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To the north east
of
Jakarta's main sprawl out past Tanjung Priok but within rock
throwing distance of Tugu lies what was once the scene of the largest
naval action in the east until the second world war. A British armada of
some 100 ships carrying 12000 men laid anchor at the mouth of the
Cilincing at 2 pm on Sunday August 4th 1811, their mission to invade and
conquer the island of Java, the being ruled by the Dutch with some
French input.
Java was and of
course still is the pivotal point of a large sea trading nation and you
would imagine 100 foreign ships turning up in your front garden might
have excited some comment or reaction. Instead the invading armies,
divided roughly between European and Indian forces, landed under the
bemused eyes of local fishermen who probably decided that Sunday may be
a good day to rest. Battling contrary tides the worst the forces
suffered was some pre invasion meals being regurgitated into the bay.
A map showing the
positions after landing makes interesting viewing. A frigate, named
Leda, blocked the river mouth while small rafts ferried the troops
ashore. Once on land they would have waded through morasses to build
defenses were set on the roads in the area. One heading to Batavia, the
other to Cornelis. Yep, just 2 roads!
Cilincing itself
appears as a couple of islands between a river and a canal. The Dutch
had thoughtfully left the bridge over the canal standing thereby doing
their best not to impede the invasion too much. Head quarters was set up
just to the south of the rivers in a house built in the 1700s by a
prominent Dutch landowner named Julius Vinck who also made his mark in
neighbouring
Tugu.
It would have been here the force commander Auchtemy and possibly
Raffles, the man chosen to lead a new Java spent their first
night in Java. Around them were rice fields and tree clumps with
isolated kampungs by the sides of the innumerable streams while being so
far from
Batavia strong walls provided defence against any locals who
weren't overjoyed by their landlord
After roughing it
under the stars the next day was wagons roll. Tugu was reached, the
church there is marked on contemporary maps as Suyrannah, while along
the north coast they passed Tanjung Priok and by the Tuesday they had
reached Ancol. If they had waited 180 years they could have got the toll
road, got stuck in the traffic and never made it into Jakarta!
Some
of the invading forces, well at least a few European officers, who died
are buried or remembered in the grounds of All Saints Church which is
near Gambir Station.
Sources:
Historical Sites of
Jakarta - A Heuken
The Conquest of Java
- William Thorn |
