Batavia, Dutch East Indies
Batavia, circa 1780
Batavia was the name of the capital city of the Dutch East
Indies and corresponds to the present-day city of Jakarta. Just as modern
Jakarta may refer to either the city itself or to the larger area of the city,
with its geographic surroundings, which taken together is one of the provinces
of Indonesia, Batavia can refer to the city proper as it existed then, with its
various increases over time in urbanized acreage, or can refer to the
surrounding hinterland.
The establishment of Batavia at the site of the razed city
of Jayakarta by the Dutch in 1619 led to the Dutch colony that became modern
Indonesia following World War II. Batavia became the center of the Dutch East
India Company's trading network in Asia.
Monopolies on nutmeg, black
pepper, cloves and cinnamon were augmented by non-indigenous cash crops like
coffee, tea, cacao, tobacco, rubber, sugar and opium. To safeguard their
commercial interests, the company and the colonial administration, which
replaced it in 1799, progressively absorbed surrounding territory.
Batavia lies on the north coast of Java, in a sheltered bay,
over a flat land consisting of marshland and hills, and crisscrossed with
canals. The city consisted of two centers: Oud Batavia or Benedenstad
("Lower City"), the oldest, the lowest and the most
unhealthy[clarification needed] part of the city, and Bovenstad ("Upper
City"), the relatively newer city located on the higher ground to the
south.
Batavia was a colonial city for about 320 years until 1942
when the Dutch East Indies fell under Japanese occupation during World War II.
During the Japanese occupation and again after Indonesian nationalists declared
independence on August 17, 1945, the city was renamed Jakarta.[2] After the
war, the Dutch name "Batavia" remained internationally recognized
until full Indonesian independence was achieved on December 27, 1949 and
Jakarta was officially proclaimed the national capital of Indonesia.
Dutch East India Company (1610–1800)
Arrival
In 1595, merchants from Amsterdam embarked upon an
expedition to the East Indies archipelago. Under the command of Cornelis de
Houtman, the expedition reached Bantam, capital of the Sultanate of Banten, and
Jayakarta in 1596 to trade in spices.[citation needed]
In 1602, the English East India Company's first voyage,
commanded by Sir James Lancaster, arrived in Aceh and sailed on to Bantam.
There he was allowed to build a trading post that became the center of English
trade in Indonesia until 1682.
In 1602, the Dutch government granted a monopoly on Asian
trade to the Dutch East India Company (Dutch: Vereenigde Oost-Indische
Compagnie (VOC); literally United East Indian Company). In
1603, the first permanent Dutch trading post in Indonesia was established in Bantam,
West Java. In 1610, Prince Jayawikarta granted permission to Dutch merchants to
build a wooden godown and houses on the east bank of the Ciliwung River,
opposite to Jayakarta. This outpost was established in 1611.
As Dutch power increased, Jayawikarta allowed the British to
erect houses on the west bank of the Ciliwung River, as well as a fort close to
his customs office post, to keep the forces balanced.
In December 1618, the tense relationship between Prince
Jayawikarta and the Dutch escalated, and Jayawikarta's soldiers besieged the
Dutch fortress, containing the godowns Nassau and Mauritius. A British fleet of
15 ships arrived under the leadership of Sir Thomas Dale, an English naval
commander and former governor of the Colony of Virginia. After a sea battle,
the newly appointed Dutch governor, Jan Pieterszoon Coen (1618), escaped to the
Moluccas to seek support (The Dutch had already overtaken the first of the
Portuguese forts there in 1605).
Meanwhile, the commander of the Dutch
garrison, Pieter van den Broecke, along with five other men, was arrested
during negotiations, as Jayawikarta believed that he had been deceived by the
Dutch. Later, Jayawikarta and the British entered into a friendship
agreement.
The Dutch army was on the verge of surrendering to the
British when, in 1619, Banten sent a group of soldiers to summon Prince
Jayawikarta. Jayawikarta's friendship agreement with the British was without
prior approval from the Bantenese authorities. The conflict between Banten and
Prince Jayawikarta, as well as the tense relationship between Banten and the
British, presented a new opportunity for the Dutch.
Coen returned from the Moluccas with reinforcements on 28
May 1619 and razed Jayakarta to the ground on 30 May 1619, thereby
expelling its population. Only the Padrão of Sunda Kelapa remained.
