Indonesia

Includes southern Borneo. (For the former British North Borneo, see Malaysia).

Indonesia was formerly known as the Dutch East Indies, and was generally under Dutch control.

However the East India Company had some involvement as Bencoolen on the southside of the island of Sumatra, was occupied by the East India Company from 1685 to 1825, when it was exchanged with the Dutch for Malacca which was more strategically useful.

In 1811, the island of Java was captured by the Madras Army of the East india Company, see Java Expedition and Sir Stamford Raffles was appointed as the island's Governor. In 1814, Java was returned to the Dutch under the terms of the Treaty of Paris.

Also see

• Bencoolen
• Dutch
• Dutch Indies Genealogical Association

FIBIS resources

• FIBIS Journal Number 30 (Autumn 2013), page 43 includes some correspondence about records of the Dutch cemeteries in Java

Records

• See General Register Office for general sources which may be relevant.
• Bogor, Indonesia : the cemetery in the Botanical Gardens by Justin Corfield 1999 36 p. Available at the British Library UIN: BLL01009894001 . Distributed by BACSA

Pangkalpinang : a guide to cemeteries : Bangka Island, South Sumatra by Justin Corfield 1999. 48 p. Available at the British Library UIN: BLL01009894005 48p. Distributed by BACSA

• BACSA publication Java: British and Empire Graves (1743-1975) by Justin Corfield, 1999. MIs including World War II.
188pp, 70 illustrations and plans Available at the British Library UIN: BLL01008880088 .

For details including purchase, see BACSA Books - select Cemetery Record Books.

BACSA have put indexes to the majority of their cemetery books online and these indexes are free to search and browse, see the BACSA Fibiwiki page. If an indexed name is of interest then application can be made to BACSA for details of the relevant burial inscription - charges apply for this service.

Justin Corfield’s book incorporates some of, perhaps the British burial entries of, three of the four volumes of the book by P.C. Bloys van Treslong Prins, Genealogische en heraldische gedenkwaardigheden betreffende Europeanen op Java, [Genealogical and heraldic memorabilia relating to Europeans in Java] published 1934-1939, but not Volume 4, published in Batavia in 1939 and not widely available due to WW2. Volume 4 appears to be available at the British Library, UIN: BLL01002992238 (note the BL appears to be missing Volume 3), and Volume 4 is also included, together with the first three volumes, in the DVD mentioned below (Dutch language). Note that the FamilySearch catalogue, see following, states that the information has been "transcribed from gravestones".

• The FamilySearch catalogue of microfilms/digitised microfilms includes the following
  • "Genealogische en heraldische gedenkwaardigheden betreffende Europeanen op Java" (stated to be "Genealogical and heraldic information transcribed from gravestones in European cemeteries in Java") catalogue entry Volumes 1-3 of the book by P. C. Bloys van Treslong Prins, mentioned above. Note these have been digitised, but are not available for viewing, so currently are only available if you can locate a microfilm.
  • "Extracts from St. Andrew's Outlook, quarterly messenger of the Presbyterian Churches in Malaya, Sumatra, Burma and Siam : marriages and deaths, March 1914 - July 1951" catalogue entry film 87992.

See the Fibiwiki page FamilySearch Centres for information about microfilms and digitized microfilms.

• For online editions of the publication The Directory & Chronicle for China, Japan, Corea, Indo-China, Straits Settlements, Malay States, Siam, Netherlands India, Borneo, the Philippines, &c, and similar publications, which may contain birth, marriage and death notices, see the Fibiwiki page China.
• British & Indian Armies in the East Indies (1685-1935) by Alan Harfield 1984 is available at the British Library. History of British and Indian Armies in Sumatra, Java, Sarawak, Malaya and Singapore from 1685-1935. Includes names of officers and men buried in these areas. Also includes name lists of persons in some military units which served in these areas.
• The Dutch Indies Genealogical Association sells publications, including a DVD of records from multiple sources including all four volumes of the book by Bloys van Treslong Prins, refer above. Note both the DVD and the webpage describing the DVD, are in Dutch. If the webpage does not display the contents of the DVD, click on Beschrijving. Google Translate, for reasons unknown, does not display the entire current webpage, but see Google Translate English version of an earlier webpage, now archived, which however may contain some inaccuracies.

