Star for Loyalty and Merit
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The Star for Loyalty and Merit () was a civilian award established on 1 January 1894 by Governor-General Carel Herman Aart van der Wijck 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 ...
. The star replaced the old Medal for Civil Merit, which had limited prestige and status according to the Netherlands government. The star was awarded in gold to "significant and meritorious" natives, and in silver to village chiefs and leaders of the "Eastern foreigner" (i.e. Chinese) communities. Dutch (Europeans) were not eligible to receive the star. The star was considered the colonial equivalent of the
Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands ( nl, De Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw, french: L'Ordre du Lion Néerlandais) is a Dutch order of chivalry founded by King William I of the Netherlands on ...
(or at least the "Brother" grade associated with the Order), as well as the medals and the Knight's Cross of the
Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...
. The star ceased to be awarded after 1949.


Grades

The Star for Loyalty and Merit originally had four grades: *''Great Gold Star'' *''Small Gold Star'' *''Silver Star'' *''Bronze Star'' On January 4, 1924, Governor-General Dirk Fock created a fifth grade, the ''Great Silver Star'', ranked immediately after the Small Gold Star; the old Silver Star was renamed the ''Small Silver Star'' thereafter.


Insignia

Despite the "Great" and "Small" nomenclature, the five grades of the star were all equal in size, consisted of a badge in the form of a 12-pointed star with straight rays, suspended from a ribbon worn on the left chest: * The ''Great Gold Star'': the obverse disc featured a golden Dutch Lion on a blue enamel background, surrounded by a golden wreath and topped by a golden crown. The reverse disc featured the golden letters "TROUW EN VERDIENSTE" (Loyalty and Merit) on a blue enamel background. * The ''Small Gold Star'': the obverse disc featured a golden
Coat of arms of the Netherlands The coat of arms of the Kingdom of the Netherlands was originally adopted in 1815 and later modified in 1907. The arms are a composite of the arms of the former Dutch Republic and the arms of the House of Nassau, it features a checkered shield wit ...
on a golden background. The reverse disc was the same as the Great Gold Star. * The ''Great Silver Star'': the obverse disc featured a golden Dutch Lion on a blue enamel background, surrounded by a silver wreath and topped by a silver crown. The reverse disc featured the silver letters "TROUW EN VERDIENSTE" (Loyalty and Merit) on a blue enamel background. * The ''Small Silver Star'': the obverse disc featured a silver Coat of arms of the Netherlands on a silver background. The reverse disc was the same as the Great Silver Star. * The ''Bronze Star'': despite its name, the Bronze Star was actually made in silver; the obverse disc featured a silver Coat of arms of the Netherlands on a blue enamel background. The reverse disc was the same as the Great Silver Star. The ribbon was originally blue with an orange central stripe, the same as the "Brother" grade of the Order of the Netherlands Lion; for the Great and Small Gold Stars the ribbon had an additional narrow orange stripe on the edges. These were changed on 1 April 1945 into a blue ribbon with one to five narrow orange wavy stripes, with five stripes being the highest (Great Gold Star).


Sources

* "Rondschrijven van de 1e Gouvernements Secretaris dd. 10 Augustus 1929, No. 1841/AI, betreffende de uitreiking van onderscheidingen",gepubliceerd in het Indisch Staatsblad No. 12083 * "Besluit van 4 Januari 1924 no. 19, betreffende de onderscheiding van het bestaande eereteeken voor aanzienlijke en verdienstelijke Inlanders en Oostersche vreemdelingen in vijf klassen", gepubliceerd in het Indisch Staatsblad No. 10507 * "Circulaire van de Gouvernements Secretaris dd. 27 Augustus 1909, No. 2240, betreffende de toekenning van de zilveren ster voor trouw en verdienste aan desahoofden", gepubliceerd in het Indisch Staatsblad No. 7083 * "EERETEEKENEN voor aanzienlijke en verdienstelijke Inlanders en Oostersche vreemdelingen. De hoogere onderscheiding vervangt de lagere.",gepubliceerd in het Indisch Staatsblad No. 6201 * "Besluit Eereteekenen. Vorm der eereteekenen voor aanzienlijke en verdienstelijke Inlanders en Oostersche vreemdelingen", gepubliceerd in het Indisch Staatsblad No. 4961 * "Moed en Deugd" door J.A.van Zelm van Eldik, 2003 * "Orders and Decorations of The Netherlands", door H.G. Meijer, C.P. Mulder en B.W. Wagenaar, 1984 * "Ster voor Trouw en Verdienste, 1893", door R.J.M. Verkuijlen in het tijdschrift Decorare, nummer 5, September 2001


See also

*
Cross for Courage and Fidelity The Cross for Courage and Fidelity (Dutch: ''Kruis voor Moed en Trouw'') is a military award that was established by Queen Emma of the Netherlands by Royal Decree on 7 March 1898. The cross replaced the old Medal for Courage and Fidelity, which ...


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{{DEFAULTSORT:Star For Loyalty And Merit Dutch East Indies Orders, decorations, and medals of the Netherlands