Question

Who were the Kalangs? Why did they attack the Dutch forts at Joana?

Answer 1

The Kalangs were a skilled community of woodcutters and shifting cultivators. They were considered an important community due to their skills that were required to harvest teak and engage in other construction activities. Their expertise was used by kings to build palaces. Their value can also be gauged from the fact that when the Mataram kingdom of Java split in 1755, the 6000 Kalang families were equally divided between the kingdoms

Kalangs rebelled against the Dutch because:

a. The Dutch after establishing control over forests tried to make Kalangs work under them which compelled them to rebel against the Dutch.
b. In 1770, the Kalangs resisted by attacking a Dutch fort at Joana, but the uprising was suppressed.
c. Many policies of the Dutch like Forest laws which were enacted in Java, restricted villagers entry in the forests,Villagers were punished for grazing cattle, for transporting wood without permission, or travelling in forest roads.
d. It was due to such colonial policies that by 1907, under the leadership of Surontiko Samin , many villagers rose up in revolt against the Dutch.