Dutch Invasion to the West Coast of Sumatra (1831)

The Dutch invasion of the West Coast of Sumatra was carried out by Koninklijk Nederlandsch-Indisch Leger under the leadership of Jan Jacob Roeps and Andreas Victor Michiels in 1831.

On February 7, 1831, a Friendship ship belonging to the United States was annexed in Kuala Batee by the Atjehnese. Shortly thereafter, Dolfijn's Dutch skull was also hijacked; the attempt to bring the ship back failed, but the fear of disputes with the United Kingdom and the outbreak of war with Atjeh made the Netherlands not take any further action. As a result, the people of Aceh became desperate to occupy Barus and a number of Dutch-owned post. Therefore, it was decided to expand the Dutch power on the West Coast of Sumatra to Singkil. Barus, Tapus, and Singkil were independent from the Sultanate of Aceh, although the sultanate claimed it. Since the three regions are not part of the Sultanate of Aceh, the Netherlands does not feel the need to be bound by the Sumatera Agreement.

LetKol. Roeps (commander in Barus) was ordered to lead only special raids. Encouraged by the hostile pressure of the Acehnese, he launched a number of expeditions, thereby wiping out armed resistance. In one of the battles, he was badly wounded by a shot. Andreas Victor Michiels now advances with 700 soldiers and members of one squadron to Barus and many Acehnese in his stronghold. Let. Bisschoff climbed up the wall of one of the buildings and grabbed the Aceh flag. The enemy seized him again and landed 11 sabet wounds on him. Leaving weapons and ammunition, the enemy ran to Tapus and Singkil, where the main force of the Acehnese people led by Mohammad Arief. Here, the enemy is also driven away after his weapons are muzzled and the purpose of this small expedition is achieved. Thus, Singkil entered the Dutch East Indies.