Sentot Prawirodirdjo
Sentot Prawirodirdjo | |
|---|---|
| File:Sentot, opperbevelhebber der rebellen.jpg Drawing c. 1900 | |
| Born | 1808 Maospati, Yogyakarta Sultanate |
| Died | 17 April 1855 (aged 46–47) Bengkulu, Dutch East Indies |
Ali Basah Abdul Mustapa Prawirodirdjo (1808 – 17 April 1855), also known as Sentot Ali Pasha or Sentot Prawirodirdjo, was a Javanese Muslim military commander during the Java War. He joined Diponegoro's rebel forces at the age of seventeen, and became a renowned commander in the war, and later became overall commander. He surrendered to the Dutch in October 1829. In Dutch service, Prawirodirdjo was given command of a Javanese unit under Dutch command during a 1832 Chinese riot in Purwakarta and then in the Padri War, when he was accused of collusion with Padri leaders. He was exiled to Bengkulu and died there.
Early life
[edit | edit source]Prawirodirdjo was born in 1808 in Maospati to Rongga Prawirodirdjo III, the bupati of Madiun, through a concubine.[1] Rongga was killed in a 1810 revolt against the colonial government of Herman Willem Daendels.[2] His mother was likely Dayawati, Rongga's concubine who died in 1810.[1] During Prawirodirdjo's childhood, Yogyakartan Prince Diponegoro made an effort to educate him as a santri, but this failed, as Prawirodirdjo showed a "violent dislike" for the education.[3]
Java war
[edit | edit source]Upon the outbreak of Diponegoro's rebellion in 1825, seventeen-year-old Prawirodirdjo joined his rebel forces. In the ensuing Java War, he was initially a cavalry commander of the rebels,[4] and he gained "Sentot" (Javanese for "to dash", also spelled as "Senthot") as a nom de guerre.[3] Diponegoro awarded him the title "Ali Basah" (derived from Ottoman "Ali Pasha", also spelled as "Alibasyah"[5] or "Ali Basya"[6]).[7] He developed a tactic involving the camouflaging of his horsemen behind bamboo fences in order to ambush Dutch columns.[8] Throughout early and mid 1826, Sentot and Diponegoro won a series of victories against the Dutch, including at Lengkong, Kejiwan, and Delanggu, before suffering a major defeat at the Battle of Gawok in October.[9]
As the war transitioned into guerilla campaigns, Sentot led a series of ambushes against Dutch column, such as one in Kroya in 1828 which annihilated a full column. Dutch commanders experiencing these ambushes praised Sentot's battlefield command, with H. J. J. L. de Stuers describing him as a "young, fiery and in every respect a brilliant Javanese ... who knew how to blaze a trail for himself by virtue of his energy and shrewdness". According to Diponegoro's account, Sentot was frequently injured, having eight different horses he rode killed throughout the war.[3] Throughout the war, Sentot and Diponegoro discussed the idea of conquering the Lesser Sunda Islands should they defeat the Dutch.[10]
In December 1828, Diponegoro agreed to Sentot's request to take over overall military command, and also grant him the authority to levy taxes from rebel-controlled territories.[11] The illiterate[3] Sentot became overwhelmed with rebel finances and reports, and became slow to react to Dutch actions. In one case, this led to rebel defeat at the Battle of Nanggulon.[11] As the rebel situation deteriorated, and food supplies for rebel troops became scarce, Sentot began to enter tentative talks with his Dutch counterparts.[12] By late 1829, the rebels had lost much popular support, and after a major defeat at the Battle of Siluk in September 1829, Sentot became separated with Diponegoro and surrendered to the Dutch on 16 October 1829.[13][12]
Dutch service and exile
[edit | edit source]
After Sentot's surrender, he was given command of a native Javanese unit of 450 men, financed by the Dutch colonial government.[12][14] The unit was deployed to Batavia in 1831 and saw action in suppressing a 1832 riot of Chinese migrants in Purwakarta, earning praise from Dutch commanders.[14] During the crackdowns, Sentot's unit engaged a mob of 800 rioters and crushed the group. After the engagement, Sentot's unit reportedly beheaded 600 killed rioters and sent their heads to Batavia.[15]
The unit was then sent to West Sumatra in 1833, to take part in the Padri War.[14] Governor-General Johannes van den Bosch planned to create a Javanese-held principality in the Lintau region under Sentot to create a permanent auxiliary presence there. To this end, Sentot was provided with an appanage of around 5,000 people in Lintau.[16] However, Sentot began colluding with the Minangkabau religious leaders,[12] reportedly meeting in secret with Padri leader Tuanku Imam Bonjol.[6] He also made trips to the Pagaruyung area outside of his jurisdiction.[16]
Upon the outbreak of continued fighting in the Bonjol area, Sentot was blamed and arrested by the Dutch.[16] He was removed from command, his unit later being absorbed by the KNIL.[14] After being sent back to Batavia, Sentot was allowed to go on a hajj before he was exiled to Bengkulu, where he died on 17 April 1855.[12][17] His grave is located in what is today downtown Bengkulu, surrounded by a public cemetery.[5]
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Carey 2015, p. 259.
- ^ a b c d Carey 2015, p. 649.
- ^ Carey 2015, p. 192.
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Carey 2015, pp. 152–153.
- ^ Carey 2015, p. 608.
- ^ Carey 2015, p. 642.
- ^ Carey 2015, p. 590.
- ^ a b Carey 2015, pp. 650–651.
- ^ a b c d e Carey 2015, p. 652.
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b c d Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
Lua error in Module:Authority_control at line 153: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).