Friends of Mudalovers, of course, already know this character. He was an actor in the Java War which erupted from 1825–1830. The Java War was one of the major changes in the world at the end of the 18th and early 19th centuries.
For Javanese people, especially in Surakarta and Yogyakarta, this period saw the decline of Javanese order, especially in the palace. In addition, uncontrolled Dutch interference made the situation even worse.
The resistance carried out by Prince Diponegoro against the colonial government deserves high appreciation. His resistance received popular support and also considerable involvement from the palace, which shows that he had quite a big influence in the social life of society and the kingdom at that time.
This rebellion was the first event of resistance faced by the Dutch colonial government which succeeded in changing the face of Java almost completely. The strategy and sacrifices he made cannot be doubted, even though he was ultimately defeated by the Dutch colonial government. However, this event has succeeded in fostering a spirit of unity and nationalism within Javanese society.
So, to get to know this figure more clearly, let’s look together at a brief explanation about Prince Diponegoro which has been summarized from various sources below. Happy reading.
Prince Diponegoro’s Family Background
1. The origins of Prince Diponegoro
Prince Diponegoro was born in Yogyakarta on November 11, 1785. His mother was a garwa ampeyan (concubine) named RA Mangkarawati who came from Pacitan. His father was named Gusti Raden Mas Suraja, who later ascended the throne with the title Hamengkubuwana III.
When he was born, Diponegoro was given the name Bendara Raden Mas Mustahar, then changed to Bendara Raden Mas Antawirya. His Islamic name is Abdul Hamid. After his father ascended the throne, Antawirya graduated as a prince with the name Bendara Pangeran Harya Dipanegara.
As he matured, Diponegoro rejected his father’s desire to become king. He argued that his mother’s position was not that of an empress wife. This is what makes him feel unfit to hold that position.
Diponegoro was known as an intelligent person, well-read, and an expert in the field of Islamic-Javanese law. He was also interested in religious matters rather than matters of court government. That’s what makes him able to blend in with the people.
He preferred to live in Tegalrejo, close to where his daughter’s great-grandfather, Gusti Kangjeng Ratu Tegalrejo, empress of Sultan Hamengkubuwana I, lived, rather than living in the palace.
Diponegoro began to pay attention to palace matters when he was appointed as a member of the guardianship to accompany Sultan Hamengkubuwana V, who was only three years old at that time. Because it was still small, the daily government of the palace was controlled by Patih Danureja IV and the Dutch Resident. He did not agree with this method of guardianship, so he protested.
2. Prince Diponegoro’s Personal Life
Prince Diponegoro in his daily life is a person who likes betel and Javanese cigarettes, which are specially rolled by hand, collecting gold and gardening. His meditation places in Selarejo and Selarong also planted various flowers and vegetables.
At least, he was married eight times in his life. He first married at the age of 27 to Raden Ayu Retno Madubrongto, a religious teacher and second daughter of Kiai Gede Dadapan. Through the results of this marriage, Diponegoro had a son named Putra Diponegoro II.
On February 27, 1807, Diponegoro married for the second time to the daughter of Raden Tumenggung Natawijaya III, a regent from Panolan Jipang, Yogyakarta Sultanate, named Raden Ajeng Supadmi. The marriage was a request from Sultan Hamengkubuwana III.
Diponegoro then divorced three years after his marriage and was blessed with a child named Prince Diponingrat, who had an arrogant nature according to Putra Diponegoro II.
The third marriage occurred in 1808 with RA Retnadewati, a kiai’s daughter in the southern region of Yogyakarta. This was because his first and third wives, namely Madubrongto and Retnadewati, died when Diponegoro was still living in Tegalrejo.
He then remarried in 1810 to Raden Ayu Citrawati, the daughter of Raden Tumenggung Rangga Parwirasentika with one of his concubine wives. However, his wife died not long after giving birth to their child due to the riots in Madiun. The baby was then handed over to Ki Tembi to be raised and given the name s inglon (pseudonym) which is famous as Raden Mas Singlon.
Diponegoro married for the fifth time on 28 September 1814 with Raden Ayu Maduretno, daughter of Raden Rangga Prawiradirjo III and Ratu Maduretna (daughter of Sultan Hamengkubuwana II). His wife is the same father as Sentot Prawiradirdja, but has a different mother. Raden Ayu Maduretno was appointed empress with the title Kanjeng Ratu Kedaton I on February 18 1828, when Prince Diponegoro was crowned as Sultan Abdulhamid.
In January 1828, he married for the sixth time to Raden Ayu Retnoningrum, the daughter of Prince Medina or Dipawiyana II. He married for the seventh time to Raden Ayu Ratnaningsih, daughter of Raden Tumenggung Sumaprawira, a regent of Jipang Kepadhangan. His last marriage was to RA Retnakumala, the daughter of Kiai Guru Kasongan.
