The Padri Wars (also called the Minangkabau War) was fought from 1803 until 1837 in West Sumatra, Indonesia between the Padri and the Adat. The Padri were Muslim clerics from Sumatra who wanted to impose Sharia in Minangkabau in West Sumatra, Indonesia. The Adat comprised the Minangkabau nobility and traditional chiefs. They asked for the help of the Dutch, who intervened in 1821 and helped the nobility defeat the Padri faction.
Background
It can be considered that the Padri Wars began in 1803, before Dutch intervention, and was a conflict that had broken out in Minangkabau country when the Padri started to suppress what they saw as un-Islamic customs, i.e., the adat. But after the occupation of the Pagaruyung Kingdom by Tuanku Pasaman, one of the Padri leaders in 1815, on 21 February 1821, the Minangkabau nobility made a deal with the Dutch in Padang to help them fight the Padri.
Adat, as customary law is called in Indonesia, includes indigenous, pre-Islamic religious practices and social traditions in local customs. The Padri, like contemporaneous jihadists in the Sokoto Caliphate of West Africa, were Islamist purists who had made the hajj to Mecca and returned inspired to bring the Qur'an and sharia to a position of greater influence in Sumatra. The Padri movement had formed during the early 19th century and sought to purge the culture of traditions and beliefs its partisans viewed as un-Islamic.
In the 1820s, the Dutch had yet to consolidate their possessions in some parts of the Dutch East Indies (later Indonesia) after that were returned to them by the British after the Napoleonic Wars.. This was especially true on the island of Sumatra, where some areas would not come under Dutch rule until the 20th century.
The Padri movement
From c. 1692, Islam was propagated to the Minangkabau areas of West Sumatra by Sheikh Burhanuddin Ulakan in the Shattari school of Sufism. In 1784, the Sufi ulama called Tuanku Nan Tuo was appointed as the religious head of the Koto Tuo region. He appointed a large number of his students to head various surau surrounding the region. A great number of his students were hajj returnees and were influenced by the ideals of the Wahabi movement. They called themselves Padri. The Padri movement is considered one of the major precursors of the Salafiyya movement of the 19th century; and influenced the Salafi reformist Muhammadiyyah movement of South East Asia.
The Padri upheld Sharia, the Islamic law, strictly which they would implement through violent upheaval to replace the existing Adat. Historical accounts of the Padri Wars reveal several different ideologies. The most influential were by Tuanku Nan Tuo, Tuan Ku Nan Renceh, and Imam Bonjol.
Tuanku Nan Tuo was a Shattari Sufi leader and reformist, not a Padri. He would convince villagers to rid their society of vices like cock-fighting, gambling, and opium. His methods would be through discussion, education, and also public protest. All the Padri leaders were once his students and he continuously disagreed with their extremist fanaticism and militant violence. In revenge for this insolence, the Padri attacked and burnt down numerous villages which were Shattari centers; instigated mass murder of the ulama and rang cerdek (intelligentsia) as well as rape and plunder. The Padri waged war against Nan Tuo's village of Koto Tuo from 1815. Nan Tuo's sons died in battle. Koto Tuo held on until the Dutch arrived in 1821.
Tuanku Nan Renceh with Tuanku Lintau and Tuanku Pasaman were at war with the Adat and would forbid cock-fighting, gambling, and sireh; and forced women to cover up. Any that disagreed with their interpretation of Islam were punishable by death. They grew wealthy by enslaving the population to grow coffee and other agriculture. While forcing residents to wear white and grow beards, they would wear red.
Imam Bonjol was a mystic, strategist, and visionary. Imam Bonjol with Tuanku Rao and Tuanku Tambusai were based in the northern areas where the Padri Wars evolved differently. Many in the north were early Padri sympathisers. While they were as militant and extremist as Nan Renceh initially, their roles were quite different. While Nan Renceh was punishing the Adat population, Imam Bonjol and Rao were developing trading routes and fortresses against the Dutch. He also enslaved the Batak people. In January 1824, he signed a peace treaty with the Dutch but a new commander arrived and dishonoured it. In 1831, Imam Bonjol attacked a Dutch garrison killing off 2 thirds of the soldiers. Later, as Imam Bonjol met numerous Hajj returnees who contested the Padri and Wahabbi extremism, he began to have misgivings, doubts, and regrets. By September 1832, Imam Bonjol was disillusioned and, perhaps seeking repentance, he walked out of his village fort and left the Padri.
First Padri War 1803–1825
Beginning 1803–1821
Upon the return of three alim ulama from Mecca around 1803, namely Haji Miskin, Haji Sumanik and Haji Piobang, they expressed their wish to perfecting the application of Islamic law in Minangkabau society. Knowing this, Tuanku Nan Renceh was very interested and supported the wishes of the three scholars. Together with other scholars, these eight figures are known as Harimau Nan Salapan (Tigers of Eight).
