History of Teuku Umar and the Story of His Struggle in the Aceh War
Teuku Umar is one of Indonesia's national heroes from Aceh who is famous for his guerrilla strategy against Dutch colonialism. Teuku Umar's hero title was confirmed through Presidential Decree No. 087/TK/1973 dated November 6, 1973.
Teuku Umar's struggle tactics against the Dutch were quite unique. He pretended to be a supporter of the Dutch in order to collect weapons, money, and information from the enemy. After that, Teuku Umar sided with the Acehnese people again and led the Aceh War.
The following is a biography of Teuku Umar and his struggle against Dutch colonialism.
The history of Teuku Umar's struggle began in 1873, when the Aceh War broke out. At that time, Teuku Umar, who was still 19 years old, had gone down to the battlefield with other fighters.
Teuku Umar's role in the Aceh War was the same as other fighters. However, Teuku Umar's struggle tactics against Dutch colonialism were quite unique.
In 1983, Teuku Umar pretended to cooperate with the Dutch in order to gain their trust. The goal was to obtain money and complete weapons, which were then used to fight back.
In 1887, Teuku Umar served as the Commander of the People's Defense in Keuchik Gampong Darat. Then, two years later, he was entrusted by the Sultan of Aceh to occupy the position of Admiral of West Aceh.
After approximately nine years of pretending to be a lackey of the Dutch, in 1893, Teuku Umar managed to collect 800 weapons, 25,000 bullets, 5 kilograms of ammunition, and 18 thousand dollars.
Summarized from the official website of the Ministry of Education and Culture, Directorate General of Culture, armed with these complete weapons, Teuku Umar, assisted by his colleague, Teuku Panglima Polem Muhammad Daud, and 400 followers, managed to paralyze the Dutch. It was recorded that the Dutch suffered losses with 25 Dutch soldiers killed and 190 injured.
As written by Mardanas Safwan in his book entitled Teuku Umar (2007), after seeing Teuku Umar's shocking struggle, the Dutch found no other way except to carry out active attacks and pursuits that they had stopped since 1881. They also decided to abandon the defensive concentration system since 1884.
The Dutch, who felt betrayed by Teuku Umar, immediately targeted Teuku Umar as the main fugitive. Governor Christoffel Deykerhoff ordered Van Heutsz and his large troops to capture Teuku Umar.
The history of Teuku Umar in the struggle against the Dutch after entering the late 1890s. The Dutch at that time suddenly attacked the Meulaboh area which surrounded Teuku Umar's troops.
On February 11, 1899, on the battlefield, Hero Teuku Umar was shot dead. The bullet was lodged in his left chest and intestines.
Teuku Umar's biography is recorded in the book Teuku Umar (2007) written by Mardanas Safwan. The book states that Teuku Umar was born in 1854 in Meulaboh, West Aceh Regency.
His father was named Teuku Ahmad Mahmud. His mother was Tjut Mohani. Teuku Umar had three siblings, namely Teuku Musa, Tjut Intan, and Teuku Mansur.
At the age of 20, Teuku Umar married his first wife, Nyak Sofiah, the daughter of Uleebalang Glumpang. Several years later, Teuku Umar married for the second time to Nyak Mahligai, the daughter of Panglima Sagi XXV Mukim.
Teuku Umar married for the third time to his biological cousin, Cut Nyak Dhien, the daughter of his uncle Teuku Nanta Setia. At that time, Cut Nyak Dhien was a widow whose husband, Teuku Ibrahim Lamnga, died in the struggle against the Dutch.