A tinted lithograph depicting the Second Expedition to Palembang in 1821. Palembang and Minangkabau were under the control of the Dutch during the 19th century. Internal unrest and resistance to Dutch colonizers resulted in the Padri War (1818-1838), the first Dutch colonial war in the 19th century. The Dutch installed Sultan Badaruddin, but he was reluctant to give up his independence as required by the East Indies colonial authorities. In June 1819, the conflict escalated in an open battle in Palembang, but the Dutch were forced to retreat. The Dutch commissioner, H. W. Mutinghe conducted a punitive expedition that was unsuccessful. The Second Expedition, depicted here, was involved an unprecedented number of 4,500 troops in land and naval forces. As a result, Badaruddin was exiled to Batavia.
The lithograph depicts a fleet of British ships lined up along the shoreline and engulfed with smoke from their cannons. A vessel in the center foreground flies the Dutch flag. A small rowboat filled with men is parallel to the ship's starboard side. Several more small rowing boats filled with men are in the right side.
See Elsbeth Locher-Scholten, 'Sumatran Sultanate and Colonial State: Jambi and the Rise of Dutch Imperialism, 1830-1907.' (Ithaca, NY: Southeast Asia Program, Cornell University, 2004), 54-55.
