The Acheh Treaty of 1819

Abstract

The strategic location of Acheh at the northern entrance of the Straits of Malacca coupled with the Sultanate's control of the pepper districts of north Sumatra were vital factors affecting British policy towards Acheh in the late 18th and early 19th century. During this period, Britain was involved in a series of wars with France in Europe, and these wars came to affect Anglo-French relations in the Indian Ocean. British possessions in India, especially those situated in the Bay of Bengal, were vulnerable to French naval attacks during the period of the north-east monsoons. The danger of French attack was first felt during the Seven Years War (1756–1763) and after peace was signed in 1763 the Directors of the Company recommended the search for a base to the east of the Bay of Bengal. The result of this protracted search was the foundation of Penang in 1786. But settlement at Penang did not entirely remove the fears of the British vis a vis the French naval threat to their Indian possessions. There were, in Southeast Asia, other stations which the French could use “with complete impunity” to launch an attack on the Company's settlements in the Bay of Bengal. Acheh was one base which seemed to fit into French strategy. During the War of American Independence, de Suffren, the brilliant French naval commander, had utilised Acheh as a refit and supply station, after having launched an attack on British territories in India. In 1796, another French commander, Sercey also refitted his fleet at Acheh. The outbreak of Napoleonic Wars in Europe, and the fear of renewed French actions in the Bay induced the Directors to sanction the building of a naval base in Penang in 1805. In their instructions to the newly created Penang Presidency, the Directors drew its attention to the existence of “an inviting port opened to him [European enemy] in Acheen” which the French could use. In an attempt to counter any French designs, the Directors were prepared to sanction a policy of extending political control over Acheh. This course of action, however, was rendered unnecessary, as the French defeat at Trafalgar in 1805 released British warships for service in the Indian Ocean. The danger from the French, however, continued to exist owing to the presence of French privateers but they ceased to operate after the termination of the Napoleonic Wars in 1814. The establishment of peace in Europe saw the restoration of the Dutch possessions in the Archipelago by the British. Soon fears were aroused of the probable Dutch domination of the main routes of the Archipelago, especially the Straits of Malacca. Consequently, the securing of free passage through the Straits of Malacca assumed great significance in the formulation of British policy in Southeast Asia in general and in Acheh in particular.