Duurstede - Silent Witness to Moluccan Heroism

The Dutch colonials began its grab on the Moluccas on 1814, after handover by the British. Dutch terrible policies soon followed, among which the worst was the “extirpation” of local nutmeg and clove plantation of those disobeying Dutch monopoly rules. This and other suppressive measures by the Dutch colonial authority ultimately met with people’s resistance, even armed rebellion.

Fort Duurstede's front look

The fort Duurstede was seized in May 16, 1817, by local warriors led by Kapitan Pattimura. All inhabitants of the fort were killed, except the Resident Van Den Berg’s five-year old son Juan. The capturing of Fort Duurstede by Pattimura’s forces caused a significant shock to the Dutch VOC (East India Company), as this fortress was functioned as its government and defense headquarter at the Saparua area.

Subsequent efforts by the Dutch to recapture the fort by means of deploying extra troops and weaponry were all doomed to fail. This situation prompted the VOC to proceed more aggressively by asking for aid from kings of Ternate and Tidore, who responded by sending no less than 1,500 troops. The strengthened Dutch troops, led by Commissary General Buyskers, implemented a new strategy to recapture the occupied Fort Duurstede by capturing surrounding islands first. This apparently worked well, as Pattimura’s forces were pushed back into the sago forests and into the mountains, forced to abandon the Duurstede.

Duurstede's watch tower

Fort Duurstede is located in Saparua Island, about 50 miles from Ambon, the capital of Moluccan province, about 50 minutes by speedboats when the sea is calm, 60-75 minutes in relatively rough seas. Upon arrival in Haria ferry quay in Saparua Island, you can proceed to Duurstede’s location by available land transportation, ojek, i.e. hired motorbike. Don’t worry about accommodations, since there are many relatively cheap restaurants available around the site, and a nearby hotel stands ready for your lodging service.

Arriving at the historical site itself will be quite an impressive experience. From the large grass field where local people let their cattle feed, you can freely stretch your eyesight seaward, and see the neighboring Nusa Laut Island from afar. A water-well in front of the fortress, however, bears a bit creepy name, “well of death” – as it was told that several Dutch soldiers going out to take water from the well were put to death by Pattimura and his men lurking for their enemies.

Original canon at Duurstede's wall

This fortress itself, until today still standing tough in its original structure, has an amazing surrounding, as it was built next to a white-sandy beach with its crystal-clear water. The uniqueness of this fortress lies in its structure located upon an approximately 20-feet high rocky hill, and you’d have to climb up a 24-level stair to reach the fortress’ only entrance at the front part. Standing atop this fortress’ walls, you’ll have a dazzling seaward view with traditional fishing boats sailing around, due to its strategic location which in the past enabled guarding soldiers to keep an eye on the whole surrounding area. Within its walls you can still find the old canons and watch towers intact.

Beside enjoying the fortress’ magnificence of the past, you can also entertain yourself at the nearby Pasir Putih (white sand) beach and enjoy the soft breeze while gazing at the sunset.

Fort Duurstede was  first built in 1676 by Arnold de Vlaming van Oudshoor (or by the Portuguese, according to some sources), and then its construction process was continued in 1690 by Nicolaas Schaghen, then the governor of Amboina, and named Duurstede, according to his own birthplace in the Netherlands.

This historical site was declared as preserved in 1992 by Indonesian government.

Kapitan Pattimura - The Man and The Story

The Statue of Pattimura in Ambon, at
the very spot of his execution

The coming year of 2017 will be the 200^th anniversary of Pattimura Day in Moluccas, Indonesia, which is held annually at May 15, commemorating the massive (and victorious) attack by Kapitan (from Portuguese capitão, means 'captain') Pattimura and his warriors on Dutch fortress Duurstede in Saparua Island in 1817.

In 1816, after the handover of Moluccas from British colonial authority back to the Dutch, several suppressive measures were then applied, such as trade monopoly, land taxing, and relocations of entire villages. Moluccan natives previously serving with British military were forced to serve with the Dutch military, despite the agreement described in Anglo-Dutch Treaty, or London Tractate, signed in August 13, 1814,  that these natives were free to choose either to enter service within the new authority or quit military service. Pattimura himself had served within the British military up to the rank of sergeant-major.

