page_title: Han Kik Ko
section_title: Landlord and official
hierarchical_section_title: Han Kik Ko / Landlord and official
caption_attribution_description: English: A 19th century engraving of the residence of Han Kik Ko, Majoor der Chinezen as Regent of Porbolinggo (Collection Nicolaus Engelhardt)
context_page_description: Han Kik Ko, Majoor der Chinezen, Regent van Probolinggo, also known as Han Tik Ko in European sources, was a Peranakan Chinese magnate, government official and landlord in East Java. He is remembered today as a pioneer of the sugar industry in East Java, and for his acquisition and despotic rule of the district of Probolinggo.
context_section_description: By the early nineteenth century, Han Kik Ko was already a significant landlord in East Java. He owned land outside Surabaya, and rented a country estate in Kraton, in the Residency of Pasuruan, consisting of 12 villages and 2,538 souls. At the same time, he also received his first government appointment as Kapitein der Chinezen of Pasuruan.
  The Kapitein played an important role as pioneer of the sugar industry in East Java. The region's oldest sugar mill, dating to 1799, was established by the Kapitein on his estate in Pasuruan.
  In 1810, after the purchase of Besuki and Panarukan by Majoor Han Chan Piet, the Kapitein decided to follow his elder brother's example by buying the district of Probolinggo. He agreed to pay the extraordinary sum of one million Spanish dollars in a series of instalments to the government of Herman Willem Daendels, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies during the Interregnum (1806 – 1815).
  Daendels subsequently promoted the Kapitein to the dignity of Majoor der Chinezen, as well as Regent of Probolinggo with the Javanese noble title of Tumanggung. The new Majoor-Regent had direct authority over 150,000 souls in contrast to his brother, Majoor Han Chan Piet, who ruled the districts of Besuki and Panarukan through allied members of the traditional Javanese bureaucracy, including Muslim members of the Han family of Lasem.
  Majoor Han Kik Ko's rule gave rise to favourable development in the district: new methods of irrigation were implemented, rice cultivation increased, and new crops were introduced. The Majoor-Regent also encouraged Madurese immigration into his territory in order to increase its population.
  He was accused, however, of despotism in his rule of Probolinggo. Fifty percent of all crops grown in the district was taken as tribute. The rest was purchased compulsorily by the Majoor-Regent for a dismal sum. There were additional taxes on many other things, ranging from on living people to funerals, and on to buffaloes.
  On May 18, 1813, an uprising broke out – later dubbed Kepruk Cina (‘Attack on the Chinese’). At the time, Majoor Han Kik Ko was entertaining visiting British dignitaries, all of whom were caught unaware. The Majoor-Regent and some of his guests were killed by the rebels.
caption: Residence of Han Kik Ko, Majoor der Chinezen as Regent of Porbolinggo
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