Zwarte Hollanders

The Zwarte Hollanders (Belanda Hitam, Londo Ireng, literally Black Dutchmen) was the Javanese name for the African recruits in the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army during the colonial period.

Between 1831 and 1872 over three thousand Africans were recruited as soldiers through the Dutch Gold Coast. This recruitment was in fact an emergency measure, as the Dutch army lost thousands of European soldiers and a much larger number of "native" soldiers in the Java War against Prince Diponegoro.

History
Following the independence of Belgium in 1830, the Netherlands population was considerably diminished, so that colonial combat losses were even more difficult to replace. Furthermore the Dutch wanted the number of locally recruited soldiers in the East Indies Army to be limited to roughly half the total strength, to ensure the loyalty of native forces. It was also hoped that the African soldiers would be more resistant to the tropical climate and tropical diseases of the Dutch East Indies than European soldiers.

The African soldiers were first recruited in Elmina. Of the 150 that were recruited, 44 were descendants of Euro-African families in Elmina. They were deployed in 1832 in southern Sumatra. The Africans were less resistant to the climate than had been hoped, but made a great impression on the Sumatran population. In 1836 a group of 88 African soldiers arrived in the Dutch East Indies. The Dutch government then decided to recruit from the Ashanti tribe.

In the autumn of 1836 Major General J. Verveer undertook a mission to the King of Ashanti. In November 1 1836, after he had arrived in Elmina, General Verveer departed with a retinue of about 900 people (the majority porters carrying provisions and gifts) to the capital of the Ashanti kingdom, Comassie (Kumasi). After lengthy negotiations, an agreement was concluded with King Kwaku Dua. In Kumasi, a recruiting branch office was established by Jacob Huydecoper, a Dutch government official from Elmina of mixed Dutch-African descent. Kwaku Dua also gave two princes, Kwasi Boachi and Kwame Poku Boachi to Verveer in the Netherlands for training. Their subsequent careers are described by Arthur Japin in his novel The Two Hearts of Kwasi Boachi (1997).

Because the British had already abolished slavery, a somewhat cautious approach was taken. The Ashanti king offered slaves and prisoners of war from the surrounding regions. However they had nominally to put themselves forward as voluntary recruits. As Dutch military service personnel they were entitled to receive pay. British objections in 1842 led to discontinuation of the relatively successful recruitment. In 1855 enrollment resumed however due to the positive experiences of African soldiers in the Dutch East Indies. This recruitment was strictly voluntary.

End of African recruitment
A total of several thousand African soldiers "with a Dutch name", were shipped to the Dutch East Indies. The Treaty of Sumatra in 1871 gave the Netherlands possessions on the Gold Coast to the British. This brought an end to the recruitment of Africans for the Dutch East Indian Army. On April 20 1872 the last ship with African recruits left for Java. There were two further attempts to recruit black volunteers for the Colonial Army. Between 1876 and 1879 thirty American black recruits were hired for the East Indian army. In 1890 there was an attempt to obtain recruits from Liberia. A total of 189 Liberians went to Java, but this group became almost entirely dissatisfied with failed promises and returned to Liberia in 1892.