Andreas Victor Michiels (

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; ; ; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital city, capital and largest city of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Maastricht is loca ...

, Netherlands, 30 May 1797 – Kusamba,

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

25 May 1849) was a military and administrative officer in the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

Early life and military career

Michiels entered military service at age 17 years, participated in the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...

, and in 1817 went to the island of

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

, where he was directly involved in the conflict in

Cirebon Cirebon (, formerly rendered Cheribon or Chirebon in English) is a port city on the northern coast of the Indonesian island of Java. It is the only coastal city of West Java, located about 40 km west of the provincial border with Central J ...

. On 29 August 1818 he was promoted to captain. He fought in the

Java War The Java War (; ; ), also known in Indonesia as the Diponegoro War (; ), was an armed conflict in central and eastern Java from 1825 to 1830, between native Javanese rebels headed by Prince Diponegoro and the Dutch East Indies supported by J ...

as a colonel commandant. On 22 November 1828, King William I appointed Michiels a knight and officer in the

Military William Order The Military William Order, or often named Military Order of William ( Dutch: , abbreviation: MWO), is the oldest and highest honour of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is named after St. William of Gellone (755–814), the first Prince of Ora ...

, one year before he was appointed as a major. In the years 1831 and 1832, he participated in the conquest of Narras and Kottiangan, in 1832, he led an expedition against the Jambi Sultanate; the month of May in that year he was appointed lieutenant-colonel and in November he was awarded a knighthood in the

Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands (, ) is a Dutch honours system, Dutch order of chivalry founded by William I of the Netherlands on 29 September 1815. The Order of the Netherlands Lion wa ...

. He led the raid on

Bonjol Bonjol is name of a district (kecamatan) in the Pasaman Regency (kabupaten Pasaman), province West Sumatera, Indonesia. It is famous especially for its location as it lies just at the equator line. Bonjol is also the place of birth of Tuanku Imam ...

and under his leadership he was able to take it. For his success, he was promoted to colonel on 3 October 1837. Under his leadership, in 1838 he conquered Kuta, and in 1840 overpowered

Barus Barus is a town and ''kecamatan'' (district) in Central Tapanuli Regency, North Sumatra Province, Sumatra, Indonesia. Historically, Barus was well known as a port town or kingdom on the western coast of Sumatra where it was a regional trade cente ...

, Tapoes and

Singkil Singkil is a Maranao people, Maranao royal dance from the Philippines. The dance features a prince and a princess weaving in and out of crisscrossed bamboo poles clapped in syncopated rhythm. While the man manipulates a sword and shield, th ...

, in 1841 he suppressed a rebellion in Batipo and in 1844 and 1845, a general attack was launched. Michiels also received the honor of the Dutch people for the achievement. In 1841, he was appointed as an aide in the special service of kings and commanders of the

. In 1843, Michiels obtained the rank of major general.

Governor of West Coast of Sumatra

On 20 November 1837, Michiels was appointed governor of the West Coast of Sumatra. He supported the traditional leaders and with their assistance, the Dutch government was established in the

Minangkabau Minangkabau may refer to: * Minangkabau culture, culture of the Minangkabau people * Minangkabau Culture Documentation and Information Center * Minangkabau Express, an airport rail link service serving Minangkabau International Airport (''see bel ...

highlands. His policy was rather rough and was criticized by Ferdinand Vermeulen Krieger and

Wolter Robert van Hoëvell Wolter is a given name and surname of Low German and Low Franconian origin. It is equivalent to the English Walter (name), Walter, High German Walther, Dutch Wouter and French Gauthier. People with the name Wolter include: Given name * Wolter von P ...

. As governor of the West Coast of Sumatra, in 1843, Michiels had a serious clash with

Eduard Douwes Dekker Eduard Douwes Dekker (2 March 182019 February 1887), better known by his pen name Multatuli (from Latin ''multa tulī'', "I have suffered much"), was a Dutch writer best known for his satirical novel ''Max Havelaar'' (1860), which denounced the a ...

, who was then serving as controller at Natal (now in Mandailing Natal Regency,

North Sumatra North Sumatra () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the northern part of the island of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Medan on the east coast of the island. It borders Aceh to the northwest, Riau to the sou ...

) because of a cash budget deficit. Dekker was suspended from office, and moved to Padang without earning anything. Dekker included a character ''General Van Damme'' in his novel ''

Max Havelaar ''Max Havelaar; or, The Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company'' () is an 1860 novel by Multatuli (the pen name of Multatuli, Eduard Douwes Dekker), which played a key role in shaping and modifying Dutch Ethical Policy, Dutch colonial poli ...

'' based upon Michiels.

End of life

On 19 February 1849 Michiels was appointed temporary commander

Royal Dutch East Indies Army The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (; KNIL, ; ) was the military force maintained by the Kingdom of the Netherlands in its colony of the Dutch East Indies, in areas that are now part of Indonesia. The KNIL's air arm was the Royal Netherl ...

and leader of government affairs and chairman of Bali for the 3rd expedition against a number of kingdoms in Bali. He was succeeded as governor by Jan van Swieten. After victories in a number of skirmishes, Michiels was killed in a night attack led by Dewa Agung Istri Kanya. His tombstone is now in a cemetery now known as Taman Prasasti Museum,

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

References

1850. Wolter Robert van Hoëvell. Generaal Michiels. Tijdschrift voor Nederlands Indië, 12th edition. Pages 374–376. {{DEFAULTSORT:Michiels, Andreas Victor 1797 births 1849 deaths Royal Netherlands East Indies Army officers Royal Netherlands East Indies Army generals Dutch military personnel killed in action People from Maastricht People of the Battle of Waterloo Knights Commander of the Military Order of William Dutch military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars

Early life and military career

Governor of West Coast of Sumatra

End of life

See also

References