majoor Tan Eng Goan came from an old family of the
''Cabang Atas'' aristocracy of colonial Indonesia.
Many members of his family served as
Chinese officers, part of the civil administration of the Dutch colonial government.
He was the son of Kapitein Tan Peeng Ko ( in Batavia from 1792 to 1809 and from 1809 to 1812), and a nephew of Kapitein Tan Jap Long (appointed Luitenant in 1810, and Kapitein in 1811).
Both Tan's father and uncle thus served as Chinese headmen and presided over the Chinese Council of Batavia.
Tan was married at least four times, including to his first wife, Lie Pien Nio, a niece of Lie Tieuw Kong, who had succeeded Tan's father and uncle as Kapitein and chairman of the Chinese Council.
Tan's uncle-in-law held office from 1812 until 1821.
As the issue of Chinese officers, Tan Eng Goan bore the hereditary title '
Sia
Sia Kate Isobelle Furler ( ; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Adelaide, she started her career as a singer in the acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s. In 1997, when Crisp disbanded, she rel ...
' from birth until his elevation to the rank of a Luitenant on 15 February 1827.
This promotion was made by
Léonard Pierre Joseph, Viscount du Bus de Gisignies, the recently-appointed 8th
Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies
The governor-general of the Dutch East Indies ( nl, gouverneur-generaal van Nederlands Indië) represented Dutch rule in the Dutch East Indies between 1610 and Dutch recognition of the independence of Indonesia in 1949. Occupied by Japanese fo ...
; and was duly noted in a sitting of the
Chinese Council on 9 March 1827.
Captaincy and Mayoralty
In 1829, when the presiding Chinese headman
Ko Tiang Tjong
A KO is a knockout in various sports, such as boxing and martial arts.
K.O., Ko or Kō may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* KO (musician), Canadian musician who plays a fusion of hip hop and folk music
* ''K.O.'' (album), a 2021 ...
was forced to resign from the post of ''Kapitein der Chinezen'' of Batavia, Tan - despite only having held the briefest tenure of all sitting officers - was appointed to the Chinese Captaincy.
In so doing, he became the head of the Chinese community in Batavia in succession to his father, uncle and uncle-in-law.
At that time in Batavia, the post of Kapitein der Chinezen was the highest-ranking Chinese position in the colonial administration.
On 21 September 1837, Kapitein Tan Eng Goan was further raised to the newly created post of ''Majoor der Chinezen'' of Batavia by
Dominique Jacques de Eerens
Dominique Jacques de Eerens (17 March 1781 – 30 May 1840) was a Dutch major general, politician and administrator, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies and knight of the Military William Order
The Military William Order, or often name ...
, the 11th Governor-General. Tan's two ''Luitenants'', Oey Eng Liok and Jap Soan Kong, were both elevated a year later to the higher rank of Kapitein.
As Kapitein, then as Majoor, Tan was also the
ex officio
An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...
Chairman of the Chinese Council of Batavia (Dutch: ''Chinese Raad''; Malay: ''Kong Koan''), the highest Chinese governmental body in the colony.
The Majoor's family owned the ''particuliere landen'' or private domains of
Kramat
A ''mazār'' ( ar, مزار), or ''darīh'' () in the Maghreb, is a mausoleum or shrine in some places of the world, typically that of a saint or notable religious leader. Medieval Arabic texts may also use the words ''mašhad'' or ''maqām'' ...
,
Kapoek,
Tandjoeng Boeroeng and
Rawa Kidang in
Tangerang
Tangerang (Sundanese: , ) is a city in the province of Banten, Indonesia. Located on the western border of Jakarta, it is the third largest urban centre in the Greater Jakarta metropolitan area after Jakarta and Bekasi; the sixth largest city pro ...
.
From 1848 until 1862, Majoor Tan Eng Goan also held a series of ''pachts'' or
revenue farms over such diverse things as
arak,
rum
Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is usually aged in oak barrels. Rum is produced in nearly every sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Ph ...
,
tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
and
wayang
, also known as ( jv, ꦮꦪꦁ, translit=wayang), is a traditional form of puppet theatre play originating from the Indonesian island of Java. refers to the entire dramatic show. Sometimes the leather puppet itself is referred to as . Perfor ...
.
Despite his landed wealth and revenue farms, Tan's income fell short of the exalted style of living expected of a Chinese officer.
Tenure as Majoor and Kapitein
In the late 1820s, Kapitein Tan Eng Goan initiated an annual ''
pasar malam
''Pasar malam'' ( nl, Nacht Markt or Avondmarkt) is an Indonesian and Malay word that literally means "night market" (the word comes from ''bazaar'' in Persian). A ''pasar malam'' is a street market in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapor ...
'', or night market, held in Batavia three days prior to
Lunar New Year
Lunar New Year is the beginning of a calendar year whose months are moon cycles, based on the lunar calendar or lunisolar calendar.
The Lunar New Year as a celebration is observed by numerous cultures. It is also named " Chinese New Year" becau ...
.
This was among the earliest and biggest of Batavia's organized night markets, and served as a prototype for similar and later markets elsewhere.
