Tan Tjoen Tiat

Tan Tjoen Tiat, 2nd Majoor der Chinezen (Chinese: 陳濬哲; pinyin: Chén Jùnzhé; 1816–1880) was a Chinese-Indonesian bureaucrat who served as the second Majoor der Chinezen, or Chinese headman, of Batavia, now Jakarta, capital of Indonesia.[1][2] This was the most senior Chinese position in the colonial civil bureaucracy of the Dutch East Indies.[2][3] As Majoor, Tan was also the Chairman of the Chinese Council of Batavia (Dutch: Chinese Raad; Indonesian: Kong Koan), the city's highest Chinese government body.[2]

Majoor Tan Tjoen Tiat
Portrait of Tan Tjoen Tiat 2nd Majoor der Chinezen of Batavia Mid-19th century (Leiden University)
Majoor der Chinezen of Batavia
In office 1865–1879
Preceded by	Majoor Tan Eng Goan
Succeeded by	Majoor Lie Tjoe Hong
Constituency	Batavia
Personal details
Born	1816 Batavia, Dutch East Indies
Died	1880 Batavia, Dutch East Indies
Spouse(s)	Oey Tan Nio
Relations	Kapitein Oey Eng Liok (father-in-law) Luitenant Souw Siauw Keng (son-in-law) Luitenant-titulair Oey Tiang Lam (son-in-law)
Children	Tan Keng Soei, Luitenant-titulair der Chinezen (son) Tan Im Nio (daughter)
Occupation	Majoor der Chinezen, bureaucrat

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Tan.

Life

Background and early career

A litograph of Batavia, based on a drawing by C. Deeleman (1859).

Born in 1816 in Batavia into a Peranakan Chinese family, the names of Tan Tjoen Tiat's antecedents have been lost to posterity.[4] His wife, Oey Tan Nio, is nonetheless recorded as the daughter of Kapitein Oey Eng Liok (appointed to his position in 1838), thus linking the future Majoor by marriage to the Cabang Atas aristocracy of colonial Indonesia.[4]

In 1850, during the mayoralty of his predecessor Majoor Tan Eng Goan (the first to hold the mayoral office in Batavia), Tan Tjoen Tiat was himself raised to the Chinese officer class as a Luitenant.[5][4] This was the most junior rank in the Chinese officership, part of the civil bureaucracy of the Dutch East Indies.[2]

Despite having the same surname as Majoor Tan Eng Goan, the two Tans were not related.[2] Indeed, Luitenant Tan Tjoen Tiat did not hide his disappointment in the Majoor's meek handling of the scandalous case of the playboy Oey Tamba Sia (1827–1856).[2]

Later in the 1860s, the future second Majoor purchased his financially troubled predecessor's particuliere landen or private domains of Kramat and Kapoek in the Ommelanden (rural hinterland) of Batavia.[2]

Mayoralty

Baron Sloet van de Beele (1806–1890), Governor-General at the time of Tan's elevation to the post of Majoor in 1865.

In 1865, after 15 years of service as an officer, Luitenant Tan Tjoen Tiat was raised to the rank his father-in-law had held, that of Kapitein.[4]

That same year, upon the resignation of the first Majoor, Kapitein Tan Tjoen Tiat was appointed by Ludolph Anne Jan Wilt, Baron Sloet van de Beele, the 19th Governor-General, to succeed as the second Majoor der Chinezen of Batavia.[2][4] This mayoral elevation went against existing tradition, which favoured the longest-serving Kapiteins from long-established officer families, and thus showed the confidence in which the colonial government held the new Majoor.[2]

In 1870, a colonial government commission was formed, consisting of the civil servant Maximilian von Faber, the Majoor and Kapitein Ko Se Tjoan.[6] Their task was to determine whether a woman, as a widow or a mother, may act as a guardian for minors under Chinese law.[6] All three answered in the negative, with von Faber assigning the responsibility of custodianship to the Boedelkamer, or Estate Chamber; and the two Chinese officers, to a respected male relative of the minors.[6]

Tan served in office until 1879, when he asked for, and was granted by the colonial government, an honourable discharge from his position.[4] Allowed nonetheless to retain his mayoralty on an honorary, titular basis, the former second Majoor died a year after his resignation in 1880, and was buried at his family mausoleum in Gaboes.[4]

His son, Luitenant-titulair der Chinezen Tan Keng Soei, was married to a niece of Kapitein Ko Se Tjoan and Kapitein Ko Tjoen Kiat.[4] His daughter, Tan Im Nio, was married to Luitenant Souw Siauw Keng, son of Luitenant Souw Tian Pie.[4] Another daughter married Luitenant-titulair Oey Tiang Lam, son of Oey Ing Soan, Kapitein der Chinezen of Tegal in Central Java.[4]

Titles and styles

• 1846–1866: Tan Tjoen Tiat
• 1850–1865: Tan Tjoen Tiat, Luitenant der Chinezen
• 1865–1865: Tan Tjoen Tiat, Kapitein der Chinezen
• 1865–1879: Tan Tjoen Tiat, Majoor der Chinezen of Batavia
• 1879–1880: Tan Tjoen Tiat, Majoor-titulair der Chinezen of Batavia

References

1. Ensiklopedi Jakarta: culture & heritage (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Pemerintah Provinsi Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta, Dinas Kebudayaan dan Permuseuman. 2005. ISBN 9789798682520. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
2. Lohanda, Mona (1996). The Kapitan Cina of Batavia, 1837-1942: A History of Chinese Establishment in Colonial Society. Djambatan. ISBN 9789794282571.
3. Blussâe, Lâeonard; Chen, Menghong (2003). The Archives of the Kong Koan of Batavia. BRILL. ISBN 9004131574.
4. Haryono, Steve (2017). Perkawinan Strategis: Hubungan Keluarga Antara Opsir-opsir Tionghoa Dan 'Cabang Atas' Di Jawa Pada Abad Ke-19 Dan 20. Utrecht: Steve Haryono. ISBN 9789090302492. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
5. Almanak van Nederlandsch-Indië voor het jaar 1860 (in Dutch). Batavia: Lands Drukkery. 1860. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
6. Kuiper, Koos (P N. ) (2017). The Early Dutch Sinologists (1854–1900) (2 vols): Training in Holland and China, Functions in the Netherlands Indies. Leiden: BRILL. p. 822. ISBN 9789004339637. Retrieved 17 September 2018.

Government offices
Preceded by Majoor Tan Eng Goan	Majoor der Chinezen of Batavia 1865–1879	Succeeded by Majoor Lie Tjoe Hong