From his several marriages, Diponegoro had 12 sons and five daughters, all of whose descendants currently live in various parts of the world, including Java, Madura, Sulawesi, Maluku, Australia, Serbia, Germany, the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia.
Diponegoro War (1825–1830)
The Diponegoro War or Java War began with the decisions and actions of the Dutch colonial government which installed stakes on Diponegoro’s land in Tegalrejo Village. These actions were made worse by several Dutch behaviors that did not respect local customs and excessive exploitation of the people with high taxes. This is what made Prince Diponegoro even more disgusted and sparked an attitude of resistance.
According to former Minister of Education and Culture, Professor Wardiman Djojonegoro, there are historical distortions in several literature written by the Dutch East Indies regarding the causes of Prince Diponegoro’s resistance.
He was said to have felt hurt towards the Dutch colonial government and the palace, which refused to allow him to become king. The resistance he carried out was actually because he wanted to relieve the suffering of the poor from the Dutch tax system and free the palace from oppression.
Diponegoro’s decision and attitude to openly oppose the Dutch then received support and sympathy from the people. On the advice of his uncle, GPH Mangkubumi, Diponegoro left Tegalrejo and made his base in Selarong Cave.
At that time, he stated that his resistance was a “crusade”, namely resistance against the infidels. The spirit of “crusade” that he waged had a widespread influence in the Pacitan and Kedu regions. The battlefields include Yogyakarta, Kedu, Bagelen, Surakarta, and several areas such as Banyumas, Wonosobo, Banjarnegara, Weleri, Pekalongan, Tegal, Semarang, Demak, Kudus, Purwodadi, Parakan, Magelang, Madiun, Pacitan, Kediri, Bojonegoro, Tuban, and Surabaya.
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Dutch Tactics in the Diponegoro War
For the Dutch, the Diponegoro War was an open war involving various types of troops, starting from infantry, cavalry and artillery, which since the Napoleonic Wars had always been the mainstay weapon in frontal battles.
Front battles took place in various villages and cities throughout Java and were very fierce. Control of an area always changes. If an area was controlled by Dutch troops during the day, that night the area was recaptured by native troops, and vice versa.
Logistics routes were built from one region to another to support war needs. Dozens of gunpowder factories were built in forests and at the bottom of ravines. Production of gunpowder and bullets continued while the war raged. Ciphers and couriers worked hard to find and convey the information needed to formulate a war strategy.
Information about enemy strength, distance and time, terrain conditions, rainfall becomes the main news, because effective tactics and strategies can only be developed through mastery of information.
At the height of the war in 1827, the Dutch deployed more than 23,000 soldiers, something that had never happened in an area that was not very large like Central Java and parts of East Java, but was guarded by tens of thousands of soldiers.
Based on a military perspective, this was the first war that involved all methods known in modern warfare, both the open warfare method and the guerilla warfare method which was carried out through hit and run tactics and ambush.
This was not a tribal war, but a modern war that utilized various tactics that had never been put into practice at that time. This war was equipped with psywar tactics (psychological warfare) through insinuation and pressure, as well as provocation by the Dutch against those directly involved in the battle. Apart from that, this war also used spying (espionage) with both parties spying on each other and looking for information about the strengths and weaknesses of their opponents.
The Dutch also continued to use various cunning methods to capture Diponegoro, even a competition was used by issuing an edict on September 21 1829, namely that anyone who could capture Prince Diponegoro, whether alive or dead, would be given a prize of 50,000 Guilders, along with land and honors.
A change in Dutch strategy occurred when Governor General De Kock was appointed commander of the entire Dutch East Indies in 1827. To limit Diponegoro’s guerrilla movement and strategy, De Kock used a fortification strategy (Fort Stelsel).
Forts with barbed wire were erected once the Dutch troops succeeded in seizing the area under Diponegoro’s troops. The aim was so that Diponegoro’s troops could not return and narrow their space for movement. The forts were close together and connected by fast-moving troops.
Diponegoro’s resistance increasingly weakened since the end of 1828, namely after Kiai Madja, the spiritual leader of the rebellion, was arrested on 12 October 1828. Followed by Sentot Prawirodirdjo and his troops on 16 October 1828. The situation was further aggravated because Diponegoro’s troops had difficulty financing, and his wife RA Ratnaningsih and his son was captured on October 14, 1829.
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Negotiation and Betrayal
On February 16 1830, Diponegoro agreed to meet with General De Kock’s envoy, namely Colonel Jan Baptist Clereens and sent Kiai Pekih Ibrahim and Haji Badaruddin so that Clereens could come to Remo Kamal, Bagelen (now in Purworejo Regency), at the upper reaches of the Cingcingguling River.