The contents of the DVD, with additional information, is also available on IGV Publicaties USB Stick also referred to as "USB stick 1: IGV Publicaties", and additionally there is also "IGV Bronnen USB Stick" also referred to as "USB stick 2: IGV Bronnen", which can be purchased separately, or the two together for a discounted amount. At 2019/10/13, the DVD was sold out, so in the future it may be necessary to purchase the USB stick.

Provisional search guide for genealogical research to Europeans (Dutch) in the Dutch East Indies (South and South East Asia) (version: April 2018) Google Translate English version of

Voorlopige zoekwijzer ten behoeve van genealogisch onderzoek naar Europeanen (Nederlanders) in Nederlandsch-Indië (Zuid- en Zuid-Oost-Azië) (versie: april 2018)

• Search online newspapers and books on the free Dutch language website Delpher "Ruim 100 miljoen pagina's uit Nederlandse kranten, boeken en tijdschriften" ["More than 100 million pages from Dutch newspapers, books and magazines"]. Description page for Newspapers (Dutch language), which advises the collection includes Dutch East Indies newspapers with a link to List of newspapers (Dutch language). The following titles were noted with first and last dates, but no details of the extent of the holding:

Java government gazette 29-2-1812 to 10-8-1816

Java-bode : nieuws, handels- en advertentieblad voor Nederlandsch-Indie 5-1-1853 to 30-11-1957

Javasche courant 3-1-1828 to 29-12-1847

Nederlandsch-Indisch handelsblad 16-12-1828 to 18-6-1833.

External links

• Has Somerset Maugham promoted Malaysia more than Shahrukh Khan? by Oscar the Grouch. The short stories by W. Somerset Maugham set in Malaysia and Borneo, written during the 1920s and 1930s, were typically concerned with the lives of the British imperial colonist. Includes details of a murder in 1911 in Malaya on which one of the stories is thought to be based.
  • A list of the short stories by W. Somerset Maugham set in Malaysia and Borneo www.maleisie.be, now an archived webpage.

See Historical books online, below.

• Treasures from the London Library historytoday.com, now an archived webpage. Describes the book The Planter’s Manual, an English, Dutch, Malay and Keh Chinese vocabulary by G Fraser Melbourn published Deli Sumatra 1894. Also available at the British Library, UIN: BLL01002451011 . The author was a tobacco planter.
• Acheh (Wikipedia)is a special region of Indonesia, located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra . Under the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 the British ceded their colonial possessions on Sumatra to the Dutch. In the treaty, the British described Aceh as one of their possessions, although they had no actual control over the Sultanate
• Digital Atlas of Indonesian History:Index by place name includes Pedir (Pedie, Padir), a trading port in Acheh, visited by ships of the East India Company. indonesianhistory.info, now archived.
• [Researching in] the National Archives of the Republic of Indonesia (ANRI) by Matthew Minarchek, Department of History, Cornell University, May 26, 2015. dissertationreviews.org
• The website Malayan Volunteers Group malayanvolunteersgroup.org.uk includes a category Sumatra
• The Dutch East India Company and the Straits of Malacca, 1700-1784 : trade and politics in the eighteenth century by Dianne Lewis 1970 PhD Thesis Australian National University. Link to a download ANU.

Maps

• A map of the East-Indies and the adjacent countries, with the settlements, factories and territories, explaning [sic] what belongs to England, Spain, France, Holland, Denmark, Portugal etc. with many remarks not extant in any other map c1717- 1720 by Herman Moll, geographer. University of Texas. Also available Norman B. Leventhal Map Center Collection at the Boston Public Library and National Library of Australia. catalogue description from NLA.

Note: this map contains insets including A plan of the city of Batavia (bottom corner, towards the left) and A plan of the city of Bantam (top left hand corner) both of which can be enlarged considerably.

