Han Kik Ko
Han Kik Ko | |
|---|---|
| Kapitein der Chinezen of Pasuruan | |
| In office 1808–1810 | |
| Constituency | Pasuruan, East Java |
| Regent of Probolinggo | |
| In office 1810 – 1813 (died in office) | |
| Preceded by | Unknown |
| Succeeded by | Raden Soetik |
| Constituency | Probolinggo, East Java |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1766 Surabaya, East Java |
| Died | 1813 Probolinggo, East Java |
| Relations | Han Siong Kong (grandfather) Han Chan Piet, Majoor der Chinezen (brother) |
| Children | Han Tjan Goan, Kapitein der Chinezen |
| Parent |
|
| Residence(s) | Pasuruan & Probolinggo, East Java |
| Occupation | Majoor der Chinezen, priyayi, landlord |
Han Kik Ko, Majoor der Chinezen, Regent van Probolinggo (1766–1813), also known as Han Tik Ko in European sources, was a Peranakan Chinese magnate, government official and landlord in East Java.[1][2][3][4][5] He was a pioneer of the sugar industry in East Java, and acquired the district of Probolinggo which he ruled as despot. His rule resulted in a peasant uprising in 1813, in which he was killed.[1][3][4]
Family background
[edit]Han Kik Ko Sia was born in Surabaya in 1767, the fifth of twelve sons, to Han Bwee Kong (1727–1778), and was a grandson of the Chinese migrant Han Siong Kong (1673–1743), founder of the powerful Han family of Lasem.[1] His father, Han Bwee Kong, held the civil government post of Kapitein der Chinezen, which gave him legal and political authority over the Chinese community of Surabaya.[2][6] As the son of a Chinese officer, Han Kik Ko bore the hereditary title 'Sia'.[7]
Other prominent members of his family include his elder brother and fellow landlord, Han Chan Piet, Majoor der Chinezen (1759–1827); his uncle, the Muslim convert and magnate, Ngabehi Soero Pernollo (1720–1776); and his cousins, the Javanese noblemen and bureaucrats Adipati Soero Adinegoro (1752–1833) and Raden Soero Adiwikromo.[2][3][8] His family played an important role in the consolidation of Dutch rule in East Java in the mid-eighteenth century, and the subsequent administration and economic development of the region.[1][2][3][8]
Landlord and official
[edit]
By the early nineteenth century, Han Kik Ko was already a significant landlord in East Java.[1][2] He owned land outside Surabaya, and rented a country estate in Kraton, in the Residency of Pasuruan, consisting of 12 villages and 2,538 residents.[1][2] His first government appointment was as Kapitein der Chinezen of Pasuruan.[1][2]
The Kapitein played an important role as a pioneer in the sugar industry in East Java.[1][2] The region's oldest sugar mill, dating to 1799, was established by the Kapitein on his estate in Pasuruan.[1][2]
In 1810, after the purchase of Besuki and Panarukan by Majoor Han Chan Piet, the Kapitein followed his elder brother's example by buying the district of Probolinggo.[1][3][4][5] He agreed to pay one million Spanish dollars in a series of instalments to the government of Herman Willem Daendels, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies during the Interregnum (1806–1815).[9]
Daendels subsequently promoted the Kapitein to Majoor der Chinezen, as well as Regent of Probolinggo with the Javanese noble title of Tumanggung.[1][3][5] The new Majoor-Regent had direct authority over 150,000 people; his brother, Majoor Han Chan Piet, ruled the districts of Besuki and Panarukan through allied members of the traditional Javanese bureaucracy, including Muslim members of the Han family of Lasem.[9]
During Majoor Han Kik Ko's rule new methods of irrigation were implemented, rice cultivation increased, and new crops were introduced.[1][2] The Majoor-Regent also encouraged Madurese immigration into his territory in order to increase its population.[1][2]
He was accused of despotism in his rule of Probolinggo;[1][2] fifty percent of all crops grown in the district was taken as tribute and the rest was purchased compulsorily by the Majoor-Regent for a low price.[4] There were taxes on many other things, from living people to funerals and buffaloes.[4]
On 18 May 1813, an uprising broke out – later dubbed Kepruk Cina ('Attack on the Chinese').[3][4] At the time, Majoor Han Kik Ko was entertaining visiting British dignitaries, all of whom were caught unaware.[3][4] The Majoor-Regent and some of his guests were killed by the rebels.[3][4]
Aftermath
[edit]The British government of Sir Stamford Raffles, who had succeeded Daendels as Governor-General, repurchased the district from the Majoor-Regent's heirs.[3][4] In return, three of the latter's sons were given a lifelong usufruct of the district.[1][2]
The family connection with both Pasuruan and Probolinggo was maintained.[1][2] Four of the Majoor-Regent's sons were active in the sugar industry in Pasuruan, and left descendants who maintained their prominence in the region.[1] Han Tjan Gwan, second son of the Majoor-Regent, moved back to Probolinggo and was appointed its Kapitein der Chinezen from 1847 until 1860.[1]
Descendants of the Majoor's Javanese uncle, Ngabehi Soero Pernollo, also maintained government positions in Probolinggo.[1][8] The latter's grandson, Raden Soetik (from 1816 until 1818), and great-grandson, Raden Karaman (in 1856), were both appointed Regents of Probolinggo in succession to their Chinese cousin.[1][8]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Salmon, Claudine (1991). "The Han Family of East Java. Entrepreneurship and Politics (18th–19th Centuries) [". Archipel. 41 (1): 53–87. doi:10.3406/arch.1991.2711. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Salmon, Claudine (1997). "La communauté chinoise de Surabaya. Essai d'histoire, des origines à la crise de 1930". Archipel. 53 (1): 121–206. doi:10.3406/arch.1997.3396. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Margana, Sri (2007). Java's last frontier : the struggle for hegemony of Blambangan, c. 1763–1813. Leiden: TANAP. pp. 210–236. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Hannigan, Tim (2012). Raffles and the British Invasion of Java (1st ed.). Singapore: Monsoon Books. ISBN 978-9814358866. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
- ^ a b c Tandjung, Krisnina Maharani (2010). Traces of Sugar : The Legacy of Java's Sugar Industry (1st ed.). Jakarta: Yayasan Warna Warni Indonesia. ISBN 9789791383080.
- ^ Blussé, Leonard; Chen, Menghong (2003). The Archives of the Kong Koan of Batavia. Leiden: Brill. pp. 1–7. ISBN 9004131574. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
- ^ Blussé, Leonard; Chen, Menghong (2003). The Archives of the Kong Koan of Batavia. Amsterdam: BRILL. ISBN 9004131574. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- ^ a b c d Han, Bing Siong (2001). "A Short Note on a Few Uncertain Links in the Han Lineage". Archipel. 62 (1): 43–52. doi:10.3406/arch.2001.3660. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
- ^ a b Review of the Administration, Value, and State of the Colony of Java: With Its Dependencies, as it Was, as it Is, and as it May be. London: Black, Parbury & Allen. 1816. pp. 32–35. Retrieved 25 February 2016.