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Fully AI-GeneratedUsers of Open Archives can have summaries generated from the recognized texts (transcriptions) produced through text recognition (OCR) and handwriting recognition (HTR). Neither of these artificial intelligence tasks is perfect, but they are often more than sufficient to make the historical document understandable. In the transcripts, names are underlined in green and clickable (to search the personal entries on Open Archives for the name in question), the recognized dates have a light gray background and recognized place names have a light purple background. The results of the application of (European) artificial intelligence have not been verified by a human.


Rango and his sons were captured and handed over to the Dutch East India Company. On Monday 19 January 1778, a letter was written in Samarang in which I.R. van der Burgh and his wife sent warm greetings to the Sultan and wished them God's blessing.

A translation of a Javanese letter was received on 4 February 1778 in Samarang by Governor and Director Johannes Robbert van den Burgh. The letter was written by Sultan Aming koe bocana. In the letter, the Sultan stated that he had received the earlier letter. He noted that his previous request to the Company and the Governor-General and Council of the Indies had not been granted, but he was satisfied with the answer he received from them. He expressed his great gratitude to the Governor-General and the Council of the Indies for sending him a mourning gift. He also thanked his brother for allowing him to repair 40 of his broken rifles for payment.

The Sultan was informed about the bad behavior of the sons of pangerang Rongo from Djadjar. They had committed murder and highway robbery. They were suspected of being behind a plot involving the toll gate at kajoemaas in his district. When they were summoned, they and their father had fled 2 months earlier.

When the Sultan first heard from adipattij Danoeridja about this flight, he was very surprised. He thought they might want to invade lands and cause trouble for the Company. He was especially shocked that a priest would behave so inappropriately. He immediately ordered Radeen Adipattij Danoeridja to send messengers with written warnings to Tommongong Sasra Nagarna in Grobogan, and to padjang and Soekowatti to capture pangerang Rongo and his sons if they appeared there.

Shortly after, an old subject of pangerang Lraboe Amidjoijo named kerto Mengollo came to Danoeridja asking for work. He told many stories which were written down and given to the Sultan to read. This made the Sultan's heart troubled, and he lost his enthusiasm to make special efforts to find pangerang Rongo and his group, because it seemed certain to him that someone had incited them to this behavior.

Radeen Adipattij Danoeridja and the chief official urged the Sultan and the Grobogan regent to have the fugitives captured. The regent would have done so with force, just like the Sultan, but seeing the Sultan's reluctance, he did not act.

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J. H. van der Burgh wrote from Samarang on 15 February 1778. He reported that bad weather had washed away and destroyed crops, but now that the weather had calmed down, everyone was busy plowing, sowing, and planting again. He said a good harvest was still possible, as long as the heavy rains were not quickly followed by a long drought. In that unwanted case, he asked permission to close the export of rice to the other side in time. He signed as a very obedient and humble servant.

A copy of a Javanese letter was received in Samarang on 15 January 1778. It was from Sultan Amingkubuwana to Johannes Robbert van der Burgh, Governor and Director of Java's Northeast coast. The Sultan wrote that he had not yet received answers to his earlier requests to the Company, to his grandfather the Governor General and the Noble Lords of the Council of the Dutch East Indies, and to Brother, which had been a long time ago. He was very eager to receive these answers. He and Pangerang Adipati Anom Mankunagara sent Brother their heartfelt greetings. Umbok Ratu did the same to Brother's wife. They wished God's precious blessings and all salvation and prosperity on earth. The letter was written in Djokjo Carta on Monday 12 January 1778 and was translated by C. P. Boltje.

A copy of a letter written by Johannes Robbert van der Burgh, Governor and Director of Java's Northeast coast, to Sultan Amingkubuwana in Djocjo Carta was mentioned, dated Samarang on Monday 19 January 1778.

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The writer requested help from the High Nobles to assist Macassar in the spring with 4 companies. He asked to be provided with unnecessary weapons for those warriors and some sea captains familiar with the waterway there. He also requested permission to hire private vessels, with a set payment for a boat or sloop that could transport one company. He promised to do his utmost to meet the objective, although little progress had been made until that day.