Tan's tenure as a Chinese officer was affected by his declining family finances, which forced him to patronise Batavia's foremost tobacco magnate,
Oey Thai Lo Letnan Cina Oey Thai Lo (also known as ''Oey Thoa'' or ''Oey Se'') was a notable Chinese-Indonesian tycoon who acted as a '' pachter'' (tax farmer) for tobacco in the early 19th century.
Early life
He was born in Hokkien province in 1788 and di ...
.
In return for Oey's financial support, Tan recommended the
''nouveau riche'' Oey for an elevation to the purely honorary rank of Luitenant-titulair der Chinezen, which gave the tobacco tycoon the respectability he craved.
Tan's debt and financial reliance on Oey, however, prevented him from acting with authority when restraining the wayward and disrespectful behaviour of the latter' son, the notorious playboy
Oey Tamba Sia
Oey Tamba Sia (1827 – October 7, 1856), also spelt Oeij Tambah Sia, or often mistakenly Oey Tambahsia, was a rich, Chinese-Indonesian playboy hanged by the Dutch colonial government due to his involvement in a number of murder cases in Batavia, ...
(1827-1856).
Oey Tamba Sia eventually developed an intense rivalry with the Majoor's son-in-law,
Lim Soe Keng Sia Lim Soe Keng Sia (1819–1883), also known as Liem Soe King Sia, Soe King Sia or Lim Soukeng Sia, was a prominent '' Pachter'', or revenue farmer, in Batavia, capital of the Dutch East Indies, best known for his rivalry with the notorious Betawi p ...
, with eventually murderous consequences.
The younger Oey masterminded a series of murders, and unsuccessfully attempted to implicate Lim in these crimes.
Although Lim was acquitted, his rival Oey - a wealthy member of the city's Chinese establishment - was found guilty and executed by public hanging in 1856.
The scandal severely damaged the standing and authority of the Majoor in the eyes of the Chinese community.
Even Tan's immediate subordinates in the Chinese Council, notably
Kapitein Tan Tjoen Tiat and Luitenant The Kim Houw, were disappointed in the Majoor's meek handling of the case of Oey Tamba Sia.
The Majoor's financial situation further deteriorated after the Oey case, which led him to sell the estates of Kramat and Kapoek in the 1860s to his eventual successor, Kapitein Tan Tjoen Tiat.
Resignation and death
![Tan Eng Goan, 1st Majoor der Chinezen of Batavia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Tan_Eng_Goan%2C_1st_Majoor_der_Chinezen_of_Batavia.jpg)
Majoor Tan Eng Goan served in office until 1865, when, due to his old age and fragile health, he requested and was granted an honourable discharge from his duties by the colonial authorities.
He also attempted without success to secure the succession of his adoptive son,
Kapitein Tan Soe Tjong, to the Chinese Mayoralty.
The former Majoor was allowed to retain his title on an honorary basis following his resignation.
Given Tan's long service and precarious finances, the colonial government further awarded him a pension of 150 guilders per month.
Majoor Tan Eng Goan died on 17 September 1872 in
Patoakan, Batavia, and was buried in
Slipi
Palmerah is a subdistrict of West Jakarta, Indonesia. The Subdistrict is roughly bounded by Jakarta-Merak Tollway to the north, Batusari - Rawa Belong Road to the west, Palmerah Barat - Palmerah Utara Road to the south, and Aipda K. Sasuit Tubun R ...
.
His adoptive son, Kapitein Tan Soe Tjong had predeceased him the previous year, on 20 June 1871.
Majoor Tan Eng Goan also had a daughter, Tan Bit Nio, who was married to Lim Soe Keng Sia.
Through them, the Majoor was a grandfather of Lim Hong Nio and a great-grandfather of the prominent landlord and community leader
Tan Liok Tiauw
Tan Liok Tiauw Sia (1872 - 1947) was a prominent Chinese-Indonesian landowner, planter and industrial pioneer in the late colonial period, best known today as the last ''Landheer'' (or landlord) of Batoe-Tjepper, now the district of Batuceper.
...
(1872 - 1947).
Significance
Tan is remembered today as the first sitting Majoor der Chinezen of Batavia, arguably the most important Chinese officership in colonial Indonesia.
In office for some 37 years as Kapitein, then Majoor, Tan was also the longest-serving head of the Chinese Council and of the Chinese community of Batavia.
Majoor Tan Eng Goan is also remembered today for his poor handling of the case of Oey Tamba Sia. Oey's murderous rivalry with the Majoor's son-in-law, Lim Soe Keng Sia, became part of Jakarta folklore, and formed the basis of many literary works in
Malay
Malay may refer to:
Languages
* Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore
** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century
** Indonesi ...
, including
Thio Tjin Boen's (published in 1903) and
Tjoa Boan Soeij's (published in 1906) and (published in 1922).
As recently as 2013, the saga of the Majoor, his son-in-law and their rivalry with Oey provided part of the inspiration for
Atilah Soeryadjaya's musical, ''Ariah''.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tan, Eng Goan
1802 births
1872 deaths
People from Batavia, Dutch East Indies
People of the Dutch East Indies
Indonesian people of Chinese descent
Indonesian Hokkien people
Kapitan Cina in Indonesia
Sia (title)