Prince Jayawikarta retreated to Tanara, the eventual place of his death, in the
interior of Banten. The Dutch established a closer relationship with Banten and
assumed control of the port, which over time became the Dutch center of power
in the region.
Establishment of Batavia
The area that became Batavia came under Dutch control in
1619, initially as an expansion the original Dutch fort along with new building
on the ruined area that had been Jayakarta.
On 2 July 1619, Coen decided to expand the original fort
into a larger fortress. Coen sent the draft of the Kasteel van Batavia to the
Netherlands on 7 October 1619. This new castle was much larger than the
previous castle, with two northern bastions protecting the castle from attack
from the sea. The Dutch fortress garrison included hired soldiers from
Japan, Germany, Scotland, Denmark and Belgium.[citation needed] The godowns
Nassau and Mauritius were expanded with the erection of a new fort extension to
the east on March 12, 1619, overseen by Commander Van Raay.
Coen wished to name the new settlement
"Nieuw-Hoorn" (after his birthplace, Hoorn), but was prevented from
doing so by the board of the East India Company, the Heeren XVII.
"Batavia" was chosen to became the new name for the fort and
settlement. The official naming ceremony took place on January 18, 1621. It
was named after the Germanic tribe of the Batavi — the inhabitant of Batavian
region during Roman period, which at that time was believed that the tribe's
members were the ancestors of the Dutch people. Jayakarta was then called
"Batavia" for more than 300 years.
Over time, there were three governmental administrations
within the Batavia region. The initial authority, (Dutch: Hoge Regering;
High Government), was established in 1609. This became the colonial
government, consisting of the Governor-General and the Council of the
Indies.
The urban or civil administration of the city of Batavia, (Dutch:
College van Schepenen; Council of Aldermen), was formed in 1620. On 24
June 1620 two Company officials and three free citizens or burghers were
appointed to the first College van Schepenen College of Aldermen. The local
rural administration, (Dutch: College van Heemraden; District Council), was
formed in 1664 but became fully functional in 1682.
Batavia was founded as a trade and administrative center of
the Dutch East India Company; it was never intended to be a settlement for the
Dutch people. Coen founded Batavia as a trading company, whereby a city's
inhabitants would take care of the production and supply of food. As a result,
there was no migration of Dutch families and, instead, a mixed society was
formed. As the VOC preferred to maintain complete control over its business, a
large number of slaves was employed. Batavia became an unattractive location
for people who wanted to establish their own businesses.
The Javanese people were prohibited from settling in Batavia
from the time of its foundation in 1619, as the Dutch feared an insurrection.[citation
needed] Coen asked Willem Ysbrandtszoon Bontekoe, a skipper for the Dutch East
India Company, to bring 1000 Chinese people to Batavia from Macao, but only a small segment of the 1000 survived the trip. In 1621, another
attempt was initiated and 15,000 people were deported from the Banda Islands to
Batavia, but only 600 survived the trip.
Expansion East of the Ciliwung
Batavia and its East-of-Ciliwung Expansion.
From the beginning of its establishment, Batavia was planned
following a well-defined layout. In 1619, three trenches were dug to the
east of the Ciliwung river, forming the first Dutch-made canals of Batavia.
These canals were perpendicular to the Ciliwung, and were named from south to
north: Leeuwengracht (usually written as Leeuwinnegracht, present Jalan Kali
Besar Timur 3 or Jalan Kunir), Groenegracht (present Jalan Kali Besar Timur 1),
and Steenhouwersgracht (later Amsterdamschegracht, present Jalan Nelayan
Timur).
The Castle area starts to the north of Steenhouwersgracht, which
began with a field just to the north of Steenhouwersgracht. A town's market
(a fish market) was established on the field. The establishment of the
three canals made way for the expansion of Batavia on the east side of the
Ciliwung. The first church and town hall were built c.1622 on the east bank of
the river, the exact point of this first building of the church-town hall of
Batavia is at 6°07′56″S 106°48′42″E. This was replaced in the 1630s.
Around 1627, the three canals were interconnected
perpendicularly by a coconut-tree-lined canal known as Tijgersgracht (present
Jalan Pos Kota - Jalan Lada). A contemporary observer writes: "Among the
Grachts, the Tygersgracht is the most stately and most pleasant, both for the
goodliness of its buildings, and the ornamentation of its streets, which afford
a very agreeable shadow to those who pass along the street". The
Prinsestraat (present Jalan Cengkeh), which in the beginning formed the street
that leads to the Castle, were established as an urban center, connecting the
Castle south gate with the City Hall, forming an impressive vista on the seat
of government.
