Lauw Ho (; died in 1863), also spelled Lauw Houw, was a prominent tax farmer ('' pachter''), tycoon and ancestor of the Lauw-Sim-Zecha family, part of the '

Cabang Atas The Cabang Atas (''Van Ophuijsen Spelling System'': Tjabang Atas)—literally 'upper branch' in Indonesian language, Indonesian—was the traditional Chinese establishment or gentry of Dutch East Indies, colonial Indonesia. They were the families ...

' gentry of 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 ...

(now

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, ...

). Between 1845 and 1861, Lauw held various ''pachten'' or revenue farms, including for pawn houses, slaughterhouses, fish and – in particular – for

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...

, over which he intermittently acted as ''Hoofdpachter'' or head revenue farmer. The ''pacht'' or revenue farm was a system of

tax collection A revenue service, revenue agency or taxation authority is a government agency responsible for the intake of government revenue, including taxes and sometimes non-tax revenue. Depending on the jurisdiction, revenue services may be charged with ...

, in which the Dutch colonial authorities outsourced tax collection to the highest bidding revenue farmers. Together with Gouw Kang Soei, Tan Ling, Khouw Siong Bo and Tan Kong Boen, Lauw was also part of the Ngo Ho Tjiang partnership or ''

kongsi Kongsi () is a Hokkien transcription of a Chinese term meaning "company", especially businesses which have been incorporated. However, the word has other meanings under different historical contexts. ''Kongsi'' were most commonly known as Chines ...

'', which dominated the opium ''pacht'' – the most lucrative of all the revenue farms. The proceeds from revenue farming made Lauw one of the wealthiest tycoons in the Dutch East Indies. Despite his vast wealth, Lauw's application for an honorary appointment as ''Luitenant-titulair der Chinezen'' did not succeed, probably because, as a newly-rich man, he did not come from an established family of Chinese officers. The Chinese officership was a very prestigious and senior civil government post in the Dutch colonial bureaucracy: appointments tended to be doled out on a near-hereditary basis to a small number of interrelated families - the so-called

gentry. Lauw did, however, serve in the bureaucracy in a lesser capacity as '' Wijkmeester'', or ward master, of

Meester Cornelis Jatinegara (originally known as Meester Cornelis or Meester/Mester for short) is one of the districts () of the administrative city of East Jakarta, Indonesia. The name also refers to the larger, historic area of the colonial town of Meester Corn ...

. Before Lauw died in 1863, however, he had the satisfaction of seeing his two sons, Lauw Tek Kang and Lauw Tek Lok, raised to the Chinese officership on December 23, 1854 as ''Luitenants der Chinezen'', of their father's old district of Meester Cornelis and neighbouring

Bekasi Bekasi (, ) is the List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city with the largest population in the province of West Java, Indonesia, located on the eastern border of Jakarta. It serves as a commuter town, commuter city within the Jakarta m ...

respectively. These appointments signalled the elevation of Lauw's family to the ranks of the Cabang Atas. Through ''Luitenant'' Lauw Tek Lok, Lauw Ho is the great-great-grandfather of the hotelier Adrian Lauw-Zecha, founder of Aman Resorts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lauw, Ho Indonesian people of Chinese descent Lauw-Sim-Zecha family Cabang Atas Pachters Businesspeople from Jakarta