Prince Diponegoro

Prince Diponegoro (born in Yogyakarta, 11 November 1785 - died in Makassar, South

Sulawesi, January 8th , 1855 at the age of 69 years) was one of the national hero of the Republic of
Indonesia. His grave is in Makassar.
Diponegoro War began when the Dutch side’s put the peg in the ground in the village Tegalrejo,
Diponegoro's village. At that time, he was already fed up with the behaviour of the Netherlands
w h o did not appreciate the local customs and so exploited the people by taxation.
Diponegoro had firm stance against the Dutch openly. He got sympathy and popular support.
From the suggestion of Prince Mangkubumi his uncle, Diponegoro went away from Tegalrejo and
created a base in a cave that was named Goa Selarong (located five kilometers west of Bantul town).
At that time, Diponegoro claimed his war as ‘Sabil war’, a fight against the infidels. The spirit of the
“Sabil War” gave extensive impact to the region of Kedu. One religious leader in Surakarta, Kyai
Maja, joined forces with Diponegoro in Goa Selarong.
The beginning of the war saw large losses on the side of the Dutch, due to their lack of
coherent strategy and commitment In fighting Diponegoro's guerrilla warfare. Ambushes were set up,
and food supplies were denied to the Dutch troops. During this war the Dutch loss of not less than
15.000 soldiers and 20 million guilders
The Dutch finally comitted themselves controlling the spreading rebellion by increasing the
number of troops and sending General De Kock to stop the insurgencies. De Kock developed a
strategy of fortified camps and mobile forces. Heavily-fortified and well-defended soldiers
occupied key landmarks to limit the movement of Diponegoro's troops while mobile forces tried to
find and fight the rebels. From 1829, Diponegoro definitely lost the initiative and he was put in a
defensive position. Many troops and leaders were defeated or deserted.
In 1830 Diponegoro's military was weak and negotiations were started. In March 1830 he was
invited to negotiate under a flag of truce. He accepted but was taken prisoner on 20 March despite
the flag of truce. De Kock claims that he had warned several Javanese nobles to tell Diponegoro he
had to lessen his previous demands or that he would be forced to take other measures. Then, The
Dutch exiled him to Makassar.

I. Answer the questions correctly!

1. Where was Diponegoro came from?
Tegalrejo, Yogjakarta
2. Where was his grave?
Makassar
3. Who gave Diponegoro first support?
Prince Mangkubumi his uncle
4. Where was Diponegoro base camp in fighting the Dutch?
Goa Selarong
5. What was the first reason of Diponegoro war happened?
The Dutch side’s put the peg in the ground in the village Tegalrejo, Diponegoro's village.

II. Find the meaning of the words below (translate into Bahasa Indonesia)
1. Noble = bangsawan
2. Exiled = membuang
3. Impact = dampak
4. Local customs = adat setempat
5. Defensive = bertahan
6. Negotiations = perundingan
7. Behaviour = tingkah laku
8. Rebellion = pemberontakan

III. Find the reference of these words from the text!

1. he was already fed up with the behaviour (par 2 line 2) he refers to ... Diponegoro
2. due to their lack of coherent strategy (par 4 line 1) their refers to ... The Dutch
3. He accepted but was taken prisoner ... (par 6 line 2) he refers to ... Diponegoro
4. De Kock claims that he had warned several Javanese (par 6 line 3) he refers to ...De
Cock