The districts of Malang and Antang were becoming less populated over time because:

In a letter to the authority in Samarang on 15 February 1778, the Commander van der Niepoort requested either his dismissal or a reduction of his quota, which was only 10 Coijangs and had only been delivered by him for 2 years. The writer respectfully proposed to the High Nobles to dismiss Carta Nagara so he could settle in Sourabaija. In his place, Pandje Codo Wanning Pattij, second son of the old first Regent of Sourabaija Tjondro Nogorro, should be appointed as Regent of Malang and Antang with the title of Tommongong and a name he would choose. It was expected he would work harder to improve these 2 small regencies and had more means to do so. Because of his connection to Sourabaija, he would likely attract and keep more people, especially if the High Nobles allowed the rice quota to be paid in cash for at least the first 10 years at the regular price of 15 Rijksdaalders per Coijang.

The rice harvest had suffered greatly from almost a month of continuous rough and harsh weather, as wind and rain prevented the farmers from working and constant floods washed away the newly sown seed.

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On 15 February 1778, troops departed from Samarang to Celebes. The departure details were: The writer hoped these troops had arrived safely at Macassar and would provide the expected services to the Company. Regarding the request to recruit 2 companies of Balinese soldiers, the writer explained he did not know how to fulfill this because: Therefore, the writer had not yet approached Bali. He asked for forgiveness if he had acted against their intentions. Instead, he had ordered the panembahang of Madura and the pangerang of Sumenap to each prepare 2 more companies of 250 men, totaling 500 warriors. They had accepted and promised to do this. The writer would ensure these new auxiliary troops would be ready between mid and late March. They could then be quickly transported to Macassar if the headquarters could send a couple of empty ships at that time, which could still make one more trip to Macassar and return to Java by late April with the seasonal wind change.
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The text describes how Rongo immediately left the emperor's territory after something happened. He wandered around for several days with only his own followers until the Regent of Grobogan persuaded him, along with his sons and family, to come to him. The regent offered Rongo a hiding place and permission to stay within the sultan's territory. The sultan and his suspicious chief administrator Danoeridja claimed they did not want to know about this. The chief van Rhijn allowed himself to be delayed by giving preference to their assurances. He sent messengers multiple times, even through the Regent of Grobogan himself, to places where Rongo had been but was no longer present. The writer sent 10 letters and reports to the sultan, both directly and through the mentioned chief. These letters proved that people knew where Rongo was and who was supporting him. In his letter, the sultan used some invented exceptions and pretexts to explain why he had not captured the fugitives. It was certain that the sultan only gave the order to capture them (which he claimed to have given) after Rongo and his companions were already safely hidden in Grobogan. The writer suspected that the Mataram court was keeping Rongo hidden to take revenge through him when the opportunity arose for what had been forced upon them at Gagatan in the previous year. Therefore, the writer kept a watchful eye everywhere on the Company's territory. The chief van Stralendorf, who had been there a few days earlier and had given many assurances about the good intentions of the Surakarta court, was used by the writer to strengthen the emperor's intention to also keep good guards and troops ready to repel anyone who dared to undertake something harmful. As long as the sultan knew this was happening, the writer believed it was not likely that he would undertake anything significant. The writer referred to a copy of his letter to the sultan about Rongo and his sons from the 10th of the month. He also referred to enclosures E and F containing his correspondence about these wanderers with the Djokjakarta chief van Rhijn. Regarding the native auxiliary troops for Makassar, the writer could report that the warriors from Sumanap numbered 580 men.
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An unnamed Dutch official wrote from Samarang on 15 February 1778. He explained that he had sent letters (marked A, B, and C) about Pangerang Rongo, a religious leader who was one of the Cramans. In 1761, Rongo had stirred up the districts of Pattij, Tjinkelsewoe, and surrounding areas. After that, he stayed in Damak in the village of Djadjar, but in the previous autumn he moved away with his family to the Sultan's district of Grobogang.

The reason for this move was that in Damak, many murders, robberies, and thefts had been committed for over a year without catching the criminals. Eventually, it was discovered that Rongo's sons, Radeen Soerjo Coessoemo and Adij Coessoemo, were involved in these crimes and were actually leaders of a small criminal group.

The official ordered the regents of Damak to capture both Radeens through some friendly pretense and to arrest several other suspicious people. However, the regents made the orders public but failed to carry them out. For this failure, they were later fined 1,000 Rijxdaalders by the Council. Because the regents gave Rongo time and opportunity, he was able to hide his sons and leave Djadjar and Company territory with his entire family.

