Alidius Warmoldus Lambertus Tjarda van Starkenborgh Stachouwer (7 March 1888 – 16 August 1978) was a Dutch nobleman and statesman, primarily noted for being the last colonial Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, now

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 ...

. He was taken captive after accepting Japan's demands for an unconditional surrender of the islands on 9 March 1942.

Early life

In November 1915 he married Christine Marburg, the daughter of the American Ambassador to Belgium,

Theodore Marburg Theodore Marburg Sr. (July 10, 1862 – March 4, 1946) was an American jurist, diplomat and internationalist. Biography He was born on July 10, 1862 in Baltimore, Maryland. He was the United States Minister to Belgium from 1912 to 1914. He was t ...

. He joined the Dutch diplomatic service in 1915. Prior to

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 opposing ...

, he was Queen's Commissioner in Groningen (1925–33) and envoy to

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

(1933–36). On 16 September 1936, he became Governor-General of the Netherlands East Indies.

Second World War

COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Portret van Gouverneur-Generaal Tjarda van Starkenborgh Stachouwer TMnr 10018816

When the Netherlands surrendered to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

on 14 May 1940, Jhr. van Starkenborgh declared martial law in the Dutch East Indies, ordering 19 German cargo ships to be seized and all German nationals to be interned pending the liberation of the Netherlands. In December 1941, when Japan began operations in the Pacific, there were 93,000 Dutch troops and 5,000 American,

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and Australian soldiers to defend against an invasion of the Netherlands East Indies. By 15 February, Japanese bombers were attacking the capital at

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) and government operations were removed to

Bandoeng Bandung ( su, ᮘᮔ᮪ᮓᮥᮀ, Bandung, ; ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of West Java. It has a population of 2,452,943 within its city limits according to the official estimates as at mid 2021, making it the fourth most ...

. On Sunday, 8 March, Lt. Gen.

Hitoshi Imamura was a Japanese general who served in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, and was subsequently convicted of war crimes. Early career A native of Sendai city, Miyagi Prefecture, Imamura's father was a judge. Imamura graduated from th ...

met with van Starkenborgh and set a deadline for an unconditional surrender. Jhr. van Starkenborgh ordered the Dutch and Allied troops to cease fire in a broadcast the next day, and the Allied forces surrendered at 1:00 p.m. Tjarda van Starkenborgh, his family, and other Dutch government and military personnel were taken prisoner. While the Japanese offered him to let him stay at his home under house arrest and receive special treatment he refused. He was separated from his wife, Christine, and daughters, who were interned in a different POW camp. Later, he was transferred to the Manchurian camp at Hsien (now

Liaoyuan Liaoyuan () is a prefecture-level city in Jilin province, People's Republic of China. It is bounded on the west and south by Tieling of Liaoning province, west and north by Siping, and east by Tonghua and Jilin City. Liaoyuan lies some south of C ...

), where he was held along with other prominent prisoners, including General Jonathan M. Wainwright, until the camp was liberated on 16 August 1945."Parachutists Rescue Wainwright From Enemy Prison Camp," ''Fresno Bee Republican'', 20 August 1945, p1

Post-war life

Jhr. van Starkenborgh returned to the Netherlands with his family, but declined a request from

Queen Wilhelmina Wilhelmina (; Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World Wa ...

to serve as Governor-General, in that the Queen had pledged self-government to Indonesia in 1942. He resigned effective 16 October 1945. Instead, he became the Dutch Ambassador to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

(1945–48) and was then the Dutch Representative to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

(1950–56). After his retirement he settled a long-standing argument on canal links with Belgium in negotiations during 1963–66. With Gerbrandy and Beel, he formed an advisory committee on the

Greet Hofmans Greet Hofmans (23 June 1894 – 16 November 1968) was a Dutch faith healer and "hand layer". For nine years she was a friend and advisor of Queen Juliana, often residing at Palace Soestdijk. She became the former Dutch queen's confidante in the ...

affair.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tjarda Van Starkenborgh Stachouwer, Alidius Warmoldus Lambertus 1888 births 1978 deaths Ambassadors of the Netherlands to France Permanent Representatives of the Netherlands to NATO Jonkheers of the Netherlands Governors-General of the Dutch East Indies People from Groningen (city) World War II civilian prisoners held by Japan King's and Queen's Commissioners of Groningen 20th-century Dutch East Indies people