Harimau Nan Salapan then asked Tuanku Lintau who has closeness and kinship with Yang Dipertuan Pagaruyung Sultan Arifin Muningsyah to invite the Indigenous People to abandon several habits that are contrary to the teachings Islam. In several negotiations there was no agreement between the Padri and the Indigenous People. This conflict led to turmoil among several nagari in the Pagaruyung Kingdom, until in 1815, the Padri under the leadership of Tuanku Lintau attacked the Pagaruyung Kingdom and war broke out in Koto Tangah. This attack caused Sultan Arifin Muningsyah to be forced to step aside and flee the royal capital. Notes of Thomas Stamford Raffles who visited Pagaruyung in 1818, stated that he only found the remains of Pagaruyung Royal Palace which was burned down.
As part of the Dutch aid agreement, the Indigenous People surrendered the areas of Simawang and Sulit Air, by order of resident James du Puy in Padang. Then on 8 December 1821 additional troops arrived led by Lieutenant Colonel Raaff to strengthen the position in the area that had been controlled.
On 4 March 1822, Dutch troops under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Raaff succeeded in pushing the Padri people out of Pagaruyung. Then the Dutch built a defensive fort in Batusangkar with the name Fort Van der Capellen, while the Padri gathered strength and defended themselves in Lintau.
Battle of Baso (1822)
On 14 August 1822, Padri Ulama forces faced battle with Dutch forces, the Padri Ulama succeeded in defeating the Dutch and their commander was wounded in action.
Battle of Batusangkar (1822)
The battle occurred in 1822 in Batusangkar, where the Padri raided the Dutch. The Dutch suffered heavy casualties including the destruction of the Dutch unit, and their commander was killed in action.
Battle of Lintau (1823)
After the Dutch obtained support, they attacked Lintau but the Padri Ulama forces successfully defended, defeating the Dutch forces, causing them to withdraw to Batusangkar.
Battle of Bukittinggi (1825)
Padri troops carried out a well-planned frontal attack, surprising the Dutch troops, who were not fully prepared for a large-scale attack. This attack inflicted heavy losses on the Dutch.
Battle of Sulit Air (1825)
The Battle of Sulit Air was also one of the Padri's victories, where they succeeded in expelling the Dutch troops from the area and also sacked the Dutch headquarters.
Treaty of Masang
Dutch involvement in the war came about because it was invited by the Adat faction, and in April 1821, Dutch troops attacked Simawang and Sulit Air under captains Goffinet and Dienema on the orders of James du Puy, the Dutch Resident in Padang. Between 1821 and 1824, skirmishes broke out throughout the region, ended only by the Treaty of Masang. The war cooled down during the next six years, as the Dutch faced larger-scale uprisings in Java.
Second Padri War 1831–1838
The fall of Luhak Nan Tigo 1831–1833
After the end of the Diponegoro War and the restoration of Dutch East Indies power in Java, the Dutch East Indies government again tried to subdue the Padri. This is very much based on a strong desire to control coffee cultivation which is expanding in the interior of Minangkabau (the Darek region). Until the 19th century, coffee was one of the mainstay products of the Dutch in Europe. Christine Dobbin calls it more of a trade war, this is in line with the dynamics of social change in Minangkabau society in the twists and turns of trade in the interior and on the west coast or east coast. Meanwhile, on the one hand, the Dutch wanted to take over or have a monopoly.
Furthermore, to weaken the opposing forces, the Dutch violated the ceasefire agreement by attacking the nagari Pandai Sikek which was one of the areas capable of producing gunpowder and firearms. Then to strengthen its position, the Dutch built a fort in Bukittinggi which was known as Fort de Kock. At the beginning of August 1831, Lintau was successfully conquered and put Luhak Tanah Datar under Dutch control. However, Tuanku Lintau still continued to fight from the Luhak Limo Puluah area.
Meanwhile, when Lieutenant Colonel Elout carried out various attacks against The Padri between 1831 and 1832, he obtained additional strength from the troops of Sentot Prawirodirdjo, one of the commanders of Prince Diponegoro who had defected and served in the Dutch East Indies government after the war in Java ended. However, then Lieutenant Colonel Elout argued that the presence of Sentot who was stationed in Lintau actually created new problems. Several official Dutch documents prove that Sentot was guilty of conspiring with the Padri so that Sentot and his legions were then returned to Java. In Java, Sentot also failed to dispel Dutch suspicions about him and sent him back to Sumatra. Sentot was exiled and detained in Bengkulu, while his troops were disbanded and then recruited back into the Dutch army.
In July 1832, from Batavia a large infantry force was sent under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand P. Vermeulen Krieger, to speed up the completion of the war. In October 1832, Luhak Limo Puluah was under Dutch rule at the same time as Tuanku Lintau died. Then The Padri continued to consolidate and entrench themselves in Kamang, but the entire strength of the Padri in Luhak Agam also was conquered by the Dutch after the fall of Kamang Magek, Agam Kamang at the end of 1832, so that the Padri were again forced to withdraw from Luak Luhak area and defend themselves in Bonjol.