ACHEEX. 



ACHKCK, a country la the Island of 80- 

 tra. which, la 1878, became prom. 



i by the war between it- 

 UorerBBMBt of the Netherlands. 1 

 UM aorUMn portico of Boaatra. embracing 

 area of abort 0,000 eaaare mile*. At the 

 laghiaiBt of UM seventeenth century it wa* a 

 powerful *UU. extending aoathward a* far a* 

 Baaeoolea ami Campar ; Malacca was it* de- 



cy. The interior of the country is moun- 

 aad partly volcanic. The people live 

 . aloajt UM coast, which U densely COY- 

 ered w ith *mf*tai (village*). The residence 

 of the Solun, Acheen, I* situated about seven 



from the coa*>. on the river of the same 

 i* defended by a triple wall and 

 hed fort*. Two forU built of stone, 

 acted UM entrance to the port The popula- 

 tion U e*Um*td at 15,000. In general, the 

 pUr* I* of ao importance. The palace of the 

 Mua I* described a* a wretched building; 

 Boar h U a mosque. The bay, in general good, 

 U not protccUd from the northwest winds. 

 The country export* gold dust, areca-nnts in 

 Urge qnanUtie*, and pepper; rice and tobacco 

 re only ral**d for bom* consumption. Ac- 

 cording to Jaaghuha, one of the best w riters on 

 UM areblpclago, UM population U estimated at 

 800,000. TWiababiuaU belong to three race*, 

 the AcMncM proper. UM Pedirese, and the 

 MaUy. The Aebinete are scattered over the 

 whole country, and are subdivided into t 

 division* or tribes, called, after the numbers of 

 UM common.-* (mvtimt, or *iyrn) which they 

 eoauia. the twenty-two, twenty-five, and 

 trneott ii mptt. The Pedirese are 

 Beaded from the district Pedir, on the n-rtli- 

 era coait, which was formerly a powerful state ; 

 they have a darker color than the Achinese 

 proper. The Malays have immigrated from 

 the oathcrn coast dlatricU of Sumatra, and 

 they BOW court itnte in the southwestern p..r- 

 tto of Arheen the twelve and seven wiutati 



The *apreme power is nominally in the 

 han.1. of Mlua, bat actaaHy in those of the 

 fl>aV. who b appointed by the Soltan. 

 Koch of the three division* of the Achinese 

 BM two chiefs, who haw the title Panglinia 

 or Tnwanko. and whose dignity U hereditary. 

 *Uh UMM all chieft, the Sultan must agree 

 OB vtry thine he aaderUke^ while 

 BMNly notify him of their actions. The six 

 Weft elert the n*w Sultan among tl 

 en of the Nlgalag family, and they have the 

 to aepow him la CM* he violate* the 

 of the country or doe* any thing 

 lajorioo. to the common welfare. 

 BBS It* own head, called Pan- 

 or Data; tboee of the larger 



me. called nadjsh. The 

 It the members of tV 

 m oa everr thlag. mad notify the Pwn- 

 JfcM of whatever BaTbetB resolved m-on. 

 ZaMBff UMPedtom aad Malay, the 



. . 



Sultan consist* of five per cent of the value of 

 all goods imported into the capital, .\. 1,. u, 

 and of the duties which are levit-d in the sa- 

 gee* upon imports, and the sale of I>I-|'|UT. 

 In his turn he has to pay five cattecs of gold 

 (<>f about $480) to each of the 1'angli 

 The latter generally give to tin- Sultan, of the 

 inuney raised in his name, only as much as 

 they please, and the former consequently is 

 always in need of money. In order to im- 

 prove the state of his finances, the Shaliban- 

 dar engage* on his own account in rummcrciul 

 pursuits. All the inhabitants belong to the 

 faith of Islam, which was introduced in 1215 ; 

 there are, however, many customs which are 

 irreconcilable with the precepts of the Knr;m. 

 After the Government of the NVtherlnnc!?.. 

 on March 26, 1873, had declared war upiinst 

 the Sultan of Acheen, it issued an otlicul 

 statement, giving the history of the relations 

 existing between the two powers, and of the 

 causes which led to the present war. It ap- 

 pears, from this Mat. n . tit. tli.ut when England 

 in 1816 and 1817 withdrew from the Eastern 

 Archipelago, and restored to the I hitch their 

 former possession!*, the latter engaged to re- 

 tin- indt -pi-mlence of the native princes 

 in the northern part of Sumatra, and at the 

 same time to protect trade and navigation, 

 and to suppress piracy as much as possible. 

 The sulijjcta of the Sultnn of Ac hern were 

 active pirates, and the Sultan himself, mid his 

 vessels, took on active part in their opci.-i- 

 tions. The foreign powers complained of 

 these acts to the Dutch, who repeatedly, luit 

 in vain, remon>t rated with the Su!t:,n. A 

 new treaty, concluded in 1859, in which the 

 Nilt:m promised to suppress piracy, remained 

 also without effect. When the Dutch in U-71 

 ceded their possessions on the coast of Guinea 

 to the English, England withdrew h. r former 

 reserves, regarding the extension of the 1 Mitch 

 rule in Sumatra, and consequently r.;r:i 

 the independence of Aelu-cii. At that time 

 the Achmese pirates were more defiant than 

 and repeatedly invaded Dutch terri- 

 tory. Twice a DoM war-\e^cl was sent to 

 Acheen, lint nothing was obtained . 

 vague promises which were not kept. '1 he 

 Shahbandar of the Sultan, with four dipii- 

 nt to see the Dutch governor of 

 Itinuw, who had announced his intuition to 

 Mini asked him to postpone 

 his visit, as the Sultan had applied to the 

 Great Sultan of Constantinople, but had not 

 yet received an answer. Thrso ambassadors 

 Were sent home in a Dutch man-of-war, which 

 stopped at Sinirapon-. There the Dutch learned 

 thnt the Snltnn of Acheen, in January, 

 had applied to France for help. The 

 >iese ambassadors also applied to the rep- 

 resentatives of oilier powers, which are not 

 lied by name in the official statement of 

 the Dutch Government. Hcinir thus con- 

 vinced of the double dealing of the Achinese, 

 the colonial authorities nt li.it u\i:i resolved to 



