Herman Willem Daendels



Herman Willem Daendels (Hattem, October 21 1762 – Ghana, May 2 1818) was a Dutch politician who served as the 36th Governor General of the Dutch East Indies between 1808 - 1811.

Early life
Born in Hattem, Netherlands, on the 21 October 1762, he was the son of Burchard Johan Daendels, the mayoral secretary, and Josina Christina Tulleken. He studied at University in Harderwijk, graduating on 10 April 1783.

Political Activity
In 1785, he sided with the Patriots, who had seized power in several Dutch cities. In 1786 he defended the city of Hattem against stadholderian troops. In 1787, he defended Amsterdam against the Prussian army that invaded the Netherlands to restore William V of Orange. After William V was in power again, he fled to France because of a death penalty. Daendels was close witness to the French revolution.

He returned to the Netherlands in 1794, as a general in the French army of Charles Pichegru. Daendels helped Pieter Vreede to power in a coup d'état on 25 January 1798. They were dissatisfied with the conservative-moderate majority in the parliament, which tried to prevent a democratic, centralistic constitution. The reign of Vreede was even worse, so Daendels supported another coup d'état against Vreede on 14 June 1798. In the Batavian Republic he had several political functions, but he had to step down when he failed to prevent the Anglo-Russian invasion in 1799, and became a farmer in Heerde, Gelderland.

Military career
Louis Bonaparte made him colonel-general in 1806 and Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies in 1807. After a long voyage, he arrived in the city of Batavia (now Jakarta) on the 5 January 1808 and relieved the former Governor General, Albertus Wiese. His primary task was to rid the island of Java of the English Army, which he promptly achieved. He built new hospitals and military barracks, a new arms factories in Surabaya and Semarang, and a new military college in Batavia. He demolished the Castle in Batavia and replaced it with a new fort at Meester Cornelis (Jatinegara), and built Fort Lodewijk in Surabaya. However, his best-known achievement was the construction of the Great Post Road (Indonesian: Jalan Raya Pos) across northern Java. The road now serve as the main road in Java island, called Jalur Pantura. The thousand-kilometre road was completed in only one year, during which thousands of Javanese forced labourers died.

He displayed a firm attitude towards the Javanese rulers, with the result that the rulers were willing to work with the English against the Dutch. He also subjected the population of Java to forced labour ( Rodi ). There are some rebellious action towards this action, such as in Cadas Pangeran, West Java.

There is considerable debate as to whether he increased the efficiency of the local beauracracy and reduced corruption, although he certainly enriched himself during this period.

When the Kingdom of Holland was incorporated in France in 1810, Daendels returned to Holland. He commanded the 26th Division of the Grande Armee in Napoleon's invasion of Russia. After the fall of Napoleon, he became Governor-General of the Dutch Possessions in Africa. He died of malaria in Ghana on the 8 May 1818.