He first went to the village of Pagak in Soekowati, which was under Pangerang Praboe Amidjoijo, the oldest son of Pangerang Aria Mancoenagara and son-in-law of the Emperor. Nearly a month later, after being informed through a follow-up request by the regents, the official demanded that the court of Soerakarta hand over Rongo and his people. The Emperor immediately ordered his son-in-law Prince Praboe not to give them shelter, threatening severe punishment. The Emperor also commanded that they be arrested immediately and sent a military unit for this purpose. However, Rongo learned about this.

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Kade, a Makassarese captain, was mentioned as someone who would be very useful. The writer stated he would arrange payment with him upon arrival. The letter was signed by R.t I=s van der Niepoort from Sourabaija on 31 December 1777.

A translation of a Javanese letter was received in Samarang on 11 January 1778. The letter was written by Sultan Amingkoeboeana to Johannes Robbert van der Burgh, who was Governor and Director of Java's Northeast coast. The Sultan wrote that 40 of his rifles were completely unusable. He asked his "brother" (a friendly term of address) to help get them repaired. He said he would gladly have Adipatti Danoeridja pay for the costs. If his request was approved, he would send the guns right away.

The Sultan and Pangerang Adipattij Anom Mangcoenagara sent their heartfelt greetings. The Ratoe (queen) joined them in sending greetings to the Governor's wife. They all wished that his health and prosperity would remain steady through God's blessing.

The letter was written in Djokjocarta on Monday 5 January 1778. It was translated by C: P: Boltje, translator, in Samarang on 13 January 1778.

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J.R. van der Burgh, Governor and Director of Java's North-East coast, received a letter dated 11 January 1778 from Samarang.

A public auction was held on 13 January 1778 in Samarang for the rights to harvest bird's nests from cliffs. The writer had sent out notices announcing the auction. The auction took place in the presence of the writer and other members. The results were:

The writer informed about the situation with local regents who would lose income from the cliffs. The writer suggested that the regent of Lamadjang should receive 90 to 100 Spanish rijksdaalders and the regent of Malang should receive 70 to 80 Spanish rijksdaalders from this year's auction income. They would be grateful to Van der Burgh for compensation for giving up the villages and people to the leader.

The head of Sabrang had never received benefits from the cliffs, where guards had protected Noessa from robbers. The bird's nests from Banjoewangie were estimated to yield about half as much as those from Sabrang, Lamadjang, or Malang combined. The writer suggested equal treatment could be arranged.

500 guns with cartridge pouches, sharp flintlock cartridges and similar items were sent to Sumanap on 24 January. The writer had written to the Resident and prince there to dispatch warriors before New Year with ships that were ready. They promised to do their utmost. The writer hoped to give Van der Burgh good news soon.

The writer received 3 sets of sea charts of the Macassar waters and would make proper use of them, as well as of the sloop belonging to Than Lecko, the Chinese Captain of Samarang, if His Highness the prince of Madura agreed.

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This document is a secret incoming letter that arrived from Macassar in 1779.

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In the government of Bandoo, the following servants were present. The total numbers included Europeans, native Mahomedans and sipaijs (local soldiers), and children: The total came to 534 Europeans, 430 others, and 104 children. According to the latest determination, there should have been 800 people, meaning there were now 266 fewer. The weapons and supplies included: 0 metal cannons, 240 iron cannons, 850 muskets, 1,180 cutlasses, 37,557 round, long and flat sharp items of various sorts, and 65,000 pounds of gunpowder. The following vessels were present: 4 pantjallings, 2 schouwen, 3 schuiten, and 3 orambaaijs. This report came from Banda, specifically from Banda Neira, on the last day of June 1778. The document agreed with various incoming reports and was signed by A. A. Aple, J. Lutir Nagerien, G. J. Lun Hort, and 's Gravesande, who served as secretary.
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On 19 August 1778, a letter was sent from Banda Weijver in Banda. The letter was signed by several people: I. Pelters, I. . . g. Cornelis, I. Revoet, E. verspijck, F. A. 's gravezande, and I. Hageman. They addressed their letter to high-ranking officials with great respect and described themselves as loyal and obedient servants.
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P. Hogeman submitted a financial report on 24 July 1788 from Banda Neira. The document contained calculations about losses from uncollected taxes on nutmeg and mace over 20 years, amounting to various sums in rijksdaalders and guilders. The total calculations showed amounts of 161,396 rijksdaalders, 218,175 rijksdaalders, and 1,445,000 rijksdaalders across three separate counts, with a final sum of 4,839 rijksdaalders. Hogeman indicated he hoped to have fulfilled the orders given to him.

