Zwarte Hollanders The Zwarte Hollanders ( , , 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 soldier s 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 .