The sultans of Western Borneo, including Sambas, Sukadana, and Landak all imported Chinese laborers in the 18th century to work in gold or tinmines. A number of mining companies enjoyed some political autonomy,[4] but Lanfang is the best known thanks to a history written by Yap Siong-yoen, the son-in-law of the last kapitan of the Lanfang Company, which was translated into Dutch in 1885, and J.J.M. de Groot, a Dutch Sinologist who recorded Lanfang's history with the help of its last President, Liu Asheng.[5][6][7][8][9][10] None of the other Chinese mining organization in western Kalimantan left written accounts; the records of the others were documented by Dutch sinologists.[11]
Rule of Low Lan Pak
The founding father of the Lanfang Kongsi was Low Lan Pak (羅芳伯), who hailed from Meizhou in Guangdong Province. Chinese settlers have long lived on Borneo, with most engaging in trading and mining. They formed their own companies, among which was the Southern Company headed by Low.
As Dutch imperialism encroached upon modern-day Indonesia, Low established the Lanfang Company in 1777 (with its capital in Mandor) to protect the Chinese settlers from Dutch oppression.[12][13][14][15][16][17] The settlers subsequently elected Low as their inaugural leader. Low implemented many democratic principles, including the idea that all matters of state must involve the consultation of the republic's citizenry. The Republic did not have a standing military, but had a defense ministry that administered a national militia based on conscription. During peacetime, the populace mostly engaged in farming, production, trading, and mining. Lanfang's administrative divisions included three tiers (province, prefecture, and county) with the people electing leaders for all levels. Lanfang was allied with Sultan Abdurrahman of the Pontianak Sultanate.[18][19][20][21][22]
Low served as head of state until his death in 1795. Afterwards, Lanfang members elected Jiang Wubo (江戊伯) as their next president. Lanfang citizens elected a total of twelve leaders, who helped improve agricultural techniques, expand mine production, develop cultural education, and organize military training.
Dutch conquest
In the mid-to-late 19th century, the Chinese Qing Empire weakened substantially. Thus, the Lanfang Company's vigorous development suffered from the eventual expansion of the Dutch. The Mandor community waged a tenacious resistance, but ultimately failed due to poor weaponry. Lin Ah Sin was the last leader of Lanfang.[23] Many of Lanfang's citizens and their descendants made their way to Sumatra or Singapore. The three campaigns waged by the Dutch East Indies Army against the Lanfang Company:
This last one resulted in the subjugation of the Chinese and the loss of autonomy.
Wary of Qing intervention, the Dutch did not openly annex the lands controlled by the Lanfang Company, and created another puppet regime. It was not until 1912, when the Qing Dynasty collapsed, that the Dutch proclaimed their occupation.[citation needed]
^海外華人創建了世上第一個共和國. culture.singtaonet.com (in Traditional Chinese). Archived from the original on 2011-04-24. Retrieved 2010-10-31.
^Groot, J.J.M. (1885), Het Kongsiwezen van Borneo: eene verhandeling over den grondslag en den aard der chineesche politieke vereenigingen in de koloniën, The Hague: M. Nijhof.
^"...The flag is a rectangle yellow flag with the word Lan Fang Ta Tong Chi. The president flag is a triangular yellow flag with the word Chuao (General)..." Quoted from the web as a summary from the book Hakka people - Jews of the Orient.[2]
Reid, Anthony (2008). Reid, Anthony (ed.). The Chinese Diaspora in the Pacific. Vol. 16 of The Pacific World Lands, Peoples and History of the Pacific, 1500–1900. Ashgate. ISBN978-0754657491. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
YUNOS, ROZAN (May 23, 2011). "Saga of Lanfang Republic". THE BRUNEI TIMES. BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
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Excerpta Indonesica, Issues 58-62. Contributors: Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde (Netherlands). Afdeling Documentatie Modern Indonesie, Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde (Netherlands). Bibliotheek. Centre for Documentation of Modern Indonesia, Royal Institute of Linguistics and Anthropology. 1998. Retrieved 24 April 2014.((cite book)): CS1 maint: others (link)
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Revue bibliographique de sinologie, Volumes 6-7 (in French). Contributors: Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales, Ecole pratique des hautes études (France). Section des sciences économiques et sociales, École pratique des hautes études (France). Section des sciences historiques et philologiques. Editions de l'Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales. 1988. Retrieved 24 April 2014.((cite book)): CS1 maint: others (link)
Heidhues, Mary Somers (2001), "Chinese Settlements in Rural Southeast Asia: Unwritten Histories", in Anthony Reid (ed.), Sojourners and Settlers: Histories of Southeast Asia and the Chinese, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
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