Dutch East Indies · 1873-1904

The Aceh War

In 1873 the Netherlands attacks the independent sultanate of Aceh in northern Sumatra. The Dutch take the capital within a year, but the Acehnese fight on for three decades. Students study the longest war in Dutch colonial history and how it is remembered.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
13–16
On the map
3 steps, AD 1880 to AD 1883
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

In 1873 the Netherlands attacks the independent sultanate of Aceh in northern Sumatra. The Dutch take the capital within a year, but the Acehnese fight on for three decades. Students study the longest war in Dutch colonial history and how it is remembered.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain why the Netherlands attacked Aceh in 1873.
  • Describe how the Acehnese resisted, including leaders such as Teuku Umar and Cut Nyak Dhien.
  • Compare how the war is remembered in the Netherlands and in Indonesia.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1880

Sumatra

Open the map in 1880 and zoom in on Sumatra. Find Aceh at its northern tip. Why is this corner of the island so close to a major sea lane?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1880

A busy strait

Zoom out over the Strait of Malacca. Find Penang, Singapore and the tip of Sumatra. Which ships would pass here on the way from Europe to China?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1883

Krakatoa

Turn on Weather of History and move to 1883. Find Krakatoa in the strait between Sumatra and Java. The eruption came in the middle of the Aceh War. How far did its effects reach?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Aceh was an independent sultanate with its own trade and diplomacy. Why did the Netherlands want to control it?
  2. The Dutch captured the capital in 1874, but the war went on for 30 more years. Why?
  3. Islamic scholars led much of the resistance. Why might religion give strength to a long war?
  4. Cut Nyak Dhien kept fighting after her husband was killed. Why are women fighters often left out of war stories?
  5. Dutch troops also attacked villages, and many civilians died. How should a country remember violence done in its name?
4

Game round

10 min

Play Suleiman the Magnificent in Rule History. In the 1560s the sultan of Aceh asked the Ottomans for help against the Portuguese, and in 1873 Aceh appealed to them again, against the Dutch. Discuss: why would a sultanate in Sumatra look to Istanbul for help?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.