Java War ( 1741 – 43 ) The Java War ( also called the Chinese War ) of 1741 to 1743 was an armed struggle by a joint Chinese and Javanese army against the Dutch colonial government that took place in central and eastern Java . Ending in victory for the Dutch , the war led to the fall of the Sultanate of Mataram and , indirectly , the founding of both the Sunanate of Surakarta and the Sultanate of Yogyakarta . After Dutch forces massacred 10 , 000 ethnic Chinese in Batavia ( now Jakarta ) , a group of survivors led by Khe Pandjang headed east for Semarang . Despite being warned of the impending uprising , the head of the Dutch East India Company ' s military Bartholomeus Visscher ignored his advisers and did not prepare reinforcements . As the situation developed , the court of , Sunan of Mataram , decided to tentatively support the Chinese while seemingly helping the Dutch . After the first casualties on 1 February 1741 in Pati , Chinese insurgents spread through central Java , joining forces with the Javanese while staging sham battles to convince the Dutch that the Javanese were supporting them . As the deception became increasingly obvious and the Chinese drew closer to Semarang , Visscher became mentally unstable . After capturing Rembang , Tanjung , and Jepara , the joint Chinese and Javanese army besieged Semarang in June 1741 . In response , Visscher issued an order to eliminate all Chinese in Java . Prince Cakraningrat IV of Madura offered his alliance , and worked from Madura westward , killing any Chinese he and his troops could find and quashing the rebellion in eastern Java . In late 1741 , the siege around Semarang was broken as ' s army fled once it became apparent that the Dutch , with their reinforcements , had superior firepower . The Dutch campaign throughout 1742 led to surrender and switch sides ; as some Javanese princes wished to continue the war , on 6 April was disowned by the revolution and his nephew , Raden Mas Garendi , was chosen to be their sultan . As the Dutch recaptured cities through the northern coast of Java , the rebellion led an attack on ' s capital at Kartosuro , forcing the Sunan to flee with his family . retook the city in December 1742 , and by early 1743 , the last Chinese had surrendered . After the war , the Dutch asserted greater control of Java through a treaty with . Background . After a long period of repression by the Dutch colonial government , ethnic Chinese in Batavia ( modern day Jakarta ) revolted on 7 October 1740 , killing fifty Dutch troops in Meester Cornelis ( now Jatinegara ) and Tanah Abang . This revolt was quashed by Governor - General Adriaan Valckenier , who sent 1 , 800 troops , together with " schutterij " ( militia ) and eleven battalions of conscript s , to the two areas ; they imposed a curfew on all Chinese inside the city walls to prevent them from plotting against the Dutch . When a group of 10 , 000 ethnic Chinese from nearby Tangerang and Bekasi was stopped at the gates the following day , Valckenier called an emergency meeting of the council for 9 October . The day of the meeting , the Dutch and other ethnic groups in Batavia began to kill all ethnic Chinese in the city , resulting in an estimated 10 , 000 deaths over two weeks . Towards the end of October 1740 , survivors of the massacre , led by Khe Pandjang , attempted to flee to Banten but were blocked by 3 , 000 of its sultan ' s troops . The survivors then fled east , towards Semarang . Despite being warned of an imminent uprising by Chinese Lieutenant Que Yonko , the military commander for Java , Bartholomeus Visscher , dismissed the threat of the incoming Chinese . A minority in Java , the Chinese began forging alliances with the Javanese , who were the largest ethnic group on the island . 1741 . Initial conflicts . On 1 February 1741 , Corporal Claas Lutten was killed in his Pati home by a group of 37 Chinese insurgents armed with swords , spears , and harrows ; the group then proceeded to loot his house . The insurgents were soon chased away by a group of Javanese soldiers under the command of the Regent of Kudus . Although most insurgents managed to escape , one was captured and killed , with his head being removed and staked on a pole in the middle of Semarang as a warning for other would - be insurgents . Meanwhile , in nearby Demak and Grobogan ethnic Chinese gathered in large assemblies and chose a new emperor , Singseh , and attempted to found their own nation . The success of the Javanese troops in stopping the insurgents reassured Visscher , despite Yonko ' s advice otherwise . At the time , Visscher and his troops , numbering 90 able - bodied Dutchmen and 208 Indonesians , were without reinforcements and received conflicting advice from Yonko and his uncle , Captain Que Anko . To secure his position , he sent a request to several local regents and leaders to capture or kill all suspicious looking Chinese ; although some