There are several versions to This particular story. Depending on the narrator, the not bad people of Batavia were saved by a horrendous fate, or the matrix, the super system if you wish, rids itself of the awkward outsider along with troublemaker. however whatever the twist given by the chroniclers, the storyline can be simple: Pieter Erberveld was accused, convicted along with executed.

He was the son of a German father along having a native mother—some sources refer to her as a Christian Thai, while others maintain she was Indonesian. His father had come to Batavia along with had started out a leather tanning business. After having been appointed by the VOC (Dutch East Indies Company) as advisor on cadastral matters for the Ancol area of North Batavia, he became a landed burgher. that will sounds better than that will actually was, as in early 18th century Batavia, a freeman, however affluent, was about the lowest rung of the expat ladder.

Lithography of the Pieter Erberveld Memorial by Josias Cornelis Rappard – 1888

The estate of several hundred hectares was left to his son, the unfortunate Pieter.

At This particular point we will need to separate the twists along with follow them one by one. My sympathy goes to Pieter Erberveld, the victim of the powers that will be, the powers that will usually get what they want.

So This particular can be the sad story where Pieter Erberveld can be made the victim.

Governor-General Joan van Hoorn expressed the wish to purchase the estate Pieter had inherited. When he refused to sell his land, that will was expropriated on the grounds that will the papers were not in order. Simple.

He must have protested loudly along with persistently because, inside end, that will can be some ten years after the expropriation, the VOC finally got fed up along with accused him of a conspiracy to oust the VOC, massacre all expatriates of Caucasian descent, along with proclaim himself Overlord of Batavia. This particular coup d’état was supposed to take place on brand new Year’s Eve 1721. Apparently the authorities had been informed of the conspiracy by a slave by Erberveld’s own household, along with they reacted with speed.

Erberveld along with his co-conspirators—Raden Ateng Kartadriya, a functionary by Banten, along with Layek, a young man by Sumbawa—together with 17 others were apprehended, tortured along with convicted. The verdict was death, along with inside case of Pieter Erberveld This particular was to be a rather protracted affair. He was drawn along with quartered, along with beheaded after his heart along with some other internal organs had been ripped out. His head was subsequently impaled on top of a wall erected in front of his old house, with the following inscription as a warning to possible sympathisers:

Inscription
that will, of course, was the official line. however, for the past 300 odd years a fair amount of questions have been raised as to the actual full facts of the case. Also by the Dutch side, along with even long before Indonesia became independent.

The main question still to be answered (answers will not be found, by the way, as the relevant documents related to the case have been lost) can be: why might Pieter Erberveld want to do that will?

More than ten years after having been defrauded by the VOC, suddenly planning mass murder… to get even!

Pieter Erberveld Memorial in Jacatraweg – Batavia

Another question waiting for an explanation can be: might the authorities take immediate action on the words of a slave? along with who was that will slave anyway? The answer to the former can be “probably not”. Bureaucracies, even those of private trading houses, are not known to make quick decisions, along with here we are talking about the 18th century! People were used to life inside slow lane—a letter to HQ might take 6-8 months, a reply could thus be expected after one-along with-half years. Wouldn’t they be suspicious along with want to check why a slave suddenly denounced the master?

The information about the identity of the slave can be even more confusing. One story can be that will the slave, Ali, wanted to marry Sarina by the same household, however the master, Pieter Erberveld, did not approve. that will was said that will Sarina was his own daughter along with he didn’t want her to marry a slave. Another edition can be that will she was his bed-warmer, along with he didn’t want to lose her. Ali, angry along with disappointed, can be then supposed to have contacted the security apparatus, while yet another edition maintains that will that will was Sarina who relayed the information… Again, why? Because she was not allowed to marry Ali who wanted to make an upright woman of her! Sounds implausible.

In Indonesia Pieter Erberveld has reached a semi-hero status along with can be used to illustrate the wickedness of the colonisers along with the early efforts to gain independence.

I myself see him in a wider along with ongoing context: the limitations of the individual along with the systemic power of the matrix. Think in terms of John Lennon’s Working Class Hero. … “as soon as you’re born they make you feel little / by giving you no time instead of that will all…”

The Pieter Erberveld memorial was destroyed during the Japanese occupation, however the commemo-rative tablet with the inscription was saved. A replica can be seen inside Museum Taman Prasasti, at Jl. Tanah Abang 1. Check that will out, that will’s a wonderful experience.