This eastern settlement of Batavia was protected by a long
canal to the east of the settlement, forming a link between the castle moat and
the Ciliwung river bend. This canal was not parallel with Tijgersgracht but
slightly angled. The overall construction of the canal took more than 160,000
reals, and these were paid not by the Company, but mainly by the Chinese and
other Europeans; partly because the Company had spent for the strengthening of
the Castle (which was done by slaves and prisoners). This short-lived outer
canal would be redesigned few years after the Siege of Batavia.
Completion of the City Wall
To the east of Batavia, Sultan Agung, king of the Mataram
Sultanate (1613–1645) attained control of most of Java by defeating Surabaya in
1625. On August 27, 1628, Agung launched the Siege of Batavia. In
his first attempt, he suffered heavy losses, retreated, and launched a second
offensive in 1629. This also failed; the Dutch fleet destroyed
his supplies and ships, located in the harbors of Cirebon and Tegal.
Mataram troops, starving and decimated by illness, retreated again. Sultan Agung then pursued his conquering ambitions in an eastward
direction and attacked Blitar, Panarukan and the Kingdom of Blambangan in
Eastern Java, a vassal of the Balinese kingdom of Gelgel.
Following the siege, it was decided that Batavia would need
a stronger defense system. Based on the military defensive engineering ideas by
Simon Stevin, a Flemish mathematician and military engineer, governor-general
Jacques Specx (1629-1632) designed a moat and city wall that surrounded
the city; extensions of the city walls appeared to the west of Batavia and the
city became completely enclosed.
The city section within the defense lines was
structured according to a grid plan, criss-crossed with canals that
straightened the flow of the Ciliwung river.[citation needed] This area
corresponds to present day Jakarta Old Town.
City Growth
In 1656, due to a conflict with Banten, the Javanese were
not allowed to reside within the city walls and consequently settled outside
Batavia. Only the Chinese people and the Mardijkers were allowed to settle
within the walled city of Batavia. In 1659, a temporary peace with Banten
enabled the city to grow and, during this period, more bamboo shacks appeared
in Batavia. From 1667, bamboo houses, as well as the keeping of livestock, were
banned within the city. Within Batavia's walls, the wealthy Dutch built tall
houses and canals. As the city grew, the area outside the walls became an
attraction for many people and suburbs began to develop outside the city
walls.
The area outside the walls was considered unsafe for the
non-native inhabitants of Batavia. The marsh area around Batavia could only be
fully cultivated when a new peace treaty was signed with Banten in 1684 and
country houses were subsequently established outside the city walls. The
Chinese people began with the cultivation of sugarcane and tuak, with coffee a
later addition.
The large-scale cultivation caused destruction to the
environment, in addition to coastal erosion in the northern area of Batavia.
Maintenance of the canal was extensive due to frequent closures and the
continuous dredging that was required.
Massacre of Chinese
The Batavian hinterland's sugar industry deteriorated in the
1730s. There were numerous unemployed people and growing social
disorder. In 1739, 10,574 registered Chinese were living in the
Ommelanden. Tensions grew as the colonial government attempted to
restrict Chinese immigration by implementing deportations to Ceylon and South
Africa.
The Chinese became worried that they were to be thrown overboard to
drown and riots erupted. 10,000 Chinese were massacred between 9
October 1740 and 22 October. During the following year, the few remaining
Chinese inhabitants were moved to Glodok, outside the city walls.
Hinterland
The area outside the walls (Dutch: Ommelanden; the surrounding
area) was considered unsafe for the non-native inhabitants of
Batavia. The area was an important source of food crops and
building materials. The VOC set up a local government (Dutch: College van
Heemraden; District Council) in 1664, but this only became fully functional in
1682.
The marsh area around Batavia could only be fully cultivated when
a new peace treaty was signed with Banten in 1684. Country
houses were subsequently established outside the city walls. The Chinese people began with the cultivation of sugarcane and tuak,
with coffee a later addition.
The large-scale cultivation caused destruction to the
environment, in addition to coastal erosion in the northern area of Batavia.
Maintenance of the canal was extensive due to frequent closures and the
continuous dredging that was required.