The document was certified as accurate by N. Op. 's Gravesande, who served as secretary of Banda.

The report was addressed to Reijnier de Klerk, who held the position of Governor General, and to the Council of Netherlands India. A brief summary was being sent along with the latest reports, as required by a general resolution from 19 December 1777.

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J. Hageman submitted a financial calculation to the governor on 25 July 1778 in Banda Neira. The document showed several financial losses over 15 years:

  1. A 15-year freeze on taxes at 800 reichsdalers per year was calculated at 12,000 reichsdalers
  2. No interest would be paid on a loan of 83,783 reichsdalers, 36 stuivers, and 2 ¾ penningen at a rate per 100 per month
  3. The loss of 50,000 pounds of nutmeg at one-tenth per year would amount to 750,000 pounds over 15 years
  4. The unreceived one-tenth at 600 soekels per year could be calculated as 151,900 pounds of mace over 15 years

For the profits on nutmeg and mace, the annual calculation showed 722,500 reichsdalers, and for both India and Europe over 15 years this came to 18,370 reichsdalers.

The document contained three totals that were added together to reach a final sum of 125,027 reichsdalers.

Secretary A. A. S Gravesande confirmed the accuracy of the document.

A second calculation was addressed to Jacob Pelters, Extra-Ordinary Councillor of Netherlands India and Governor and Director of the province. It showed:

  1. For 1,873 heads at 30 pounds each, 1,009 lasts and 2,460 pounds were needed over 5 years at 20 reichsdalers per last
  2. The annual provision of 7,000 reichsdalers for the colleges following the example of 1763 would amount to 140,000 reichsdalers over 20 years
  3. A 20-year freeze on taxes at 800 reichsdalers per year was calculated at 16,000 reichsdalers
  4. No interest would be paid over 20 years on a loan of 183,783 reichsdalers, 36 stuivers at 7/8 percent per 100 per month
  5. The loss of 50,000 pounds of nutmeg at one-tenth per year would amount to 100,000 pounds over 20 years
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I. Hogeman wrote a letter on 29 July 1778 from Banda Neira. The letter was confirmed by A. L. S. Banda van Gravelande, who served as secretary. The letter was addressed to Jacob Pelters, who held the position of Extra-Ordinary Councillor of Netherlands India and served as governor and director of this province. In this letter, Hogeman referred to his earlier report from the 4th of that month. He explained that costs and losses would be reduced if the last 6 items mentioned in his previous report were calculated over 5 years instead of 20 years. He provided the following calculations:
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The document contains a report about tree counts on various islands in the Banda region. The report was recorded in two separate letters dated 19 August 1772 and sent to their High Nobleness, which could be found in the registry under numbers 3 and 4. The document was signed by A. A. 's Grove Zande, secretary. The report was addressed to Jacob Pelters, who held the position of Extraordinary Council of Netherlands India and served as governor and director of this province. The writer explained that after carefully reviewing detailed reports about the districts, particularly regarding the trees, he had counted the following: The total sum was 12,276 fruit-bearing trees, 2,618 young trees, and 5,935 seedlings.
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A document from August 16, 1778 from Banda Neira was signed by I. Pelters. The document contained a record of the 5-year delivery of spices, showing what was paid to the planters each year after deducting one-tenth: Nutmeg purchases: The total for nutmeg came to 2,912,586 pounds and 46,663 rijksdaalders, 1 stuiver. Mace purchases: The combined total for both spices came to 164,708 rijksdaalders, 42 stuivers, which when divided between both types of spice averaged 329,413 rijksdaalders, 37 stuivers per year for purchases.
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No date given From Palembang, a request was respectfully presented to the high authorities. The merchant Leonard Verspijk could not be promoted to the position of upper merchant as he had requested. Instead, it was proposed that he be transferred from his current location to Poelo Aij. At the same time, the authorities were asked to graciously grant the position of fiscal officer to the under-merchant Cornelis Bernard. Bernard's residency in the southwest region could then be taken over by one of the most capable bookkeepers, who would serve as under-merchant in title only. The letter was signed by submissive servants who expressed their loyalty and respect to the high authorities.
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A text from Banda discussed how landowners had lost their important means of survival through a sad event. This loss of productive trees was also very concerning for the company. According to what had already been explained, no solutions could be thought of, suggested, or carried out to restore Banda - whether for the ruined landowner, the powerless authorities, or all other unfortunate residents - without turning to that same company. The company was exposed to burdens and losses at this difficult time that had no equal examples in the archives of past and present centuries. The writer was not against bringing up a concern for consideration: whether it would be better if the landowners, instead of immediately receiving instructions about the prompt time for receiving rewards, were left uncertain about everything. It was undeniable that among them were many who cared little about the company's interests and were careless about Banda's cultivation. Therefore, the negligent ones should be pushed to work harder through decreasing support, but the diligent ones should be encouraged to double their efforts through increasing help. On this basis, it would become clear after the first 5-year period whether the advantage of the 17,276 nut-bearing trees mentioned in number 8 could bring about a reduction in the additional costly measures in the following two periods. The writer asked for kind forgiveness if his limited understanding did not agree with their much wiser views, since even the wisest and most experienced rulers could easily make mistakes in thinking up truly effective solutions. This was especially true for presenting both compensation and complete restoration after such a general and terrible destruction in a way that was clearly understandable - so clearly that only God's blessing was needed so that future times might deliver as many advantages as the present costs and losses brought. The text ended by mentioning written petitions that were included with the general papers.
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In the past, plantation owners in Banda lost an important way to make money due to a sad event. This loss of trees was very serious for the company. Since the problems began in Banda, no solutions could be found to help the plantation owner, the powerless councils, or the other unfortunate residents without asking for help from the same company. This company now faced costs and losses that had no equal examples in the records of past and present centuries.