complied immediately , as evidenced by Visscher ' s receiving three heads several days later , others , such as Sunan of Mataram , were more cautious , writing that they were uncertain of the ethics of the orders . During a period of contemplation lasting from late 1740 and July 1741 , and his advisers had been debating the possible benefits of joining the Chinese or holding out and rescuing the Dutch to gain a more favourable relationship . later secretly paid 2 , 000 real to Mas Ibrahim to begin attacks on the Dutch East India Company and its holdings ; he also commanded his senior lords Jayaningrat and Citrasoma to be neutral in the conflict , and to let as many Chinese escape as possible . Mertopuro of Grobogan , one of the more vocal advocates of active resistance , was tasked with the instigation of Chinese in his area . Within ' s capital at Kartosuro , he ordered the restoration of the " siti inggil kidul " ( a kind of terrace ) outside his court , thus giving him a reason to tell the Dutch that he had no manpower to spare . Despite Visscher receiving intelligence of ' s dealings , he trusted the Sunan due to his previous loyalty to the company . Instability of Visscher and early losses . When the Chinese forces , numbering up to 1 , 000 and threatening to cut supply lines to Semarang , arrived in Tanjung in April 1741 , Visscher told the regent to deal with them ; however , the regent ' s forces stalled , refusing to move until they received a tribute of high quality rice . After Yonko sent the rice , the regent ' s men went to Tanjung , stood with the rebels outside of their range , then fired and left . The rebels soon occupied a sugar mill there . In Grobogan , Mertopuro , armed with weapons from the Dutch military command , staged an attack on the Chinese rebels , in which the Javanese troops opened fire on the Chinese before the Dutch came . Once the Dutch arrived , Mertopuro showed bullet wounds in horses — inflicted by his own men — as proof that he had fought . To deal with the increasing pressure being put on by the Chinese , Visscher sent orders to company strongholds throughout the north coast to hire as many native , non - Javanese , mercenaries as could be found ; he also ordered the regents of Pati , Jepara , Kudus , and Cekalsewu , then in Semarang for a military meeting , to send troops to cut off the insurgents ' escape . The regents , loyal to , sent 540 troops to Tanjung , then secretly left for Kartosuro . However , when the troops arrived they feinted an attack , then pulled back to Semarang . When Visscher realised that the regents had disappeared , told him that he would send them back with a further 6 , 000 soldiers , requesting that Visscher secure compensation from the company headquarters in Batavia . News soon spread of thousands of Chinese joining forces with Javanese soldiers in Grobogan , outside of Semarang . On 1 May , Visscher was accosted by Captain Rudolph Carel von Glan , a unit leader , asking why Visscher had done nothing to deal with the uprising . Visscher heatedly replied that it was not Glan ' s business . The following day , after being questioned by prosecutor Jeronimus Tonnemans Jr . , Yonko , and Anko , Visscher became increasingly angry , breaking a table in half and yelling at his Chinese advisers . When Yanko disappeared after the meeting , Anko told Visscher that he had joined the rebelling Chinese . This caused Visscher , who had heavily invested in Yonko and had left a large amount of money with him , to take out his carriage and scream to the residents of Semarang to escape while it was still possible . This continued until he crashed into the city walls . The residents ran away from Semarang in a panic , leaving eight loaded cannons outside the city walls . The following day , Visscher surrendered control of the military to Glan . Not long afterwards , news reached him that Yonko had not joined the insurgents but had been robbed , spending the night at his son ' s grave in Peterongan in depression . This revitalised Visscher , who retook command of the military on 4 May and ordered everyone to return to their homes . Several days afterwards , four regents – Suradiningrat from Tuban , Martapura from Grobogan , Suradimenggala from Kaliwungu , and Awangga from Kendal – arrived at Semarang , reporting that the 6 , 000 promised troops were on their way . Despite being advised that he would be in danger if he went against the company , on 11 May requested that all coastal regents pledge their allegiance to him . He did the same for the members of his court on 13 May . However , several leaders , including second in line to the throne Prince Ngabehi Loringpasar , ' s elder brother Prince Tepasana , and his mother Queen Amangkurat , were against a revolution ; Captain Johannes van Velsen , Dutch resident in Kartasura , reported to Visscher that the Sunan had been persuaded against rebelling . However , became