Worrying that the Dutch re-occupation in the Moluccas would only worsen the already bad-shaped economy and social conditions of local communities after two centuries of foreign rule, an uprising broke in 1817, led by Pattimura. Local community leaders agreed to appoint him a leader and warlord, due to his military experience and high skills in war strategies. Beside leading local warriors in battles against the Dutch forces, he also established cooperation with monarchies of Ternate, Tidore, Bali and Java, which took the ‘Pattimura war’ to a wider scale, and in turn forced the Dutch authority to deploy larger military forces to counter the armed rebellion.

Fort Duurstede, which was captured by
Pattimura's warriors in May 15, 1817

One of the most famous battles between Pattimura’s warriors and Dutch forces happened at Duurstede fortress at May 16, 1817, which was successfully overtook by Pattimura and his men after killing all Dutch soldiers including Resident Van Den Berg and his family, and leaving only his five-year old son alive. Other fierce battles also occurred at Waisisil beach, Hatawano cape, Ouw and Ulath villages, Hitu cape and southern Ceram.

All the fierce resistance by Pattimura’s forces could ultimately be quelled by means of trickery by the Dutch. Added to it was betrayal by one of his own confidant, which in the end took Pattimura and some other resistance leaders to the gallows, in December 16, 1817, in front of Fort Nieuw Victoria in Ambon Island.

Who is Pattimura, actually?

There has been heated debate recently on the historically genuine identity of Pattimura, one of the most respected national heroes of Indonesia. According to the government’s official version based on a biography authored by M. Sapija, Pattimura’s original name was Thomas Matulessy, born in June 8, 1783, in Haria, a Christian village in Saparua Island, Moluccas.

Ferry quay at Haria village, the reputedly
birthplace of Pattimura

A different version came from the historian Mansyur Suryanegara, who said that Pattimura was originally named Ahmad Lussy, born in Hualoy, an Islamic village at the southern part of Ceram Island. According to Suryanegara, Pattimura came from a noble household in the Islamic monarchy of Sahulau, ruled by Sultan (king) Abdurrahman. His name was often shortened in local dialect to ‘Mat Lussy’, which is then twisted to sound like ‘Matulessy’.

Another source suggested that Pattimura was born in Latu, a village in western Ceram, based on the assertion that ‘Pattimura’ as a family name is originated from this place. Some others tried to reconcile this controversy by suggesting that Pattimura, Ahmad Lussy, and Thomas Matulessy, were actually three different persons, and all three historically existed.

This debate and controversy doesn’t seem likely to be solved soon, as there are still so many things and facts hidden in history. But one thing is sure: whether this Pattimura is actually a historical figure or just a mythical one, all heroic stories surrounding his name will always be a living inspiration to all generations, present and future.

Ambon City, Yesterday and Today

Our journey begins in Ambon City, the capital of the province of Maluku, or the Moluccas. It has indeed many interesting sites and tourist attractions which you can visit and enjoy as you roll over and around the city. But before all that, let's look back into the past, where and when this charming city came to existence.

Early History

According to historical sources, the beautiful city presently known as Ambon had its origin within the period of Portuguese 16th-century occupation in the Moluccas. In 1575, the Portuguese began building a fortress, then named Nossa Senhora de Anunciada, on a spot ashore the Honipopu beach; then they had its workers, who were summoned from adjacent areas and villages throughout the island, settling in camps surrounding the fortress. As time went by, the workers' camps broadened as newcomers from many other areas came and settled there as well, including Portuguese driven away off Ternate. These settlements indwelt by local workers intermingled with immigrants slowly with passing ages developed into a city. That year of the Portuguese fortress' foundation, 1575, was later adopted as the year of Ambon City's birth.

The Portuguese reigned until 1609, when the Dutch came in and took over the fortress, later renamed Fort Victoria.

Later in 1921, in the period of Dutch rule, the Moluccan inhabitants of this age-old city were granted autonomy and self-government rights by the Dutch colonial authority, officially declared on September 7 of that year. Nevertheless, it was not until 1972 that this particular date, September 7, was being celebrated as the anniversary of Ambon City, as a conclusion of a panel of about 200 scholars and officials met in a seminar discussing this historical issue, and inaugurated by the city's 9th mayor, Mr. Manuputty.

In its almost four-and-a-half centuries of existence, Ambon has seen many significant events of historical importance in regard of the rest of the Moluccan Islands. Despite the Portuguese being its first European contact, it was the Dutch who seemed to have played a major role in formation of cultural and historical identity of Ambonese people.

