Dutch Timor

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Dutch Timor Dutch Nederlands-Timor was a Dutch colony in the western part of the island of Timor , one of the Lesser Sunda Islands , from the mid-17th century to 1950 . It is now part of the Indonesian province of Nusa Tenggara Timur . The capital of Dutch Timor was Kupang .

history

The colony included several other islands in addition to western Timor, including:

Portuguese explorers first visited the island of Timor in the early 16th century and found several small empires. The most important was Wehale in Central Timor. In 1556 the Portuguese founded their first base on Timor. In 1586 large parts of Timor were declared a colony of Portuguese Timor .

From 1613 the Dutch VOC pressed the Portuguese on Timor, but temporarily gave up their bases. It was not until 1640 that the Dutch built a fortress in Kupang and established a colony under the direction of a VOC head. The sphere of influence remained limited to the five small rulers in the vicinity of Kupang, the "five loyal allies" in Sonbai Kecil , Kupang- Helong , Amabi (1665), Amfo'an (1683) and Taebenu (1688), while Portugal in 1642 Wehale and thus effectively subjugated West and Central Timor. It was not until the Battle of Penfui in 1749 that the supremacy of the Portuguese and the Topasse allied with them was broken by the Dutch.

At the instigation of the VOC diplomat Johannes Andreas Paravicini , 48 rulers of Solors, Rotis, Sawus , Sumbas and a large part of West Timor concluded alliances with the Dutch East India Company in 1756. This was the beginning of Dutch rule in what is now Indonesian West Timor. Among the signatories was a certain Jacinto Correa (Hiacijinto Corea) , King of Wewiku-Wehale and Grand Duke of Belu , who also signed the dubious Treaty of Paravicini on behalf of 27 empires traditionally subordinate to him in central Timor . Fortunately for the Portuguese, Wehale was no longer powerful enough to pull all local rulers to the side of the Dutch. 16 of the 27 former vassals of Wehales in the east remained under the flag of Portugal , while Wehale itself fell under Dutch rule. Portugal was also able to hold out in some exclaves in the northwest. After the VOC collapsed in 1799, Dutch Timor became a colony of the Dutch state (then the Batavian Republic ). It was occupied by the British during the Napoleonic Wars that followed .

Warriors near Kupangs , illustration made during a German expedition in 1875

In 1816 the Dutch government restored its state authority and in 1818 handed the islands over to the administration of the Moluccas . In 1819 Timor became an independent Dutch colony administered by a resident and divided into five administrative districts: Timor, Roti, Sawu, Larantuka (East Flores) and Sumba.

In 1905 Dutch Timor had a population of around 380,500. The capital Kupang had around 8,000 inhabitants, including 145 Europeans , 594 Chinese and 43 Arabs .

The border between the Portuguese and Dutch parts of the island ( Portuguese Timor ) was determined by the Treaty of Lisbon in 1859 , which was followed by another treaty in 1893. However, the final determination was not made until 1916.

During the Second World War , the Japanese invaded Timor on December 12, 1942 , defeated the 600 Dutch garrison troops and a command unit comprising 1,400 Australian soldiers and conquered both West and East Timor (see Battle of Timor ). The island was liberated on August 14, 1945, and Indonesia declared independence three days later. The Dutch came back, but met fierce Indonesian resistance. In 1950 Dutch Timor became part of Indonesia as Indonesian Timor. The name West Timor ( Timor Barat ) came into use in 1975 when Indonesia annexed East Timor , which had been Portuguese until then .

Trivia

William Bligh , captain of the HMAV Bounty , reached Dutch Timor on June 14, 1789. After the mutiny on the Bounty , he was put overboard in a lifeboat and reached Kupang after 48 days and 6700 kilometers.

Mary Bryant , a British prisoner who escaped from the Australian convict colony in 1791, arrived in Kupang with her children and eight other prisoners after her famous sea voyage of 66 days and 5000 kilometers. When the Dutch authorities found that the prisoners were escaped, they were sent back to the UK.

In April 1931, the first Imperial Airways mail flight between London and Sydney crashed near Kupang. The mail was saved and transported on another plane that the mail delivered to Sydney on April 29th.

literature