Outsider Insiders

The present article considers the importance of sources written by witnesses who interacted with Indonesia’s national hero, Prince Diponegoro (1785–1855), in the aftermath of his arrest at the end of the Java War (1825–1830). It focuses on the reports written by the three officers, two Dutch and one Prussian, who accompanied the prince on his 11-week journey into exile (28 March–12 June 1830). During this period, Diponegoro’s every conversation and every move were recorded for intelligence purposes. A further hour-long recorded meeting occurred on 7 March 1837, when the prince met with the youngest son of the future Dutch king, Willem II (r. 1840–1849), Prins Hendrik ‘De Zeevaarder’. The character, motivations, and perspectives of these four writers are considered along with their assessments of the prince and their different relationships with the Dutch East Indies/Indonesia. These in turn are set in the context of the ‘outsider insider’ paradigm in which those with acknowledged status within Dutch society—all four were commissioned officers and one was also a prince of the realm—had the ability to step outside their positions of rank and privilege and engage with Diponegoro on the basis of a shared humanity. This position of empathy and mutual respect was made possible by their respective life experiences and upbringing.