Sunday, February 20, 2011

THE OFFICIAL END OF THE SULTANATE OF ACEH

Until now it was not really clear, when Holland officially had abolished the sultanate of Aceh.
The last ruling sultan of Aceh was Sultan Alauddin Mahmud Syah II, who ruled 1870-1874.
At that time the grip of the once powerfull sultanate on it's vasalstates of the areas outside the Aceh area and also the several so-called uleebalangships, or under-principalities in the actual Aceh area were also not so very strong under the sultan's rule any longer.
Maybe ca. 20% of the ca. 100 Aceh area sub-states only for real still saw the sultan of Aceh really as their paramount overlord.
At that time already Holland tried to seek a form of coöperation with Aceh,but that saw Holland a non-muslim state only as a state of non-believers, which for sure also under which rule you never must come.
Holland had to react to these counter-hostilities under Sultan Alauddin Mahmud Syah II.
This young sultan (born in 1858), who was in fact under the regency of the from Hadramaut/S-Yemen coming religious advisor Habib Abdul Rachman al-Zahr from july 1870 never could really rule himself.
When his palace was occupied and put down on 24-1-1874 they also found out that the minor-sultan with whom they had to sign an agreement of coöperation. had died a few days before.
They decided then to bring more stability to the situation in Aceh, where the sub-states not really followed the sultan anymore then and also because of the very hostile situations before, to take over the ruling responsibilities of the sultan's rule.
This was announced then also in Aceh.
The sub-rajas then not directly selected a new sultan. They first had to decide,if they thought maybe a bit otherwise then the Holand government.
At that time there were several royals, who were candidate to become the new sultan.
Then a young prince was chosen:the grandson of the predecessor of Sultan Alauiddin Mahmud Syah II.I do not think the before as a 16 year old boy-king died royal;Sultan Mahmud Syah II had not a child from his marriage with a certain Pocut Meurah.
The new sultan was Sultan Aluddin Muhammad Daud Syah;also a minor-sultan. He became a sultan first under theb regency of Tuangku Hasjim Bangta Muda (died 1897).
But Holland already had abolished the Aceh sultanate officially.
So in 2024 it will be 150 years ago, that the Aceh sultanate was abolished by Holland.
Sultan Daud;as he was for short known,was taken in captivity and sended to exile on Java from september 1903.There he died 6-2-1939.
At that time and afterwards a bit Holland was thinking of restore the Aceh sultanate also as part of a plan to restore several abolished sultanates and principalities in Indonesia.
(The Aceh dynasty later tried to realise that also under Japanese rule in World War II, without a real strong result).
It was not his crownprince Tuanku Ibrahim (died 1982), who could be the candidate,but a political experienced Aceh prince called Tuanku Mahmud.
The oldest son of crownprince Tuanku Ibrahim;Tuanku Abdul Djalil (very interested and active in researches of the history of Aceh) was not really active with a claim as the chief of the sultan's dynasty of Aceh later.
Tuanku Mirza Keumala, his son;spokesman of the international coördination organisation of rebuilding Aceh,etc. After the Tsunami natural distaster;is seen by some people as the symbol of the sultan's dynasty of Aceh.
The future will tell, how this sultan's dynasty later will find his precious role as at least an identification point of the Aceh people.

Festivana
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