After expelling the Portuguese, the Dutch ruled over Ambon and its population for the next three-and-a-half centuries, as they did to most part of Indonesia (known as Nederlands-Indie at that time), and it remained that way until Indonesia's declaration of independence in 1945.

Post-independence to Modern Period

RMS fighters

At the time of Republic of South Moluccas (RMS) rebellion in 1950, Ambon was the center of the movement. Indonesian armed forces invaded the city to counter the rebels, and Fort Victoria, among others, was heavily damaged during the conflict. The rebels then moved to Ceram Island and continued the rebellion there for several more years.

Subsequently, the North Celebes-based Permesta also rebelled, secretly supported by the CIA. In 1958, Ambon was heavily bombarded by US air force targeting foreign assets in the city, until one of the fighter jets was shot down and the pilot captured alive. President Eisenhower then withdrew US support, and the rebellion itself ended shortly afterwards.

Ambon had its so-called "golden age" in the 1980's, when Mr. J.  D. Wattimena, a retired army officer, was the mayor. Under his rule, Ambon was nationally recognized the cleanest city, awarded with Adipura by the central government. Unfortunately, this good reputation was not well-preserved by subsequent mayors after him. Up to this day, despite its many progresses, Ambon is still struggling to regain its glory of the past "golden age".

One of the most devastating events happened in early 1999, when a street fighting between a Christian bus driver and a Moslem man marked the beginning of a deadly 3-year long conflict between two religious communities which claimed thousands of lives and caused tens of thousands injuries, while hundreds of buildings, houses and properties were burned and destroyed, not only in Ambon but all over the Moluccan archipelago
(it was widely believed that this conflict was politically set up by unknown actors outside Ambon, as part of the political struggle after President Soeharto was forced to resign). Unfortunately, lots of cultural and historical sites were devastated as well. After a reconciliation agreement was signed by representatives of both sides in 2002, Ambon began rebuilding its infrastructures and normalizing its society lives.

Today, about 13 years after the conflict ended, Ambon has almost fully recovered from being a ruinous heap. Physically, this recovery is visible to everybody. All over the city new buildings are rising up, while new modern trade centers, big and small, appeared in various places. All economic and social activities are running normally as usual.

There remained, however, worrisome thoughts in the back of some people's minds on the issue of security: that this city and its surrounding areas are not safe enough yet for visitors, and it's still possible for new violence to erupt at any time. Facing this challenge, recently in April 2015 there has been launched a special tourism program called Mangente Ambon (a local phrase meaning "Visit Ambon"), mainly aimed at showing the outside world that Ambon is quite safe now, as well as introducing the abundance of natural and cultural richness of Ambon and the Moluccas.

Maluku, The Hidden Pearl of Indonesia Tourism

Overview

Maluku (known in English as the Moluccas), an archipelago in the eastern part of Indonesia, is nowadays an increasingly favorited spot in Indonesia tourism. It is also known as "the Spice Islands", where cloves and nutmeg, spices highly valued for their aroma and preservative ability, naturally grow. It is located geographically between Sulawesi Island to the west, the Philippines to the north, New Guinea (or Papua) Island to the east, and Australia and Timor Leste to the south; and astronomically between 2d30'N - 8d30'S and 124dE - 135d30'E. The Maluku Islands have a total area of 850,000  km², 90% of which is sea. There are an estimated 1027 islands.

Maluku's climate is tropical. In other parts of Indonesia it is typically quite humid and warm, with the sunny weather often being a little oppressive and sticky; however, the weather in Maluku is really quite different, since its seasonal trends don't follow the norm. Central and southern Maluku Islands experience the dry monsoon between October to March and the wet monsoon from May to August, which is the reverse of the rest of Indonesia.

Islands of Maluku archipelago are mostly surrounded by coral reefs and deep waters. Compared with the western provinces of Indonesia, Maluku is sparsely populated, and many of the smaller islands are uninhabited. The majority of the islands are forested and mountainous, with rainforests covering most of northern and central parts of the region. They comprise some of the most geologically complex and active regions in the world, resulting from its position at the meeting point of four geological plates and two continental blocks.

Brief history

Maluku had for centuries been well-known among foreign spice traders. Chinese annals of the Tang dynasty from around the middle of the 7th century A.D make mention of a land named Mi-li-ku, and the 14th century Javanese manuscript Nagarakertagama mentions the name Maloko. Maluku was part of the Javanese Majapahit empire and Sriwijaya empire up to the introduction of Islam in the 15th century.