Furthermore, a meeting on February 20 1830 between the two parties did not result in an agreement, even though it went smoothly and amicably. Finally, Diponegoro wanted to meet De Kock directly, who was in Batavia at that time and intended to wait for him in West Bagelen. However, Clereens suggested that Diponegoro wait for him in Menoreh. He finally arrived on February 21, 1830 and was hailed by his 700 followers.
At that time, the month of Ramadan lasted from 25 February to 27 March 1830 and Diponegoro emphasized to De Kock that during the meeting there would be no serious discussions and only normal social gatherings until the month of Ramadan ended. De Kock agreed. While in Magelang, all troops and their followers were marked with turbans and black robes given by Clereens.
De Kock showed a sweet attitude towards Diponegoro by giving him a gift of a gray horse and 10,000 f in installments in two installments to support his followers during the fasting month. De Kock also allowed the prince’s wife, his mother, his two young sons and daughters (Raden Mas Joned and Raden Mas Raib), his eldest son who was in North Kedu (Basah Imam Musbah) to join him in Magelang.
In De Kock’s mind, the voluntary arrival of Diponegoro and his followers showed that he had lost de facto . Meanwhile, during the fasting month, De Kock met him three times, namely twice during a dawn walk in the residency garden and once when De Kock came alone to the guest house.
However, the spy installed by Resident Valck in the Diponegoro unit, Tumenggung Mangunkusumo, reported that Diponegoro still insisted on getting Dutch recognition as the sultan of southern Java or as queen of the paneteg panatagama wonten ing Tanah Jawi sedaya (king and religious administrator in all of Java or head of the Islamic religion).
After that, De Kock gave secret orders to his two commanders on March 25 1830, namely Lieutenant Colonel Louis du Perron and Major AV Michels, to prepare military equipment to secure Diponegoro’s capture.
Finally, on March 28 1830, coinciding with Eid al-Fitr, General De Kock met with Diponegoro. General De Kock was accompanied by Resident Kedu Valck, Lieutenant Colonel Roest (De Kock’s officer), Major FVHA de Stuers, and Javanese translator, Captain JJ Roefs.
Prince Diponegoro was accompanied by his three sons, religious advisor, two punakawan, and commander Basah Mertanegara. De Kock started the meeting by asking Diponegoro not to return to Metesih. Diponegoro was surprised and asked De Kock again why he was not allowed to return, even though he was only visiting towards the end of the fasting month. De Kock immediately said he would arrest Diponegoro and the atmosphere immediately became tense.
Painting of the arrest of Prince Diponegoro by Lieutenant General Hendrik Markus de Kock on March 28 1830, by Raden Saleh.
Diponegoro immediately responded by asking why he had to be detained. He feels innocent and has no hatred towards anyone. Mertanegara interrupted the conversation and asked that the political problem be resolved at another time. De Kock immediately interrupted the conversation and emphasized in a high tone that the political problem would be resolved that day.
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Diponegoro immediately spoke and accused De Kock of having a rotten heart because his decision was hasty and had never been discussed beforehand during the fasting month. He said that he had no other wishes, unless the Dutch colonial government recognized him as a Muslim in Java and the title of sultan he held.
De Kock then ordered Lieutenant Colonel Roest to ask Du Perron to prepare troops. Diponegoro responded to this action by saying, “With a situation like that and because of your evil nature, I am not afraid of death. I am not afraid of being killed and do not intend to avoid it.”
De Kock was shocked to hear Diponegoro’s tough attitude and said in a low voice that he would not kill Diponegoro. However, it will still fulfill Diponegoro’s wishes. It had occurred to Diponegoro to stab a keris into De Kock’s body, but he abandoned that intention because it would lower his dignity.
After drinking tea and approaching his followers, Diponegoro went out and was arrested. He was willing to surrender on condition that the remaining members of his army be released. After being arrested in Magelang, he was exiled to the Semarang Residency Building in Ungaran, then taken to Batavia on April 5 1830 on the ship Pollux.
Diponegoro arrived in Batavia on April 11, 1830 and was held prisoner in the stadhuis (Fatahillah Museum Building). He was then exiled to Manado on April 30 1830 with his sixth wife, Tumenggung Dipasena, and other followers such as Mertaleksana, Banteng Planthopper, and Nyai Sotaruna.
They arrived in Manado on May 3 1830 and were taken prisoner at Fort Nieuw Amsterdam. In 1834, Diponegoro was moved to Makassar until his death in Fort Rotterdam on January 8, 1855.
So, that’s a brief explanation of the biography of Prince Diponegoro and his role in the Java War 1825–1830 . Appreciate the services of national figures, such as Prince Diponegoro, not only by remembering them silently and giving thanks, but also by imitating their attitudes and actions.
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