Historical books online

• "The Management of the Dutch in India", page 309 An account of the trade in India: containing rules for good government in trade, price courants, and tables: with descriptions of Fort St. George, Acheen, Malacca, Condore, Canton, Anjengo, Muskat, Gombroon, Surat, Goa, Carwar, Telichery, Panola, Calicut, the Cape of Good-Hope, and St. Helena... To which is added, An Account of the Management of the Dutch in their Affairs in India by Charles Lockyer 1711 Archive.org.
• A voyage to and from the island of Borneo, in the East Indies : with a description of the said island … Also a description of the islands of Canary, Cape Verd, Java, Madura; of the streights of Bally, the Cape of Good Hope, the Hottentots, the island of St. Helena, Ascension etc by Captain Daniel Beeckman 1718. The first chapter states he was in the service of the East India Company. He sailed from England October 1713. South East Asia Visions Cornell University Library. Note, may be very slow to open. Catalogue entry .
• A Voyage to the East Indies in 1747 and 1748. Containing an Account of the Islands of St. Helena and Java. Of the City of Batavia. Of the Government and Political Conduct of the Dutch. Of the Empire of China, with a Particular Description of Canton ... 1762 Google Books. The Preface states the author was an officer in the service of the East India Company.
• The History of Sumatra: containing an account of the government, laws, customs and manners of the native inhabitants, with a description of the natural productions, and a relation of the ancient political state of that island ‬by William Marsden. Third edition with additions 1811 Google Books.The map has not been filmed. Also available in an Archive.org version with Map. First published 1783. The 2nd edition describes the author "late Secretary to the President and Council of Fort Marlborough".
• Alexander Dalrymple 1737-1808 page 217 ‪The General Biographical Dictionary: Volume 11 by Alexander Chalmers 1813. Appointed a writer 1752 in Madras. Obtained a grant of the island of Balambangan (an island off North Borneo, now part of the Malaysian state of Sabah), controlled by the Sultan of Sulu (Sooloo) for the East India Company in 1763. Hydrographer.

Alexander Dalrymple’s Treaties with Sulu in Malay and Tausug 05 June 2014 British Library Asian and African studies blog.

• The History of Java by Thomas Stamford Raffles 1817 Archive.org. Volume I with Map of Java, Volume II. The Illustrations were later reprinted: Antiquarian, Architectural and Landscape Illustrations of the History of Java by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles 1844 Google Books. Hathi Trust edition, where the pages are able to be rotated.
• Zoological researches in Java, and the neighbouring islands by Thomas Horfield MD 1824 Archive.org. With coloured plates.

Images from the book New York Public Library Digital Collection.