Early 16th century saw the first European presence, the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch in 1599. Monopoly of spice trade enforced by these Western colonial settlers upon local inhabitants and their attempts to establish their power and influence, e.g. by the so called Hongi expeditions launched by the Dutch to maintain their trade monopoly and power,  resulted in the entire villages being razed to the ground and death of thousands of islanders

Fort Duurstede captured by Pattimura and his troops

The British occupied Maluku for a brief period during the Napoleonic war between England and France, and in 1814 the Dutch came back to grab the power in the region. However, this time it was met with strong resistance. One of the most famous rebellion was led by Thomas Matulessy a.k.a. Kapitan ("captain") Pattimura, in 1817, resulted in temporary victory with the capture of Fort ("fortress") Duurstede in Saparua. Unfortunately, much more sophisticated weaponry of the Dutch eventually outgunned that of the Moluccans, and the rebellion was finally defeated.

Dutch colonial government in Maluku lasted for approximately 2 centuries since then, until the Pacific War broke in December 7, 1941 as part of World War II that represents the new era in the history in the colonial domination in Indonesia. In Maluku islands, the Japanese troops entered through Morotai in the North and Misool Island in the east, and so began their short period of occupation all over the region. Two days after the proclamation of Indonesian independence in 1945, Maluku was declared one of the provinces of Indonesia.
 

Tourist Destinations in Maluku

You may begin your Moluccan travelling experiences in Ambon city, which is the capital of this vast archipelago province. Historically, it began with the foundation of Nossa Seinhora da Annunciada fort by the Portuguese settlers around late 1500s and early 1600s, before taken over by the Dutch in 1602, later renamed Kasteel ("castle") Nieuw Victoria; feeling save to live and work in and around the fort, local people began to settle near the fort and so the city began to grow until the present day Ambon city.

Nieuw Victoria fort in Ambon

Right in front of the Nieuw Victoria fort stands the Pattimura Memorial, at the very spot where Thomas Matulessy (or Kapitan Pattimura), one of the 19th-century popular uprising's leaders against the Dutch colonial force, was executed on the gallows by the Dutch authorities.

Another site related to Maluku's historical figures is the Martha Christina Tiahahu Memorial on the hillside at Karang Panjang, named after a heroine who also fought the colonial Dutch in 1817 and died at the age of only 18 on her way to exile on board of a Dutch warship and buried at sea.

If you're interested to learn more of Moluccan culture and natural history, Siwalima Museum can be an excellent choice to visit next. Located around 3 km from the city center, you can find Maluku's heritage preserved and portrayed in this museum, with collections of ethnographic, historic, cultural and other scientific interests. You can even have the opportunity of watching local music, performances and hand woven cloth demonstrations on special requests.

For those who enjoy sunny tropical beaches with fresh seawaters, you can find such beaches with coral reefs around Hunimoa, Latuhalat, Pintu Kota (literally, "door of the city") and Namalatu beaches in Ambon Island.

Outside Ambon Island, there are interesting historical sites such as Fort Duurstede at Saparua Island where local fighters led by Pattimura defeated the Dutch military force defending the fortress in 1817.

Manusela National Park in Seram Island is another favorite tourist spot especially for eco-tourism lovers. 

The Salmon-crested cockatoo

 It covers a huge chunk of Central Seram's interior and reaches down to the north coast west of Sawai and east of Wahai. The park offers great scenery and good (but tough) hiking, though wildlife, even birds, can be hard to spot.
It is a natural home to various species of vegetation and fauna, including 118 species of birds, 15 of which are endemic (native or restricted to a certain country or area). The Salmon-crested cockatoo shown in the picture is one example of them.  It also harbors 38 ma
mmal species and includes nine species that are endemic or near endemic.

Ngurbloat Beach

Far to the southeast, Ngurbloat Beach is one of the world's rare natural feature. With its coastline extending as far as 5 km and covered by extremely soft, white sand, this beach is hard to miss. White sand on the beach is so soft, that even National Geographic classified it as the finest sand beaches in Asia. Indeed there are many beach activities you can do here: swimming, snorkeling, sunbathing, playing volley or soccer or just relaxing and watching the beautiful sunset.

There are still so many, many other magnificent tourist destinations across Maluku, and I have just mentioned a few above. But one thing I can assure you of: an unforgettable traveling experience is always awaiting you here - in Spice Islands! ^_^