Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Eventually, in 1838, the raja of Mataram,
Ratu Agung K'tut
, triumphed over the other prin-
cipalities and also brought the east of Lombok under his control. Astutely, he also provided
four thousand troops to support the Dutch in their fight against Karangasem in eastern Bali.
This ensured the defeat of the ruling dynasty in Karangasem, for which service the Dutch
gave him the right to put his own nominee on the Karangasem throne.
Dutch incursions
By the mid-1830s, the Dutch interest in Bali had intensified. By that time Bali was ruled
by a number of kingdoms, recognizable today as the regencies named after them; Badung,
Bangli, Buleleng, Jembrana, Karangasem, Klungkung, Mengwi and Tabanan. The Danish
trader
Mads Lange
had set up a trading post in Kuta supplying rice to British-held Singapore.
The Dutch started trading with Bali, with the aim of gaining political control before the Brit-
ish. In 1839 they established an agent in Kuta with the agreement of the raja of Badung. In
1840, the Dutch envoy,
Huskus Koopman
, began a series of visits with the long-term aim of
gaining Dutch sovereignty over the island.
The Dutch also wanted to abolish Balinese
tawan karang
or reef rights, which had been a
long-term grievance. The Balinese had always asserted their right to goods salvaged from
shipping wrecked on the island's reefs, much of which was Dutch. The plundering of the
Dutch vessel
Overijssel
, wrecked on the Kuta reef on July 19, 1841, particularly outraged the
Dutch.
By 1843 Koopman had made
treaties
with the kingdoms of Badung, Klungkung, Buleleng,
Karangasem and Tabanan, agreeing to a Dutch trade monopoly. The rajas failed to realize that
they had also given the Dutch sovereignty over their lands and surrendered reef rights. Fol-
lowing Koopman's retirement, a new commissioner arrived in 1844 to finalize the treaties,
but it soon became apparent that there were huge differences in Dutch and Balinese under-
standings. Most kingdoms did ratify the treaties, but
Buleleng
and
Karangasem
stood firm.
A further Dutch mission came the following year, including a military officer whose brief
was to assess the Buleleng defences. At a meeting in Singaraja in May 1845, Gusti Ketut
Jelantik, brother of the rajas of Buleleng and Karangasem, stated, “Not by a mere scrap of
paper shall any man become the master of another's lands. Rather let the
kris
decide.”
The First and Second Dutch Military Expeditions
On June 26, 1846, the
First Dutch Military Expedition
arrived off the Buleleng coast with
3500 men. On June 28, the military force landed and marched into Singaraja. The rajas of
Buleleng and Karangasem eventually surrendered, agreeing to Dutch sovereignty and to pay-
ing costs for the victor's military expedition.
The Dutch departed, believing they had achieved their objectives, and left behind a small
garrison until the compensation was paid. However, this fitted in with Jelantik's plan, and
he continued to prepare for future battle. Meanwhile, nothing was paid to the Dutch, and