• Trade and Travel in the Far East; Or, Recollections of Twenty-one Years Passed in Java, Singapore, Australia, and China by G.F. Davidson (1846). Google Books. The author arrived in Java in October 1823 and lived there until 1826.
• The Eastern Seas, or Voyages and adventures in the Indian Archipelago, in 1832, 33, 34 ... also an account of the present state of Singapore, etc by George Windsor Earl 1837 Google Books
• Narrative of the surveying voyage of H.M.S. Fly : commanded by Captain F.P. Blackwood, R.N., in Torres Strait, New Guinea, and other islands of the Eastern Archipelago, during the years 1842-1846 : together with an excursion into the interior of the eastern part of Java by J Beete Jukes, Naturalist to the Expedition. 1847. Volume I, Volume II Archive.org
• De Zieke Reiziger: Or, Rambles in Java and the Straits. in 1852 [The Invalid Traveller] by A Bengal Civilian [Charles Walter Kinloch victorianresearch.org] 1853 Google Books.
• Java, or How to Manage a Colony. Showing a practical solution to the questions now affecting British India by J W B Money 1861 Archive.org. Volume I, Volume II
• Jottings of an invalid in search of health, comprising a run through British India and a visit to Singapore and Java : a series of letters reprinted from the "Times of India" by Tom Cringle. [Author: William Walker] 1865. South East Asia Visions, Cornell University. Also available in the British Library Digital Collection
• Navigation
  • The China Sea Directory by the Hydrographic Office, Admiralty, London.
    • The China Sea Directory Volume I. Containing directions for the approaches to the China Sea and to Singapore, by the straits of Sunda, Banka, Gaspar, Carimata, Rhio, Varella, Durian, and Singapore by J. W. Reed , R N and J. W. King, R N. 1867 Google Books. 3rd edition 1886 Archive.org.
    • The China Sea Directory Volume II. Containing directions for the navigation of the China Sea, between Singapore and Hong Kong by J. W. Reed , R N and J. W. King, R N. 1868. British Library Digital Collection.
  • A directory for the navigation of the Indian Archipelago, China, and Japan, from the straits of Malacca and Sunda, and the passages east of Java. To Canton, Shanghai, the Yellow Sea, and Japan, with descriptions of the winds, monsoons, and currents, and general instructions for the various channels, harbours, etc by Alexander George Findlay 2nd edition 1878 Archive.org
  • Malacca Strait Pilot : comprising strait and its northern approaches, Singapore Strait, and the West Coast of Sumatra 1946 Pdf download, Repositori Digital, National Library of Malaysia. Possibly may be sample pages only.
• Two Years in the Jungle : the Experiences of a Hunter and Naturalist in India, Ceylon, the Malay Peninsula and Borneo by William T Hornaday, Chief Taxidermist, US National Museum 1885 Archive.org.
• Some Notes on Java and its Administration by the Dutch by Henry Scott Boys, late Bengal Civil Service 1892 Archive.org
• A Visit to Java : with an Account of the Founding of Singapore by William Basil Worsfold 1893 Archive.org
• With the Dutch in the East. An outline of the military operations in Lombock, 1894, giving also a popular account of the native characteristics,… by Capt W Cool (Dutch Engineer). Translated from the Dutch by E J Taylor 1897 Archive.org
• From Jungle to Java : The trivial impressions of a short excursion to Netherlands India by Arthur Louis Keyser [1897] Archive.org
• Java, the Garden of the East by Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore 1897 Archive.org.
• A Padre in Partibus: being notes and impressions of a brief holiday tour through Java, the Eastern Archipelago and Siam ... Reprinted from the “Singapore Free Press.” by G. M. Reith, (George Murray), 1897. Cornell University Library- Southeast Asia Visions. Also available in the British Library Digital Collection
• Facts and Fancies about Java by Augusta de Wit 1900 2nd edition, revised and enlarged. Archive.org
• On cane sugar and the process of its manufacture in Java by H. C. Prinsen Geerligs, [Hendrik Coenraad] 1902 Archive.org
• The Policy and Administration of the Dutch in Java by Clive Day 1904 2nd book file Archive.org
• My Tour in Eastern Rubber Lands by Herbert Wright 1908 Archive.org Ceylon, Malaya, Java, Sumatra
• Java: Past & Present, a description of the most beautiful country in the world, its ancient history, people, antiquities, and products by Donald Maclaine Campbell, late British-Vice Consul, 1915 Volume I, Volume II with a Geological and Volcanos map Archive.org
• The Directory & Chronicle for China, Japan, Corea, Indo-China, Straits Settlements, Malay States, Siam, Netherlands India, Borneo, the Philippines, &c. For a range of editions to 1922, see China.
• The London and China Telegraph. Published weekly in London. Covers China, Hong Kong, Japan, Straits Settlements (Singapore, Penang), Batavia and perhaps a wider area. For editions 1860-1875 (missing 1862), see China.
• Restricted access, probably available to those in North America and some other countries: Twentieth Century Impressions of Netherlands India: Its History, People, Commerce, Industries, and Resources by Arnold Wright 1908 HathiTrust Digital Library. Google Books edition [restricted]
• Through the Malay Archipelago by Emily Richings 1909 Archive.org
• Isles of the East : an Illustrated Guide : Australia, New Guinea, Java, Sumatra W Lorck Editor –in- Chief. Royal Packet Steam Navigation Company (KPM) 1912 Archive.org.
• Java : Information for Travellers : Trips in the Isle of Java… Batavia: Official Tourist Bureau, 1913. South East Asia Visions, Cornell University.
  • Map of Java

Come to Java: Information for Travellers, with two maps. Trips in the isle of Java… Official Tourist Bureau 1920. South East Asia Visions, Cornell University.

• Map of Java
• Map of Netherlands East Indies. May be very slow to open.

