Pattimura

Pattimura was born Thomas Matulessy on 8 June 1783 in Saparua, Maluku; the name Pattimura was his pseudonym.[1][2] His parents were Frans Matulessia and Fransina Tilahoi, and he had a little brother named Yohanis.[3] In 1810, the Maluku islands were taken over from the Dutch colonials by the British.[4] Mattulessi received military training from their army and reached the rank of sergeant major.[1]

After the signing of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty on 13 August 1814,[1] in 1816 the Maluku islands were returned to the Dutch; Pattimura attended the ceremony.[4] Afterwards, in violation of the treaty, he and his fellow soldiers were discharged to their hometowns.[2][4] However, Pattimura refused to accept the restoration of Dutch power. He felt that they would stop paying native Christian teachers, as they had done in 1810, and was concerned that a proposed switch to paper currency would leave the Maluku people unable to give alms — only coins were considered valid — and thus lead to churches being unable to help the poor.[5]

Ambon revolt of 1817

Fort Duurstede, Saparua, Indonesia

He was appointed as Kapitan by the people of Saparua to rebel against the Dutch on 14 May 1817.[1] The assault began on the 15th, with Pattimura and his lieutenants Said Perintah, Anthony Reebhok, Paulus Tiahahu and Tiahahu's daughter Martha Christina Tiahahu leading the way.[6] On 16 May 1817, they seized Fort Duurstede and killed the 19 Dutch soldiers, Resident Johannes Rudolph van den Berg (who had arrived just two months earlier), his wife, three of his children and their governess.[7][1][6] The only Dutch survivor was Van den Berg's five-year-old son Jean Lubbert.[6] After the seizure, Pattimura's forces defended the fort and on May 20 defeated Major Beetjes, Second Lieutenant E. S. de Haas, and their nearly 200 troops, leaving only 30 survivors.[7] On 29 May, Pattimura and other Maluku leaders made the Haria Proclamation, which outlined their grievances against the Dutch government and declared Pattimura to be the leader of the Maluku people.[8] In response, Governor-General Van der Cappellen immediately fired the governor of Ambon, Jacobus A. van Middelkoop, and his right hand, Nicolaus Engelhard, for their abuses of the local people.[9]

On June 1, Pattimura led an unsuccessful attack on Fort Zeelandia in Haruku.[8] Two months later, on August 3, Fort Duurstede was finally retaken by the Dutch, but the revolt had spread and was not subdued for another few months.[7]

Due to betrayal from Booi's king, Pati Akoon, and Tuwanakotta, Pattimura was arrested on 11 November 1817 while he was in Siri Sori. He and his fellows were sentenced to death. On 16 December 1817, Pattimura together with Anthony Reebhok, Philip Latumahina, and Said Parintah were hanged in front of Fort Nieuw Victoria in Ambon.[10][11]

Pattimura featured in the 1,000-rupiah banknote issued by Bank Indonesia.

Pattimura and his war have been used as symbols for both Maluku independence, such as with the short-lived Republic of South Maluku,[12] and Indonesian patriotism.[13] The first president of Indonesia, Sukarno, considered Pattimura a great patriot.[13]

When Pattimura was awarded the title National Hero of Indonesia by President Suharto in 1973 through Presidential Decree number 87/TK, very little was written in independent Indonesia on this subject and he was virtually unknown outside Moluccan circles.[14] [10] How widely this interpretation can vary is perhaps most clearly indicated by the fact that both the Republik Maluku Selatan and the Republic of Indonesia put forward Pattimura as "their" Freedom Hero.[15] In Ambon, he is commemorated in the names of the University of Pattimura, Pattimura Airport, and a street, as well as a statue; there are also streets named after him throughout the archipelago.[13] In Wierden, Netherlands a street in the Moluccan neighborhood is named after Pattimura. 15 May is celebrated as Pattimura Day;[16] in the Netherlands and Indonesia. A similar, smaller holiday is on 2 January for the younger Tiahahu in Indonesia.[17] He is also featured on the 2000 series of the 1,000 rupiah bill.[18]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pattimura.

• Aritonang, Jan; Steenbrink, Karel (2008). A History of Christianity in Indonesia. Studies in Christian mission. 35. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-1-109-18566-9.
• Cuhaj, George (2004). Standard Catalog of World Paper Money. Volume 3, Modern Issues 1961-Date. Iola: Krause Publications. ISBN 978-0-87349-800-5.
• Ajisaka, Arya; Damayanti, Dewi (2010). Mengenal Pahlawan Indonesia [Knowing Indonesian Heroes] (in Indonesian) (Revised ed.). Jakarta: Kawan Pustaka. ISBN 978-979-757-430-7.
• Lundry, Chris (2009). Separatism and State Cohesion in Eastern Indonesia. Ann Arbor: Arizona State University. ISBN 978-1-109-18566-9.
• Poesponegoro, Marwati Djoened; Notosusanto, Nugroho (1992). Sejarah Nasional Indonesia: Nusantara di Abad ke-18 dan ke-19 [Indonesia's National History: Nusantara in 18th and 19th Century] (in Indonesian). 4. Jakarta: Balai Pustaka. ISBN 978-979-407-410-7.
• Sudarmanto, J. B. (2007). Jejak-Jejak Pahlawan: Perekat Kesatuan Bangsa Indonesia [Footsteps of Heroes: Uniters of the Indonesian People] (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Gramedia Widiasarana Indonesia. ISBN 978-979-759-716-0.