1821 - The Battle for Palembang

Preambule

The Year is 1821. It had not been long since peace was established in Europe. The series of conflicts following the French Revolution, known today as the Napoleonic Wars, had created irreversible shifts in western society. The economy lay in tatters and for the European states plagued by war and destruction, extreme and desperate policies had to be taken.

The United Kingdom of the Netherlands and Belgium, who had taken over the the Dutch East India Company in 1816, looked to their possessions in Asia. After a series of liberal reforms had failed to deliver, new methods had to be exercised.

The once-powerful city-state of Palembang, situated in the southern tip of Sumatra, had now become the target for Dutch colonial ambitions; one done out of necessity, and one done out of desperation. War had set upon the peoples of the East Indies once again, and after a first expedition in 1819 had ended in utter failure, a second expedition, led by Major-General Hendrik Merkus de Kock, left berth from Batavia in 1821.

Here goes the story of the men who fought and died for the Dutch Crown, in a land far away, for the most dubious of reasons.