increasingly certain that he would join forces with the Chinese . On 23 May , the approximately 1 , 000 Chinese left Tanjung and headed east , assaulting the 15 - man Juwana outpost , as well as the one in Rembang . Although the Dutch resident and five others escaped , the Dutch recorded a high number of casualties , with reports of cannibalism . The resident in Demak , hearing these rumours and with 3 , 000 Chinese outside the walls , requested permission to withdraw to Semarang . Considering Demak key to the defence of the city , Visscher refused , instead sending 80 to 100 native troops as reinforcements . The resident of Demak was eventually called back to Semarang , leaving the defence of the fort to Mertopuro . Rembang fell on 27 July , with Jepara falling four days later . Siege of Semarang and Dutch losses . The Chinese from Tanjung soon reached Semarang and laid siege , assisted by the troops previously sent to destroy them . Visscher , fearing that his troops would not be enough , requested reinforcements from . agreed to send an artillery unit , but it was secretly intended to reinforce the Chinese . With expeditions from the Chinese and Javanese reaching the city walls , in early June Visscher ordered a retaliatory expedition , totalling 46 Europeans and 146 Indonesians and assisted by Javanese troops under the Governor of Semarang Dipati Sastrawijaya . This expedition was sent against the Chinese and Javanese gathering outside the hills of Bergota . Outside the walls , the Javanese soon deserted after spoiling the available artillery provisions , with the other native groups abandoning the expedition upon first contact with the Chinese . After killing several Chinese , the Dutch soldiers returned to the fortress . The following day , the Dutch commandeered all Chinese houses , including that of Anko . When working weapons and ammunition were found in his home , Anko stated that they were remnants from an earlier war in 1718 . Not believing Anko , the Dutch arrested him and Yanko , then had them chained and decapitated ; Visscher then ordered the execution of all ethnic Chinese . On 14 June , Visscher ordered the Chinese quarters outside the fortress to be razed to the ground . Despite Chinese numerical superiority , they did not attempt a final attack . With more uprisings appearing in eastern Java , the company was approached by Prince of Madura , who offered to ally himself with the Dutch if they would support his bid to establish his own kingdom in the area ; , formerly a great warrior for Mataram , had taken offence to being left out of ' s earlier war deliberations and was ready to launch a war of his own against the Sunan ' s forces . After the Dutch agreed , severed his ties with Mataram , returning his wife ( ' s sister ) , to Kartosuro . Throughout June and July ' s troops attempted to kill all ethnic Chinese , first starting in Madura then spreading to Tuban , Surabaya , Jipang , and Gresik . By 12 July , all Chinese in the Surabaya and Gresik areas had either escaped or been killed . On 9 July ordered the execution of Prince Tepasana and another younger brother , accused of being informants for Velsen ; their families , including Tepasana ' s preteen son Raden Mas Garendi , were exiled . soon afterwards openly showed his support for the Chinese rebellion in July with a sneak attack . His troops entered the Dutch garrison in town , under the pretension of helping to prepare for a Chinese attack , on . Once inside , the Javanese soldiers opened fire , surprising the Dutch ; despite being caught unaware and losing thirty - five men in the initial attack , the Dutch were able to hold out for three weeks . However , after the Chinese joined the battle , the garrison soon fell , with Velsen being executed and other surviving troops being given the choice ( or forced ) to convert to Islam or be killed . Meanwhile , Khe Pandjang ' s troops were driven out of Bekasi and joined with 1 , 000 soldiers under the command of Captain Ismail to capture Tegal . On 25 July , Visscher ' s replacement Abraham Roos — sent in late June because Visscher was considered mentally unstable — arrived in Semarang with 170 men , noting that the company only controlled the fortress , European quarters and beachhead . After Roos ' arrival , the Dutch government began sending more reinforcements , eventually totalling at least 1 , 400 Dutch and 1 , 600 Indonesian soldiers . By November 1741 , the company ' s fortress in Semarang was surrounded by 3 , 500 Chinese and 20 , 000 Javanese troops , who were armed with 30 cannons , as opposed to 3 , 400 Dutch and loyalist troops . With the superior Dutch firepower and tactics causing ' s troops to scatter , the siege was eventually broken and an expedition was able to reclaim Jepara . 