Trip to Pulo Aceh | The Willemstoren 1874

If you want to see something before tourism develops and if you are adventurous and used to primitive conditions, then Pulo Aceh is the perfect place. ^*

To be related, see my previous post, please

A strategic small island for intensification of international shipping traffic is targeted by the Dutch East Indies government in connection with the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. Located northwest of the mainland of Aceh, named Pulo Breuh.

In the 19th century, the Kingdom of Aceh also controlled the Straits of Malacca whose role became increasingly important because of the opening of the Suez Canal, the Netherlands had ambitions to take control of the Aceh kingdom whose territory originated from the VOC period, located in Batavia (Jakarta now).

After a series of polemics occurred, the impact of the treaty between Britain, the Netherlands, and Aceh. The Kingdom of the Netherlands accused the Acehnese kingdom of exceeding the boundaries of the treaty including disrupting Dutch interests in the Malacca Strait. The situation was tense and Aceh-Dutch relations deteriorated, both parties intervened. The Sultan of Aceh did not accept this. He decided to ask for help abroad and prepared to attack Batavia, the capital of the Dutch East Indies. Therefore the Dutch issued an ultimatum on March 26, 1873. Aceh had to stop the disturbances, otherwise, it would be military retaliation.

Because there was a rumor that the Sultan of Aceh was negotiating, possibly with Italy, the United States, and asking for help to the Ottoman Turks. Referring to the case, the Kingdom of the Netherlands decided to attack Aceh in a military attack. The first expedition to Aceh in April 1873 ended in failure which killed the Dutch commander Major General Köhler.

The second expedition to Aceh (1873-1874), led by General Van Swieten, the Sultan's Palace of Aceh was successfully controlled, the expedition and war were considered to have been completed and were able to overcome Aceh. But beyond expectations, the war continued until 1914. The Dutch-Aceh War was a dark page of Dutch history.

Willemstoren

After the second expedition to Aceh in 1874, the Marine Corps detachment was sent to Pulo Breuh island to protect the construction of a lighthouse on the north end of the island. On July 23, 1875, a festive ceremony for Willemstoren took place from the deck of the steamboat. A commemorative plaque was placed above the entrance of the lighthouse:

Willem's Toren 1875
Gesticht in oorlogstijd
Den vrede gewyd
Tevens een blijvende eerezuil voor al de dapperen en braven, die ter bereiking van dit doel des vredes hun bloed en leven ten offer gaven

The Willemstoren lighthouse is still functioning, the concrete construction building is still very sturdy. Tourists are free to enter without being charged. These are photos when I visited there.