Other than country houses, most people in the Ommelanden
people lived in various single ethnithicy kampungs, each with its own
headman.
Society
Depiction of a Balinese slave in Batavia from Bali
Chronicles by Willard Hanna, Cornelis de Bruyn artist. To avoid a revolt of the
people of Java, many coolies and slaves were employed from places outside Java,
such as Bali, the Moluccas, India, and China.
Batavia was founded as the trade and administrative center
of the Dutch East India Company; it was never intended to be a settlement for
the Dutch people. Coen founded Batavia for trade, with city's inhabitants
taking care of the production and supply of food. As a result, there was no
migration of intact Dutch families and there were few Dutch women in Batavia. A
mixed society was formed, as relationships between Dutch men and Asian women
did not usually result in marriage, and the women did not have the right of
going with men who returned to the Dutch Republic. This societal pattern
created a mixed group of mestizo descendants in Batavia. The sons of this mixed
group often traveled to Europe to study, while the daughters were forced to
remain in Batavia, with the latter often marrying Dutch East India Company
(VOC) officials at a very young age.
As the VOC preferred to maintain complete control over its
business, a large number of slaves was employed. Batavia became an unattractive
location for people who wanted to establish their own businesses.
The women in Batavia developed into an important feature of
the social network of Batavia; they were accustomed to dealing with slaves and
spoke the same language, mostly Portuguese and Malay. Eventually, many of these
women effectively became widows, as their husbands left Batavia to return to
the Netherlands, and their children were often removed as well. These women
were known as snaar ("string").
Most of Batavia's residents were of Asian descent. Thousands
of slaves were brought from India and Arakan and, later, slaves were brought
from Bali and Sulawesi. To avoid an uprising, a decision was made to free the
Javanese people from slavery. Chinese people made up the largest group in
Batavia, with most of them merchants and labourers. The Chinese people were the
most decisive group in the development of Batavia. There was also a large group
of freed slaves, usually Portuguese-speaking Asian Christians, that was
formerly under the rule of the Portuguese. The group's members were made
prisoners by the VOC during numerous conflicts with the Portuguese. Portuguese
was the dominant language in Batavia until the late 18th century, when the
language was slowly replaced with Dutch and Malay. Additionally, there were
also Malays, as well as Muslim and Hindu merchants from India.
Initially, these different ethnic groups lived alongside
each other; however, in 1688, complete segregation was enacted upon the
indigenous population. Each ethnic group was forced to live in its own
established village outside the city wall. There were Javanese villages for
Javanese people, Moluccan villages for the Moluccans, and so on. Each person
was tagged with a tag to identify them with their own ethnic group; later, this
identity tag was replaced with a parchment. Reporting was compulsory for
intermarriage that involved different ethnic groups.
Within Batavia's walls, the wealthy Dutch built tall houses
and canals. Commercial opportunities attracted Indonesian and especially
Chinese immigrants, with the increasing population numbers creating a burden
upon the city. In the 18th century, more than 60% of Batavia's population
consisted of slaves working for the VOC. The slaves were mostly engaged to
undertake housework, while working and living conditions were generally
reasonable. Laws were enacted that protected slaves against
overly cruel actions from their masters; for example, Christian slaves were
given freedom after the death of their masters, while some slaves were allowed
to own a store and make money to buy their freedom. Sometimes, slaves fled and
established gangs that would roam throughout the area.
Though from the beginning of the VOC establishment Batavia
became the political and administrative center of the Dutch East Indies as well
as the major port in Southeast Asian trade, the population of the city proper
remained relatively small. In the early 1800s, estimates of its population were
still smaller than that of Surabaya, though it would overtake that city by the
end of that century: the first complete census survey of 1920 returned a
population of 306,000, compared to 192,000 for Surabaya, 158,000 for Semarang
and 134,000 for Surakarta. By then the population grew fast, as ten years later
it exceeded half a million.
Malaria
In the 18th century, Batavia became increasingly affected by
malaria epidemics, as the marsh areas were breeding grounds for mosquitos. The disease killed many Europeans, resulting in Batavia receiving the nickname,
"Het kerkhof der Europeanen" ("the cemetery of the
Europeans"). Wealthier European settlers, who could afford
relocation, moved to southern areas of higher elevation.Eventually,
the old city was dismantled in 1810.
