Dutch intervention in Bali (1908)

Dutch invasion of South Bali (1908)
Date April 1908 Location Bali, Indonesia Result Dutch victory
Belligerents
Netherlands	Balinese fighting for independence
Commanders and leaders
Marinus Bernardus Rost van Tonningen	Dewa Agung Jambe  † Raja of Bangli   Raja of Karangasem
Strength
250	700
Casualties and losses
6 killed 5 wounded	200 killed

The Dutch conquest of Klungkung, Bali in 1908 marked the final phase of Dutch colonial control over the island of Bali in Indonesia. It was the seventh and last military intervention in Bali, following the Dutch invasion of South (1906).

The intervention was triggered by Balinese opposition to a Dutch attempt to impose an opium monopoly in their favour.^[1] The raja of Klungkung, the highest status king of Bali, opposed the imposition of the monopoly. An attack on the Dutch opium store in Gelgel, on 16 April 1908 was instigated by Cokorda Gelgel, a member of the Klungkung dynasty. At the same time, the ruler of Klungkung, the Dewa Agung, ordered the closure of the opium store in Klungkung city.^[2]

The Dutch sent troops in revenge. In Gelgel, they killed 100 Balinese, forcing the Cokorda to flee to Klungkung.^[3] The Dutch then bombarded the city of Klungkung.

In a final confrontation on 18 April 1908, Dewa Agung Jambe, the Raja of Klungung, accompanied by 200 followers, made a desperate sortie out of his Palace, clad in white and armed with a legendary kris supposed to wreak havoc on the enemy according to a prophecy.^[1] The Raja was shot by a Dutch bullet. Immediately, the six wives of the king killed themselves with their own kris, soon followed by the other Balinese in the procession.^[3]

The Dutch burned the Royal Palace to the ground. As Klungkung came under Dutch power, the Raja of Bangli submitted and in October 1908 negotiated for a Dutch protectorate similar to that of Gianyar and Karangasem.^[1] These events ended Balinese resistance to the Dutch.^[1][3]

See also

• History of Bali
• Klungkung Palace

Notes

References

• Agung, Ide Anak Agung Gde Agung (1988). Bali Pada Abad XIX (first ed.). Yogyakarta: Gadjah Mada University Press. ISBN 979-420-114-6.
• Willard A. Hanna (2004). Bali Chronicles. Periplus, Singapore. ISBN 0-7946-0272-X.
• Insight Guide: Bali 2002 Brian Bell editor, Apa Publications GmbH&Co ISBN 1-58573-288-5.

This page was last edited on 17 April 2024, at 12:46