The writer was not against considering whether it would be better if the plantation owners were kept uncertain about everything instead of being given immediate information about when they would receive their payments. Some plantation owners did not care about the company's interests and were careless.

In Banda, there had been a 5-year pause on paying interest on borrowed money. The total borrowed capital was 264,000 guilders, which meant a very significant saving of 59,900 guilders in interest. Despite this, the plantation owners still received 164,708 guilders and 42 stuivers from other regular local income for their general living expenses. They also received payment for nutmegs delivered over the following 5 years, which was 3,294 guilders and 37 stuivers per year, according to two lists numbered 3 and 4, besides the writer's separate letter of 19 August 1772.

There was very great difficulty in Batavia regarding the Banda survey obtained in 1693. Because of the terrible eruption of the volcano at that time, there were 80,196 fewer productive fruit-bearing trees than had been counted in 1686. At that time there still remained:

When 39,894 trees were subtracted according to the count from July 1778, there was a considerable negative difference of 540,093 trees in total. This could be used as a very urgent supporting argument for the writer's third proposal in his separate letter from May of this year.

View transcript NL-HaNA / 1.04.02 / 3528 / 0033  


The administrator reported that plantation owners in Banda had lost their main source of income due to a disaster. This loss of trees was very concerning for the Dutch East India Company. No solutions could be found to help the plantation owners, the weak colleges, or other unfortunate residents without asking the Company for help. The Company itself was facing heavy burdens and losses that had no equal in past or present records.

The administrator wondered if it might be better not to immediately inform the plantation owners about when they would receive their compensation payments, but instead to keep them uncertain. He argued that some plantation owners had become indifferent to the Company's interests and careless about Banda's welfare.

Despite these problems, the plantation owners had received:

The administrator also referred to the serious difficulties in Batavia regarding a Banda survey from 1693. Due to volcanic activity at that time, there were 80,196 fewer fruit-bearing trees than had been counted in 1686. However, in 1693 there were still:

After subtracting 39,894 trees reported in the count of July 1778, there was a considerable negative difference of 540,093 trees in total. This could serve as strong supporting evidence for his third proposal from his separate letter from May of that year.

View transcript NL-HaNA / 1.04.02 / 3528 / 0031  



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