Dutch East Indies (1800-1942)
Batavia in 1840, showing the growth of the city to the south
of old Batavia.
After the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC) went
bankrupt and was dissolved in 1800, the Batavian Republic nationalized its
debts and possessions, expanding all of the VOC's territorial claims into a
fully-fledged colony named the Dutch East Indies. Batavia evolved from the site
of the company's regional headquarters into the capital of the colony.
Southward Expansion
In 1808, Daendels decided to quit the by-then dilapidated
and unhealthy Old Town. A new town center was subsequently built further to the
south, near the estate of Weltevreden. Batavia thereby became a city with two
centers: Kota as the hub of business, where the offices and warehouses of
shipping and trading companies were located; while Weltevreden became the new
home for the government, military, and shops. These two centers were connected
by the Molenvliet Canal and a road (now Gajah Mada Road) that ran alongside the
waterway.
During the British interregnum (1811-1816), Daendels was
replaced by Stamford Raffles.
After the 1740 massacre, it became apparent over the ensuing
decades through a series of considerations that Batavia needed Chinese people
for a long list of trades. Considerable Chinese economic expansion
occurred in the late eighteenth century, and by 1814 there were 11,854 Chinese
people within the total of 47,217 inhabitants.
The city began to move further south, as epidemics in 1835
and 1870 encouraged more people to move far south of the
port. This period in the 19th century consisted of numerous technological
advancements and city beautification initiatives in Batavia, earning Batavia
the nickname, "De Koningin van het Oosten", or "Queen of the
East".
Abolition of Cultuurstelsel
The Dutch: Cultuurstelsel; Cultivation System was a
government policy in the mid-nineteenth century which required a portion of
agricultural production to be devoted to export crops. Indonesian historians
refer to it as Indonesian: Tanam Paksa; Enforcement Planting. The abolition of
the Cultuurstelsel in 1870 led to the rapid development of private enterprise
in the Dutch Indies. Numerous trading companies and financial institutions
established themselves in Java, with most settling in Batavia. Jakarta Old
Town's deteriorating structures were replaced with offices, typically along the
Kali Besar. These private companies owned or managed plantations, oil fields,
or mines. The first railway line in Java was opened in 1867 and urban centers
such as Batavia began to be equipped with railway stations.
Many schools,
hospitals, factories, offices, trading companies, and post offices were
established throughout the city, while improvements in transportation, health,
and technology in Batavia caused more and more Dutch people to migrate to the
capital—the society of Batavia consequently became increasingly Dutch-like.
International trade activity occurred with Europe and the increase of shipping
led to the construction of a new harbor at Tanjung Priok between 1877 and
1883.
The Dutch people who had never set foot on Batavia were known locally
as Totoks. The term was also used to identify new Chinese arrivals, to
differentiate them from the Peranakan. Many totoks developed a great love for
the Indies culture of Indonesia and adopted this culture; they could be
observed wearing kebayas, sarongs, as well as summer dresses.
By the end of the 19th-century, the population of the
capital Batavian regency numbered 115,887 people, of which 8,893 were
Europeans, 26,817 were Chinese and 77,700 were indigenous islanders. A
significant consequence of these expanding commercial activities was the
immigration of large numbers of Dutch employees, as well as rural Javanese,
into Batavia.
In 1905, the population of Batavia and the surrounding area
reached 2.1 million, including 93,000 Chinese people, 14,000 Europeans, and
2,800 Arabs (in addition to the local population). This growth resulted in
an increased demand for housing and land prices consequently soared. New houses
were often built in dense arrangements and kampung settlements filled the spaces
left in between the new structures. This settlements proceeded with little
regard for the tropical conditions and resulted in overly dense living
conditions, poor sanitation, and an absence of public amenities. In 1913,
the plague broke out in Java.
Also during the period, Old Batavia abandoned moats and
ramparts experienced a new boom, as the commercial companies were
re-established along the Kali Besar. In a very short period of time, the
area of Old Batavia re-established itself as a new commercial center, with
20th-century and 17th-century buildings adjacent to each other.
Dutch Ethical Policy
The Dutch Ethical Policy was introduced in 1901, expanding
educational opportunities for indigenous population of the Dutch East Indies.
In 1924 a law school was founded in Batavia. The city’s population in the
1930 census was 435,000.[10]:50 The University of Batavia was established in
1941 and later became the University of Indonesia.