• Rural sanitation in the tropics : being notes and observations in the Malay Archipelago, Panama and other lands by Sir Malcolm Watson 1915 Archive.org. There is a chapter on Sumatra relating to malaria.
• Lauterbach of the China Sea : the Escapes and Adventures of a Seagoing Falstaff by Lowell Thomas, 1930 Archive.org. During WW1 Julius Lauterbach was navigator on the German SMS Emden and subsequently was a prisoner in Singapore at Tangling prison camp page 95, and helped ferment dissatisfaction which led to the 1915 Singapore Mutiny, during which he escaped and fled, initially to Sumatra.
• Military Report on the Netherlands’ Possessions in the East Indies Prepared by the General Staff, War Office 1919. Website of the Australian Army. This appears to be an internal British Army document which is marked Confidential.
• The Netherlands Indies and the Great War, 1914-1918 by Kees van Dijk 2007. Open Access oapen.org.
• A Manual of Netherlands India (Dutch East Indies) by Naval Intelligence Division, Naval Staff, Admiralty. HMSO 1920. Archive.org
• Where the strange trails go down; Sulu, Borneo, Celebes, Bali, Java, Sumatra, Straits settlements, Malay states, Siam, Cambodia, Annam, Cochin-China by E Alexander Powell 1921 Archive.org
• The Ports of the Dutch Indies by Wouter Cool 1921 Archive.org
• Netherlands East Indies and British Malaya: a Commercial and Industrial Handbook by John A Fowler [USA] Trade Commissioner 1923 Archive.org
• Series: Economic and Social History of the World War : Dutch Series, published by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The Netherlands and the World War. Studies in the War History of a Neutral. Volume III The Effect of the War Upon the Colonies by Professor J H Carpentier Alting and W De Cock Buning 1928 Archive.org. HathiTrust Digital Library with darker print. Includes the Netherlands East Indies.
• In Java : and the neighboring islands of the Dutch East Indies by John Charles Van Dyke 1929. Link to a pdf download, STOU Digital Repository Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, Thailand. Note, this website has been noticed to be unavailable at times, possibly it may only be accessible during "office hours".
• The Agricultural Zoology of the Malay Archipelago : the animals injurious and beneficial to agriculture, horticulture and forestry in the Malay Peninsula, the Dutch East Indies and the Philippines by Karel Willem Dammerman 1929. Pdf download, Repositori Digital, digital repository of the National Library of Malaysia. Possibly may be sample pages only.
• From Siam to Suez by James Saxon Childers 1932 Archive.org. The author travelled to Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Burma and India.
• Malayan Symphony : Being the Impressions Gathered During a Six Months' journey Through the Straits Settlements, Federated Malay States, Siam, Sumatera, Java and Bali by William Robert Foran 1935. Pdf download, Repositori Digital, National Library of Malaysia. Probably sample pages only.
• Belle of Bali being impressions of a pleasure cruise to the Dutch East Indies Via Cochin, Colombo, Penang, and Singapore by Ardaser Sorabjee N. Wadia 1936. Link to a pdf download Digital Repository of GIPE, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune, India.
• Isles of Spice by Frank Clune 1942. Archive.org Lending Library. A trip in 1939.
• French View of the Netherlands Indies by G.H. Bousquet ; translated from the French by Philip E. Lilienthal 1940. Pdf download, Digital Repository of GIPE, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune, India.
• Netherlands East Indies by Naval Intelligence Division 1944. Volume 1, Volume 2 Archive.org, Digital Library of India Collection.
• Java Revisited by John Fabricius, (catalogued Fabricus) translated from the Dutch by M S Stephens 1947. Archive.org. The author was working in Java 1945-1946 as a war correspondent.
• Between 1966 and 1980, the War History Office of the National Defense College of Japan published the 102-volume Senshi Sōsho (War History Series). These volumes give a detailed account of the operations of the Imperial Japanese Army and the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Second World War.

Volume 3 of the series:The invasion of the Dutch East Indies edited and translated by Willem Remmelink 2015. The campaign to gain control over the Indonesian archipelago. Open Access oapen.org.

Volume 26 of the series: The Operations of the Navy in the Dutch East Indies and the Bay of Bengal edited and translated by Willem Remmelink 2018. Describes the Japanese Navy’s role in the campaign to gain control over the Indonesian archipelago. It includes the first complete Japanese analysis of the Battle of the Java Sea, a much-debated battle that ended disastrously for the Allies and opened the way to Java for the Japanese. Open Access oapen.org.

It is intended to translate as a final volume, volume 34 Army Air Drive to the Southern Pacific. More details from The Corts Foundation, a Dutch non profit organisation.

• Four years till tomorrow : despair and hope in wartime Dutch East Indies : a collection of 26 eye witness stories edited by Sheri G Tromp 1999 Archive.org Lending Library.
• Pepper, Rice, and Elephants : a Southeast Asian journey from Celebes to Siam by Ruth Masters Rickover 1975 Archive.org Lending Library

Fiction

• The Hidden Force: a Story of Modern Java by Louis Couperus translated by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos 1921 Archive.org. A novel. Originally written 1900.
• The Complete Short Stories of W. Somerset Maugham Volume I Archive.org Lending Library. Volume II, Volume III. Archive.org. The Volume III Preface indicates some of the stories are set in Malaya "written long before the Second World War"; there may be Borneo stories in any volume. (See External links, above.) Other Short Stories editions mainly from the Archive.org Lending Library. Far Eastern Tales Archive.org Lending Library. The short stories appear to have been written mainly in the 1920s-1930s.
• Insulinde : selected translations from Dutch writers of three centuries on the Indonesian archipelago edited by Cornelia Niekus Moore 1978. Archive.org Lending Library. Also includes a few factual accounts.