1742 – 1743 . The fall of Kartosuro . In early 1742 , capitulated to the Dutch . In March , a group of seven Dutchmen led by Captain Johan Andries , Baron van Hohendorff , arrived in Kartosuro to set the terms of his surrender . Although at first the Dutch demanded the young crown prince , Prince Loringpasar , the eldest son of Prince Notokusumo , and Prince Pringgalaya as hostages , Loringpasar was replaced by Queen Amangkurat as he was too ill to make the trip . Unwilling to let the Dutch take his son , Notokusumo , then laying siege to Semarang , made a fake attack against the Chinese , in which the sick or injured were sacrificed while the healthy were allowed to escape , in order to give an appearance of loyalty . He then went to Kartosuro to attempt to rescue his son , but was told to clear a path to Demak by the Dutch officials there . After stalling , Notokusumo agreed to do so , first travelling to Semarang . However , upon his arrival in Semarang he was arrested by the new chief of the army , Hugo Verijsel , with ' s blessing . Verijsel then took 300 Dutch soldiers and 500 natives to clear the area around Kartosuro , but was stopped in Salatiga when he and his troops came under attack from the armies of three temenggung ; Verijsel retreated to Ampel . For dealing with the Dutch , on 6 April was disowned by the still - fighting princes and Chinese insurgents . The rebellion leaders chose Garendi as the new sunan ; Garendi took the name Sunan Kuning . On 19 June , it was reported that Notokusumo ' s troops , now under the command of Kyai Mas Yudanagara , had left for Kartosuro to place Sunan Kuning on the throne . On 30 June , they arrived at Kartosuro together with Khe Pandjang ' s troops and attacked the city . As ' s troops , numbering close to 2 , 000 , stayed behind to fight , , his family , and the Dutch escaped on horseback , finding safety after crossing the Solo River . then promised that he would surrender the coastal lands and let the Dutch pick the " patih " , or chief minister , if the Dutch would help him reclaim his throne . Dutch control is restored . In early July , Verijsel received 360 Ambonese troops , led by Kraeng Tanate , to aid him in the defence of Semarang . On 21 July , Captain Gerrit Mom arrived from Sulawesi with 800 troops to serve as further reinforcements . Mom and Tanate were then sent to recapture Demak , occupied by 4 , 000 rebels under the command of the Chinese general Singseh and Javanese general Raden Suryakusuma . The ensuing battle took place over several days and resulted in a Dutch victory . The Dutch troops continued on to Kudus , where an estimated 2 , 000 Chinese soldiers were awaiting arrivals from Kartosuro . With their numbers reinforced by further troops led by Ngabehi Secanegara from Jepara and Captain Hendrik Brule from Semarang , Mom and Tanate recaptured the city without a fight on 28 August . After the recapture of Demak and Kudus , the remaining regents began to surrender , promised pardon by . The Chinese and Javanese rebel coalition , which was beginning to unravel , continued to hold Kartosuro until December 1742 , being only chased out of the city when came and retook it . Although the Javanese were allowed to escape unmolested , the Chinese were only able to escape to nearby Prambanan after a " pitched battle " in Asem . Two months later the Chinese , accompanied by noted Javanese leader Pakunegara , made a last stand but were defeated and forced to run to the foothills along the southern coast . A general amnesty was soon declared , and Singseh surrendered in Surabaya . Aftermath . Although was reinstated by the Dutch , in early 1743 he was forced to sign a treaty . Aside from moving his palace to nearby Solo , surrendered two of the Javanese leaders . As part of the conditions of the treaty , also surrendered the northern coast of Java , Madura , and eastern Java to the Dutch ; the treaty also obligated him to pay 8 , 600 metric tons of rice in tribute every year and forbade the Javanese from sailing outside of Java , Madura , and Bali . died in 1749 , an unpopular leader whose claim to the throne had only been held through the protection of the Dutch . Further disagreements between the court ministers and leaders after ' s death led to the division of Mataram into two kingdoms , the Sunanate of Surakarta located in Solo under and the Sultanate of Yogyakarta in the city of the same name under Mangkubumi . Prince did not receive the land or powers promised , instead being isolated to Madura . Unwilling to accept what he saw as Dutch betrayal , he joined another rebellion in 1745 ; after his son surrendered to the Dutch , escaped to Banjarmasin in Borneo but was captured and exiled to the Cape of Good Hope in 1746 . The Dutch East India Company , although it had gained a large amount of coastal land , was " in an advanced state of exhaustion " . According to the noted scholar of Indonesia Merle Calvin Ricklefs , the new Sultan of Yogyakarta Mangkubumi went on to be the Dutch colonial government ' s " most dangerous enemy of the eighteenth century " .