In 1946, the Dutch
colonial government established the Nood Universiteit (Emergency University) in
Jakarta. In 1947, the name was changed to Universiteit van Indonesië (UVI)
(Indonesia University). Following the Indonesian National Revolution, the
government established a state university in Jakarta in February 1950 named
Universiteit Indonesia, comprising the BPTRI units and the former UVI. The name
was later changed into Universitas Indonesia (UI).
National Revival
Mohammad Husni Thamrin, a member of Volksraad, criticized
the Colonial Government for ignoring the development of kampung
("inlander's area") while catering for the rich people in Menteng.
Thamrin also talked about the issue of Farming Tax and the other taxes that
were burdensome for the poorer members of the community.
Independence Movement
In 1909, Tirtoadisurjo, a graduate of OSVIA (Training School
for Native Officials), founded the Islamic Commercial Union (Sarekat Dagang
Islamiyah) in Batavia to support Indonesian merchants. Branches in other areas
followed. In 1920, Tjokroaminoto and Agus Salim set up a committee in Batavia
to support the Ottoman caliphate.
In 1926, espionage warned the Dutch of a planned revolt and
PKI leaders were arrested. Andries C. D. de Graeff replaced Fock as
governor-general and uprisings in Batavia, Banten, and Priangan were quickly
crushed.
Armed Communists occupied the Batavia telephone exchange for one
night before being captured. The Dutch sent prisoners to Banden and to a penal
colony at Boven Digul in West Irian (West New Guinea) where many died of
malaria.
On July 4, 1927 Sukarno and the Study Club founded the Indonesian
Nationalist Association which became the Indonesian Nationalist Party (PNI) and
later joined with the Partai Sarekat Islam, Budi Utomo, and the Surabaya Study
Club to form the Union of Indonesian Political Associations (PPPKI).
A
youth congress was held in Batavia on October 1928 and the groups began
referring to the city as Jakarta. They demanded Indonesian independence,
displayed the red-and-white flag, and sang the Indonesian national anthem
written by W. R. Supratman. The Dutch banned the flag, the national anthem, and
the terms Indonesia and Indonesian.
Japanese Occupation and National Revolution Era
(1942-1949)
On March 5, 1942, Batavia fell to the Japanese. The Dutch
formally surrendered to the Japanese occupation forces on March 9, 1942, and
rule of the colony was transferred to Japan. The city was renamed Jakarta.
The economic situation and the physical condition of
Indonesian cities deteriorated during the occupation. Many buildings were
vandalized, as metal was needed for the war, and many iron statues from the
Dutch colonial period were taken away by the Japanese troops. Civil buildings were converted into internment camps where Dutch people were
imprisoned.
After the collapse of Japan in 1945, the area went through a
period of transition and upheaval during the Indonesian national struggle for
independence. During the Japanese occupation and from the perspective of the
Indonesian nationalists who declared independence on August 17, 1945, the city
was renamed Jakarta.
In 1945, the city was briefly occupied by the Allies
and then was returned to the Dutch. The Dutch name, Batavia, remained the
internationally recognized name until full Indonesian independence was achieved
and Jakarta was officially proclaimed the national capital (and its present
name recognized) on December 27, 1949.
Mayors
The city of Batavia had a mayor (burgemeester) from 1916 to
1947.
GJ Bishop (1916-1920)
H. van Breen (1920-1920) Acting
A. Meij Roos (1920-1933)
EA Voorneman (1933 to 19 ??)
A.Th. Boogaardt (Acting in 1941)
EA Voorneman (1941 to 1942)
A.Th. Boogaardt (1945-1947)
Born in Batavia
Reinout Willem van Bemmelen, geologist
Ben Bot, Dutch diplomat and government minister
Huibert Boumeester, rower
Tonke Dragt, writer and illustrator of children's literature
Boudewijn de Groot, singer/songwriter
Michel van Hulten, politician
Yvonne Keuls, writer
Taco Kuiper, investigative journalist and publisher
Pieter Mijer, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies,
1866–1872
Carel Jan Schneider, known by the pseudonym F. Springer, a
Dutch foreign service diplomat and writer
Francis Steinmetz, officer in the Royal Netherlands Navy who
escaped from Colditz
Frans Tutuhatunewa, president of the Republic of South
Maluku (internationally unrecognized)
Eddy de Neve, member of the first Netherlands national
football team
Source : Wikipedia
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